Davis’s brows raised as he looked at the oriental beauty in front of him.
Jet-black eyes and a sharp nose, and lovely crimson lips adorned her beautiful face. Davis’s past preference for oriental beauties made him feel innately attracted to her. She no longer had that shoulder-length hair and instead possessed long flowing black hair that stretched towards her waist, just like his wives and most women who liked to enrich their feminine nature.
"Well, you’ve become stronger than I expected, not to mention gorgeous, shapelier, and cleaner than your mortal self, Mingzhi."
Mo Mingzhi’s solemn expression faded as it was replaced with a heartened smile, her cheeks quickly producing a blush, "Thank you. I cultivated hard for you, for this moment."
Davis’s raised brows twitched, "Oh, okay. I have some important things to take care of, so see you later."
Mo Mingzhi felt that a single compliment had rewarded her efforts, but looking at him walk away, she panicked and grabbed his wrist.
"Wait...!"
Davis’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly, he was exasperated. It was clear that her feelings for him hadn’t changed, but he didn’t love this woman!
When he said that he had important things to do, he wasn’t lying. The situation in the First Layer had become a bit more problematic, so it was imperative that he gets his ass off the bed and use his main body as well.
He figured that if he stayed in Isabella’s Grand Palace, he would be still be enjoying the time of his life, unwilling to cultivate normally or concentrate on other things even though there was the perk of dual cultivation boosting his cultivation. Coming here, he felt that there would be a change of pace, but there was a new vice attacking him already.
Mo Mingzhi was just about to continue speaking when four swords emerged out of nowhere, pointed at her.
She flinched from their unison and unwittingly let go of Davis’s wrist.
"You don’t grab our man like that in front of us, little girl. It’s extremely disrespectful."
Isabella spoke as she and her sisters kept their low-grade swords back inside their spatial ring, while Davis was equally astonished. He wouldn’t like it if other men touched his women, so he could understand their thoughts as they must’ve felt that an unfamiliar woman wanted to take advantage of him, but didn’t Isabella already approve of Mo Mingzhi?
A moment later, he understood that her individual thoughts didn’t override the sisterhood between them. He mused that they must’ve talked behind his back over stopping him from getting more women, as usual, which he didn’t find anything wrong as it was their right.
It was up to him to convince them but forget convincing... he didn’t feel much romantic towards Mo Mingzhi in the first place to even think about persuasion.
"What do you want, Mingzhi?"
He asked in an indifferent voice, despite knowing the answer, intent on pushing her away.
Mo Mingzhi was honestly intimidated by Isabella as she had that near-death experience, but hearing Davis’s words, she could feel the rejection in his tone. She wasn’t a fool, but she didn’t easily give up and bit her lips.
"Can we talk alone?"
"Please..."
She panned her gaze at his two wives and two sisters. She didn’t know who Natalya was and didn’t bother at the moment. At this point or at this moment where she finally met him again, she didn’t really care how many women he had.
All those thoughts were thrown away while there was only desperation not to lose this chance because she was aware that she was not playing a game.
Isabella looked at Evelynn and saw her shrug as if she was okay with both accepting and rejecting her request. She then looked at Natalya, who asked her who this strange woman was before she explained in a brief manner through soul transmission.
Natalya and Fiora quickly became aware before they imperceptibly nodded their heads, slightly understanding Mo Mingzhi’s circumstance before they also shrugged like Evelynn. They were given their fair share of chances, so they didn’t feel like being overbearing towards others.
’I have to make the decision...?’
Isabella inwardly lamented before she looked at Mo Mingzhi and spoke.
"Go ahead, but you only have a little time to share your thoughts with him before we take him away from you."
"Thank you~"
Mo Mingzhi expressed a grateful smile before she saw them walking away, leaving her with Davis in the hallway. She was about to grab his hand again but knew that she might offend his women or someone else whom she didn’t know about in this palace.
"Follow me, Crown Prince Davis..."
Mo Mingzhi shot a charming smile as she turned around and walked away.
Davis lightly shook his head and followed her as he thought.
’Fine, I’ll make it clear for you once and for all...’
Mo Mingzhi was on her way back to her room which he had assigned for her long ago. She had kept it clean with the help of maids when she was away. On the way, many castle maids had their mouths gaping as they saw her being followed by the crown prince. Some even dropped the things they were carrying, making a mess on the floor before they began to profusely apologize.
Mo Mingzhi could feel that she was in the epicenter of envy and anger, but she didn’t bother with these maids as her heart kept pounding while she led him to her room. Dirty thoughts kept floating in her mind from all the dramas she had seen, but she suppressed and closed the door as soon after he had entered.
*Creak!~*
With the door closing shut, Davis turned around and looked.
"I’ll be straightforward, Mo Mingzhi. You don’t-"
"I know." Mo Mingzhi cut him short, her expression having a wry smile, "You’ll reject me the same as last time."
Davis appeared confused, "Then why do you even bother to try again? I already told you to look for someone else after improving your cultivation, and look at you now. You’re just a few steps away from becoming a genuine powerhouse in this Grand Sea Continent. What’s stopping you from chasing another man? Surely, there are many men better than me out in the world."
Mo Mingzhi pouted, "Davis, you are aware of that, but I bet you think you’re actually better than every man in this world."
"Well..." Davis blinked, "I meant I’m worse in terms of choosing life partners. I’m already far behind men who can provide for you while also providing you with their entire love. I’ve already seen a person like that who waited for his woman thousands of years while being trapped in a place that meant certain death till the end of his life. On the other hand, a woman who chooses me from this point onward practically has few chances to gain love from me."
"I just don’t understand your obsession with me. Why even bother when it’s clearly disadvantageous?" He smiled wryly.
Mo Mingzhi couldn’t help but giggle as if she had the best joke of the century. She raised her hand and pointed at herself.
"You sponsored my livelihood, gave me immense wealth when you disappeared, took me here to this grand world of cultivation when your reappeared, protected me with a hidden protector, taught me many things, even translating manuals for me, and gave me resources to grow till this point. You look at me and tell which part of me doesn’t scream ’you’?"
Davis’s lips twitched as he saw her provide a valid reason for him, making him feel that she was really prepared to answer his questions. He shook his head, his lips moving.
"You and I are incompatible, Mo Mingzhi. You’re a woman from Earth who’s been molded by monogamous and traditional qualities even though you may have been modern, and the fact that you remained a maiden in that shithole proves that. Honestly, you won’t fit well here as you would have to share me with many other women. For a proud swan like you who was given a silver spoon from the wealth I left, I wonder how you would tolerate me being with other women if at all I, no, we accept you in the first place?"
"True..." Mo Mingzhi smiled wryly, "I won’t lie. I thought about this as many times as I thought about you after coming here."
"See..." Davis smiled, feeling like they had reached a common ground.
"And then, we’ll fight every day, eventually reaching to the point of divorce, but that’s not going to happen as I’m going to kill you for leaving me. Do you want to be with such a man?"
"Mhm? But I also may want to kill you if you’re with other women, so I guess we’re even."
"Oh..." Davis blinked as he didn’t expect this answer but kept going, "But think of the miserable life you will have with me if we got together."
"Yeah, I would be even more miserable." Mo Mingzhi nodded as she agreed.
"I’m glad you understood. It is not proper-"
"Just make me submit then..."
Davis stopped abruptly, feeling like he had heard something else.
"What... did you say?"
He couldn’t help but voice out while Mo Mingzhi walked towards him, closing the distance with a gorgeous smile on her face. She stood in front of him, reaching out her hand to place it on his chest.
"I said, just make me submit. From time immemorial, a woman who has submitted wouldn’t bicker with her man unless something drastic happens, and to me, who’s going to be with a man who has married three women, you being with other women isn’t considered drastic anymore."
Davis’s sapphire eyes reflected her beautiful visage while she poked him.
"You see... I am hopelessly in love with you. Call it an obsession or whatever you want, but I need you, and that’s a fact I am aware of."
Davis’s lips twitched.
"Even so, I think we are still incompatible..."
Mo Mingzhi’s smiling expression faded as she lowered her head.
"I see..."
She took a deep breath before she raised her head and looked at him.
"I always had my doubts, but it seems like you recognize me as your daughter from the time you named me Mo Mingzhi, taking away my birth name Mo HuanHuan. Is it due to the guilt in your heart for making me an orphan...?
"..."
Davis blinked before his expression suddenly changed.
"Pftt! Hahahahaha!"
He took two steps back and began to laugh crazily, lowering his head as he held his stomach. He raised his head and pointed at her.
"You? My daughter? Ahahaha!"
He laughed again, recalling that Isabella had asked him something similar.
"Don’t make me laugh!"
He walked towards her and abruptly reached out his right hand to her neck, holding her as if he was going to choke her to death.
"...!?"
Mo Mingzhi’s eyes were wide as she couldn’t believe that he held her like this at this moment. Her face was full of shock while her moist black eyes that gazed at his smiling face caught him turning solemn.
"You don’t know my abhorrent repressed desires at that time, Mingzhi. All I had at that time was hatred. You were lucky that I had a semblance of compassion and kindness within me even after being physically abused by your father like that. Otherwise, you would’ve been nothing but a sexual slave to me."
"Yes, daddy~"
"You!?"
Davis flinched as he let go of Mo Mingzhi and staggered back as he inwardly cried.
Just what was wrong with this woman!?