The silence of the empty house felt strange at first, but it did not take long for Lin Wan to start enjoying it.

Now, with Qin Mo and Long Zhan away training, and the triplets floating down the grand ocean currents with Lanying, she had nothing to do. She felt lighter than a feather.

"Weiwei," Lin Wan said, walking toward the large mirror in her bedroom to fix her hair. "Since the house is this empty, I want to go out. I have so much wealth saved up in the system storage, but I have never actually spent a single coin on myself in the Middle Realm. Let’s go to the main border city. I want to go on a massive shopping spree."

The system was quiet for a split second before a soft chiming sound echoed in Lin Wan’s mind.

[The host’s physical health is at one hundred percent after the care period. Exploring the local markets is a good way to gather information about the higher realms,] Weiwei’s flat voice replied. [However, I need to run a routine deep-system diagnostic and update our spatial coordinates for the upper realms. I will be temporarily disconnected and busy in the system backend for the next two hours. Please do not wander into unlabeled dark alleys.]

Lin Wan waved her hand dismissively, a bright smile on her face. "Don’t worry so much, Weiwei. I am just going to buy some fine silk clothes, maybe some nice local snacks, and look around the shops. What could possibly go wrong in a market?"

[Acknowledged. Entering backend system mode now,] Weiwei said.

A tiny click sounded in Lin Wan’s head, and the familiar, comforting presence of the black cat faded into the background. Lin Wan was completely on her own now, but she didn’t mind it at all. She felt like a normal young woman going out for a fun afternoon.

An hour later, Lin Wan arrived at the grand border city of the Middle Realm. The commercial center was massive, filled with tall stone buildings, colorful banners, and thousands of beastmen walking down the wide streets.

She spent the first hour walking from shop to shop, her eyes shining with excitement. She bought beautiful embroidered tunics, soft leather boots, rare fragrant oils that smelled like sweet jasmine, and several bags of dried honey fruits.

Every time she bought something, she simply used spirit cards to pay, making the shopkeepers bow to the ground in deep respect because of her immense wealth. She felt happy, finally becoming a little rich lady.

As she walked deeper into the city, following a crowd of wealthy-looking beastmen dressed in fine furs, the bright, cheerful shops began to disappear.

The stone streets became wider, and the guards standing at the corners looked much more heavily armed, wearing dark iron armor and carrying big spears.

Lin Wan, completely driven by her curiosity, followed the path until she passed through a high, arched stone gate.

The moment she stepped inside, the noise of the market faded, replaced by a strange, heavy atmosphere.

She looked around and realized she had accidentally wandered into a highly restricted, high-end marketplace, the slave trading center of the Middle Realm.

Large iron stages were set up in a massive circle. On top of these stages, standard, flashy beastmen, strong lions, sleek leopards, and tall warriors, were busy showing off their physical strength.

Some were lifting massive iron weights to impress the crowd, while others were flexing their large muscles and snarling to show off their fierce fighting instincts, trying their best to attract wealthy buyers who needed bodyguards or heavy laborers.

"Look at this one! A pure-blood iron wolf!" a loud auctioneer shouted from a stage to her left. "Perfect for protecting your caravans! Starting at five hundred high-grade spirit stones!"

Lin Wan felt a bit uncomfortable looking at the chains, but her legs kept moving forward out of pure curiosity. She walked past the noisy stages, moving away from the shouting crowds toward the very back of the marketplace.

In the deepest, most isolated corner of the area, the bright sunlight couldn’t fully reach. The air here felt cold and still. There were no flashing performances here, and no auctioneers shouting for attention.

There was only a single, massive iron cage.

The bars of the cage were as thick as a man’s arm, completely covered in glowing, intricate blue runes that hummed with a heavy, suppressing magical force. Inside that dark cage sat a single man.

He was sitting flat on the cold stone floor, his broad back resting against the iron bars. He wore nothing but a pair of tattered, dark trousers, his massive, well-toned chest and deep-set abs completely bare.

His skin was covered in layers of dry dirt and dark streaks of dried blood, and heavy black chains were wrapped securely around his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the center of the cage. His long, messy dark hair fell forward, hiding his face as his head remained lowered toward his chest. He looked completely still, as if he were a dead statue.

Lin Wan stopped her steps a few feet away from the cage, her eyes locking onto him. For some strange reason, her heart began to beat a little faster.

Even though the man was covered in dirt and locked behind heavy bars, his physical frame was perfect. His broad shoulders and the sharp, firm lines of his muscles did not look like those of a common slave at all. He looked like a sleeping predator.

Since Weiwei was away inside the system backend, Lin Wan was left entirely unprotected, her mind having no shield to filter out the external spiritual pressures of the world.

As if sensing her intense gaze, the silent man in the cage slowly, deliberately raised his head.

The messy dark hair fell away from his face, and Lin Wan’s breath completely caught in her throat. His facial features were so sharp, aristocratic, and breathtakingly handsome that he looked like an elite noble young master from the highest royal courts. But it was his eyes that froze her in her tracks.

They were a brilliant, burning shade of deep gold, pupils slitted like a wild beast, looking at her with absolute coldness and disdain.

The moment their eyes crossed, a terrifyingly powerful wave of energy exploded from his body, Even though his core was completely suppressed by the blue runes on the cage, this raw, genetic aura was too strong to be fully locked down. It leaked through the bars like an invisible, highly intoxicating perfume.

Lin Wan’s mind went hazy within a single fraction of a second.

The warm sun, the sounds of the marketplace, and her own common sense completely vanished from her brain. Her vision blurred, and the only thing she could see, think, or feel was the dangerous, magnificent man sitting in front of her.

Her heart pounded wildly against her ribs, a strange, overwhelming infatuation taking over her entire consciousness.

She felt completely enamored, drawn toward him by a hypnotic rope that she had no power to fight against.

A fat, greedy slave trader wearing fine silk noticed Lin Wan standing there with a dazed expression. He quickly scrambled over to her side, rubbing his hands together with a sly smile.

"Ah, beautiful lady! I see you have excellent eyes!" the trader said, his voice dripping with fake politeness. "This one here is a complete mystery. We found him fainted near the restricted ancient ruins a week ago. His strength is completely sealed by these high-tier runes, so he cannot use his beast power at all, but his body is incredibly tough. He refuses to speak, refuses to show his beast form, and hasn’t eaten a single bite since we brought him here. Because he looks so dangerous, no one dares to buy him. If you want him, I can give you a very cheap price! Just three thousand high grade spirit stones!"

The real Lin Wan would have immediately suspected a trap. She would have realized that a man who could scare an entire market while being chained was absolute trouble.

But right now, her brain was clouded by the man’s intoxicating royal charm.

She couldn’t think straight at all. Her hand moved automatically toward her waist, pulling out a glowing, premium gold spirit card from her storage bag.

"I will buy him," Lin Wan said, her voice sounding a bit dreamy and distant even to her own ears. She handed the card directly to the trader without even trying to bargain. "Take the stones. Quickly, Unlock the cage."

The slave trader’s eyes went wide with pure shock and joy. He had never seen anyone spend that much money so quickly on a useless, silent slave. He quickly snatched the gold card, his hands shaking with excitement.

"Right away! Right away, noble lady!" the trader shouted, pulling out a heavy, runic copper key from his belt. He ran to the front of the huge cage and rammed the key into the heavy lock, turning it with a loud, metallic click.

Clang!

The heavy iron door of the cage swung open, the blue runes flickering and dying out instantly as the seals broke.

Inside the cage, Cassian remained perfectly still, but a dark, dangerous glint flashed deep within his golden predator eyes.

He looked down at the heavy black chains on his wrists, and then raised his gaze to look at the small, delicate female who had just bought him. A slow, cold smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes touched his handsome lips.

Lin Wan stood outside the door, her mind still completely wrapped in his hypnotic charm, totally unaware that she had just opened the cage of the most dangerous, villainous prince of the higher realms.