At this moment, Evan Chu and the three women—Ivy, Roxanne Lin, and Faye Knox—were leisurely sampling the delicacies of the Fragrant Grove Inn’s second-floor VIP room. Sean Xiao, however, was nowhere to be seen, but given his strength, Evan wasn’t worried about him at all.
The second-floor VIP area had quite a few tables, but they were spaced far apart, each separated by a folding screen. This setup kept others from disturbing you, yet let you overhear conversations at other tables—a favorite arrangement for the wealthy elite.
But the arrival of Evan’s group drew plenty of attention from the second-floor diners, and even more people soon crowded upstairs. In no time, the upper floor was packed, mostly with young people.
“Evan, why did you insist on eating upstairs instead of downstairs? Are you up to something?” Princess Ivy couldn’t help but ask.
Evan grinned and said, “The people who come here all have status and influence. If we make a stir here, it’s much easier to attract the attention of those who matter. If the person we’re looking for is in Shadowlin City, he’ll show up. If not, we’ll just cut down whoever comes our way. Got it?”
“Nope! And I don’t care to understand. With these screens, I doubt anyone dares mess with us. I’m sure the owner of this inn is pretty powerful in Shadowlin City—couldn’t this cause trouble?” Princess Ivy said.
“Ivy, you’re underestimating Evan. At this point, he could wipe out Shadowlin City if he wanted—it’d be a breeze. In the Netherworld, there are probably fewer than five people who could make him hesitate.” Faye Knox said.
“Five? He even killed Logan Shaw—how could there still be five people left? Are there really people stronger than the Human King? Faye, you’re joking, right?” Princess Ivy stared at Faye Knox in shock.
Roxanne Lin chuckled. “Ivy, you really are clueless. Aren’t there three of us right here? Do you think Evan isn’t afraid of us? As for the other two, maybe they’re his friends, maybe not. You know, this guy can be downright cold-blooded—killing someone is as easy as squashing an ant to him.”
“Alright, enough chatter. I bet someone will come looking for trouble soon. When they do, I’ll give you girls a chance—if anyone pisses you off, feel free to beat them up, or even cut them down on the spot.” Evan said.
The three women all nodded. In this world where only the strong are respected, killing was already an everyday thing. None of them were afraid of blood just because they were women—Faye Knox had slaughtered hundreds back in the Land of the Undead.
“Hey, I heard three beautiful girls showed up in Shadowlin City. Is it true? Let’s go take a look!” A young man’s voice sounded from the second floor.
Evan and his companions exchanged a knowing smile—they all recognized that a death-seeker had arrived. A human youth in his twenties appeared near their screen, followed by several hangers-on. One of them immediately slid the screen aside, and when the youth saw the three women’s beauty, he couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“Damn, these girls are gorgeous! I didn’t come here for nothing. Tonight, I’m gonna have myself a real good time.” The youth said to Evan’s group, drooling disgustingly at the corner of his mouth.
“Young Master, these three are absolute stunners! Good thing you got here first—if the City Lord’s kid finds out, he’ll definitely fight you for them.” one of the lackeys flattered him.
“Heh, as if he’d dare! Others may fear him, but I sure don’t. My cousin is the Human King’s favorite disciple—even the City Lord has to show me respect. These three girls are mine tonight, and he’ll just have to watch.” The youth boasted arrogantly.
Princess Ivy couldn’t take it anymore. She’d always had a fiery temper—she was used to bullying others, not being looked down on like this. She snapped, “What a buzzkill. You can’t even eat in peace without some mangy dog barking in your ear. Annoying as hell.”
Princess Ivy’s voice was already beautiful, and the hint of anger on her face only made her more attractive. The youth, though, acted like he hadn’t heard her at all—instead, he shamelessly asked, “Miss, your voice is absolutely enchanting. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. May I have the honor of inviting you to my mansion tonight?”
Evan could barely hold back his laughter—this guy was seriously cringe. But he knew someone wouldn’t be able to resist. “Why invite only her and not us? Aren’t we pretty too?” Faye Knox chimed in, batting her eyes at the youth as if she’d just stolen his soul.
“Exactly! You invite Ivy but not us—guess we’re not as pretty as her. Since Ivy already has an invitation, maybe we should just leave early.” Faye Knox laughed.
That made the youth beam with joy. “You ladies are absolutely stunning. If you don’t mind, why not all come to my mansion tonight? I’ll be the perfect host!”
The three women glanced at Evan, curious what he’d do. Evan grinned, “Since you’ve invited my three sisters, wouldn’t it be rude not to invite their big brother too?”
The youth shot Evan a look, but when he saw the three women watching him, he quickly said, “Of course, of course! Meeting here means we’re fated—let’s get to know each other properly!”
Originally, the youth just wanted to take the three women away, but seeing how extraordinary they were, he changed his mind—afraid to offend them, he reluctantly included Evan in the invitation.
None of the women lost their tempers at the youth’s sudden shift. After all, he hadn’t done anything truly outrageous yet—and the real players hadn’t shown up, so they needed to wait.
A few minutes later, a loud, arrogant voice came from downstairs: “Where are the three beauties? You come to my Shadowlin City and don’t pay your respects—isn’t that a bit disrespectful?”
(Irrelevant system prompt skipped.)
As soon as the voice finished, a youth in luxurious clothes, a youth in white, and a servant appeared on the second floor. The richly dressed youth was stunned to see the earlier youth already here. “What are you doing here?”
“Heh, if you can come, of course I can too. But I got here first—the three beauties have already agreed to visit my mansion tonight, so you might as well go home!” the youth said.
Just then, Evan saw the youth who’d arrived with the one in fancy clothes and grinned, calling out, “Come have a drink!”
Roxanne Lin smiled at him too. “Long time no see. How’ve you been? Why haven’t you come to visit us?”
Just two simple questions from Evan and Roxanne left both young men dumbfounded—especially the one in fancy clothes, who stared at the youth in white in shock. “Ethan, you know them?”
“They’re my friends, of course I know them. I suggest you leave now—they’re not people you want to mess with!” Ethan said.
“Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no one in Shadowlin City I can’t handle. I’m the City Lord’s son—who dares disrespect my father?” the fancy-dressed youth declared, flaunting his status in hopes of scaring them off.
The other youth looked awkward now. He glanced at Evan and said, “Then I’ll take my leave—looking forward to seeing you all at my mansion tonight!”
“Hold on—did I say you could leave?” Princess Ivy suddenly cut in, her voice icy cold, sounding like a completely different person. The youth was startled.
The youth in white sat down at Evan’s table. Roxanne poured him a drink and asked, “Why are you hanging around with people like that? Did you forget our mission?”
Ethan gave a wry smile. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. It’s because of the mission that I’ve stayed here. This isn’t the place to talk about it—let’s discuss it later.”
The fancy-dressed youth was furious that Evan’s group wasn’t taking him seriously. “You’ve got guts, kid! How dare you ignore me in my own territory—are you tired of living?”
The youth Princess Ivy had just insulted was also fuming. He’d wanted to lure them to his mansion for some fun, but now it was clear they were just playing with him—he felt completely disrespected.
“Men! Take these three women to my mansion. As for the guy—kill him. How dare he disrespect me!”
The fancy-dressed youth added, “Men, take these three women to the City Lord’s mansion. Tonight, I plan to have some fun!”
A servant by the fancy-dressed youth’s side said, “Young Master, we didn’t bring any men with us this time. This might be a bit tricky!”
The other youth burst out laughing. “How about this—I brought people with me. Want to borrow a few? But the destination is my mansion, not yours. There are three beauties, so we can both have fun. I’m sure you don’t mind, right? I’m only doing this out of respect for your father.”
“You—You—!” The fancy-dressed youth was speechless for a moment, but then he saw Ethan at the table and barked, “Ethan, take these three women for me. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them!”
“Young Master, should I call for some Black Lotus Guards and Red Lotus Guards? That guy is tough to deal with.” the servant whispered.
“Go ahead, and bring plenty. I want to see who dares take them from me today.” The fancy-dressed youth shot a look at the so-called Young Master Hua.
Ethan looked troubled and said to the fancy-dressed youth, “You should leave now. Soon, no one will be able to save you. You can’t handle them, and neither can I!”
“Ha! That’s a joke—there’s no one in Shadowlin City I’m afraid of. Ethan, don’t forget what you promised my father!” the fancy-dressed youth retorted.
Evan frowned slightly, then said to the fancy-dressed youth, “You’d better leave now. For Ethan’s sake, I’ll let you off today. But if you don’t know what’s good for you, I won’t hesitate to kill you right in front of him.”