Put the Shield Away First

Lu Song held the Xiaolongbao, taking his time about putting it in his mouth.

Xu Sheng laughed beside him.

The more he laughed, the more Lu Song felt something was off.

"Tell me first, what are you up to?"

"Just trying out a Soul Skill."

"Then why don't you eat it yourself?"

"I'll eat one tomorrow. My shoulder still hurts today, so I can't fly."

That was fair enough.

Lu Song thought it over and ate the Xiaolongbao. Before long, his body did indeed feel lighter. He tried taking a step forward, but nearly overshot a distance at which he could usually stop with ease.

Xu Sheng caught him, then waved Mo Yifan over.

"Try lifting him. Don't fly, just stand on the ground."

Mo Yifan rolled up his sleeves, circled behind Lu Song, and slipped both hands under his armpits.

He actually lifted Lu Song off the ground.

Mo Yifan stared, then couldn't resist hefting him again.

"Hey! Put me down!" Lu Song hurriedly slapped his arm.

Everyone burst out laughing, but Xu Sheng had already circled the pair, growing more pleased the longer he looked.

Once his shoulder healed, he might really be able to carry someone over a ditch or a wall.

An opponent might be able to defend against one person in the air, but could he guard against a second one dropping from the sky at every turn?

Xu Sheng was still happily entertaining the thought when Lu Song found his footing and raised a hand to summon his Black Armor Shield.

Mo Yifan had just prepared to lift him again. He pulled upward, and the smile on his face changed at once.

"How did you get heavy again?"

Lu Song looked at his shield and laughed too.

"This didn't get any lighter."

"Put the shield away first!"

The two tried again, with the same result.

The man was lighter, but the shield was still the same shield. When Mo Yifan lifted Lu Song while he held it, he strained until sweat broke out on his forehead. Gone was the ease he had shown before.

Xu Lizhi watched, grinning from ear to ear, while Wen Zhao stroked his chin and tugged at Lu Song's sleeve.

"Put it away before you go up, then bring it out after you land."

Xu Sheng turned to look at him.

Wen Zhao grew a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

"What, won't that work?"

"It will. Go on."

"What else is there to say?"

"Nothing. Say whatever you like."

The more Xu Sheng looked at him, the more pleasing he found him.

Just look at him. This was the kind of person who belonged in his courtyard. They had only just finished eating, and he was already coming up with ideas for him.

Xu Sheng's stare made Wen Zhao's back crawl, so he turned to look at Xu Lizhi instead. The little fatty had just sat down when Qiao Fu brought him a bowl of hot soup and made a point of asking whether it was sweet enough.

"It's just right. Thank you, Uncle Qiao."

Xu Lizhi accepted the bowl with both hands and drank happily.

Watching this, Wen Zhao touched the wooden badge from his old squad at his waist.

He had spent so many days at the Red Pine Courtyard, from first lodging there to hunting for a ring and tidying the courtyard together. He had long since grown accustomed to living there.

But if he was really going to leave, he still had to go back and say so.

Early the next morning, he went out.

Xu Sheng didn't go with him. It wasn't that he didn't care; he was afraid that if he went, it would look as though he meant to carry off the man, pot and all.

He asked Qiao Fu to save lunch, then sat under the corridor eaves, leafing through the field assignment booklet that had arrived only the day before.

There were more and more people in the courtyard, but clearly he had no intention of staying in a place like this all the time.

As he went through the assignments page by page, some already had regular partners, while others required at least three rings. Most of the ones he could take directly were still nearby patrols and short-distance support missions.

Xu Sheng frowned as he read.

It wasn't that he looked down on small jobs.

It was that the places for ten people were nearly filled, yet he still hadn't put them all to work together.

As he was thinking, Xu Lizhi came out of the house and asked where the kitchen was.

"Hungry again right after eating?"

"No, I wanted to ask how to make this morning's soup."

Xu Sheng pointed him in the right direction. The little fatty trotted off, and before long, Qiao Fu's laughter came from the kitchen.

The backyard, once cold and deserted, now had people coming and going all day long.

Xu Sheng watched for a while, and suddenly he was in no hurry.

He had the people and the place. He could take his time choosing assignments; he was bound to find one that suited them.

Before noon, Wen Zhao came back.

He had a bundle on his back and an old wooden box in his hand.

Xu Sheng closed the booklet and stood up.

"Is it settled?"

"Mm."

"They didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"

"Deacon Chen said that after I'd eaten and lived here for so long, if he called me back, people might think all he knew how to do was find ways to save on food money."

Xu Sheng laughed and went over to take his things.

"Deacon Chen is a reasonable man."

But Wen Zhao hid the wooden box a little farther behind him.

"Don't touch this."

Xu Sheng's hand stopped in midair.

"What treasure is that?"

"Things I saved up before."

Even Cen Zhao, who was passing by, came over at that.

Wen Zhao hadn't wanted to open it, but seeing two heads nearly poking under his arm, he had no choice but to lift the lid.

Inside was a row of little paper packets, two medicine bottles, and several oddly shaped stones.

Xu Sheng stared for a moment.

"Soul Bones?"

"For filing my nails."

"..."

Wen Zhao closed the box, finally took a paper with a name already written on it from his waist, and handed it over.

"This is the transfer paper Deacon Chen gave me. From now on, I'm on your team for the rotation."

Xu Sheng took it and read it from beginning to end.

When he finished, he looked at Wen Zhao's name again.

The tenth person.

From living in Soto with a narrow bed and having to find a way to get even a decent sword, to having a courtyard full of people now, Xu Sheng felt so content that for a moment he didn't know where to put it all.

He put the paper away and gave Wen Zhao's arm a hearty pat.

"Come on, let's eat!"

"I came back to eat."

"The way you put it, you make it sound like all I ever do is invite you to eat."

Wen Zhao glanced at him but didn't respond.

After going inside, he found that the place saved for him at the table was still the same as before. His bowl had already been filled, with chopsticks laid across the top, and beside it sat a dish of sauced meat he had said was good a couple of days ago.

Wen Zhao sat down and picked up a piece.

Beside him, Xu Sheng called out to Uncle Qiao to add another dish that evening.

Wen Zhao chewed the meat, the corners of his mouth lifting without his noticing.

A few more days passed, and Xu Sheng's shoulder had finally more or less healed.

He first had a physician examine it, then took Lu Song into the courtyard to try flying. The first time, he didn't dare rise high and came down with his feet still close to the ground. Only on the second attempt did he clear the low wooden rack set in the courtyard.

Lu Song had put away his Martial Soul. Xu Sheng held him by the sturdy belt at his back, leaving both legs dangling in the air, and the expression on his face was hard to describe.

Below them, Mo Yifan ran after them, watching, while Cen Zhao held a spare rope, afraid the two would crash into the vegetables Uncle Qiao had set out to dry.

By the time they landed safely, Xu Sheng's eyes were shining.

He really could carry someone!

Although it took far more effort than flying alone, and he had to limit the distance, even a short flight like that was enough to accomplish quite a few things.

He turned, wanting to try again, but Xu Lizhi picked up the one remaining Xiaolongbao first.

"Give it to me this time. I've never flown before."

Xu Sheng looked at the little fatty.

Xu Lizhi had already taken the odds and ends off his person of his own accord and placed them on the stone table. He stood there waiting for him.

Who said food-type Soul Masters could only watch others fight from the ground?

The little fatty stared at Xu Sheng's white wings, anticipation written all over his face.

Xu Sheng suddenly grinned.

"All right, come on!"

They didn't rise high on this trip, landing after flying not quite halfway around Red Pine. Once Xu Lizhi's feet were back on the ground, he still hadn't had his fill and gazed up at the treetops for quite a while.

Xu Sheng had just put away his Martial Soul when someone arrived at the gate.

He had come from Elder Yue Guan to ask how Xu Sheng's injury was healing.

Hearing this, Xu Sheng hurriedly asked him to wait, then turned to fetch Ji Juechen.

When he reached the doorway, he doubled back.

"Lizhi, would you like to meet someone formidable?"

Xu Lizhi asked, "How formidable?"

"A Titled Douluo."

The little fatty looked at him, his eyes slowly widening.

Xu Sheng had already begun looking for his coat.

He had such a good companion; he couldn't let only the few people in the courtyard know about him.