"Who is it this time…?"
Xiao Wu lay sprawled on the bed, staring lazily at the tall double silver doors. Her soft voice carried a hint of impatience.
Outside the hall, Hu Liena had just turned the corner and spotted a familiar figure. At once, her heart tightened and she muttered under her breath, "Why is she here?"
The moment was thick with tension.
Bibi Dong, imposing in her regal purple robes, gave Hu Liena only the briefest of glances. She had no interest in her disciple's little concerns. Instead, her gaze swept toward the maidservant guarding the doors.
"Is His Highness in this room?" her voice was elegant, commanding.
"Under the Pope's decree," the waitress bowed nervously, "yes, the Temple Lord is inside."
Bibi Dong nodded. "Then open the door."
Hu Liena hurried after her, anxiety in her eyes. The instant the door parted, she forced a smile and greeted softly, "Sister Qian Renxue."
But Qian Renxue was not looking at her.
For her, today was already overwhelming. At long last, she had cast off the disguise of Xue Qinghe—the suffocating mask she had worn for years. Freed of that guise, she came to the Shenyan Hall… only to collide face-to-face with none other than Bibi Dong and Hu Liena. What cruel irony. What bitter coincidence.
And worse: all three women carried the very same goal in their hearts.
Subei.
Qian Renxue's lips curved into a graceful smile, polite and cold. She had absolutely no desire to see either one of them here.
Inside, the moment the three entered together, Liu Erlong and the others froze. Their faces were a mixture of disbelief and dismay.
"This really is Cao Cao's fate," Liu Erlong cursed in her heart. A moment ago, Northern Jiangsu had still been teasing them lightly, three women of the Spirit Hall competing for his attention. And in the next—three more titans walked straight into the room.
The Shenyan Hall, once spacious, abruptly became crowded to bursting. Seven women of striking beauty now filled the chamber: Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, Liu Erlong, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dugu Yan.
The air vibrated with an unspoken tension.
Northern Jiangsu himself sat at the center of it all. Surrounded, every breath he drew felt as fragile as a small boat rattling about on the waves of an endless sea. The warmth of this feminine current threatened to drown him entirely.
But not all currents were warm.
Between Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong, a faint frost lingered. History existed between them, a history steeped in conflict and resentment.
Bibi Dong ignored her entirely. Instead, her eyes softened when they found Northern Jiangsu. Her voice turned almost tender as she asked, "Xiaobei, do you remember what day it is today?"
"Eh? What day?" Northern Jiangsu blinked, baffled. He had been here long enough to know Douluo Continent's calendar carried no major festival today. And besides—it wasn't even his birthday. (He had decided long ago to just use his past life's birthday anyway. No one would notice…)
The Pope's lips curved in subtle pride. She let her gaze drift—to Liu Erlong, no less—before answering meaningfully, "Today is the anniversary of the day we first met."
Her noble aura was overwhelming.
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively shifted aside, freeing the empty seat directly on Subei's left for Bibi Dong. She dared not compete openly with such regal majesty.
But no sooner had Bibi Dong settled than Qian Renxue and Liu Erlong's gazes shot across to Xiao Wu, who sat tightly clinging to Subei's right arm. That little rabbit spirit didn't budge an inch.
Realizing she had become the target of their hostility, Xiao Wu clutched Subei's arm even tighter. Her eyes glared up stubbornly as she announced, "Don't even think about it! I won't let go! This spot is mine!"
Her outright defiance left the others momentarily speechless. After all, her shameless honesty carried a certain strength of its own.
Subei coughed. "Uh, since everyone's here anyway… why don't we lighten the mood? We were just playing a little game. Why don't you join us?"
The women exchanged glances. Not one of them had come here to play, but with so many rivals around, seizing Subei alone was impossible. Better to go along for now, bide their time, and perhaps find their advantage once the game unfolded.
So, one by one, they nodded.
Inside, Subei was silently drenched in sweat. On the surface, though, he kept a flawless front—calm, casual, even playful. A fool's grin can be the smartest armor in a battlefield of jealous women.
The key skills at times like these? He mentally rehearsed them.
① Shift the topic.
② Create distractions.
③ Slip away if needed.
④ Always have an excuse.
He cleared his throat and began re-explaining the rules of their chosen game: Truth or Dare. His voice was clear, his tone confident, and gradually even the newcomers—Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, and Qian Renxue—were pulled in.
Qian Renxue tilted her head, golden hair shimmering like sunlight. Her lips curved as she asked delicately, "In your 'Great Adventure,' can one truly assign anything?"
Her slender finger pointed at the red slot on the tray, indicating the section where an adventurer had to accept a command at the group's discretion.
Subei nodded. "As long as it isn't something extreme, like murder, or something morally corrupt, it's all fair game."
Qian Renxue's smile deepened. "And no backing out, little brother emperor?" The sly glint in her eyes made him shiver.
Something bad was brewing. He could taste it.
But rules were rules. He forced a calm smile in reply. "Yes. No hierarchy here. No cheating, no bullying anyone. And absolutely no spirit power to interfere. Break that, and you'll face punishment."
He scanned the room. Every beautiful goddess there was staring back at him with eyes blazing—fiery, hungry, curious. He almost melted under the combined heat. If desire were a flame, he was already surrounded by wildfire.
The scary part? He was half-afraid one of them would pounce on him right here. A war of passion and fury, dozens of rounds long… could he possibly survive that?
Not that I don't want to try, his inner voice added shamelessly, but seven at once? This is suicide by beauty.
Still, his unease only deepened when Bibi Dong, eyes smoldering faintly, settled right beside him.
She drank in his scent with barely restrained longing. That flawless face… that warmth at her side… for one wild instant she very nearly pulled him to the ground then and there.
But Liu Erlong's presence—and that of the others—forced her restraint. She pressed her palms together tightly between her knees, holding her trembling thighs still, fighting down her instincts.
The tension was palpable.
"Then let's begin. Ready?" Subei rolled up his sleeve, grasping the dice cup.
Everyone leaned in expectantly.
With practiced hands, Subei rattled the dice, spinning the cup rapidly. The sound echoed in the room, building anticipation. Surrounded by watching goddesses, his chin lifted ever so slightly. In that moment, he felt almost like the reincarnation of a gambler deity.
The dice clattered down. A total of fourteen points.
Following the count, the result landed on… Xiao Wu.
"Eh? Me?" Xiao Wu's eyes went wide as she blinked at herself.
"If you don't believe me, count," Subei teased, pinching her soft cheek.
Everyone looked at the simple act of intimacy and secretly envied her—his sister, always freer than them, always hogging his affection.
Xiao Wu giggled. "Then I'll spin!"
She grabbed the pointer and gave it a mighty twist—so mighty, the entire tray whirled like a deadly flying disc.
"Xiao Wu!" Subei laughed and cried at once. "It's very sensitive! Just a little push is enough!"
She stuck out her tongue mischievously. "I just wanted to see if it would spin forever if I pushed hard enough."
All the other women, including Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong, stared. Their lips twitched. Forever? What are you, a tinkerer with a perpetual motion machine?
Still, under Xiao Wu's ridiculous spin, the pointer whirled for minutes before slowing.
When it finally slowed to a crawl, everyone leaned closer at once.
"'Are your parents still alive?'"
"…Tch. That sounds like a curse."
"'Who's your favorite person?'"
"…Let's skip that."
Every possibility only fueled the women's excitement. They began rooting aloud for the needle to land on whichever juicy option suited their fantasies most.
At last, it slowed to a stop on bright red.
The card read: [Choose to either give a deep, affectionate hug and kiss to someone you can accept… or perform a hot dance for everyone.]
At those words, the atmosphere flared.
Xiao Wu instantly panicked. Her face turned paper-white, then quickly crimson. Of course she wanted to kiss Subei! Who wouldn't? Her heart hammered in her chest. With everyone here, how could she waste such an opportunity?
She almost cheated—sneaking out a thread of soul power to force the pointer to halt exactly where she wanted.
But Subei noticed at once. He caught her finger gently, tapping her nose with mock sternness. "Hey now. We said no spirit tricks. Play fair, or I'll stop playing with you."
He raised an imaginary yellow card. "First warning, Xiao Wu."
Her shoulders sank. "Okay…"
Deflated, she watched helplessly as her chance slipped away, the needle crawling past.
It finally landed on another question: [What is the most shameful thing you've ever done?]
Instantly, all eyes locked on her.
"This game's not bad," Zhu Zhuqing muttered, cheeks burning. To answer that aloud was mortifying.
Hu Liena grinned and leaned toward Zhu Zhuqing playfully. "What about you, hmm? Do you have something to confess? Tell Nana, I swear I won't tell anyone else."
"Absolutely not!" Zhu Zhuqing flustered, face blooming scarlet.
But the thought alone made every woman in the room pause. Each remembered some shameful little moment they had never breathed to a soul. The idea of voicing such things aloud, here, in front of everyone—just imagining it made them blush.
Still… curiosity burned.
Liu Erlong tilted her chin sharply. "Xiao Wu. Don't make excuses. Answer honestly. Those are the rules." (Of course, she also admitted to herself—she was dying to know!)
With everyone pressing in, Xiao Wu's ears burned bright red. She covered her face with both hands, voice muffled through trembling fingers.
"Mom… must I really…?"
Her starry eyes peeked at Subei uncertainly. "Brother, if I say it… it's okay, right?"
"Eh?!" Subei jolted. His heart jumped into his throat. "Wait, wait! Why are you dragging me into this? What does your shameful secret have to do with me? Don't smear my reputation!"
The others perked up immediately.
"Oh? It involves Xiaobei?" Bibi Dong's smile sharpened. Her voice pretended calm, but excitement shimmered beneath. Even the composed Pope could not suppress her eagerness. "Then you'd better tell us the whole thing."
Xiao Wu trembled. Pressured by everyone's stares, her face had already turned the shade of a ripe apple. Her guilty eyes darted back and forth before she finally whispered through trembling lips—
"In truth… that night… I once touched brother's…"
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