After saying goodbye to Tang San, who had soured the mood, the group continued strolling through Star Luo City.
They had just learned that Yu Xiaogang had come to help Dai Mubai escape. Zhu Zhuqing's opinion of them had plummeted, but she didn't show it. In front of Gu Tian, bringing up another man somehow felt wrong.
Zhu Zhuqing had changed into a new outfit Gu Tian had picked out especially for her. It was a beautifully tailored, deep-purple suit, its collar artfully trimmed with a ring of pure-white fox fur that made her cool, moonlike face look even more exquisite. She still habitually kept her cap pulled low, but now that she had traded her oversized T-shirt for this sleek outfit, the wildness and elegance of her Hell Spirit Cat nature were finally on full display.
"Wow! Brother Gu Tian, look over there! They're making dough figurines! And sugar paintings!"
Na'er pointed excitedly at a stall surrounded by children. In front of it, an elderly artisan with hair and beard as white as snow worked nimbly with his hands. In moments, several lumps of colored dough took the lifelike shapes of Soul Beasts.
Gu Tian smiled and walked over, holding out a gleaming Silver Soul Coin. "Sir, could you make one for each of these four young ladies? Make them as detailed as you can."
The old artisan looked up. His gaze passed over Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, Na'er, and Zhu Zhuqing, and he was instantly awestruck. In all his years in the trade, he had never seen girls so lovely or so noble in bearing. Without realizing it, he began shaping the figures with even greater care.
Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the purple dough figurine gradually taking shape in the artisan's hands. A longing she had never felt before showed in her eyes. She reached out a slender finger to touch its whiskers, then drew back halfway, as though it were some forbidden thing that didn't belong to her.
"If you want it, take it. It's not contraband." Gu Tian gently took her cold hand and placed the finished figurine in her palm.
Zhu Zhuqing clasped the tiny figurine, feeling the faint warmth against her fingertips. Her eyes reddened slightly. "Thank you... Actually, this is my first time really enjoying myself in Star Luo City. Whenever Father brought me here before, I was always shut inside a fully enclosed carriage while he dealt with tedious military and government affairs. He never let me touch things like this. He said they would make me neglect my duties and wear away a warrior's fighting spirit."
Xiao Wu was biting into a skewer of bright-red candied hawthorn. At those words, her usually cheerful rabbit ears sprang straight up, and she cried indignantly, "That man Zhu Ganglie is awful! He isn't raising a daughter—he's mass-producing killing machines! Zhuqing, listen to me. From now on, stay away from that cold home and never go back! There's no warmth there, only rules. Come with Brother Gu Tian instead. We can have fun and be happy together every day."
Gu Yue spoke too, her gaze cool with a detachment that seemed to see through the ways of the world. "A family that would rob its own daughter of even the simplest joys doesn't deserve to be called a home. It's nothing but a cold cage."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the friends gathered around her and felt the solid warmth of Gu Tian's hand. The boulder that had weighed on her heart for six years seemed to crack at last. She nodded firmly, her gaze growing resolute. "Mm. I'm not going back. That place... was never my home."
For the entire day, Gu Tian took them on a spree of "revenge spending," visiting nearly every fun street and alley in Star Luo City.
They went to the largest underground Beast Arena in the city. Though it was steeped in bloodshed and gambling, Gu Tian wanted Zhu Zhuqing to understand that in this world of the strong preying on the weak, power could be used to rule, but it could also be used to protect. Afterward, they visited the silk emporium patronized by the Star Luo Imperial Family. Gu Tian waved a hand and ordered new year outfits for all four girls present. He even drew on his memory to reserve several outfits apiece for Gu Yuena and Bi Ji, who were far away at the Lake of Life, as well as the two bigwigs in the Sea of Consciousness.
The warm afternoon sun shone over the most famous spicy restaurant in the southern part of the city. The girls blushed from their authentic Star Luo hotpot. Na'er kept panting from the heat, her little face red; even Gu Yue, usually so cool and distant, was reduced to tears by the spice and kept fanning herself. Gu Tian couldn't help laughing at her endearingly bashful expression.
As night quietly fell, Star Luo City blazed with lights in every home.
Leaning against Gu Tian's shoulder, Zhu Zhuqing watched fireworks occasionally blossom in the distant sky. Their brilliant colors reflected in her Netherworld eyes. For the first time, she felt that the city she had lived in for six years could be so gentle.
"Gu Tian, thank you for bringing me out." Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes and silently prayed in her heart: I hope this dream never ends.
By the time they returned to the hotel, night had fallen.
Gu Tian had booked the most luxurious presidential suite available. Its bedroom came with a huge open-air bath carved from white jade.
"Come on! Let's go take a bath!"
Na'er darted toward the bathroom like a cheerful little sprite, dragging Xiao Wu and Gu Yue along with her. Zhu Zhuqing was still a little shy, but Xiao Wu tugged her along so enthusiastically that she followed, blushing.
Gu Tian was left alone in the living room. Hearing the splashing water and the girls' laughter from the bathroom, he couldn't help smiling.
Before long, Na'er let out a startled cry from inside. Her voice rang through the thick hardwood door.
"Oh my gosh! Sister Zhuqing, you... how did you get so developed?!"
Na'er's young voice was full of disbelief. "We're all about the same age, but look at you! I feel like... I feel like I can barely hold them with both hands! Is that a bonus from your Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul?"
Xiao Wu's giggles rang from the bedroom, followed by Zhu Zhuqing's awkward, faintly pleading voice. "Na'er... don't, don't touch... It tickles..."
Sitting on the living-room sofa, Gu Tian couldn't help picturing Zhu Zhuqing's graceful, black-swan-like figure and its exaggerated curves. His old face flushed, and he rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "That Na'er... she really is a little demon who'll turn the world upside down."
"If you want to see, just go in and look. She'll be your little wife sooner or later anyway."
Chiyan's mature, teasing voice suddenly rang in his mind. Gu Tian gathered his thoughts, slowly closed his eyes, and let his consciousness descend once more into the dazzling, nine-colored Sea of Consciousness.
Ao Linxi sat on the villa's terrace, swirling a glass of juice condensed from divine power in her hand.
"No need to rush, Sister Lin Xi. She'll be mine sooner or later anyway. I can wait a few days before taking a look. Let the poor girl get a good impression of me first!" Gu Tian leaned against Chiyan's thigh, pinching her two "tumors."
"So you came in here just to fiddle with me?" Chiyan stroked Gu Tian's cheek, not at all put off by his behavior.
"Sister Chiyan, I have to correct you on that. Sister Lin Xi is my big boss. I can't very well overstep my station!" Gu Tian spoke smoothly, but his hands never stopped moving.
"All right, you need to go back now. Outside... there seems to be a bunch of fools heading this way in a great huff, with that good senior brother of yours among them."
Gu Tian's gaze turned cold. His Nine-Colored Divine Sense flared outward, and he immediately sensed the dense footsteps in the hotel corridor. He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade, and looked toward the hotel room's firmly shut door.
"Gu Yue! Na'er! Xiao Wu! Zhuqing! All four of you, come out!"
Gu Tian sprang to his feet and knocked on the closed bathroom door, his voice steady. "We have uninvited guests. Get dressed at once!"
The splashing in the bathroom stopped abruptly. A few breaths later, the door opened, and the four girls came out with damp hair, flushed cheeks, and slightly disheveled clothes. Zhu Zhuqing, who had been blushing only moments before, had quickly changed back into the outfit Gu Tian had given her. Now, however, her Netherworld eyes were filled with terror.
"Brother Gu Tian, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu clenched her fists warily.
"Shh." Gu Tian signaled for everyone to be quiet.
Just then, a series of extremely rough knocks sounded from outside.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Everyone inside, listen up! We're the Star Luo City Garrison. We received a report that bandits kidnapped the Zhu Family's Third Miss. Open the door at once for inspection!"
Na'er's expression shifted. She drew a quick line through the air with her slender finger. "Brother Gu Tian, Na'er will teleport us out!"
But the spatial rift, which had always worked without fail, only flickered before vanishing as if it had been crushed by a heavy weight.
"How could this be?" Na'er cried. "Space is sealed!"
"It's an Anti-Air Array." Gu Yue's expression was grim as she sensed the oppressive fluctuations of Soul Power in the surrounding air. "The army has set up an interference array on this entire floor to counter spatial Soul Masters. The Star Luo Empire's army certainly knows its stuff."
"Everyone inside, don't resist. Don't even think about trying anything."
Gu Tian watched the auras gathering outside the door, but a playful smile tugged at his lips. "Since they're so eager to invite us back, let's go with them. Here in Star Luo City, we ought to give the Zhu Family an explanation."
"But..." Xiao Wu said anxiously. "They obviously mean us harm!"
"Xiao Wu, have you forgotten how strong Sister Chiyan is?" Gu Tian patted his chest and sent his voice directly to her. "A few hundred ordinary soldiers are nothing. Even if the Zhu Family's old ancestor showed up, he still couldn't keep us here. I want to see which old acquaintance is stabbing us in the back."
Though he had more or less guessed that Tang San was behind it, Gu Tian still wanted to see just how far this clown Tang San would go.
"Click!"
Gu Tian went up himself and pulled open the door.
Dozens of Soul-Breaking Crossbows gleaming with cold light pointed at them. Ahead of the fully armed soldiers stood a thin, youthful figure wearing a black iron mask.
The boy's eyes were ice-cold. Even through the mask, Gu Tian could sense his deep-seated hatred and the thrill of revenge finally achieved.
Tang San.
"It's him, the bandit in white." A deliberately lowered, hoarse voice came from beneath the mask. "Arrest him, and the girl behind him too. Marshal Zhu specifically asked for her."
"Take them away!" The officer in charge waved his hand.
Gu Tian didn't resist as the specially made Soul Tool handcuffs were locked around his wrists. He turned and gently drew the trembling Zhu Zhuqing into his arms.
"Don't be afraid," Gu Tian whispered in her ear. "I'll protect all of you."
Zhu Zhuqing went limp in Gu Tian's arms. Returning to the Zhu Residence would be no different from going back to hell, but leaning against the young man's chest and listening to his steady heartbeat, she miraculously stopped trembling.
"Mm! I believe you!"