Inside the bedchamber of the Star Luo Imperial Palace, the dazzling midday sunlight cast two overlapping silhouettes onto the curtains.
Dai Mobai held Dugu Yan in his arms, his slender fingers idly winding a lock of purple hair from her forehead.
Dugu Yan lay against his chest, her breathing not yet steady, each rise and fall carrying a faint tremble.
Her delicate lips were slightly parted, her breath fragrant as orchids, and a faint blush still lingered on her pretty face.
"So, can you tell me now why you came all this way to the Star Luo Empire?"
Dai Mobai's voice was neither soft nor forceful, as though he were asking casually, but his fingers stopped moving.
Dugu Yan's lashes fluttered. The moisture had yet to clear from her pale purple eyes, and when she tilted her face up toward him, she wore a look of attachment even she had not noticed.
"Xue Qinghe wants to move against you."
Her voice was still a little weak, each word seemingly pushed gently from her throat, with a slight upward lilt.
Dai Mobai's fingers paused, then resumed their earlier motion, continuing to toy with the lock of purple hair at her forehead.
His expression barely changed, but Dugu Yan could feel the arm around her waist tighten slightly.
"He wants to move against me? How did you find out?"
"He approached Grandpa and tried to recruit him to help deal with you."
Bracing herself against his chest, Dugu Yan lifted her upper body slightly. Her purple hair slipped from her shoulder and draped over Dai Mobai's arm.
As she spoke, she stared at him without blinking, as though afraid he would not believe her.
"Grandpa said he also approached two Titled Douluos from Spirit Hall."
Dai Mobai's gaze finally darkened.
"Including Grandpa,