"Rabbit jerky. I made it in my free time. A few days ago, I went to the Sunset Forest to train in combat skills. By coincidence, I encountered a Soft Bone Rabbit that was nearly a thousand years old, so I slaughtered it. Because it was too large to finish eating in one go, and I feared it would spoil over time, I decided to turn it into jerky. With my special seasoning, the taste is absolutely top-notch," Lan Si bragged.
Qian Renxue rolled her eyes at Lan Si and retorted, "Just how much do you like eating rabbit meat?"
Though she said this, she still opened the brocade box, took out a small piece of rabbit jerky, and started eating it. It actually tasted quite good.
"Correction: I don't like eating all rabbits. I only like eating Soft Bone Rabbits," Lan Si clarified.
"Offering something for nothing, you're either up to no good or plotting something. So, tell me, why did you call me here this time?" Qian Renxue shifted the topic. She walked to the cabinet, took out a wine glass, poured herself some red wine, and then sat in the single-seater opposite Lan Si.
Crossing her legs, she rested her left leg on her right, swirling the wine in one hand while propping her chin with the other. Her demeanor exuded the aura of someone in a superior position.
"Why? It's been so long since we last met. Do I always have to have a reason to see you? You're breaking my heart here. And to think I even considered you a friend..."
"Stop. Are you going to say it or not? If not, I'll leave," Qian Renxue put down her wine glass, pretending to get up.
"Wait," Lan Si flashed behind Qian Renxue in an instant, gently pressing her shoulders.
"Your speed just now?" Qian Renxue was a bit surprised. Lan Si's speed had clearly reached the level of an agility-type Soul Sect, but Lan Si was only a Soul Elder now, and he wasn't even an agility-type.
"Oh, you're talking about that? Every morning, I do a hundred sit-ups, a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, plus a ten-kilometer run. After practicing for a while, I just got faster," Lan Si replied casually.
"Who are you trying to fool? If you don't want to say it, then forget it." Qian Renxue gave him a look that said she wouldn't believe a word of it.
Lan Si nodded heavily, walked to the front of Qian Renxue, placed both hands on her shoulders, squatted so that his eyes were level with hers, and looked directly into her blue-gold eyes. Swallowing hard, he asked seriously, "Xue'er, can you promise me one thing?"
It was the first time Qian Renxue had been in such close proximity to a man, apart from her grandfather. Seeing Lan Si's handsome face and his clear, dark eyes, a flicker of panic crossed her face, a blush crept up her cheeks, and her breathing quickened. She instinctively replied, "What is it?"
"Could you help me obtain a storage soul tool capable of storing living things?" Lan Si asked earnestly.
"A storage soul tool that can store living things? A storage soul tool that can store living things?" Qian Renxue's face instantly darkened. She lowered her head, her golden hair hanging freely, eyes hidden in shadow, and she muttered under her breath. Her shoulders began to tremble.
Crack.
The wine glass in Qian Renxue's hand shattered. A burst of soul power erupted from her feet, causing the ground to crack and spread like a spider web.
In the courtyard, the Snake Spear and Porcupinefish Douluo, hidden in the shadows, observed the scene inside.
"Snake Spear, it seems that our young master has been angered by this kid, Lan Si. Should we step in?" Porcupinefish Douluo asked.
Snake Spear gave Porcupinefish a look as if he were an idiot and coldly asked, "Porcupinefish, have you ever been in love?"
"We are cultivators. Why would we need romance? I can have any woman I want. No need for those sentimental affairs," Porcupinefish Douluo retorted, blushing and looking away arrogantly.
Snake Spear Douluo wasn't wrong. He had indeed never been in love.
To become a Titled Douluo, one must have been an extraordinary genius in their youth, admired by countless women. But Porcupinefish Douluo was an exception. Leaving aside the fact that his martial spirit carried poison, his appearance was... intimidating. Short but overly muscular, with the face of a porcupine—fierce and frightening.
His ugly appearance had fostered a quick temper. Even if there were women interested in him, they were more attracted to his prestigious status as a Soul Master rather than wanting to have a romantic relationship.
Seeing Porcupinefish Douluo's stubborn demeanour, Snake Spear Douluo sighed. "Forget it. Just pretend I didn't say anything."
Back inside the guest room.
Lan Si had already been cornered by Qian Renxue.
With each step she took, cracks appeared on the ground beneath her feet. Lan Si had nowhere left to retreat.
"Calm down, Xue'er, calm down," Lan Si broke out in a cold sweat.
"Ah Si, I might have misheard you. Could you repeat what you just said?" Qian Renxue placed her hand on the wall behind Lan Si, and the wall instantly cracked.
"I said you're very beautiful, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. If I had to describe it in one phrase, it would be, 'One glance topples a city; another glance topples a nation,'" Lan Si's mind raced. He decided to say something flattering first and deal with the rest once she calmed down.
"One glance topples a city; another glance topples a nation?" Qian Renxue murmured. Once she understood the meaning, the coldness on her face faded, replaced by a blush. She withdrew her hand, turned around, and with her back to Lan Si, said lightly, "You pass. You want a storage soul tool capable of storing living things, right? Such tools are rare but not impossible to find. Go back and wait. I'll send someone to notify you when I find one, and you can come and collect it."
"Thank you very much." Seeing that Qian Renxue had calmed down, Lan Si breathed a sigh of relief. He continued, "By the way, there's one more thing I'd like your help with. Can you release your pressure on me? I want to use it to fully fuse with the external spirit bone in my body."
"Sure." Unexpectedly, Qian Renxue agreed readily. She turned around, a dangerous curve on her lips.
Facing Qian Renxue's smile, Lan Si felt his scalp tingle, a sense of foreboding welling up within him.
The next moment, a torrent of pressure engulfed him, and Lan Si nearly collapsed to the ground.
When Lan Si finally left the Crown Prince's residence, it was half an hour later. Dragging his exhausted body, he rented a carriage back to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
When Lan Si arrived at his residence, he found two guests waiting at the door, seemingly for some time.
One of them was Ye Lingling, the auxiliary system Soul Master from the Emperor Team. The other was a scholarly middle-aged man who bore a slight resemblance to Ye Lingling.
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