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*****
However, Xiao Wu knew that Zhuqing had come all the way from the Star Luo Empire to find a man, who was likely her boyfriend. Having figured this out, she breathed a small sigh of relief.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host! The God of Speed has developed a slight fondness for and curiosity about you, triggering a critical hit reward: the Xuanyuan Sword Sheath, and the age limit of your first spirit ring has been increased by five thousand years.]
Xiao Tian: ???
Xiao Tian, who was cultivating in another tent, was completely baffled by the sudden reward notification. He hadn't even done anything to Zhu Zhuqing, and she already had a favorable impression of him? It felt like he was just sitting at home when a pot fell on his head from the sky.
But he loved it!
He wondered if it was something Xiao Wu had said to Zhu Zhuqing that had piqued her curiosity about him. All he could say was, what a great assist!
But what was the use of this Xuanyuan Sword Sheath?
Xiao Tian was filled with doubt. It couldn't just be for protecting the blade, could it? As his Spirit, Fifteen didn't need any maintenance or protection, right? Besides, he rarely even summoned Fifteen, so this sheath would be useless to him.
Left with no other choice, Xiao Tian could only let the Xuanyuan Sword Sheath gather dust in his storage soul tool for now. Perhaps it would become useful later, when his Fifteen evolved into the Xuanyuan Sword.
By noon the next day, Xiao Tian and his group had finally arrived in Soto City.
"Let's find a hotel to stay in first, and then we can look around the city. What do you all think?" Xiao Wu said with an excited expression. Soto City was a major city, completely incomparable to Nuoding. After traveling for so long, she really wanted to explore properly.
The others all nodded in agreement.
Originally, Xiao Tian and Tang San had suggested just finding a small inn to stay in, since it was only for one night. However, both Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu insisted that there was no need to save money. The former was a noble from a wealthy family and was not short on cash, while the latter wanted to see what a grand hotel in a big city was like.
And so, by sheer coincidence, both of them chose the largest hotel in Soto City.
The Rose Hotel.
Xiao Tian offered a moment of silent prayer for Dai Mubai. It couldn't be that much of a coincidence that he would walk in with twin beauties right at this moment, could it? Xiao Tian couldn't quite remember when Dai Mubai had made his entrance in the original story; those were minor details, unimportant.
The group approached the front desk. The receptionist saw the five of them and acted perfectly normal, asking lazily, "How many rooms are you planning to get?"
"Two double rooms and one standard single room," Xiao Tian said calmly.
'It seems Dai Mubai won't be coming at this time, then.' In the original story, the receptionist had claimed there was only one room left, which was given to Tang San and Xiao Wu. Who knew that Dai Mubai would then walk in with a pair of twins, only to reveal that it was the room he had originally booked and that the receptionist had made a mistake, leading to the subsequent conflict.
Xiao Tian paid the deposit and was about to hand the other two key cards to Xiao Wu and Tang San and head to his room when a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Clerk, where's the room I booked?"
At the entrance, Dai Mubai walked in with a pair of twin girls, one on each arm. He gave each of the beauties a kiss on the cheek.
Seeing him, the receptionist's face broke into a fawning smile. "Young Master Dai, rest assured, your room has been reserved for you for a long time. We've even prepared a lot of little props for you inside, and the entire room has been arranged according to your requirements."
Xiao Tian shook his head helplessly. 'Dai Mubai, oh Dai Mubai, you really know how to pick your moments.' Then again, in the original story, Zhu Zhuqing had also seen him with those twins. All one could say was... what's fated is fated. He would have to fend for himself.
"Good, good, well done! Take this silver spirit coin as your tip." Dai Mubai casually tossed a silver spirit coin to the receptionist.
The clerk was all smiles. His monthly salary was only three silver spirit coins. Young Master Dai was truly Young Master Dai; a single tip was a third of his salary. He really had to say, being a Spirit Master was great; they never seemed to be short on money. He was truly envious. If he were a Spirit Master, he would never be working as a receptionist.
Then, Dai Mubai's gaze shifted to Xiao Tian's group, who had turned around. To be precise, thirty percent of his attention was on Xiao Wu, and seventy percent was on Zhu Zhuqing. From the moment he had entered, he had felt a resonance from his Spirit, and when he looked at Zhu Zhuqing, for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity (the two had never met before).
As for Zhu Zhuqing, her face had already turned terrifyingly cold. Her eyes were locked onto the most distinct feature on Dai Mubai's face: his eyes. It was the characteristic trait of the Star Luo Dai family's Spirit, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger: heterochromia, two different colored pupils.
Coupled with the strange stirring of her own Spirit, she knew in an instant that the person before her had to be the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire, the one to whom she had been betrothed since childhood—Dai Mubai!
When she had learned that he had fled the Star Luo Empire three years ago, her world had felt like it was collapsing. Dai Mubai was a coward! He had left her, a girl, all alone in the Star Luo Empire to face his rival, Davis, and her own sister. It was because of this that she had cultivated so desperately for the past three years.
But even so, she had held onto a sliver of hope. Perhaps Dai Mubai was making a strategic retreat, avoiding the royal family's watchful eyes in order to build his strength from the ground up. She wanted to resist her fate, or to put it more simply, she didn't want to die! She didn't want her cultivation to be crippled! Although she hated this arranged marriage, for the sake of survival, she was willing to try and compete in the royal succession trial alongside him. She had thought about escaping the Zhu family and the empire after she became strong enough, but she knew the chances of evading the empire's pursuit were slim. Just escaping from the Star Luo Empire to get here, she had survived several waves of assassins. If it weren't for her good luck, she probably would have never made it out of the empire.
After hearing what Yu Xiaogang had said yesterday, that sliver of hope had grown from ten percent to fifty or sixty percent. But now, looking at Dai Mubai's dissolute and decadent expression, she knew. Her hope was shattered!
Xiao Tian: 'Oh, you naive little Zhuqing. Have you ever considered the possibility that your sister intentionally let you escape to find Dai Mubai? Otherwise, as a mere Spirit Grandmaster with little to no combat experience, how could you have possibly escaped the empire's assassins, no matter how lucky you were!'
Standing next to Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu and the others could clearly feel the icy aura radiating from her.
Everyone's expression was different.
Yu Xiaogang: 'Oh no, this couldn't be Dai Mubai, could it?'
Tang San: Acted as if it had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Wu: (Frowning) 'Don't tell me this is the guy Zhuqing was looking for? He ran all the way from the Star Luo Empire just to pick up girls?'
Xiao Tian: 'You're so dead...'
(End of chapter)