"Then go talk to her, Hyun," the orange-haired guy nudged him on the chest.
"I can't Akito" Hyun shook his head, "Just look at that horrid glare her friend is giving me," Hyun said with a smirk as his orange eyes met with Kai's blue eyes.
"I'm sure it's her fiancé," the brown-haired man grinned.
"Ken is right! It's probably her fiancé," Akito nodded in agreement.
"Bummer, I really want to get to know her," Hyun smiled and turned away as he continued to eat his food.
***
"Hmm Kai, won't you eat?" Mina asked, noticing that Kai hasn't been eating his food portions.
"Since I'm a cultivator, I don't really need to eat much," Kai said dryly.
"So what if you're a cultivator, you still need to eat!" Mina pouted, grabbed her chair and moved it next to Kai.
She picked up in fork and stabbed it into a grilled meat and raised it up to Kai, "Here have some meat!"
"Mina this is embarrassing," Kai said shyly.
"Then eat…" Mina said in a low voice.
"Okay," Kai responded and took a bite of the meat. He took another bite until it was all done.
"You see it's delicious?" Mina beamed happily.
"It is…" Kai smiled, "Could you feed me more?" He asked with puppy eyes, and Mina couldn't refuse. Mina fed Kai all of his food until he was satisfied.
"Waiter, please bring the bill!" Kai yelled and Antonio came to their table.
Mina was about to give the waiter her money, but Kai immediately paid with a gold coin and said, "Keep the change as a tip."
"Thank you young master," Antonio bowed respectfully and Mina puffed her cheeks at Kai angrily.
"I told you to let me pay," she huffed as she glared at Kai.
"But you didn't have enough money, and I feel bad since I bought extra food," Kai used his finger to press on Mina's puffed cheeks and the air inside deflated it making the atmosphere warm and fuzzy.
Kai stared at Mina's cute pink lips and immediately turned away, leaving her in confusion.
"When you have enough money, you can pay for food next time," Kai said and Mina's glare calmed down.
She then turned to Antonio and asked, "Hmm Mr. Antonio, is there a way a participant like us can make more money?"
"Yes yes you can make money by fighting in combat competitions," Antonio responded quickly.
"Fighting? Aren't the trials approaching soon?" Mina asked curiously.
"The trials would start in four days, so you have some time."
"Thank you for the information," Mina smiled at Antonio warmly, and he blushed, captivated by her smile. However, before he could look at her again he noticed a dark energy coming from beside him and noted Kai's glare, 'That young man is emitting some scary aura. I better leave.' Antonio thought nervously preparing to leave, but Mina stopped him.
"One last thing, where can I find the combat competitions?" She asked.
"Once you leave here, just turn right and walk straight ahead you'll see a place called Battle Money," Antonio responded.
"Thank you for answering my questions."
"Ah her smile is so beautiful," Antonio mumbled as he walked away happily.
"Shall we go, Kai?" Mina asked, stretching her hand out to Kai and he grabbed it. They both exited the restaurant and headed towards the Battle Money arena.
***
"So this is the Battle Money," Mina looked at the large purple building before her in awe. So many people could be seen walking in and out of the building, but Mina noticed that most of those who came out were either injured or had bruises around them.
Kai held her hand as they walked inside to see the place filled with spectators and participants.
Kai spotted a sign that said registration and pointed it for Mina.
"Don't follow me Kai, I would like to do this on my own," Mina stopped him as he tried to follow her.
"I understand, just be careful, alright?" Kai warned Mina and she nodded before leaving.
"Would you like to register to be a participant, young miss?" A muscular, tall man asked with a polite smile.
"Yes I would!" Mina chirped.
"Remember the first start of the fight, everyone must fight each other till it's left with the last ten people standing. You're not allowed to kill anyone. So are you sure a delicate lady like yourself would like to join?" The man asked nervously as he scanned Mina, 'From the way she looks, she doesn't seem like a fighter.'
"I said I would join!" Mina said adamantly, and the big man nodded.
"Understood here's your card number, it's number 4," the man said and handed Mina a black card with the number 4 engraved on it.
Mina took the card and walked through the second entrance, and her eyes widened in shock by what she was witnessing.
"It is much bigger in the inside than I expected," Mina mumbled as she scanned the building, ignoring the curious glances at her.
The interior is an enormous dome; inside, a few people are locked in combat with each other and their enemies. The sounds of battle echo from every direction, interspersed with intermittent screams of pain or joy as one warrior defeats another. Swords clash against shields, spears pierce flesh, and arrows fly through the air to strike soft spots on armor. Each of these battles ends abruptly when one side is overwhelmed by sheer strength; as soon as one side has been defeated, the next fight begins.
Most of the combatants are men and women. The audience applauds wildly at the conclusion of each match, regardless of who wins or loses. A pair of armored young youths are dueling with each other, both trying to force the other to retreat, so they can attack him from behind.
Mina looked at the side of the battle stage to see other participants staring at the fight with bored eyes. No one else seems concerned about this duel; it looks like they've been waiting their turn for hours.
As Mina watched the fight, the youth holding a large axe suddenly swings his weapon at great speed and attacks the youth with a sword. Before anyone can stop him, he gave the sword youth several scars, then the sword youth cries in defeat. The onlookers cheer wildly.
Mina looked at the fights without fear and stared at the audience who sat in a circular motion around the arena, and the seats were on an upper floor. She then spotted Kai and waved at him enthusiastically, and he waved back.
"Hey!" A man called out to Mina, trying to get her attention. "What's your name? Are you a new participant?"
Mina turned to see that he is speaking to her. He smiles broadly and gives her a little bow of greeting.
Mina too bowed slightly and straighten her veil.
"My name is Mina," she says. "And yours?"
He smiles back at her. "I'm called Hyun."
"Wait customer Hyun?"
"Lady Mina?"
"It's really you..." Mina blushes as she realizes what happened.
"You've changed a lot in a few months," Mina chuckled and Hyun grinned.
"Well...um...that explains why you didn't recognize me then." Hyun scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.
"Yes, exactly. So, you're really, Hyun?"
"More or less," he replies with another sheepish grin.
"Though not quite as handsome as I remember."
"That's because I haven't had any good sleep, can you blame me?" Hyun asked as he got close to Mina.
"Your sleep problems are still bothering you?" Mina asked concerned.
"Unfortunately yes," Hyun sighed.
"And also.." Hyun walked around Mina and scammed her, "I could hardly remember you, your scar is gone, and you became more beautiful, your hair and eyes too became brighter. Plus, did your bust become bigger?" Hyun asked a barrage of questions and Mina giggled.
"Of course it did, glad you noticed!" Mina declared proudly and patted her chest.
"You got taller too and…." Hyun gasped as he used his hand to measure Mina from the top of her head to his shoulder. He grinned and Mina pouted. He then turned to look at her back, and Mina grabbed him by his robes.
"Stop staring at my butt or else I'll kill you!" Mina threatened with a scary face and Hyun stared away from her nervously.
"My bad, I was just checking (´ε｀ ). How did it happen? I mean, all this change."
"Some good Doa master took a liking to me and gave me a healing pill. Don't tell anyone it's a secret," Mina stood on the tip of her toes and whispered into his ears.
"I won't," Hyun replied with a flushed face.
"Hah," Mina sighed as she placed her hands on her waist, "I don't want to run into any more of my former customers like you."
"Why are you engaged?" Hyun asked curiously.
"Nope, I just don't want to be hated by all women, since most of my top customers were rich and handsome. To be honest, having sex with them was quite enjoyable," Mina grinned and Hyun laughed.
"Oh, so the gentleman you're walking around with isn't your fiancé?" Hyun asked, pointing at Kai who was glaring at him.