When Jiang Chen saw the diners around them scurrying away, he smiled faintly. He looked around and said with a laugh, "See? It seems everyone's terrified of you."
"A bunch of gutless cowards. They peeked at this young lady and now they're afraid I'll collect interest from them, so they slinked off. But really, how can they peek without paying some interest? You lot—go down and block them. Every single one who looked at this young lady, gouge out one eye. Consider it a send-off for Young Master Zhen Shi, so he can witness the depth of our White Dragon Sect."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Before long, the retinue of attendants at the young woman's side charged downward like wolves and tigers.
Moments later, the area below erupted in wails and howls.
The young Sect Mistress of the White Dragon Sect seemed to savor those screams, giggling all the while, the pleasure plain on her face.
Jiang Chen's expression darkened. This woman's behavior was nothing short of the work of demons and heretics.
You dress so provocatively yourself, yet you won't allow anyone to look? Was there such a twisted logic anywhere in the world? Even if someone hadn't meant to peek—if their eyes merely happened to sweep past—was that grounds for gouging them out?
Seeing Jiang Chen's displeasure, the woman giggled and said, "Young Master Zhen, does your conscience trouble you?"
Jiang Chen replied flatly, "Everyone has their own way of doing things. The world is vast, and I can't meddle in every trivial matter."
"Heh heh, from the sound of it, you really can't stand it. But this is the Scarlet Water Small World. This is how survival works in the Grand Abyss World. The more ruthless you are, the better you live. The weaker you are, the less secure your every breath. Young Master Zhen, welcome back to the Scarlet Water Small World."
The demoness addressed him with complete seriousness.
Jiang Chen sighed but said nothing. On a certain level, what the demoness said did hold a grain of truth. If you were fiercer than others, perhaps you could live better than others.
If you were weak, you could become prey at any moment, be bullied without end, unable to even count on surviving the night.
But—was this still the Grand Abyss World he had known? This was fundamentally no longer the Grand Abyss World of the past.
The Grand Abyss World of old had its share of gray areas, but it had never descended into such chaos. In the Grand Abyss World, with the Grand Abyss Heavenly Emperor above and the laws of the Myriad Heavens in force, there had always been rules to which one could appeal.
Now, it seemed there were no rules at all.
The stronger you were, you yourself became the rules. And if someone was stronger than you, the rules passed into their hands.
"Heh heh, Young Master Zhen, you don't seem the least bit convinced!" The woman looked intrigued. She rapped her knuckles on Jiang Chen's table. "Dare you not look at this young lady? Afraid I'll gouge your eyes out?"
Jiang Chen smiled blandly. "I've already taken quite a good look. Do you intend to gouge my eyes out?"
"Heh heh, I'll credit you for your honesty. This young lady finds you pleasant enough to look at for now, so I won't gouge your eyes out—temporarily. But if at some point I decide you're no longer pleasant, those eyes will be coming out regardless. There is one way, though, to ensure your eyes are never gouged out, and to let you gaze at me openly to your heart's content."
Jiang Chen frowned. "What way?"
"Join my White Dragon Sect. Follow me. Once you do, you can look all you like—perhaps even get to see more than you bargained for."
"No interest." Jiang Chen shook his head mildly.
Such demoness tricks had absolutely no effect on him. He had no interest whatsoever in gazing at this woman. Granted, her figure was genuinely impressive—curves in all the right places, dripping with allure. She was the kind of supreme feminine temptation that any man would want to conquer. But beauties of that caliber were invariably roses covered in thorns.