When the first rays of morning sunlight pierced the hotel's thin ivory curtains and fell in dappled patches across the wide, soft bed, Zhu Zhuqing's long eyelashes fluttered like startled butterfly wings before she slowly opened her eyes.
This was the deepest, most peaceful sleep she had gotten in a long time—and the only night she hadn't been woken by nightmares.
Outside the window, Star Luo City bustled in the early morning, but inside the room, the quiet made it a world of its own.
Zhu Zhuqing lay among the soft velvet bedding, savoring a sense of ease she had never felt before. There was no suffocating cold wind like the one that swept through Zhu Residence late at night, no watchful gaze from her sister Zhu Zhuyun prickling at her back, and no lingering shadow of being buried alive alongside someone else.
A faint scent of dragon's-blood incense lingered in the air. It was the unique fragrance of the young man beside her: steady and profound, carrying an awe-inspiring authority that made her heart flutter even as it filled her with a sense of security.
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head and gazed at Gu Tian, still fast asleep beside her.
In the morning light, the young man's face looked handsome and gentle, with none of the domineering presence that had silenced everyone in the meeting hall the night before. She remembered how he had held out his hand to her in that cold hall of black stone, and the words that still echoed in her ears: "The Dai Family can't give you the life you deserve. I can." At that moment, the heart her family's cold-bloodedness had frozen for six years melted completely. This feeling of being saved made her believe that the young man before her was not only her home, but also the sole faith she would hold for the rest of her life.
"Xiao Tian, wake up! Don't sleep in. I've got some unexpectedly good news for you."
On the spacious terrace of the villa, Ao Linxi sat in a wicker chair, swinging her jade-white legs as she leisurely sipped tea condensed from divine power. Her nine-colored eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at Gu Tian.
"Sis Linxi? What good news could there be this early in the morning?" Gu Tian rubbed his bleary eyes and sat down beside her on the terrace.
"Your Dragon God's Second Trial has been completely locked in on the Zhu Zhuqing front." Ao Linxi pointed a jade finger into the air. A dazzling golden divine trial panel appeared in midair, its characters shimmering with a sacred aura.
[Dragon God's Second Trial progress: Win over secondary harem member (1/2). Target: Zhu Zhuqing. Genuine bond value: 100%.]
"It's already reached 100%?" Gu Tian raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Last night I just felt sorry for her and brought her out of that cold-blooded family. I haven't even had a chance to do anything to win her over, have I?"
"You think you did nothing, but to that little girl who's been trapped in the depths of despair for so long that even her own father gave up on her, the hand you held out last night was the salvation of her entire world." Ao Linxi shifted into a more elegant pose, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"You have to understand: the Hell Spirit Cat clan is naturally perceptive, but it also has an extreme lack of security. Last night, you didn't just save her life. In her darkest hour, you gave her a home with that domineering tenderness of yours. Between that life-saving kindness and the innate bloodline dominance and irresistible attraction you, as the Dragon God's successor, hold over someone with a feline Martial Soul, she had already decided deep in her soul to give herself to you the moment she took your hand."
"But that's just what her subconscious is telling her. She might still be struggling fiercely with it herself." Ao Linxi changed tack, pointing a slender jade finger at the other vacant spot on the panel, her expression turning playful.
Gu Tian thoughtfully rubbed his nose and nodded in agreement. Indeed, moving too fast would cheapen it. What he sought was the ultimate kind of affection, the sort that ripened naturally in its own time.
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into Zhu Zhuqing's startled gaze. She was sitting on a wooden chair by the window, sunlight gilding her in a sacred golden glow. She had already changed into the new red outfit Gu Tian had left at her bedside the night before.
"You're awake?" Gu Tian sat up, a warm smile playing on his lips—a tenderness Zhu Zhuqing had never seen in anyone else.
When Zhu Zhuqing saw Gu Tian wake, her usually cool, pretty face instantly flushed to the roots of her ears. She lowered her head, fidgeting helplessly with the hem of her skirt before speaking in a slightly bashful voice. "Gu Tian... these clothes... don't seem to fit very well. They're a little... too small."
Gu Tian froze at her words and glanced her way. His gaze stopped short.
Only then did he slap his forehead, remembering that the outfit had been made to fit Xiao Wu's petite, slender, flat-chested figure.
Although Zhu Zhuqing was around Xiao Wu's age and seemed rather thin from years of malnutrition, the Zhu Family's Hell Spirit Cat bloodline had truly astonishing effects on a girl's development.
The red pleated skirt, which should have fit loosely, was stretched taut. Her slender waist was cinched into an astonishing curve, while the buttons over her chest were strained to their limit. With every nervous breath Zhu Zhuqing took, the fragile threads looked ready to snap under the pressure.
"Cough... This was my oversight. I was so focused on making it look good that I forgot to account for how much room our Zhuqing needed to grow."
Gu Tian scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing so embarrassed she was nearly burying her face in her knees, he quickly took an oversized white T-shirt from his Soul Guidance Ring and handed it to her. It was a new shirt he had bought for himself.
"Put this on for now, then wear a cloak over it. After breakfast, I'll take you to the best silk shop in all of Star Luo City and have them make a few outfits to your measurements."
Zhu Zhuqing took the white T-shirt, still warm from Gu Tian's body, and obediently went behind the screen to put it on. Its long, oversized hem fell just far enough to cover the tops of her thighs. The style, known in her previous life as "missing bottoms," paired with her long, straight legs and peerlessly cool beauty, gave her an unusual allure that was even harder to look away from than the tight-fitting outfit. Gu Tian couldn't help admiring the sight.
At that moment, Gu Tian had no idea that Zhu Residence had issued a thousand-gold manhunt notice that very morning.
After a quick breakfast, he took Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, Na'er, and the newly joined Zhu Zhuqing out for a stroll along the bustling, battle-hardened streets of Star Luo City. Zhu Zhuqing wore a wide-brimmed sunhat with its brim pulled low. Her cool little hands clung tightly to the hem of Gu Tian's clothes, afraid this was merely a fleeting dream that could shatter at any moment.
Just as they passed a finely decorated clothing store, a somewhat stiff yet unmistakably familiar voice cut through the crowd ahead and reached Gu Tian's ears.
"Teacher, although the architecture in Star Luo City isn't as elegant as in Heaven Dou City, its austere, weighty character really does make it a good place to temper one's will."
Gu Tian came to an abrupt halt, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Two figures, one tall and one short, were approaching from the street corner. The taller one wore the same old gray robe as ever and had a face as stiff as deadwood. He was none other than the "renowned" theoretical Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang. Beside him walked a boy half a head shorter, with slightly dark skin and eyes far too brooding and sinister for his age. A huge cloth bundle was strapped to his back. Who else could it be but Tang San?
Good grief. Tang San really was like a persistent ghost. Even after Holy Soul Village had collapsed, Gu Tian still ran into him here.
Yu Xiaogang also spotted Gu Tian up ahead. His deeply furrowed brow eased, and his stiff face twisted into a complicated smile that seemed at once ingratiating and eager to keep up appearances. He hurried over. After all, in his eyes, Gu Tian was now an invaluable "experimental subject" and the very embodiment of potential.
"Gu Tian? What brings you to Star Luo City?" Yu Xiaogang greeted him warmly, as if he'd run into a prized disciple in a foreign land.
Gu Tian replied calmly and without fawning or defiance. "Grandmaster, my home is in a small village near the border of the Star Luo Empire. With the New Year approaching, I brought the girls to the capital to buy some decent New Year's goods. What about you, Grandmaster? Why did you bring Senior Brother Tang San across the border all the way here?"
Yu Xiaogang sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness and a deeply buried greed. He lowered his voice and explained, "As luck would have it, an old friend of mine—Flender, the president of Shrek Academy—recently received a distress letter from Star Luo City. It described an extremely dire situation, and the letter came with a full ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"The person who wrote it was none other than the Star Luo Empire's Third Prince, Dai Mubai. He claimed he'd fled the royal family to escape the deadly struggle within the imperial household, and hoped Flender would come and escort him himself. That fellow Flender has spent his whole life chasing money, so naturally he wouldn't turn down such a lucrative deal. He invited me along to help. As for Xiao San... his family's suffered a calamity, and his father is missing, so he has nowhere to go. I brought him along to get some experience."
At that, Gu Tian's mouth twitched. So that was it. To save his own life, Dai Mubai really had dug into his pockets and paid dearly for a lifeline. And Yu Xiaogang had probably managed to cross the border and enter the city so quickly thanks to the Spirit Hall Elder Token Tang Hao had left him before departing.
Gu Tian looked at Tang San, who stood to one side with his head lowered, his fingertips trembling slightly with jealousy and restrained fury. He sneered inwardly. This version of Tang San seemed to be having an even harder time than in the original story. He had become nothing more than Yu Xiaogang's tagalong, trailing after him from place to place and sponging off him for meals.
"In that case, I wish you and Senior Brother Tang San a safe journey, Grandmaster. I hope you find that wealthy patron without a hitch."
Gu Tian flashed a radiant, sun-bright smile, then turned away without a care and gently took Zhu Zhuqing's slightly cool hand. He turned to her and whispered tenderly, "Come on. Let's go buy some clothes. Don't let these irrelevant people ruin our good mood."
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head obediently and murmured, "Mm," as docile as a housecat. As she passed Tang San, her cool gaze didn't linger for so much as a second on her supposed "fiancé."
Watching Gu Tian walk away with four peerless beauties, chatting and laughing, Tang San stood in the cold wind, his face turning livid. His eyes fixed on Zhu Zhuqing's hand clasped tightly in Gu Tian's. Though she wore a hat, her faintly visible features had left a deep impression on him.
"Damn Gu Tian! It's only been a few days, and he's already hooked up with another one!"