Tang San's Determination, Xiao Wu's Little Trick

"Wonderful! Wonderful...!"

His breathing gradually grew heavy, his chest rising and falling faster and faster, the delight on his face nearly overflowing.

Like a groom about to enter the bridal chamber, his heart was filled with anticipation in the instant before lifting the bride's veil.

But just as he was about to lift his "bride's" skullcap, he suddenly discovered that his "bride" was gone!

His hands were still held in a cupping position, yet his palms were empty.

He hurriedly turned his head and looked around, only to find that his "bride" was in Zhao Linchuan's hands.

At some point, Zhao Linchuan had already taken back the crystal. He was now weighing the inferior crystal in his hand, tossing it up and down.

"Are you all right, little brother?"

"Do you need me to call a healing Soul Master for you?"

"I'm fine." The young man hurriedly waved his hand, and the anxiety on his face eased somewhat. "Brother, my name is Tang San. Can you sell me the crystal in your hand?"

"That won't do."

Without another word, Zhao Linchuan put the Crystal Plate directly into his Soul Tool, his tone indifferent as he said:

"I still have a use for this thing. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

With that, he turned around, took Xiao Wu's hand, and walked away.

"Zhuqing, hurry up and follow."

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing and quickly followed after them.

Tang San remained where he was, watching the three figures gradually recede into the distance, his gaze darkening slightly.

There was still some time before Shrek's enrollment began, so he had more than enough time to figure out a way to get that Crystal Plate.

Courtesy before force. If he could negotiate, he would negotiate. If that truly did not work... then he would think of something else.

With that thought, he quickly stepped forward and chased after them.

About fifteen minutes later.

Tang San followed them all the way, crossing three streets and turning two corners before finally catching up to them outside a luxurious hotel called Peony Garden.

Just as he was about to follow them inside, a guard at the entrance stretched out an arm to block his way.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The guard looked down at Tang San, sweeping his gaze over Tang San's clothes with contempt. "Kid, did your girlfriend run off with some rich guy?"

"What do you mean, my girlfriend ran off with a rich guy?" Tang San looked bewildered, his brows furrowing.

"Oh, so it's unrequited love." The guard burst out laughing and pointed at the gilded sign overhead. "Kid, do you know what kind of place this is?"

He answered his own question. "This is where lovers come to meet, the finest holy ground for secret trysts."

"You poor brat chased after someone else from behind. What, does it hurt to see the girl you like with another man?"

"I don't know them at all." Tang San flatly denied it, his voice turning colder. "Move aside. I'm going in."

"You can go in." The guard's expression darkened, and his tone changed with it. "The cheapest room here costs one hundred Gold Soul Coins. As long as you can pay, I'll let you in."

"One hundred Gold Soul Coins?"

Tang San was genuinely shocked. His pupils widened slightly, and his mouth fell open.

Having been in this world for so long, he had a clear sense of money's value.

One hundred Gold Soul Coins were enough for seven or eight ordinary families of four to live comfortably for three or four years.

And here, it could only pay for one night?

"Why don't you just rob people?!"

"Robbing people isn't nearly as profitable as doing business." The guard looked impatient. "If you can't afford it, then leave. Don't hold up our business."

Tang San lowered his gaze and thought for a moment. If he forcibly made a move, killed this guard, and barged in, it would definitely cause quite a commotion.

Suotuo City was not some rural backwater. Experts were everywhere, and there were countless eyes and ears. If things blew up, those three might refuse to trade with him because of it.

But if he did not make a move, he simply did not have that much money on him.

All his savings combined amounted to just over a hundred Gold Soul Coins. If he spent it all on a room, how was he supposed to live afterward?

Left with no choice, he could only retreat.

He backed up to the entrance of a small inn across the street, leaned against a corridor pillar, and stared fixedly through the street at Peony Garden's entrance.

He decided to lie in wait nearby and see whether he could catch them when they came out, then discuss things with them.

No matter what, he was determined to get that Crystal Plate.

Inside Peony Garden.

Suite 520.

The room was enormous, as large as three rooms in an ordinary household.

The floor was covered in thick wool carpets, making every step completely silent.

Two layers of curtains hung before the floor-to-ceiling windows, one gauze and one velvet. Sunlight filtered through them, casting a warm, suggestive glow across the room.

Xiao Wu was taking out the clothes that needed washing from her Soul Tool one piece at a time and piling them into a wicker basket in front of her.

Zhu Zhuqing sat on the sofa to the side, her hands properly placed on her knees and her back ramrod straight. Like a cat sitting in a stranger's home, every inch of her seemed to radiate discomfort.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Xiao Wu before shifting toward the bathroom, where the sound of rushing water could be heard. Zhao Linchuan was taking a bath.

She felt a little like she was intruding...

Xiao Wu glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, picked up the wicker basket full of dirty clothes, and stood.

"Zhuqing, don't just sit there brooding. Close the curtains, change your clothes, and relax."

"It's so hot, yet you keep wearing tight clothes. You'll get a rash from how stuffy your chest is."

After saying that, Xiao Wu headed directly toward the bathroom.

Zhu Zhuqing stayed where she was, watching Xiao Wu disappear through the bathroom doorway. She reached out and touched her "pride," her brows drawing together slightly as she murmured:

"A rash? I've never had a rash before."

Her fingers gently pressed below her collarbone. Then she lowered her head to look at the two peaks on her chest, which were nearly bursting through her clothes, her expression thoughtful.

She looked in the direction Xiao Wu had disappeared, then at the tightly shut bathroom door, and asked curiously, "Isn't Lin Chuan bathing?"

"She's his sworn little sister... shouldn't she avoid him?"

The outer room of the bathroom.

Mist filled the air, which was saturated with warm moisture. A thin layer of water droplets had gathered on the mirror, reflecting blurry figures.

"Brother, I'm taking your clothes to wash!" Xiao Wu stood in the outer room and called into the inner room through a frosted glass door.

"Oh, go ahead and wash them." Zhao Linchuan's voice came from inside, blurred by the sound of rushing water.

Hearing that, the corners of Xiao Wu's lips could not help curving upward, revealing a triumphant smile.

She quickly walked over to the clothes Zhao Linchuan had taken off, crouched down, and precisely picked up a Storage Soul Tool ring from among the scattered belongings.

A thread of Soul Power entered it, revealing a dazzling assortment of items inside.

Xiao Wu quickly took out a thumb-length porcelain bottle from within.