Suotuo City at dusk carried a warm, suggestive hue.
As the main city of the Balak Kingdom, it was far more prosperous than a backwater like Nuoding City. Shops lined both sides of the streets, and the cries of Spirit Masters and merchants rose and fell one after another. The air was filled with the mingled scents of cheap perfume and roasted meat.
Qian Mo held Zhu Zhuqing's hand as they strolled leisurely.
Walking down the street, the two of them were like diamonds that had somehow fallen into a pile of gravel, dazzling to an unreasonable degree.
Qian Mo wore a platinum robe, looking relaxed and unrestrained, his face seeming to come with its own soft-focus glow. Zhu Zhuqing wore that priceless Moon White Brocade Skirt, her cool temperament forcefully shutting out the surrounding clamor. With every step she took, the flowing sheen of her skirt made passersby catch their breath.
"Bang!"
A middle-aged man who had been staring dumbly walked straight into a lamppost by the roadside. Blood streamed from his nose, yet his eyes remained fixed on Zhu Zhuqing's retreating figure as he muttered, "Good heavens... what family's fairy has descended to earth?"
Qian Mo tilted his head, smiling faintly. "Looks like I'll have to make you wear a veil when we go out from now on. Otherwise, Suotuo City's traffic will be paralyzed."
The tips of Zhu Zhuqing's ears reddened slightly. Her fingers lightly scratched his palm. "Stop teasing me."
The two stopped before a uniquely designed building.
Rose Hotel.
The entire hotel stood twenty meters tall, its exterior walls decorated with enormous reliefs of red roses. Under the setting sun, they were a seductively brilliant red, exuding an extravagant air of impropriety.
"The taste is a little vulgar." Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly, her assessment quite fair.
"Vulgar, sure, but the beds are soft." Qian Mo pulled her into the lobby. "We'll make do for tonight."
A red carpet covered the lobby floor, and the rich fragrance of roses hung in the air.
The manager behind the counter had been idly doing the accounts. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and was instantly so shaken by the pair's bearing that he straightened up.
As a hotel manager who had seen all kinds of people, he could tell at a glance that even a handkerchief made from the fabric they wore could buy half his establishment.
"T-two honored guests, are you staying the night?" The manager's voice became several degrees more respectful.
Qian Mo said nothing. He held a card between two slender fingers and gently placed it on the counter.
Its base was violet-gold, its edges inlaid with black gold, and a hidden pattern of a Six-winged Angel was stamped in its center.
Martial Soul Hall Supreme Black Card.
It was accepted across the entire continent, allowed unlimited credit, and seeing the card was like seeing the Pope in person.
The manager's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints, and his hands began trembling as if shocked by electricity. He had seen this kind of card on the title page of the headquarters' training manual. It was a supreme token that even the emperors of the two great empires had to show deference toward!
"So it was..." The manager was just about to kneel and salute.
Qian Mo raised his index finger to his lips, making a quiet gesture. "Keep it low-key. We'll take the Red Ocean on the top floor."
"Yes! Yes! I'll arrange it right away!" The manager wiped away cold sweat and hurriedly reached for the keys.
Just then.
"Manager! Where the hell are you? Same as usual, the Red Ocean!"
An arrogant voice burst in through the main entrance along with a chaotic set of footsteps.
Qian Mo raised an eyebrow slightly but did not turn around.
From the perspective of Omniscience Omnipotence, a blond youth was walking in brazenly with a pair of voluptuous twin sisters in his arms.
The youth was lavishly dressed, but his face looked somewhat out of place—there was still an unhealed bruise on his left cheek, his speech leaked air through his mouth, and a large gold tooth that had just been fitted gleamed brightly beneath the lights.
He was none other than the "Fallen Prince," Dai Mubai.
Over the past three years, because Qian Mo had intercepted his luck, Dai Mubai had lived a rather miserable life. Although his Soul Power had barely reached level thirty-seven, the air of a nouveau riche around him had only grown stronger.
The manager's hand holding the room card froze mid-air, his face full of distress. "Young Master Dai, the Red Ocean has already been reserved by this honored guest."
"Reserved?"
Dai Mubai shoved the twins out of his arms. His gold tooth bared as he fixed a vicious stare on Qian Mo's back. "In Suotuo City, someone actually dares to steal my room? I think he's tired of liv—"
Before he could finish, his gaze swept over Zhu Zhuqing beside Qian Mo.
In that instant, Dai Mubai seemed to have been struck by lightning.
That silhouette... that bone-deep coldness... and that Netherworld Aura that made even his soul tremble.
"Z-Zhu Zhuqing?!"
Dai Mubai cried out in shock, his voice so shrill it nearly cracked.
Zhu Zhuqing had been admiring the murals in the lobby. Hearing him, she slowly turned around.
There was not the slightest ripple on her stunning face, and her gaze was as cold as if she were looking at trash by the roadside. She stood there in her Moon White Brocade Skirt, noble and holy, while the twins beside Dai Mubai instantly became gaudy commoners in comparison.
"It's you." Zhu Zhuqing spoke blandly, her voice entirely without fluctuation.
Dai Mubai's eyes turned red, and his chest heaved violently.
Humiliation, fury, jealousy—every emotion crashed through his reason in an instant.
This was the fiancée he had abandoned? That little girl who used to do nothing but hide in corners and cry?
She had become this beautiful! So beautiful that he did not dare look directly at her!
And now, she was standing beside another man!
"Fine... fine!" Dai Mubai laughed in extreme anger, the hand pointing at Zhu Zhuqing trembling. "You still dare show your face in front of me? And you brought some pretty boy here to get a room? Zhu Zhuqing, do you have any shame left?!"
"This isn't the Star Luo Empire, nor is it Spirit Hall!"
"Boom!"
The White Tiger Martial Soul abruptly possessed Dai Mubai. Three soul rings rose from beneath his feet. His muscles swelled, his blond hair whipped wildly, and that gold tooth made him look particularly ferocious.
"Today, I'll clean house for the Zhu Family! I'll cripple this dog of a man and woman!"
The guests in the lobby screamed and scattered in terror.
Qian Mo still had his back to Dai Mubai, his fingers lightly tapping the marble counter.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The rhythm was brisk.
"Omniscience Omnipotence tells me," Qian Mo sighed softly, his tone carrying a trace of helpless compassion, "that if some people don't suffer bad luck, even heaven's justice can't tolerate it."
In his mind, the System Prompt rang out cheerfully.
[Passive Triggered: Absolute Luck · Reverse Critical Strike (Lv.Max)] [Target Locked: Dai Mubai.] [Loading Misfortune Script...]
"White Tiger Blazing Light Wave!"
Dai Mubai roared. Light gathered in his mouth, and he kicked off the ground, charging at Qian Mo like a cannonball.
However.
At the very instant he exerted force.
The expensive wool carpet, which ordinarily would not deform even if an elephant stepped on it, suddenly and strangely curled up at one corner.
Not much, just one centimeter.
But during a high-speed charge, that one centimeter was an uncrossable gulf.
"Trip—!"
Dai Mubai's left foot caught his right. His body instantly lost balance, and the attack originally aimed at Qian Mo veered off, blasting into a nearby load-bearing pillar.
Meanwhile, his entire body once again became a human projectile, smashing face-first toward the floor.
But this was only the beginning.
That misfired White Tiger Blazing Light Wave happened to strike a metal hook above the load-bearing pillar.
That hook was connected to the enormous, luxurious chandelier in the center of the lobby, which weighed a thousand catties and was made of three thousand crystals.
"Crack."
The sound of metal breaking was crisp and pleasant.
Dai Mubai, who was sprawled on the floor and preparing to get up, sensed something and raised his head.
What entered his vision was an expanse of dazzling brilliance.
Along with an ever-growing crystal shadow.
"Fu—"
"Rumble—!!!"
The loud noise shook the entire hotel.
Dust billowed, and shattered glass sprayed everywhere.
That priceless crystal chandelier buried Dai Mubai completely, precisely, perfectly, without the slightest deviation.
The twin sisters let out piercing screams, their faces drained of color as they huddled trembling in a corner.
The entire hall fell silent.
Only from beneath the pile of shattered glass came an occasional faint twitch.
Only then did Qian Mo slowly turn around.
Even the hem of his clothes was not disordered, and he still held the room card in his hand.
He walked to the pile of wreckage and looked down at a trembling hand sticking out from the glass shards.
"This hotel's security measures aren't very good."
Qian Mo shook his head, his tone teasing. "Why does it let any trash into the lobby? Even the lights couldn't stand the sight of him."
By then, the manager was scared out of his wits, his face pale as paper. "Th-this... this..."
If Young Master Dai died in his hotel, a hundred lives would not be enough to repay the debt!
"Don't panic."
Qian Mo patted the manager on the shoulder and casually slipped the black card into the manager's breast pocket.
"I'll cover the chandelier."
"Also, I'm buying this hotel."
Qian Mo looked around. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable dominance.
"Clear the place out."
"Throw this piece of trash, along with all his little companions, outside."
"From now on, this place belongs to Qian."
The manager froze for a full three seconds.
Then he looked at the black card in his pocket, then at the half-dead Dai Mubai amid the wreckage.
He weighed the pros and cons in an instant.
"Security Guards!!" the manager shouted at the top of his lungs. "What are you standing around for?! Throw these troublemakers out! Don't let them dirty the new owner's floor!"
Several sturdy Spirit Master security guards immediately rushed forward. Like they were dragging a dead dog, they hauled Dai Mubai from the pile of glass, his body covered in blood and his gold tooth even knocked loose, then dragged him all the way toward the entrance.
A long trail of blood was left across the floor.
Zhu Zhuqing quietly watched the scene.
She watched the fiancée who had once frightened her, driven her to despair, and seemed as insurmountable as a mountain to her, now being thrown outside like a lost dog.
A certain shackle in her heart shattered completely.
So he was nothing more than this.
So before this man, so-called imperial power and so-called marriage contracts were nothing but a joke.
Zhu Zhuqing turned around and looked at Qian Mo's handsome profile.
Her heart beat rapidly.
As if possessed, she took a step forward, wrapped both hands around Qian Mo's arm, and rose onto her toes.
Before all those watching eyes.
In the middle of the lobby, amid the mess everywhere.
She lightly kissed the face that always wore a lazy smile.
Warm and soft.
"Thank you."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was very soft, yet it carried an unprecedented firmness and tenderness.
"My... God."
Qian Mo touched his cheek. A mischievous smile rose at the corner of his mouth as he wrapped an arm around her slender waist and headed toward the stairs.
"Words of thanks aren't enough."
"Tonight, in the Red Ocean, we have plenty of time to settle this account slowly."
Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly flushed crimson, yet she did not let go. She only buried her head deeply in his chest.
Outside, the sunset sank.
Shrek's nightmare had only just begun.
Before you continue