Dai Mubai ran away?! Abandoning Zhu Zhuqing!

"So, the so-called Boss Dai used to be such a pathetic sight."

I don't know who it was, but someone in the crowd muttered this under their breath.

The voice wasn't loud.

Yet, it struck Dai Mubai's ears like a thunderclap.

Pfft--!

Overcome by a surge of rage and humiliation, Dai Mubai spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying unsteadily.

White World.

Inside the grand hall.

Laughter filled the air.

"Hahahahaha!"

"I'm dying of laughter! Is this the Young Master Dai of the Black World?"

"This is just too ridiculous, right? He didn't even dare to wipe off the spit after being spat on?"

"And he even had to say, 'Take care, big brother'?"

A group of spirit masters from the White World watched the Sky Screen, laughing until they were doubled over.

To them, this was simply the comedy of the year.

Although they shared the same face, no one would ever associate that trash from the Black World with their own domineering White Emperor.

The difference was too vast.

So vast that it made people feel like they were two completely different species.

Zhu Zhuqing watched the screen, the disgust in her eyes deepening.

"Thank goodness."

She whispered to herself.

"Thank goodness it was you I met."

She turned her head to look at the Dai Mubai beside her, her eyes filled with relief.

If it had been that trash from the Black World, she probably would have despaired and taken her own life long ago.

Dai Mubai toyed with the jade cup in his hand, watching the "himself" on the Sky Screen crawling on the ground to drink, his eyes calm and rippleless.

"This is a choice."

Dai Mubai said indifferently.

"When a person chooses to kneel, they lose the qualification to stand up forever."

"Even if they stand up later, the mud on their knees can never be washed clean."

The transition of the scene on the Sky Screen occurred without the slightest hesitation.

Just as the people of the Black World were still immersed in the shock of Dai Mubai crawling on the ground to beg for mercy and being humiliated by spit, a new image had already emerged.

Golden ancient seal characters slowly condensed on the light screen.

[Twelve years old, first meeting.]

[The day of the engagement was also the day of the escape.]

These two lines of text were like a sharp blade, once again stabbing fiercely into the heart of the Black World's Zhu Zhuqing.

She remembered that day.

She remembered it very clearly.

That was the beginning of her nightmare, and the source of her complete disappointment in this man.

The image gradually became clear.

It was still the Star Luo Imperial Palace, but this time, it was in a corner of the Imperial Garden.

With rockeries, flowing water, and towering ancient trees.

A young girl wearing a small black dress stood there quietly.

That was the young Zhu Zhuqing.

Although she was only a few years old and still had baby fat on her face, this cold temperament was already beginning to take shape.

She stood very straight.

Her hands were folded in front of her, her gaze fixed tightly on the entrance of the garden.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the fiancé who was said to possess the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul and extraordinary talent.

The elders of the family told her that the royal struggle was incomparably cruel; it was either life or death.

She had no other choice.

Only by joining forces with this prince could she have a glimmer of hope for survival.

Therefore, she had come.

Before long.

A series of hurried footsteps approached.

At this moment, the Black World Dai Mubai had changed into slightly cleaner clothes, but the decadence and panic seeping from his very bones could not be concealed.

He walked while glancing back over his shoulder.

His eyes darted about, as if he were guarding against some monstrous flood or wild beast.

When he rounded the rockery and saw Zhu Zhuqing standing there, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

He was startled.

He even recoiled slightly.

"Who are you?"

Dai Mubai's voice was tight, his brows locked firmly together.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the youth who was a head taller than her.

She still offered a polite bow.

"Zhu Family, Zhu Zhuqing."

"Greetings, Third Prince."

Her voice was youthful, yet it carried a note of determination.

Upon hearing the words "Zhu Family," Dai Mubai's expression changed instantly.

It was not pleasant surprise.

It was terror.

It was as if he had heard a death warrant.

"Zhu Family... fiancée..."

Dai Mubai muttered these words, his eyes darting rapidly.

He looked Zhu Zhuqing up and down.

There was not a hint of admiration in his gaze, only deep disdain and wariness.

To him at this moment, Zhu Zhuqing was not an asset, but a burden.

She was a massive, moving target.

As long as he was associated with this woman, that madman Dai Weisi would surely come knocking again.

When that happened, it wouldn't be as simple as being spat upon.

He might actually die.

Thinking of this, Dai Mubai shuddered.

"Why did you come here?"

Dai Mubai lowered his voice, his tone impatient.

"Who told you to come?"

Zhu Zhuqing was stunned for a moment.

She had not expected their first meeting to begin with such an interrogation.

"It was the Emperor who granted the marriage..."

"I don't care who granted the marriage!"

Dai Mubai rudely cut her off.

He took a step forward, staring fiercely at Zhu Zhuqing.

"Do you have any idea what a liability you are?"

"Dai Weisi is just looking for an excuse to kill me, and you come swaggering over here—are you trying to get me killed?"

Zhu Zhuqing's small face turned deathly pale.

She looked at Dai Mubai in disbelief.

Were these truly the words of a man who possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul?

"Your Highness..."

Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, attempting to reason with him.

"We are already betrothed."

"Since it cannot be changed, why can we not join forces?"

"As long as we work hard at our cultivation, it's not necessarily..."

"Shut up!"

Dai Mubai was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his fur standing on end in an instant.

He swung his hand violently, nearly striking Zhu Zhuqing in the face.

"Join forces? With what are we supposed to join forces?"

"Dai Weisi is so much older than me, and his spirit power is so much higher than mine—how are we supposed to fight him?"

"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Dai Mubai's emotions were extremely agitated.

Although his voice was kept very low, the hysterical tone behind it could be sensed even through the screen.

He was already planning his escape.

He had even scouted the route.

Within these next few days, he intended to leave this godforsaken place and head to the Heaven Dou Empire, to that place where one could only eat, drink, and be merry.

But now, a fiancée had suddenly popped up.

What if she leaked the news?

What if she clung to him and wouldn't let go?

The escape plan absolutely could not be exposed!

The more Dai Mubai thought about it, the more afraid he became.

The way he looked at Zhu Zhuqing was filled with hostility.

"Listen to me."

Dai Mubai extended a finger, pointing it at the bridge of Zhu Zhuqing's nose.

"From now on, don't follow me."

"And don't tell anyone else that you've seen me."

"I don't want to see you, and I certainly don't want to have any entanglements with you."

After saying these words.

Dai Mubai didn't dare to look into Zhu Zhuqing's eyes at all.

He felt guilty.

He was afraid that in the clear pupils of that young girl, he would see the reflection of his own ugly cowardice.

And so.

He chose the move he was best at.

Running.

Dai Mubai turned abruptly, as if fleeing from a plague god, and sprinted away along the path he had come from.

He ran very fast.

He was so panicked that he even stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.

But he didn't even dare to look back.

Leaving only the young Zhu Zhuqing standing all alone in the Imperial Garden.