"So this was what Boss Dai used to be like."
Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath.
It wasn't loud.
Yet it exploded beside Dai Mubai's ears like a thunderclap.
Pfft—!
Overcome with rage, Dai Mubai suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying unsteadily.
White World.
Inside the great hall.
Laughter filled the air.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I'm dying! This is Young Master Dai from the Black World?"
"That's just pathetic! He got spat on and didn't even dare wipe it off?"
"And he still had to say, 'Take care, big brother'?"
A crowd of Soul Masters from the White World watched the Sky Screen, laughing so hard they doubled over.
To them, this was simply the comedy of the year.
Even though the two men had the same face, no one would associate that good-for-nothing from the Black World with their own domineering White Emperor.
The difference was just too great.
So great, it felt like they were entirely different species.
Watching the scene, Zhu Zhuqing's disgust deepened.
"Thank goodness."
She murmured softly to herself.
"Thank goodness I met you."
She turned to look at Dai Mubai beside her, her eyes full of relief.
If she'd been stuck with that good-for-nothing from the Black World, she would probably have given up and taken her own life long ago.
Dai Mubai toyed with the jade cup in his hand as he watched the "himself" on the Sky Screen lying on the ground and drinking. His expression was utterly calm.
"That's what it means to make a choice."
Dai Mubai spoke coolly.
"When someone chooses to kneel, they lose the right to stand up again."
"Even if they get back on their feet later, they'll never wash the mud off their knees."
The scene on the Sky Screen changed without the slightest pause.
While the people of the Black World were still reeling from Dai Mubai groveling on the ground, begging for mercy and being humiliated with spit, a new scene appeared.
Golden ancient-script characters slowly formed across the screen.
[Age twelve. Their first meeting.]
[The day of their engagement was also the day of his escape.]
Those two lines stabbed into Zhu Zhuqing's heart in the Black World like a sharp knife.
She remembered that day.
Very clearly.
It was the beginning of her nightmare, and the reason she had completely lost faith in this man.
The scene slowly came into focus.
It was still the Star Luo Imperial Palace, but this time, in a corner of the Imperial Garden.
Rock gardens and flowing streams, ancient trees towering overhead.
A girl in a little black dress stood quietly there.
It was Zhu Zhuqing as a child.
She was only a few years old, her cheeks still round with baby fat, but her cool temperament was already beginning to take shape.
She stood very straight.
Her hands were folded in front of her, her gaze fixed on the entrance to the garden.
She was waiting.
Waiting for her fiancé, who was said to possess the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul and extraordinary talent.
The elders of her family had told her that the imperial family's struggle for power was merciless: it was kill or be killed.
She had no choice.
Only by joining forces with this prince would she have a chance at survival.
So she had come.
Before long,
a quick series of footsteps sounded.
The Dai Mubai of the Black World was wearing slightly cleaner clothes now, but there was no hiding the dejection and alarm that seemed to seep from his very bones.
As he walked, he kept glancing back over his shoulder.
His eyes darted about as if he were on guard against some terrible beast.
When he rounded the rockery and saw Zhu Zhuqing standing there, he abruptly stopped.
He jumped in fright.
He even recoiled a step.
"Who are you?"
Dai Mubai's voice was tense, his brows knitted tightly together.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the boy standing a head taller than her.
She still greeted him politely with a bow.
"Zhu Zhuqing, of the Zhu Family."
"Greetings, Your Highness, Third Prince."
Her voice was childish, yet firm.
The moment he heard the words "Zhu Family," Dai Mubai's expression changed.
Not with delight.
With terror.
As if he'd just heard a death sentence.
"The Zhu Family... my fiancée..."
Dai Mubai muttered the words, his eyes darting around.
He looked Zhu Zhuqing up and down.
There wasn't a hint of admiration in his eyes, only deep distaste and wariness.
To him, Zhu Zhuqing wasn't an ally. She was a burden.
A huge, walking target.
As soon as he got involved with this girl, that lunatic Dai Weisi would come after him again.
And next time, it wouldn't stop at spitting on him.
He might actually die.
At the thought, Dai Mubai shuddered.
"Why are you here?"
Dai Mubai lowered his voice, his tone impatient.
"Who told you to come?"
Zhu Zhuqing froze.
She hadn't expected their first conversation to begin with an accusation like that.
"His Majesty arranged our engagement..."
"I don't care who arranged it!"
Dai Mubai rudely cut her off.
He stepped forward, glaring at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Don't you realize you're a problem?"
"Dai Weisi is just waiting for an excuse to kill me. You come barging over here in broad daylight. Are you trying to get me killed?"
Zhu Zhuqing's little face turned deathly pale.
She stared at Dai Mubai in disbelief.
Was this really something a man with the White Tiger Martial Soul would say?
"Your Highness..."
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, trying to reason with him.
"We're already engaged."
"Since we can't change that, why can't we work together?"
"If we train hard, we might still..."
"Shut up!"
Dai Mubai exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He flung out a hand, almost hitting Zhu Zhuqing in the face.
"Work together? With what?"
"Dai Weisi is so much older than me, and his Soul Power is so much higher. How are we supposed to fight him?"
"If you want to die, don't drag me into it!"
Dai Mubai was worked up.
His voice was low, but the hysteria in it practically seeped through the screen.
He was already planning his escape.
He had already picked out his route.
In just a few days, he would leave this godforsaken place and head to the Heaven Dou Empire, where all he'd have to do was eat, drink, and have fun.
But now, a fiancée had suddenly appeared.
What if she let something slip?
What if she clung to him and wouldn't let go?
He absolutely couldn't let his escape plan get out!
The more he thought about it, the more afraid Dai Mubai became.
He looked at Zhu Zhuqing with open hostility.
"Listen."
Dai Mubai pointed a finger at Zhu Zhuqing's nose.
"From now on, don't follow me."
"And don't tell anyone you've met me."
"I don't want to see you, and I want nothing to do with you."
After saying those words,
Dai Mubai didn't dare look Zhu Zhuqing in the eyes.
He felt guilty.
He was afraid he'd see his own ugly, cowardly reflection in the little girl's clear eyes.
So,
he chose the trick he knew best.
Running away.
Dai Mubai spun around and sprinted down the path he'd come by, as if fleeing from a plague.
He ran fast.
He was so panicked that he stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.
But he didn't even dare look back.
He left young Zhu Zhuqing standing all alone in the Imperial Garden.
Before you continue