Chapter 152

Chapter 152

Steam rose from the enormous hot spring pool, perpetually filled with warm water, now crowded with beautiful men and women shivering.

Most of them had been resting peacefully in their rooms when they were suddenly dragged here without even time to change out of their sleepwear before being thrown into the pool. Anxious and uneasy, they huddled close together.

Marquis Hu Li stood poolside with his hands behind his back, his critical gaze sweeping over these frightened yet undeniably attractive "pets." He mused privately at how these star pirates, constantly fleeing through the cosmos, knew how to enjoy themselves better than the nobles of the capital star.

Never mind the extravagantly decorated paradise—even the beauties Zuo Qirong had gathered from various places, with their diverse figures and even clearly non-human hybrid traits, were infinitely more intriguing than the capital star's monotonous, uniform aesthetic.

The underage children had long been tossed out by the private guards. Marquis Hu Li laughed heartily a few times, removed his outer robe, and slowly waded into the pool.

Ripples spread across the water's surface. Some shrank back in fear, while others, understanding what was happening, forced practiced, soft smiles onto their faces and approached to ingratiate themselves as they had done before. Marquis Hu Li drew a trembling beauty close to him and said cheerfully, "My beauties, were you frightened by my rough guards? Don’t be nervous. I’m merely a guest invited by your Zuo Qirong. I have no intention of harming you."

By now, the commotion of capturing people from behind the pool had gradually ceased. An eerie quiet spread toward the front pool, but unfortunately, Marquis Hu Li was too preoccupied, smugly embracing the beauty in his arms, completely unaware of the faint scent of blood beginning to permeate the air.

"Good, this cooperation is very good," Marquis Hu Li said with satisfaction. "I am a man who cherishes beauty. If you behave, I can avoid much unnecessary roughness."

As he spoke, he remained oblivious to a shadow slowly emerging behind him, slithering into the darkness along the wall before swiftly transforming into a sleek black serpent. A purple flower on its triangular head bloomed slightly, releasing a subtle, mysterious fragrance. The guards who caught a whiff of it were momentarily dazed, and in that instant of distraction, the snake's rope-like black form descended from above.

The crisp sound of snapping neck bones seamlessly blended into the soft music played by the beauties.

Zuo Qirong hadn’t built his "pet" empire solely on seductive looks—he had also trained and conditioned them to cater to guests who prized their status. Once they grasped the situation, the initially panicked pets regained their composure and skillfully resumed their assigned roles according to the established routine.

The classical-style giant hot spring pool was flanked by kneeling musicians holding instruments, all exquisitely beautiful with gentle expressions. The more stunning ones gathered around Marquis Hu Li, massaging, pouring wine, and currying favor.

The beauty who currently held Marquis Hu Li's highest regard had long, curly golden hair reminiscent of an angel in a fresco. She took a bottle of crimson wine from an attendant and asked softly, "Would you like a drink, guest?"

"Y-yes," Marquis Hu Li stammered with a laugh, giving her forearm a suggestive squeeze. "Will you feed me personally?"

The golden-haired woman lowered her lashes and smiled, using her shy expression to mask the true feelings in her eyes.

A sweet, fragrant aroma wafted from the bottle. Just as Marquis Hu Li raised his glass, he suddenly frowned and hissed.

Golden-haired woman: "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing serious, but... the music you’re playing is a bit too..." Though Marquis Hu Li was particular and loved indulgence, his appreciation for art was genuinely refined. He tutted twice, then set his glass down awkwardly. "It’s a bit too refined. It doesn’t quite match the atmosphere."

The melody was too sacred, so sacred that his artistic senses went haywire, as if divine light washed through him, instantly purging all worldly desires.

He gave an awkward laugh. "Better switch to something lighter and more cheerful."

"You’re too polite."

"This isn’t politeness," Marquis Hu Li retorted halfway, then suddenly realized the voice hadn’t come from the person beside him. A nerve in his brain twitched violently. He looked up and saw a black-haired girl wading calmly through the mist.

Behind her, the pool water rippled in layers of faint pink, beautiful to the point of dreaminess.

Eve held a sword behind her back while her other hand trailed through the water. She said unhurriedly, "This piece was specially chosen for you—a requiem. If it weren’t solemn enough, how could it possibly match your noble status?"

How ungrateful. This was the first time she’d actively provided bgm for an enemy. Eve felt her aesthetic sense was finally on point, but alas, she was dealing with someone of vulgar taste.

Finally, she stopped five steps away from Marquis Hu Li. The other beauties had already silently retreated from the area under the golden-haired woman’s lead, leaving Marquis Hu Li alone to stare wide-eyed at the unmistakably hostile girl.

Her features were bright and strikingly distinctive, so Marquis Hu Li immediately recognized her as the pet trainee who had brought tea to the captain’s cabin a few days prior. "You! I remember you—the pet who served me tea the other day!"

"..." Eve was incredulous. "You... still haven’t recognized me?"

It wasn’t that she thought too highly of herself, but shouldn’t everyone in the Crown Prince’s faction have her image burned into their minds by now?

"Why should I know you? You’re just a pet."

The steam blurred the alterations on her face, revealing hints of her true features. Marquis Hu Li felt uneasy. He wiped his face, trying to use bluster to intimidate her.

Unfortunately, Eve wasn’t Zuo Qirong—she owed him no basic courtesy. She merely smiled faintly and twirled her sword. It was this familiar expression that finally doused Marquis Hu Li like a bucket of ice water. He realized belatedly who this girl was.

"It’s you—Eve Medici," Marquis Hu Li’s thin mustache trembled as he stammered, "H-how are you here? I see—you must have colluded with the star pirates! Guards! Guards! Seize her! When I return to the capital star, I will report the truth to His Majesty the Emperor and have you executed for treason!"

His finger shook pitifully as he pointed at Eve. His voice, full of bluster but lacking conviction, echoed in the excellent acoustics of the venue. After waiting for what felt like an eternity with no response, Marquis Hu Li turned around and saw his private guards lying scattered on the ground in the distance. Through the thick steam, he couldn’t tell if they were dead or alive, but he knew he was completely alone and helpless.

Marquis Hu Li turned desperately to the pets nearby. "You... you can attack her too! I promise—whoever captures this traitor, I’ll take them to the capital star and free them from Zuo Qirong’s den of iniquity!"

No one answered him. The long-imprisoned beauties hid timidly behind the leading golden-haired woman, watching Marquis Hu Li’s predicament with soft, innocent, yet curiously interested eyes.

After a long moment, Eugene twirled her hair around her finger and said in a feigned voice, "Guest, that young lady is holding a sword. We’re all very timid and dare not approach. Please be understanding."

"And even if taken to the capital star, it’s just jumping from one den of iniquity to another," a younger woman behind her pouted. "I’m not risking my life to step forward."

Marquis Hu Li’s lips trembled with rage.

In mere moments, the situation had completely reversed. The musicians at the pool’s edge continued playing their somber melody, the rhythm thumping like the knocking of the God of Death. Having seen enough of Marquis Hu Li’s pitiful, helpless state, Eve raised her sword again. "Well, it’s about time—"

"Wait!" Marquis Hu Li shouted. "You can’t kill me! I know you want to deal with the Crown Prince. I’m more useful alive than dead! You can’t kill me now!"

Eve paused, raising an eyebrow. But before Marquis Hu Li could feel relieved for long, he suddenly let out a shrill scream. Blood bloomed like flowers across the water as a bloodstained terminal was flicked toward Eve by the sword.

Lorca’s face, unusually irritated, appeared from behind Marquis Hu Li. He coldly eyed the middle-aged man now clutching his severed right arm and writhing in agony. "Still trying tricks."

On the terminal was an unsent message addressed to Zuo Qirong:

"Hu Li: There are intruders on the starship. Quick—"

The word "Quick" hung unfinished. Eve glanced at it and laughed. "Trying to run now? Too late. If I were you, I’d have warned the Crown Prince instead. Just sending my name would’ve been quicker, don’t you think?"

If you’re going to die anyway, what’s the point of sending heartfelt words to those doomed with you? Shouldn’t you warn your allies in the capital star to clean up?

"You’re so stupid, I almost feel reluctant to kill you," Eve said with mock pity, raising her sword. "But your sneaky attempt to message has annoyed me."

As soon as she finished speaking, a crescent-shaped arc of gleaming sword light shot forward mercilessly, followed immediately by another. Crossed together, they instantly stirred a fountain of blood. The beauties nearby, who had never witnessed such a scene, gasped in shock, too afraid to look at Marquis Hu Li’s body floating face-up in the water.

Eve felt nothing particularly special—she’d done this many times. She sheathed her sword and stepped out of the pool, saying abruptly, "Alright, stop staring. Time to move to the next scene."

"Oh," Eugene let go of the strand of golden hair she’d been twirling and dropped the feigned voice. She was about to follow when she saw Lorca deliver another strike to Marquis Hu Li. Surprised, she asked, "What are you doing? Do you have a personal vendetta against him?"

"He wasn’t dead."

He wasn’t dead just now? Eugene was startled. She was about to remark on his surprising resilience when she heard Lorca add softly, "She’s actually very kind-hearted. She never kills anyone."

Eugene: "..."

She ran off with a look of utter disbelief.

-

Ever since detecting the Fourth Princess’s mech signal and sending people down to surround and kill her, Zuo Qirong had been troubled by an inexplicable feeling of unease.

This feeling peaked when he saw Marquis Hu Li’s communication avatar lit up for several seconds before suddenly going dark again.

Terminals were constantly synced with the user’s biological data, so there was no online/offline status. If someone had opened another’s communication window and was inputting content, their avatar would light up even if nothing was sent. Conversely, if the avatar went dark, it meant the other party had no intention of sending a message.

Marquis Hu Li was not the type to hesitate. Therefore, those seconds of his avatar lighting up and then darkening were highly unusual.

Zuo Qirong frowned deeply and summoned the pirate he had sent to follow Marquis Hu Li earlier. "Are you sure Hu Li went to the Sky Palace just now?"

"Yes, Captain, I saw him enter with my own eyes," the pirate saluted, looking puzzled. "Has something happened?"

Zuo Qirong didn’t elaborate, only saying, "Go back to the Sky Palace and check if he’s still there."

He felt the ominous premonition in his heart growing stronger.

The pirate acknowledged and withdrew, but before he could leave, an urgent communication came through from another landed starship via the internal channel of the Feiniao, rushing straight into the captain’s quarters on the core ship: "Captain, it’s bad!"

"What’s all the shouting?" Zuo Qirong’s brow twitched as he scolded sternly. "Calm down and explain clearly!"

"Yes... yes, Captain, we’ve fallen into a trap."

The thick-browed, big-eyed pirate lieutenant on the comms was pale-faced and panicked. "There are unknown starships everywhere in the sky—they attacked us as soon as we landed. Captain, we’re surrounded..."

At first, Zuo Qirong didn’t grasp what he was saying. "Impossible. The ship’s radar didn’t detect any other approaching objects."

Halfway through his sentence, Zuo Qirong suddenly understood. He lunged toward the viewscreen, shutting off the layers of radar maps, star charts, and other diagrams. As the virtual blue screen vanished, the true view of space was revealed. In an instant, Zuo Qirong’s eyes widened in fury.

In the dark expanse of space, countless shadowy ships and starships had gathered unnoticed, their numbers impossible to estimate at a glance.

The whale-nosed prows coldly drifted among the nebulae. Zuo Qirong couldn’t identify the coating used on them, but the mysterious jet-black color was proof enough of the technology’s origin.

"...It’s the Military."

He nearly spat out the words through gritted teeth.

And not just any Military—this was one of the top-ranked legions. Their stealth coating was so advanced it could evade the Feiniao’s detection!

The Crown Prince’s faction was utterly useless, just like that Marquis Hu Li. When painting a rosy picture, they’d claimed House Cavendish, who controlled the Military, supported the Crown Prince. Eager to leverage Military connections, Zuo Qirong had risked the crime of assassinating a key royal to intercept and kill the Empire’s Fourth Princess.

But now, the presence of a high-level Military legion here made their stance toward the Feiniao clear—

Show no mercy.

It was too late now to wonder whether the Crown Prince had fallen out with the Military or if they had always planned to discard him after use. Zuo Qirong hastily reassured the pirates on the ground, urging them to hold out until reinforcements arrived. But the moment he ended the communication, he waved his hand and barked, "Prepare for jump initiation."

He was already treating the ground pirates as disposable pawns to draw enemy fire!

No one on the Feiniao dared contradict Zuo Qirong. The helmsman rushed over, fingers flying across the screen to initiate the jump as quickly as possible.

The starship had its own self-preservation measures. As long as the Military legion hadn’t officially attacked yet, there was still hope!

Preparations complete, the pirate slammed his finger down on the initiation button. The next moment, a deafening explosion erupted from the mid-to-aft section of the ship. Terrifying shockwaves nearly reached the captain’s quarters. The entire vessel shuddered violently, pirates stumbling and swaying, collapsing in disarray. Even the crystal lamp hanging from the ceiling in the captain’s room swung sharply, and the obsidian tabletop cracked.

The helmsman fell to the floor, panicked. "No, no! I followed the emergency jump protocol. How could it malfunction?"

"It’s sabotage," Zuo Qirong said grimly. If he couldn’t see by now that he’d been targeted long ago, he’d have wasted half his life.

Worse news followed in rapid succession:

"Captain, the explosion destroyed the engine room! What do we do? We can’t even activate energy shields now!"

"Captain, the captives have escaped!"

"Captain, the escape pods have been launched!"

"Captain," the final report came from the pirate Zuo Qirong had sent to check on Marquis Hu Li. Pale-faced, as if he’d seen something unthinkable, he stammered, "...Marquis Hu Li has been killed at the Sky Palace."

The pieces fell into place. Someone had infiltrated the Feiniao, planted a self-destruct sequence in the engine room triggered by the jump, turned the captives living in the Sky Palace, killed Marquis Hu Li, and contacted the Military to besiege the Feiniao.

What a textbook case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Even Zuo Qirong had to admit his grandson had really made something of himself, outmaneuvering him on such a scale. He closed his eyes heavily, finally forcing out through gritted teeth, "That ungrateful wretch!"

Meanwhile, the Military vessels surrounding the Feiniao seemed to have had their fill of the spectacle. They methodically turned their prows, silently pivoting to aim their long and short-range cannons from both wings. Without even pretending, they directly trained their dark, menacing barrels on the badly damaged, smoking Feiniao.

Their arrogance was so blatant that Zuo Qirong almost wondered: Who were the real interstellar pirates here, and who was the Military?

A stern middle-aged woman with silver hair and blue eyes stood lazily in the command room, arms folded, a faintly shimmering alchemical device on her ear.

After a moment’s wait, she received a brief "Engage" from the other end. With a wave of her hand, Viceroy Medici, her back to the Third Legion’s General, signaled. The General stepped forward and issued a fierce order on the all-ships channel: "Fire."

The next second, countless beams of fire, concentrated into a brilliance brighter than a star, surged like an unstoppable torrent of annihilation, crashing down upon the Feiniao’s core starship!