Heavens! How could this have happened!
What on earth had those two been doing in there? How could Third Brother—an existence akin to a demon among mortals—possibly display such peculiar behavior? Shen Tu even caught a flicker of something bewitching in the corner of Xueyue's eyes!
Shen Tu's heart wailed without cease. The way he looked at Yang Kai had changed entirely.
Nearby, Li Nuo and Aunt Chun were also struck dumb, at a total loss for words.
Xueyue clearly understood that the three of them had completely misunderstood. The blush at the corners of her eyes deepened unmistakably, her gaze drifting about with a guilty, furtive air.
"Brother Shen Tu, I'm heading to Water Heaven City with Xueyue for a moment."
"Oh…" Shen Tu responded mechanically, not having registered a single word of what Yang Kai actually said.
"Then we'll take our leave for now." Yang Kai offered a faint smile and cupped his fists. "I'll have to trouble you to look after the Five Directions Commerce Hall in the meantime."
After speaking, he exchanged a glance with Xueyue, and the two immediately summoned their Star Shuttles and took to the sky.
It wasn't until the pair had vanished from sight that Shen Tu and the others finally snapped out of their daze.
Shen Tu slapped his thigh and cried with a mournful expression, "It's over, it's over! How could Third Brother be so reckless, engaging in such… and Brother Yang, sigh…"
He looked the very picture of anguish, lamenting for the both of them.
Aunt Chun and Li Nuo wore the same expression.
"Now I'm done for too," Shen Tu groaned, clutching his head in frustration and squatting on the ground without a shred of dignity.
"Second Young Master, what does this have to do with you?" Li Nuo asked curiously, gazing at him.
"Brother Yang is someone I brought here! If I'd known he had such an appetite and was close with Third Brother, I never would have brought him to Water Moon Star no matter what. And now—Father has always wanted Third Brother and me to marry soon so we can produce heirs for him. But look at Third Brother now—how is she ever going to produce any heirs? Doesn't that mean the burden falls entirely on me?" Shen Tu complained, his face a portrait of crushing pressure.
Li Nuo pressed her lips together and smiled. "As a child, continuing the family line is only natural. What are you so worried about, Second Young Master?"
Shen Tu slowly raised his head, fixing Li Nuo with a serious gaze. Then, without warning, he said, "How about you bear me a child, then!"
Li Nuo's face flushed crimson. She shot Shen Tu a reproachful glare and scampered away on quick little steps.
Shen Tu's shouts echoed from behind her: "Answer me, will you? Don't just run off! Say something!"
Aunt Chun shook her head endlessly nearby, a look of helpless exasperation on her face!
…
Water Heaven City was the most prosperous and spiritually dense city on Water Moon Star. Any martial artist wishing to enter had to pay a hefty sum of Sacred Crystals as an entry fee, and remaining within the city required paying an additional amount of Sacred Crystals as well.
The city had also been outfitted with residences of various sizes for martial artists to rent.
In its entirety, Water Heaven City was practically a money-printing machine, raking in enormous quantities of Sacred Crystals every single day.
When Xueyue brought Yang Kai to Water Heaven City, there was no need to present any proof of identity. The guards at the gate respectfully waved them through, though they couldn't help eyeing Yang Kai with curiosity, wondering who this person could be to be walking alongside the legendary Third Young Master Xueyue.
Once inside the city, every place Xueyue passed, women shrieked and stopped to stare at her, each one wearing an expression of total infatuation. Bolder women, dressed in revealing attire, winked and flirted, showing off their charms. But the majority were shy, stealing secret glances at Xueyue with hearts aflutter.
Even some men wore expressions of dazed obsession, gazing at her in silence.
The head-turning rate was a staggering ninety percent.
Xueyue appeared entirely accustomed to it all. She gave Yang Kai a quick look and immediately soared into the air, flying toward the center of Water Heaven City.
Yang Kai suppressed his laughter and followed behind her.
The moment the two left, a man rushed into the middle of the street with a bundle of scrolls in his arms and shouted, "Third Young Master portraits for sale! Painted by a renowned artist—identical to the real thing in height and build! With this, you can face Third Young Master day and night! With this, it's as if Third Young Master is by your side! One thousand Sacred Crystals each—get yours while you can!"
As he spoke, he unfurled one of the scrolls with a flourish.
On it was a figure with a face like polished jade, handsome and refined, holding a folding fan, clad in robes white as snow, with hair dark as ink—none other than Xueyue herself. The Xueyue in the painting wore a slight upturn at the corner of her lips, as though she were smiling at whoever gazed upon the image.
In an instant, a flood of women surged forward, surrounding the scroll-seller in a crushing circle. Not a few men were among them as well.
"One for me!"
"I want two!"
"Hurry—money for goods, here's one thousand Sacred Crystals!"
"Waaah, please, just one! My wife said if I don't bring one back this time, she won't let me through the front door! Waaah, Third Young Master, I hate you!"
"Damn it—who just groped my chest? Step forward, you cowards! You've got the nerve to do it but not to admit it?"
"What are you squabbling for? I'm taking every last one of these!" A burly, broad-shouldered man with a thick beard channeled his Sacred Energy and shoved everyone aside. He thrust a Space Ring at the scroll-seller, snatched up the remaining portraits, swept his gaze around the crowd, and let out a cold snort brimming with overbearing dominance. "You lot of cheap, gaudy harlots—as if Third Young Master would ever look at you! Only a peerless hero like myself is worthy of standing beside Third Young Master!"
"Bleagh…"