A-Wu had not even finished feeling sentimental when she suddenly heard someone speaking behind her.
The voice was clear and bright, like a spring striking against stone.
“Are you all right?”
In the interstellar world, spiritual sense was also known as a mental-type ability. Using a mental ability to investigate someone else was considered extremely rude. If one was not careful, it could even be seen as a hostile provocation.
So A-Wu had no choice but to follow local customs and stop relying on her spiritual sense more than her eyes.
It was terribly inconvenient.
She could only turn around to see who had spoken.
The chair beneath her could rotate a full 360 degrees, and as A-Wu turned around, it automatically adjusted itself into a more comfortable position.
Life in the interstellar era was simply too comfortable.
Thankfully, A-Wu had strong willpower. Otherwise, she would probably have abandoned cultivation altogether!
She comfortably straightened her sleeves and looked up at the man who had spoken.
He was very handsome.
His facial features looked somewhat like those of the Hua people, but they were deeper and more defined. A-Wu guessed he was probably mixed-race.
With how complicated people’s ancestry had become in the interstellar era, finding someone without mixed ancestry was probably even harder.
His appearance was exactly the type A-Wu appreciated.
Especially his pair of sharp, bright, eagle-like eyes.
At first glance, it was obvious that he was not an ordinary person.
However, when that gaze, which seemed capable of seeing straight through people, fell on her, A-Wu found him much less appealing.
The eagle-eyed man placed one hand on the armrest of A-Wu’s chair and smiled.
“I noticed you seemed a little unhappy. Is there anything I can help you with?”
A-Wu did not like people standing so close to her.
She frowned and moved the chair backward.
Then she raised her head slightly and replied politely,
“Thank you, but there’s no need. I’m not unhappy.”
The eagle-eyed man seemed surprised by her rejection. His hand remained on the armrest for a moment.
Then he naturally pulled it back and slipped it into his pocket.
“That’s good to hear…”
After saying that, he did not leave.
He simply stood there, looking at her with a relaxed expression.
A-Wu felt a little awkward.
She nodded at him.
“Goodbye.”
Then she got up and left the restaurant.
The man watched her graceful figure until she disappeared from sight.
Only then did he look away and smile meaningfully.
Whether the woman had sincerely rejected him or was merely pretending, she had successfully awakened his interest in women…
He pulled the hand from his pocket and raised it in front of him.
His fingers had accidentally brushed against A-Wu’s sleeve earlier.
He pressed those fingers beneath his nose and took a deep breath.
He could almost smell that faint, distant sweetness again.
It was like aged wine, making him feel slightly intoxicated.
I wonder what brand of perfume she uses?
He decided that all his future female companions would have to wear this perfume!
He strode out of the restaurant and returned to his first-class cabin.
His mood was surprisingly pleasant.
Even his resentment toward his older brother for forcing him to make this business trip had mostly disappeared.
Seven days, huh?
We’ll definitely meet again, little beauty!
After leaving the restaurant, A-Wu went to the observation deck to admire the beautiful and mysterious sea of stars.
As she sensed the power of the laws contained within the universe, she became somewhat excited.
Perhaps this world could also allow one to ascend!
But…
How many energy stones would I need to cultivate all the way to ascension?
Her excitement immediately disappeared.
She became depressed again.
It was better to cultivate properly while enjoying life and let everything happen naturally.
She had already lived two lives longer than most people.
She should be satisfied.
Otherwise, perhaps even the Heavenly Dao would no longer tolerate her!
This was A-Wu’s first time observing the sea of stars from within the universe, so she stayed on the observation deck for quite a while.
As more and more people gradually arrived, she noticed that more people were paying attention to her.
To avoid the awkwardness of being approached again, A-Wu slipped back to her room and continued cultivating.
The men who had regretted not approaching her sooner could only stare helplessly in the direction she had left.
The spiritual energy in space was slightly denser than on the planet.
A-Wu used energy stones to set up a simple Spirit Gathering Formation.
She sat inside the formation and began cultivating.
As expected, her cultivation speed became a little faster.
This meant she could save another batch of spiritual stones!
Just then, inspiration suddenly struck her.
A-Wu guarded her mind, quickly swallowed one of the few Fasting Pills she had left, and immediately entered a state of cultivation.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
When A-Wu opened her eyes again, her cultivation had already reached the second level of Qi Refining.
Perhaps because she was cultivating again from the beginning, A-Wu felt that her cultivation speed was unusually fast.
Fortunately, her foundation was stable, so there should be no problem.
After advancing in cultivation, her body expelled even more impurities.
The smell was rather unpleasant.
A-Wu cast a cleansing spell on herself and felt a little better.
Then she went to take a bath.
After bathing, A-Wu slowly walked toward the bed with a white towel loosely wrapped around her body.
She picked up her pajamas from the bed and changed into them.
The towel slipped to the floor, revealing her delicate, creamy-white skin.
It looked so soft that it seemed as though a gentle pinch could squeeze out water.
Fine, almost invisible hairs covered her skin, making her look even more delicate and alluring.
A-Wu finished putting on her pajamas and was just about to lie down when someone suddenly wrapped an arm around her neck.
At the same time, a cold weapon pressed against the back of her waist.
She immediately tried to break free on instinct.
But the moment she circulated her spiritual energy, the other person forcibly interrupted it.
This person is an ability user!
A-Wu’s heart sank.
She had only just reached the second level of Qi Refining.
Against a high-level ability user, she had virtually no ability to fight back.
She was basically a fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.
“Don’t move~”
The man behind her leaned close to her ear as he spoke.
His warm breath brushed against the side of her face and neck.
A-Wu frowned uncomfortably and tried to move away.
“Heh~”
The man chuckled softly.
The hand around her neck gently rubbed against her skin, while he lowered his head and took a deep breath behind her ear.
His voice became slightly hoarse.
“I didn’t expect there to be such a beautiful little woman hiding on this ship~”
A-Wu sensed no killing intent from him.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Could this guy be some kind of womanizer or sexual predator?!
While she was thinking about how to protect herself, the door to her room suddenly exploded open with a loud bang!
The moment the door was broken down, the man holding A-Wu clicked his tongue.
In the blink of an eye, he turned around with her and faced the people who had stormed into the room.
He pulled A-Wu in front of himself and used her as a shield.
The people at the door were holding weapons.
When they saw A-Wu’s appearance, most of them sucked in a breath.
Seeing such a delicate beauty being held by the neck, her brows furrowed in pain, created a strangely brutal yet beautiful image that made it difficult for them not to feel sympathy for her.
A-Wu looked up and quickly scanned the people in front of her.
Of them, only the flaxen-haired young man at the front seemed to have considerable strength.
She did not know whether he could stand against the man behind her…
“You people really have the noses of dogs. Can’t you ever leave me alone?”
For some reason, the man behind her seemed to enjoy speaking directly beside her ear.
A-Wu’s ears felt itchy.
She wanted to move away, but with his hand around her neck, she could not move.
Feeling annoyed, A-Wu’s thoughts wandered.
If I were at the Foundation Establishment stage right now, this man definitely wouldn’t be able to grab my neck!
The man seemed to notice that she was distracted.
He snorted unhappily and tightened his fingers around her neck.
A-Wu let out a strained sound.
The intense feeling of suffocation made her entire face tense up.
“Nine Fiends, you’re trapped on this spaceship with nowhere to escape. I advise you to put down your weapon and surrender!”
The flaxen-haired man at the front held his weapon steadily, aiming directly at Nine Fiends’ head.
So this guy is called Nine Fiends!
Great. Another name for my revenge list!
As the saying went, if you didn’t take revenge, you weren’t much of a woman.
A-Wu did not consider herself a particularly kind person.
If she survived today, she would definitely find a way to settle this grudge with him someday.
Nine Fiends let out a mocking laugh.
“Why are you still so naive? Do you really think I would board this ship alone without making any preparations?”
He paused.
“Anyway, I’ve already gotten what I came for…”
The flaxen-haired man remained expressionless.
He showed no reaction to Nine Fiends’ words.
But his mood became much more serious.
The fingers around A-Wu’s neck moved slightly.
Nine Fiends lowered his voice so that only A-Wu could hear him.
“I’ll come looking for you again~ little beauty.”
With that, he suddenly shoved A-Wu toward the people at the door.
“Here’s your hostage!”
The people at the door only felt a wave of sweet fragrance rush toward them.
The beautiful woman who had been held hostage by Nine Fiends was suddenly thrown into their captain’s arms.
When they looked up again, Nine Fiends had already disappeared.
“Damn it! This cursed space ability!”
One of the people at the door angrily kicked the broken door.
The man holding A-Wu gently helped her stand straight.
His light brown eyes were filled with concern as he looked at the dark purple handprints around her neck.
“Miss, are you all right?”
A-Wu raised a hand and rubbed her sore neck.
Her voice was slightly hoarse.
“I’m fine. I’ll be okay after I spray some medicine on it later.”
At the moment, she was wearing nothing except a nightgown.
Having a group of grown men standing there staring at her made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She just wanted them to leave quickly so that she could use spiritual energy to heal her injured neck.
The man also noticed A-Wu’s embarrassment.
His gaze briefly fell on the nightgown that barely covered her thighs before he calmly looked away.
“I’m Qin Donglin, captain of the Capital Planet Security Guard.”
“If you need anything, you can come find me. I’ll be on this ship until we arrive at Capital Planet.”
“Thank you. I understand.”
A-Wu was feeling so uncomfortable that she did not notice anything unusual about Qin Donglin.
She simply wanted everyone to leave as quickly as possible.
So she quickly closed the door and locked every lock.
Fortunately, the doors in the interstellar era were sturdy.
Even after being forcibly broken open once, the door was still functional.
Qin Donglin led his team away from A-Wu’s room.
Yet even after leaving, he could still seem to see her smooth, fair, straight legs in front of his eyes.
What am I thinking about?!
He quickly threw those inappropriate thoughts out of his mind.
Then he ordered his subordinates,
“Continue patrolling. Keep a close watch on all spatial fluctuations aboard the ship.”
“Yes, Captain!”
After his subordinates dispersed, Qin Donglin headed alone toward the ship’s control center.
In the narrow corridor, it seemed as though the woman’s sweet fragrance still lingered in the air.
Remembering how she had fallen into his arms just now, he felt that the self-control he had maintained for more than thirty years had been completely wasted!
Sure enough…
He really should find himself a partner.
He forced the woman’s image, voice, and fragrance out of his mind.
A moment later, he was once again the young, calm, steady, and justice-loving captain of the Security Guard.
Inside the spaceship’s control center, the crew were busy at their stations.
The captain was anxiously watching the surveillance screens.
When he saw Qin Donglin, his expression immediately brightened.
“How did it go, Captain Qin? Did you catch him?”
“No. He got away. He should already be off the ship.”
“That’s great!”
The captain visibly relaxed.
Then he looked at Qin Donglin’s expressionless face and remembered the man’s reputation for hating criminals.
He quickly added,
“Fortunately, the losses weren’t serious. These space pirates are getting more and more outrageous! Captain Qin will definitely bring him to justice next time!”
“Yes.”
Qin Donglin knew exactly what the captain was relieved about.
Nine Fiends’ space ability was extremely troublesome.
And this was not the first time something like this had happened.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—his Hell Pirate Group only robbed people and never killed anyone.
They also possessed a spaceship equipped with stealth technology.
Their firepower was nothing special, but when it came to escaping, they were first-rate.
The military could not be bothered to launch a full-scale operation against them, while the Security Guard did not have enough power to deal with them.
They had escaped from repeated attempts to capture them.
Besides, the Security Guard was directly under Capital Planet’s jurisdiction.
Once they left Capital Planet’s jurisdiction, Qin Donglin had no authority to continue pursuing them.
Whenever he remembered the valuable items Nine Fiends had stolen from under his nose on Capital Planet, Qin Donglin got a headache.
If he had not come from a powerful family, and if Nine Fiends’ ability had not been so difficult to deal with, he probably would have lost his position as captain long ago.
“Captain, have you recovered my belongings?”
A man dressed in the style of high society slowly walked over from behind Qin Donglin.
“Ah, I’m very sorry, Mr. Huai. The pirate escaped, and we were unable to recover your belongings…”
The captain wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
This was a wealthy man he absolutely could not afford to offend!
He quickly introduced him to Qin Donglin.
“Captain Qin, this is the owner of the stolen property.”
Qin Donglin looked at the man.
He silently studied him for a second before speaking.
“Long time no see, Family Head Huai. May I ask what was stolen?”
This was the same eagle-eyed man who had flirted with A-Wu in the restaurant.
But at this moment, he wore a completely different expression.
His face was calm and serious, looking mature and composed.
His name was Huai Yu.
The actual head of the Huai family was his older brother, Huai Jin.
This time, Huai Yu had taken his brother’s place on a business trip to Azure Star.
For the duration of the trip, he had been pretending to be Huai Jin.
The two brothers were identical twins.
Aside from their completely different personalities, they looked almost exactly alike.
Even their birthmarks were in the same place.
Because of this, they had often played games pretending to be each other when they were children.
Even after growing up, their own parents sometimes could not tell them apart.
“It’s nothing important,” Huai Yu said calmly.
“Just a slightly expensive toy. Thank you for your efforts, Young Master Qin. It’s fine if it can’t be recovered.”
He spoke to Qin Donglin with a perfectly serious expression.
But heaven knew how much he hated this so-called “perfect son from someone else’s family.”