Those in Paraj

After the two introduced themselves, Alicia continued the conversation.

"Since you managed to come here, you must be proficient at arrays."

"Well, I know a thing or two."

If he was still outside then Shui would sound unbearably arrogant, but within Myriad Flower Pavilion solving the puzzle was just ordinary.

"I see, may I ask what's the highest tier of array you can construct?"

As her eyes only showed pure intentions, Shui wasn't sure how to answer. Based on what he knew, he would be classified as a tier 4 array grandmaster, but he didn't know what kind of reaction that would cause. And it would be especially annoying if she asked for proof so he chose to speak honestly.

"Actually I haven't been certified so I'm not sure."

"Aw, I guess it can't be helped then," said Alicia with a cute pout.

Shui was about to breath a sigh of relief, but then he noticed Alicia's expression brighten.

"Oh, I know! Why don't you come to my room and set up your best array? You can tell me if you need any supplementary materials."

Shui was shocked that the suggestion came to her mind, and even more shocked that she said it. He tried to dissuade her but she seemed set on the idea.

"Uh, I don't think it would be good for me to go to your room."

"Then, should I go to yours?"

As she cocked her head in an adorable manner and asked this, Shui was left speechless while Alia snickered.

"Kukuku, looks like you caught a determined one."

"It's not like I came here to fish."

"Could have fooled me. I bet you were giving her that 'special' look this entire time."

"Oh shut up."

Once he decided to ignore the red spirit, Shui considered his options. The simplest thing to do would be to deny her request entirely, but that could cause trouble for Emily if this girl or her brother got upset and started targeting those she saw with him, so he gave up there.

'So her room or mine.'

Although they didn't plan on doing anything inappropriate, people generally were more interested in the truth they believed in rather than the actual truth. It was obvious what others would think of a man and a woman being in the same room. If they got caught red-handed then it didn't really matter which room, but in terms of which room would be harder for them to be caught...

"Fine, let's go to my room."

"What a smooth invitation. Should I leave?" said a certain rude spirit which Shui chose to ignore.

"Yay!"

Alicia raised her hands in a cheer, which made Shui furrow his brows. Luckily, he could sense her hidden bodyguards so it wouldn't be too hard to give them the slip. They could probably find out what suite he was in from the others on this floor who heard his conversation with the receptionist, but he doubted that they would be able to track him down and barge into his room so he could just avoid them along with her going forward.

Holding back a sigh, Shui grabbed her hand and the two seemed to vanish into thin air.

"What?!"

"Where did the young mistress go?!"

Elsewhere in the city, there was a head-turning beauty who looked out the second-floor window of a mansion. As she gazed at the city, the sight of her luscious red lips could inspire a fire in men and envy in women. Right now she only received the occasional heated glance, but if they could see the bountiful assets that she had to work with, surely news of her would have quickly made it through the city.

This woman who looked to be in her early 20s, released a brief sigh of lament. It was easy to find a man whose heart would ache from seeing the forlorn look on her face, and she didn't have any money problems, but she wasn't satisfied, not at all. Take this mansion for example, even from her perspective as a former heiress, it was a luxurious place. However, in Paraj it was nothing special.

"It's not enough. Not even close. Don't you think so, Dear Elder Brother?"

As the woman turned away from the window, her gaze landed on a ruined man rubbing his face on her feet. If he took a proper bath and fixed himself up he would be quite the looker, but this was the state he was in after she caught him.

It was a few months ago, when she decided to return to her hometown to see her family. At that time there was less of a burning desire for vengeance, and more of a simple wish to see how they were doing. However things had changed far more than she thought they would.

When she returned to her hometown, she learnt that her family had offended a big shot and was crushed. They were forced under an enormous burden of debt and had to resort to selling off the women as mistresses and the men as slaves to survive. When she heard this news, the woman laughed. She didn't know if she could have led them better, but she was glad they didn't flourish after kicking her out.

In a nostalgic mood, the woman decided to find the house that she used to live in and it was at the entrance of the mansion that she witnessed the incident.

"Boss, please, can't you give me a few more days?"

"I already said no. Get out of here before I break your arm again."

The door slammed in the face of a beggar who was kneeling. He had debts that needed to be paid but he just couldn't keep a job. Every time he landed one, he would do well at first due to his experience and talent, but once the praise got to his head his relationship with his co-workers quickly got worse until the manager was faced with a decision. Him or everyone else. And not a single time was he picked.

'Damn it! If only those idiots could realize that I was much better than those leeches.'

The beggar stayed frustrated in front of the door until the woman approached him.

"Well well, isn't this a rather pathetic state you're in, Dear Elder Brother?"

"Huh? Who are yo-"

The beggar turned around to the sensual woman who approached. He gave a suspicious look but as he focused on her face he saw something familiar.

"Iris?"

"If you remember me I suppose your brain is still working at least."

It took a moment for the beggar to recognise her, not just because it had been a long time since they last met, but also because the Iris before him appeared even younger than he remembered her. Furthermore, despite how much they hated each other before, when he swept his eyes over her he felt his mouth turn into a desert.

'What the- What the hell is wrong with me?'

He cleared his throat and looked away from her and then clicked his tongue.

"Tch, why are you here? Did you come back to laugh at me?"

"Don't be so self-conscious. I was simply in the area and decided to drop by. Besides, don't I have the right to return to my home, didn't you here what happened to the clan you forced me to marry into?"

"Huh? Did something happen?"

Judging by his reaction, Iris was sure that he had not even kept any tabs on the Heaven clan.

'This damn brother of mine.'

She got a bit upset but it wasn't too surprising coming from him. She turned around and was about to leave, but her brother stopped her.

"Wait!"

With an exasperated sigh, she turned her head back to look at him.

"What is it?"

"Don't you want to help your family when it's in trouble?"

For a moment she couldn't believe that her brother could be so shameless, but from his expression she could tell that he was actually serious.

"I can't believe you of all people are saying this to me."

"Look, I know that we had our differences but what about your mother and sister, don't you want to help them?"

He mentioned her mother and sister because those two were the closest relatives she had, however, not once had either of them visited her or even sent her a letter so she didn't have much feelings left for them. She didn't feel the urge to help this 'family' of hers, but she decided to humour her brother to see what he was thinking.

With a troubled expression, she asked, "What can I do? I don't have the money to pay back the debt."

In response, he said confidently, "That's fine. As long as you listen to me we can get the money in no time."