Chapter 145: The Number One Bootlicker

A-Yi squinted silently from the side. No matter how you looked at it, letting outsiders stay at the Longteng base wasn’t safe. In the past, only friends that Brother Teng had personally made stayed over; usually, they never dared to bring outsiders in.

But since A-Qiu had already agreed, he couldn’t embarrass him. All he could do was tell the night watch to stay alert and hope that Miss Yun and her friends weren’t here for Longteng.

After all, at a time like this, he had to be extra cautious.

Yun Qimu noticed his expression, but didn’t care. Nothing could stop her from saving money.

The group walked down the bustling street. Yun Qimu led them, intentionally or not, toward the most crowded areas, trying to find a good spot to do business.

She had just set her sights on a promising location when a young man standing nearby suddenly lit up, his eyes shining as he stared at her.

He immediately shouted excitedly, “Tu-ge! Tu-ge! There’s a gorgeous chick here! Even prettier than the one Dou-ge brought back last night!”

Yun Qimu: ???

Zhong Qiu’s face changed dramatically. He looked up and, sure enough, saw a makeshift stage set up in the middle of the crowd, draped with red silk. Wasn’t this the Red Lotus Stronghold’s selection event for their chief’s bride? A few days ago, the Red Lotus people had paid their fees and started building here with a huge commotion.

Zhong Qiu instantly realized his mistake. How did he end up here without noticing?

The goddess was so beautiful. That pervert Yibei Ming, who even held selection contests to find a wife, would definitely set his sights on her if he wasn’t blind.

Annoyed, he grabbed Yun Qimu’s sleeve, wanting to slip away before anyone noticed.

But it was already too late.

“Where? Where? Where’s the chick prettier than the noble lady Dou Xing found?” A loud, boisterous voice rang out.

A burly, rough-looking man led several even bigger muscle-bound men, barging through the crowd.

Xu Le—the young man who’d spotted Yun Qimu—jumped up excitedly, pointing in her direction. “Over there, Tu-ge! Look at that one! The one with big eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth, wearing a dress I can’t even name the color of, but it’s super pretty and fancy!”

Seeing that Shen Tu had arrived, Xu Le slapped his thigh and added, “Ah, I can’t describe it, but she’s so fair she’s practically glowing. You’ll spot her right away!”

Shen Tu’s tiger eyes lit up, and he looked where Xu Le pointed. Sure enough, he saw a glowing, fairy-like girl—so much prettier than that dirty-faced noble lady Ding Rou from last night.

He grinned broadly and burst into hearty laughter. “Hahaha! Good, this one’s really pretty! Let’s see how Dou Xing tries to show off in front of the chief now. Hmph, this time he won’t outshine me!”

As Shen Tu started celebrating, Xu Le tugged at his sleeve, quietly reminding him, “Tu-ge, don’t get too excited yet. That lady hasn’t agreed to join our Red Lotus Stronghold’s bride selection.”

Shen Tu glared, “Our chief is handsome, charming, and good-looking. All the girls say so! He’s also the leader of Red Lotus, one of Chaos City’s three major powers. If she becomes our chief’s bride, she’ll have the best food and drink, never have to worry about her next meal. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Xu Le wiped his sweat, giving Shen Tu a complicated look.

Everyone said Tu-ge was the chief’s number one bootlicker, and it was true.

Sure, in his eyes the chief was great, but outside, the chief’s reputation was terrible.

Sickly, twisted, ruthless, unpredictable—those were his chief’s nicknames. Most importantly, the chief had no powers; he’d climbed to his position solely through inherited Gu techniques.

Gu techniques meant dealing with bugs all year round. Even the men in the stronghold got the creeps from all those poisonous insects, let alone the girls.

Unless someone had a weird bug fetish, what girl would want to be with someone who lived with bugs?

But Xu Le couldn’t say that out loud, or Tu-ge would beat him up. Tu-ge was the chief’s most loyal supporter—no one could say a bad word about the chief in front of him.

While Xu Le was lost in thought, Shen Tu impatiently shoved him aside and swaggered toward Yun Qimu with his men. If he waited any longer, that pretty fairy would be snatched away by Longteng’s pretty boy.

Hmph, how could weakling Zhong Qiu compare to their wise and mighty chief?

But before Shen Tu could get closer, Wu Xingyu casually slapped away Zhong Qiu’s hand from Yun Qimu’s sleeve.

What kind of behavior was that, grabbing at people? No gentlemanly manners at all.

Zhong Qiu looked aggrieved. He was trying to save her—why hit him?

In the midst of this back-and-forth, Shen Tu had already arrived with his men.

His eyes widened in amazement. From afar, the girl looked beautiful, with an indescribable aura. Up close, she was even better—her skin was flawless, soft and fair, practically glowing.

Shen Tu was even more satisfied. Only a girl like this was worthy of their chief.

He grinned and shouted directly at Yun Qimu, “Hey, girl! Want to join our Red Lotus Stronghold’s bride selection?”

He looked at her with blazing confidence, as if no woman could possibly refuse.

Most timid girls wouldn’t dare reject him outright, but Yun Qimu was different. She stopped, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, “If I win, what do I get?”

Shen Tu’s raised chin froze. He stared in surprise. “Becoming the chief’s wife—the most honored woman in Red Lotus after the chief himself—isn’t that the best reward?”

Yun Qimu just smiled and shook her head. “No, no, no. I’m not interested in power. I prefer something more practical. Like this—”

She raised her hand, revealing a fist-sized, bright red apple with delicate veins in her palm.

Those nearby could even smell the sweet fragrance wafting from the apple.

“Hiss—”

Shen Tu, Zhong Qiu, A-Yi, and the surrounding onlookers all stared wide-eyed. “That—that’s fruit! Real fruit!”

“I know! Before I came to Exile Star, I saw a documentary about elven orchards. That’s called an apple! One apple sells for 2,000 energy credits in the interstellar market—and they’re never this big, this red, or this juicy!”"