Mu Xi Takes Action!

"Scouting out eateries brings big bucks—Xie Xie guarantees the real deal!"

"This is Eastsea City's signature beef dish: Old-Style Clay-Pot Beef!"

Xie Xie pointed toward a small shop diagonally across the street, its storefront old and worn, with a faded red cloth banner hanging outside.

The shop looked unremarkable, with walls of blue-gray brick and a wooden door polished bright by passing customers. Several waist-high coarse clay pots stood outside, charcoal crackling beneath them. Rich meat aromas mixed with the heat of spices and drifted on the wind, instantly filling the entire street.

Just from smelling that fragrance, Tang Wulin's stomach let out an ill-timed rumble. She immediately covered her lower abdomen in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing slightly as she lowered her head.

As for Lin Xun, despite winning his bet with Gu Yue, he instead looked rather uninterested.

There was nothing he could do about it. His attempt to cheat the system out of breakup points had been exposed in a second.

Gu Yue slowly walked to Lin Xun's side, avoiding the others' eyes as she spoke softly. "I acknowledge the bet, and I'll naturally keep my promise. But you have to listen to me about where we go that day."

"Fine." Lin Xun listlessly nodded, unable to muster any enthusiasm and completely unaware of the little scheme behind it.

Gu Yue narrowed her dark eyes slightly, a triumphant smile curling at her lips.

"Elite students of Zero Class, open your eyes and take a good look! This old shop has been rooted in Eastsea City for decades, specializing in restoring Soul Masters' stamina. Their beef comes from Blazing Meat Bulls, firm and chewy, paired with more than a dozen soul-herb spices that double as medicine and food. It's sealed inside clay pots and slowly simmered over fruitwood charcoal for a full three hours, until all the fat melts into the meat and it practically dissolves in your mouth!"

Xie Xie gestured wildly as he explained, imitating the tone of a street vendor hawking wares. His exaggerated performance made everyone shake their heads.

"Enough, enough. Stop acting. Keep this up and the owner will come out and charge you advertising fees." Wu Siduo stepped over the wooden threshold first. "Get inside and grab seats. I'm hungry just from smelling it."

The group filed into the shop. The interior was not particularly spacious, with seven or eight solid wooden square tables. The corners of the tables and chairs had all been worn smooth, giving the place the unmistakable feel of an old establishment.

The air was thick with rich meat fragrance, the spice aromas of cinnamon and star anise, and a faint scent of grain liquor. Blended together, they made everyone's appetite surge.

A few diners sat scattered around the shop, gnawing on meat while chatting about everyday matters. The atmosphere was relaxed and down-to-earth.

Xie Xie clearly knew the owner and ordered with practiced familiarity.

When the owner brought the clay-pot beef to the table, everyone fell silent for a moment.

It was a coarse clay pot, waist-high, its mouth sealed with a thick layer of yellow mud.

The owner tapped around the rim with a small hammer, and the yellow mud cracked apart, falling onto the table in several pieces.

The instant the lid was lifted, a plume of white steam shot upward, carrying an impossibly rich meat aroma, the pungent fragrance of star anise and cinnamon, and an indescribable fruity sweetness from the wood.

The entire street had probably smelled it.

Tang Wulin's chopsticks hovered in midair, her eyes fixed on the bubbling broth inside the pot.

Xie Xie took a deep breath and closed his eyes blissfully. "That's the smell. I'm telling you, this shop's clay-pot beef is incredible."

"Chopsticks don't talk." Wu Siduo had already picked up a piece.

The piping-hot beef trembled in the amber broth. Its stewed tendons separated from the grain of the meat with one pull, thick sauce clinging to the tips of the chopsticks.

Wu Siduo unceremoniously put it into her mouth. As she chewed, she let out a satisfied sigh, no longer having the spare attention to deal with Xie Xie, who was still endlessly introducing the food.

"See that? Action is always more useful than empty talk."

The girl mumbled indistinctly, quickly picking up another piece of beef brisket threaded with tendon.

Xie Xie choked on the retort. He simply stopped showing off and grabbed his chopsticks, burying himself in the food as though he wanted to shovel the entire pot of beef into his own bowl.

Gu Yue sat elegantly, using her delicate chopsticks to slowly select pieces of beef with the right balance of fat and lean meat. A faint sheen of oil clung to her lips without her noticing. Her gaze seemed fixed on the plate, but most of her peripheral vision kept drifting toward the distracted Lin Xun beside her.

Lin Xun pushed the meat around in his bowl, finding it tasteless. His tongue could clearly taste the tender, savory beef and the layered richness of the spices, but his mind kept turning things over.

His system points were still increasing too slowly. Although Gu Yue was currently his primary target, he needed to work on the others at the same time.

For example, his reputation as the continent's playboy. As long as he could once again become famous across the continent, the system points he gained would surely be extremely generous. But to accomplish that, he would need some truly explosive news.

"Why aren't you eating? Is the beef not to your taste?" Gu Yue turned her head and asked softly, gently pushing the small bowl full of beef closer to him with her fingertips. "You finally won this bet's reward. It would be a waste to stay so gloomy."

"It's nothing. I was just distracted." Lin Xun forced a perfunctory smile and reluctantly put a piece of beef into his mouth, though his thoughts were still floating elsewhere.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Maybe... he could go find Ya Li!

Although Ya Li could no longer provide breakup points, if news spread that the dignified master of the War God Hall was dating a junior, it would definitely be enough to ignite the Soul Master world.

As long as he admitted his identity, Ya Li would definitely agree. As for Leng Yaozhu...

Forget it. He would probably get beaten to death.

Smoke and steam curled through the little shop, while laughter and the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks rose one after another. Everyone was immersed in the comfort brought by the food.

None of them noticed that several figures were lying in wait within the shadows of the narrow, crisscrossing alleys opposite the shop, staring fixedly at the wooden door.

The depths of the alley were piled with discarded firewood and broken cargo baskets, forming an ideal blind spot for concealment. Five or six young men and women in fitted combat clothes crouched within, their faces covered by light-gray masks. They deliberately suppressed their presence to the lowest level, revealing only pairs of eyes fixed on the little shop.

At the front of the group stood a tall girl with blonde hair tied in a high ponytail. Unlike the others, she did not completely cover her face, merely using a silk scarf to conceal the lower half of her jaw. Her sharp eyes and brows were taut.

"Senior Mu Xi, they've all gone inside. There are five of them in total. All those middle division brats are there, including the target, Lin Xun." A boy beside her leaned forward slightly and reported in a low voice, his gaze locked on the crack of the shop's wooden door as though afraid of missing the slightest movement. "Should we circle around and ambush the back entrance now?"

Mu Xi shook her head slightly, her narrow eyes locked on the steaming storefront as she calmly arranged matters. "No rush. The back door is blocked by the owner's stacked firewood, so it's inconvenient to enter or leave. We'd only expose ourselves. Besides, they won't be coming out anytime soon."

The people in the shadows held their breaths throughout, not daring to let even the slightest ripple of Soul Power leak out as they obediently waited for Mu Xi's instructions.

The young man who had asked the question could not quite read her intentions, so he could only ask again in a low voice.

"Senior Mu Xi, are we just waiting, then? Are we simply teaching him a lesson this time, or... do you have some other plan?"

Mu Xi stared at that lively little beef shop, watching the vague figures visible through the wooden windows as she calculated everything with perfect clarity.

Others thought she was venting anger for her best friend and simply could not stand Lin Xun stringing Ouyang Zixin along. But only Mu Xi herself knew that her goal was far from that simple.

She understood Ouyang Zixin far too well.

Her best friend was gentle, softhearted, and stubborn to the bone.

Once she had set her heart on someone, no matter how others exposed him, she would not listen.

Before this, the entire academy had been saying that Lin Xun was a playboy—flirting casually, showering affection casually, leaving feelings everywhere.

Everyone had urged Ouyang Zixin to give up.

Yet Ouyang Zixin still clung to hope, brainwashing herself every day into believing Lin Xun was not a scumbag, only naturally gentle.

He really was not a scumbag. He just wanted to give every girl a home.

Mu Xi found it both headache-inducing and suffocating to watch.

She had long planned to throw herself into the game. Now, she was finally putting it into action.

This was her plan: personally stage the perfect scene of a heroine rescuing a handsome man.

Mu Xi tilted her head slightly and lowered her voice, revealing her true plan to those behind her.

"You don't understand."

"With Ouyang Zixin's personality, hearing ten thousand bad things is not as effective as seeing the truth once with her own eyes."

"I don't intend to hurt Lin Xun today, nor do I intend to tie him up just to scare him."

Several of her subordinates froze on the spot. "Then we're not dealing with him? What have we been lying in wait for all this time?"

A smile of control curved at Mu Xi's lips. Her eyes returned to the shop entrance, and her thinking was frighteningly clear.

"When you make your move later, don't fight too hard."

"Just create a perfectly timed little encirclement. Make it look dangerous, but without any real threat."

"Force Lin Xun out alone and separate him from the other members of Zero Class."

Her subordinates instantly understood most of it.

Someone suddenly realized. "Oh! Then Senior Mu Xi steps in to save him? A heroine rescuing a handsome man?"

"Correct."

Mu Xi nodded frankly, without the slightest attempt to hide it.

"I'll save him once."

"Get close to him once."

"Have a proper talk with him once."

She understood Lin Xun's persona all too well.

He was always gentle, always patient, always emotionally stable in front of others. He never offended anyone.

A classic central-heating playboy.

Being gentle to everyone meant being responsible for no one.

Others might not have seen the problem with his perfunctory attitude toward Ouyang Zixin before, but Mu Xi had seen it all too clearly.

Today, she would personally poke through that facade.

"Isn't he best at pretending to be gentle, pretending to be a gentleman, pretending to be proper?"

"I'll test him up close."

"When the time comes, I won't even need to say a harsh word."

"I'll show it directly to Ouyang Zixin."

"I'll let her see for herself that the gentle junior she keeps thinking about can still casually leave affection and ambiguity wherever he goes."

"This is the 'not a scumbag' she's desperately defending."

At this point, a trace of coldness appeared in Mu Xi's eyes.

This was her true purpose.

Expose Lin Xun.

Shatter all of Ouyang Zixin's fantasies.

Completely cure her best friend's love-struck brain.

"Remember the rules."

Mu Xi reined in her thoughts and gave everyone a serious reminder.

"When they come out, you only surround them. Don't fight, and don't hurt anyone."

"Make the display convincing and the pressure convincing. Just make it look like you're here for revenge."

"Don't touch the other four members of Zero Class."

"From beginning to end, the only target is Lin Xun."

"Isolate him alone for a few seconds and create an opportunity for me to appear."

"Once I step in, immediately stop and retreat. Clean and decisive. Leave no loose ends."

Everyone lowered their heads and answered.

"Understood!"

"Got it, Senior Mu Xi! It's just acting. We know how to keep it under control!"

The atmosphere in the shadows had already been pressed to its lowest point.

Everyone held their breath and waited for the right moment, only waiting for the Zero Class group to finish eating and leave so they could stage Mu Xi's carefully arranged heroine-rescues-handsome-man drama.

But just as everything was ready, the last boy in the group, who was responsible for keeping watch, suddenly shrank his pupils and hurriedly spoke in a low voice.

"Senior Mu Xi! Something's wrong!"

"Someone's stealing our business!"

The abrupt words made everyone in the alley freeze.

Stealing their business?

They had staked out this place for so long and planned so carefully, and someone else had run into the same job?

Mu Xi's beautiful brows furrowed sharply. Following the direction indicated by her subordinate, she whipped her head around, her gaze piercing through the crowd on the street and landing directly on the entrance of that old beef shop.

Three aggressive figures strode inside.

The leader was a buzz-cut bald man, his head shiny enough to reflect light. His face was full of flesh, and he looked utterly vicious.

Two lanky lackeys followed behind him, standing with their hands on their hips and swaggering as they walked, clearly carrying themselves like street thugs.

The three made no attempt at concealment. Acting domineeringly, they shoved open the little shop's wooden door with a loud bang and brazenly barged inside.

Pedestrians passing by on the street instinctively moved aside. No one dared provoke three street punks who so obviously looked like they were there to make trouble.

The lookout hurriedly added in a quick, low voice.

"Senior Mu Xi, I noticed them earlier!"

"That group is from the eastern part of the city. They're local hooligans who wander around the academy district, collecting protection money from snack stalls and grocery shops. They've already extorted several places along the way. This old shop is their target!"

After hearing that, Mu Xi's expression darkened completely.

She had waited several days before finally catching Lin Xun outside the academy. Every step had formed a perfect loop, and she was only one final entrance away from success.

Yet halfway through, this group of clueless street punks had appeared!

They were purely here to ruin things!

Whether they collected protection money or picked a fight, they would inevitably alarm the Zero Class group ahead of time. They would definitely throw the entire situation into chaos and completely ruin her carefully prepared heroine-rescues-handsome-man script.

If that happened, all her meticulous planning would be wasted.

"Damn it!"

Mu Xi gritted her teeth and muttered, her voice extremely cold and full of irritation.

"Why did they have to come make trouble now?"

It truly was misfortune piled upon misfortune.

A situation that had been securely in her grasp had been intercepted by a bunch of street rats.

The others in the alley were stunned as well, exchanging glances.

"Senior Mu Xi, what do we do now?"

"What do we do? Beat them up!"

Bang!

The old wooden door was violently shoved open, bringing in a gust of wind that scattered some of the warm meat fragrance inside.

The little shop, which had been lively and peaceful moments ago, instantly fell silent.

All the diners instinctively looked up at the three swaggering figures at the entrance.

The bald man in the lead thrust out his round belly. His fleshy face and vicious gaze swept across the room, his presence deliberately imposing.

With his hands clasped behind his back and his chin raised high, he arrogantly announced his name.

"My name is Light Dragon, the Dragon of Eastsea True Dragon!"

"Everyone who hangs around this area knows me!"

The shop fell silent for a moment.

Several ordinary diners sensed the faint Soul Power fluctuations around the men and knew they were clearly veteran Soul Master thugs who ran around the streets. Though angry, they did not dare speak. They lowered their heads and pretended to keep eating, afraid of being targeted.

The shop owner's expression stiffened slightly. He set down the firewood tongs in his hand and stepped forward with a helpless smile. "Brother Light Dragon, what brings you here today?"

Light Dragon did not even look at the owner. His gaze swept brutally across table after table as he spoke with extreme arrogance.

"The usual rules."

"This block is under my protection. Hand over the protection money."

"I've been keeping the peace around here so you can run your shop without worries. Don't pretend you don't know the rules."

The owner looked troubled. "Brother Light Dragon, I just paid this month's protection money a few days ago..."

"You paid before, but it's a new month now!" Light Dragon glared, utterly unreasonable. "Cut the crap. Either pay up, or I'll knock over every jar in your shop today. Forget about doing business."

The two scrawny lackeys behind him joined in, putting on fierce airs.

"Hurry up! Stop dragging your feet!"

"Our Brother Dragon's time is valuable!"

Wu Siduo raised her slender brows as she looked at the bald man, unable to stop herself from snorting.

Resting her chin on one hand, the girl spoke in a teasing, unhurried tone.

"Oh? Your name is Light Dragon?"

Light Dragon assumed the little girl was scared, and immediately grew even more arrogant. "If you know to be afraid, then shut up and pay up like a good girl!"

Then, the next second, Wu Siduo added lightly:

"Have you ever even seen a dragon? And you dare call yourself one?"

Light Dragon choked instantly, freezing stiff on the spot. His arrogant words caught in his throat, unable to go up or down.

The thing he had always been proudest of in his life was his name. He fancied himself a hidden dragon of the Eastern Sea, roaming the streets with no one daring to challenge him.

Yet today, a little girl had rendered him speechless with one simple question.

Seen a dragon?

How could he have ever seen a real dragon?

Forget dragons—he had never even seen a high-level soul beast.

Light Dragon's face turned from green to black. His embarrassment instantly transformed into rage as he fixed Wu Siduo with a vicious glare. "You little brat, you're courting death!"

The fury within him was completely ignited.

By the table.

Lin Xun instinctively glanced at Gu Yue, whose expression remained calm.

Hadn't he just seen one?

Gu Yue turned her eyes slightly, puzzled. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Nothing." Lin Xun shook his head. "I was just wondering whether all 'dragons' are this short-tempered."

"No."

Gu Yue's expression remained composed. "Only fake dragons are irritable and reckless with their words. Real dragons are always calm and rational."

Lin Xun looked away without speaking, nor did he expose her.

You weren't nearly this rational in bed.

Just as Light Dragon was about to explode and raise his hand to unleash his Soul Power as a warning.

No one expected the sudden turn of events!

The light at the shop entrance dimmed.

Two shadows silently slipped in from the blind spot outside the door, making not the slightest sound.

While everyone's attention was focused on the enraged bald Light Dragon, the two of them raised their hands and flung something forward.

A pitch-black, reinforced burlap sack flew with perfect accuracy from behind, dropping over the bald thug who was still furiously gathering strength.

Whoosh!

Light Dragon had not even realized what was happening before his vision went dark.

His gleaming bald head and burly body, from head to shoulders, were completely covered by the sack.

"Mm?!"