Do I Know You?

Do I... Know You?

Hearing the woman's mockery, Qin Mo turned to look back. A group of people had somehow gathered at the entrance. The street had already been teeming with people, and Qin Mo had not paid much attention to his surroundings. Now, as a dignified "Your Highness," he was being watched and scorned, leaving him somewhat displeased.

At the center of the crowd stood a woman in yellow. She was tall and slender, with a pointed face. What drew the eye most was her neck, long and graceful as a goose's. Yet her thin lips gave her whole person an arrogant, sharp-tongued air.

Qin Mo had keen hearing. From where she stood, he knew she had been the one mocking him just now. Though she was beautiful, Qin Mo had no intention of indulging her. For some reason, whenever he saw so-called beauties, he could always spot their flaws at first glance. At first, Qin Mo had not been used to it, but after speaking with Allen, he understood. It was the Elven Race bloodline in this body at work. High-ranking elves were all perfectionists, and they looked upon the opposite sex with a critical eye.

"Miss, I'm buying something. It seems to have nothing to do with you, does it? I may choose not to buy something, but I cannot avoid discussing its price. The joy of shopping lies precisely in that. If you see something good and buy it without asking the price, that isn't shopping—it's being a fool and squandering money! Is that how your elders taught you?"

Qin Mo saw nothing wrong with haggling. But the way this group looked at him as though he were some country bumpkin—that was something he could not tolerate.

"Forget it, Qin Mo. Dayuan is poor enough as it is. Does a dignified heir apparent really have his eye on even rare-grade weapons? What, you just swindled fifty thousand taels of silver through underhanded means, and now you've come to Western Continent Street to play the lavish patron?" The yellow-clad woman's thin lips fluttered up and down, every word stabbing straight into the heart.

Qin Mo found this strange. This woman actually knew him. He had assumed she had merely noticed the inconspicuous imperial crest on him and felt that a member of the Great Xia Imperial Clan haggling in a foreigner's shop disgraced the Great Xia Imperial Clan, which was why she had mocked him. But now, it seemed things were not so simple.

"Miss... um... who are you? Do we know each other?"

The moment those words fell, the surroundings became deathly silent. Even Qin Yumu and Qin Yuanze beside him stood with their mouths agape, their gazes upon Qin Mo complicated.

"Qin Mo... you go too far." The yellow-clad woman's face instantly flushed crimson, and fire had begun to blaze in her eyes.

"What do you mean, miss? When have I ever bullied you? You cannot speak nonsense under the bright sky and broad daylight." Qin Mo found it utterly baffling. He had been haggling perfectly well when she had jumped out to stir up trouble, and now it had somehow become him bullying her?

"Hehe... I suppose that's true... When has Qin Mo ever bullied a woman?" The yellow-clad woman suddenly laughed, like a rose blooming in full splendor—gorgeous, yet covered in thorns.

"Hoss, this young lady wants these two sets of weapons. Wrap them up for me. You put out anything at all for people to admire, no matter what poor wretch it is. Aren't you afraid of disgracing the Carlos family?"

"Wait. I've already bought these two weapons. Miss, you should look elsewhere." Qin Mo's tone turned cold. A few mocking words could be let go without argument. But now she was calling him a poor wretch and trying to snatch away what he had set his eyes on. If he could endure even this, countless versions of him being humiliated would surely spread through the Imperial Capital's noble circles tomorrow.

"Is that so? Why did I hear that someone could not afford them and was pleading with the shopkeeper to sell them cheaply? Hoss, am I right?" The yellow-clad woman's face was no longer red, returning to an icy hue.

"Honored guests, His Highness the heir apparent was indeed discussing this transaction with me just now. I mean no offense to either of you. As a friendly friend of Great Xia, the Carlos family naturally wishes to provide our honored guests with the finest service." Hoss's words were impeccably proper, but their meaning was clear enough: Qin Mo had not completed the transaction.

"Baron Hoss, five thousand taels of gold will be delivered to you tomorrow. Captain Huang, take the weapons away. Do not let anyone make a laughingstock of Great Xia again." With a light wave of her hand, the yellow-clad woman had her attendants come forward to take the weapons, as though Qin Mo did not exist at all.

A Wang Family guard, built no less sturdily than Qin Yumu, stepped forward. His bearing was steady, and light shimmered within his eyes. He was clearly a Yellow Realm cultivator. He strode directly toward the counter displaying the weapons and reached out to take the two sets away. Just as his hand was about to touch the boxes containing the blades, a somewhat slender hand blocked his arms.

Qin Mo looked at this Huang-surnamed Wang Family guard, and a sudden sharp pain pierced his mind. It was as though scraps buried deep at the bottom of his memories had been stirred up. He had definitely seen this man named Huang before, yet he could not remember when or what had made such a figure leave a deep impression on him.

"I... have I seen you before?" Qin Mo asked Captain Huang uncertainly.

"Your Highness, I am Huang Seshu. Three years ago, thanks to you and your friends, I lay in bed for half a year. I have now recovered. I shall never forget your kindness for as long as I live." Huang Seshu spoke calmly, but anyone could hear the hatred in his heart.

"What the hell are you? If Grandpa beat you, that was your good fortune. What, this time do you want to lie in bed for another three to five years, or go straight to the grave?" Qin Yumu cracked his wrists loudly. Killing intent had already begun gathering around him, and a street brawl was on the verge of breaking out.

"Greetings, Heir Apparent of Marquis Kaiyang. This common girl is Wang Yuyan. Captain Huang is a member of my Wang Family and currently serves as a captain in the Wuwei Army. I hope you will give the Wang Family and the Wuwei Army some face and refrain from holding it against him." Wang Yuyan spoke to Qin Yumu neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Uh... this..." Qin Yumu was instantly dumbfounded. Wang Yuyan calling herself a common girl caught him entirely off guard, leaving him at a loss. He turned to seek out Qin Yuanze. All along, it had been Qin Yuanze's job to come up with plans whenever these troublemakers caused havoc. Qin Yumu only handled the fighting.

"Miss Wang, you and I both know the cause and effect of what happened three years ago. A mere cultivator from a humble family brazenly provoked an imperial heir apparent. Do you think he was innocent? That he was wronged?" Qin Yuanze had already put away the jade-handled folding fan said to be the work of a famous master. He shifted to stand slightly in front and to the side of Qin Mo. He did not charge in and fight head-on like Qin Yumu, but his lethality had always been the greatest.

While the three argued fiercely, Qin Mo stood still with his eyes closed. He was digesting the memories he had just unearthed from the depths of his mind.

Three years ago, Qin Mo had followed Qin Lan to the Imperial Capital to offer congratulations on the new emperor's ascension. There, he met Qin Yumu, Qin Yuanze, and Liang Zhengyuan of the Duke of Liang's household. The three had taken a liking to Qin Mo and spent every day leading him around the Imperial Capital. Until one day, when Qin Mo had gone out on his own and was provoked into a duel, only to be defeated on the spot. Though his three close friends later went straight to that man's door and beat him half to death, Qin Mo had become despondent from then on, until Qin Lan took him away after the brothel incident.

The person who had defeated Qin Mo back then was Huang Seshu. At the time, he had only just entered the initial stage of the Yellow Realm, while Qin Mo had already stepped into the Mysterious Realm. After that incident, a crack had appeared in Qin Mo's Dao heart. It was never repaired, all the way until Li Mo took over his body like a magpie occupying a dove's nest.

"Enough arguing. Since enemies have met today, there must naturally be a reckoning. I'll stake fifty thousand taels, and you'll stake these two sets of weapons. Let's fight again. Do you dare?" Qin Mo gently pulled his two close friends aside, walked up to Wang Yuyan himself, and spoke blandly.

"And what if this young lady refuses to gamble?" Wang Yuyan ground her silver teeth and forced out the words.

"Then we'll gang up on you! A man ought to fight to his heart's content. How great do you think your chances of winning are?" Seeing Wang Yuyan's teeth-clenched expression, Qin Mo's lips curved into a wicked smile as he used terminology only a street thug would employ.

"Qin Mo, don't use your status as an heir apparent to oppress people! If you kill someone, at most you'll be fined copper coins. If we kill you, our entire clans will be exterminated. Do you have no shame at all?" Wang Yuyan was like a crazed cat, baring her claws and fangs—but merely baring them.

She did not dare begin a group fight outright. Whether they could win or not was beside the point. Qin Mo was a legitimate imperial prince's heir apparent. Even if he committed a crime, the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs would try him; even the Ministry of Justice could not interfere. But if anything happened to him, hehe... then the emperor himself would step in.

Qin Mo straightened his posture and said solemnly, "Captain Huang and I will fight one-on-one. We will sign a life-and-death contract, and each shall accept his fate, whether in life or death."