Ye Yunxi glanced at the approaching Qian Renxue and, with a radiant smile, sat down across from her.
"Crown Prince, when we're out in public, don't keep calling me Imperial Concubine. You make it sound as if we're close."
Ye Yunxi didn't bother to be pleasant to Qian Renxue. She simply poured herself some tea.
"Imperial Concubine, you really don't give me any face. And I've heard about what you did in Heaven Dou City—lifting a ten-thousand-jin boulder. I didn't know you were such a strongwoman."
Qian Renxue had been rather surprised when she first heard about it. And she was that happy just to get three hundred Gold Soul Coins?
As if I'd been keeping you so poor.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you even listening?" Qian Renxue snapped, annoyed that Ye Yunxi wasn't responding.
I spend money to support you, not so you can give me the cold shoulder.
"Crown Prince, you're my husband in name only. This young lady has no interest in talking to you so much!"
Ye Yunxi gave a soft snort. She was deliberately being cold to Qian Renxue.
Let's see how long you can take the cold shoulder.
"In name only? Ye Yunxi, don't push your luck. Believe it or not, I can make you a real Imperial Concubine!"
Qian Renxue was furious. This little vixen was practically asking for a beating.
"Oh, it's not that I look down on you. Do you even have what it takes?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Qian Renxue was deeply displeased. She couldn't believe this little vixen was looking down on her.
"If you had what it takes, you would've done it when you took me."
Ye Yunxi gave her a look of disdain.
You're a woman. You don't have one of those.
She knew just how to needle Qian Renxue where it hurt.
Qian Renxue's face turned livid with rage. What was with that contemptuous look?
Did she think I was too small?
If I weren't a woman—if I were a man—I'd make this little vixen beg on her knees.
"I'm a refined Crown Prince. Why would I do something like that?" Qian Renxue refused to get drawn into an argument about it.
"If you can't do it, just admit it. No need to make such a fuss."
Ye Yunxi fixed Qian Renxue with her bright, bewitching eyes. "This young lady looks down on you!"
Qian Renxue stiffened, then could no longer hold back. This little vixen really was getting more brazen by the second.
"Are you coming back with me now?"
"Go back? This young lady came out; there's no going back. Bye-bye!"
Ye Yunxi flashed away with Lingbo Microsteps, barely tapping the ground before vanishing from Qian Renxue's sight.
She was so fast that Qian Renxue didn't react at all.
"She runs fast. Looks like I'll have to get Porcupinefish and Snake Lance to bring her back!"
Meanwhile, after leaving, Ye Yunxi landed on the roof of a secluded pavilion.
As soon as she steadied herself, the system's mechanical voice abruptly rang out in her mind, carrying a rare hint of teasing.
[Ding! Fun Death-Seeking Main Quest Triggered: Tease the Two Douluo]
[Quest Requirements: Within the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, use charm and teasing on Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, making them lose composure in public and unable to maintain the dignity of Titled Douluo.]
[Basic Reward: The age of the thirty-thousand-year spirit ring will surge to fifty thousand years; unlock the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox's fifth spirit skill, Nine-Tailed Spirit Binding (Perfected Version)]
[Ultimate Reward: Unlock the epic outfit "Foxflame Gauze Dress"; charm effects will ignore the mental defenses of Soul Douluo; spirit power +3 levels!]
[Failure Penalty: None (The host's death-seeking antics are a delight to this system)]
Ye Yunxi's bright eyes lifted slightly. A sly curve appeared beneath her veil, and amusement swirled in her gaze.
Interesting.
Qian Renxue really dared to send those two old fellows after her.
Well, a task delivered right to her doorstep was too good to pass up.
She had barely put away her smile when the formidable pressure of two Titled Douluo crashed down like dark clouds overhead.
A burst of rushing air sounded, and two figures strode through the sky toward her. Snake Lance Douluo held his Snake Lance Martial Soul, its tip gleaming coldly. Poisonous mist billowed around Porcupinefish Douluo, his face cold as ice.
They were the two Titled Douluo Qian Renxue had sent.
"Imperial Concubine, the Crown Prince has ordered us to bring you back!" Snake Lance Douluo's voice was icy. He pointed his lance at Ye Yunxi, his pressure locking down the entire pavilion and leaving her no chance to escape.
Porcupinefish Douluo gave a cold snort. "Don't make us take action. If we hurt the Imperial Concubine, the Crown Prince will hold us responsible, and neither of us can afford that."
Their tones were haughty. They were certain Ye Yunxi was trapped in their grasp.
Ye Yunxi slowly straightened. Her Soul Power stirred, and the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox's bewitching aura quietly spread. Behind the veil, her bright eyes shimmered and her lashes fluttered, yet she showed no fear.
She raised a delicate finger and beckoned to Snake Lance Douluo. Her voice was soft and honeyed, imbued with the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox's innate, peerless allure.
"Two seniors, aren't you afraid the Crown Prince will get jealous, chasing after this young lady like this?"
As she spoke, she lightly tapped the ground and darted forward. Lingbo Microsteps left several overlapping afterimages in the air, and she slipped right beneath Snake Lance Douluo's weapon.
She flicked her hand, sending a wisp of Soul Power in the form of pink mist sweeping past Porcupinefish Douluo's cheek.
Porcupinefish Douluo felt a tingling sensation on his cheek. His mind swayed, and his Soul Power nearly scattered. A mere wisp of pink mist had made the dignified Titled Douluo's fingers tremble.
Snake Lance Douluo's pupils contracted. Just as he was about to thrust his lance, Ye Yunxi's figure had already slipped beside him. She lightly flicked a finger against the shaft.
The force was slight, yet it numbed his hand and sent the lance tip askew. Ye Yunxi leaned close to his ear, her soft, alluring breath brushing his earlobe.
"Your spear technique isn't very good, senior."
Her words struck like thunder. Snake Lance Douluo's old face flushed red, and his Soul Power fell into disarray. The hand holding his lance even trembled against his will.
Two dignified Titled Douluo had been toyed with by a young woman, left utterly flustered and stripped of all dignity!
[Ding! Effect Triggered: Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo both lost composure, their dignity shattered!]
[Ding! Ultimate Quest Complete! Rewards have been issued! Spirit power surged to Soul King level 53! The fifty-thousand-year spirit ring is bound to the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox martial soul! Fifth spirit skill, Nine-Tailed Spirit Binding, unlocked at the perfected level!]
[Ding! The epic outfit "Foxflame Gauze Dress" has been stored in the system inventory. Outfit points +10,000!]
The system's notifications rang out in quick succession. Soul Power surged within Ye Yunxi, and the golden-red light of a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring shone brilliantly in her dantian. The Nine-Tailed Sky Fox's Martial Soul grew even more condensed and domineering.
She looked at the two Titled Douluo, their faces livid and their auras in disarray, and chuckled.
"Thank you both for playing along. This young lady will take her leave."
As she spoke, she used Lingbo Microsteps again. Her figure became a pale-pink blur and vanished into the distance.
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo stood frozen in place, their faces shifting from green to white with rage as they trembled all over.
They had been toyed with by the Imperial Concubine.
If word got out, the reputations of the two Titled Douluo would be ruined for good!
"After her!"
Snake Lance Douluo shouted angrily, and the two of them leaped into pursuit. But Ye Yunxi was impossibly fast; she had already vanished without a trace.
Across the sky, Ye Yunxi swept through the air, her bright eyes brimming with laughter.
These reckless-death tasks really were much more fun than proper cultivation.