After checking Bai Wanwan's condition, Golden Crocodile withdrew his hand.
"There's nothing wrong with Wanwan's body."
"Absorbing a Spirit Ring beyond her level hasn't caused her any harm."
Golden Crocodile's voice was soft and gentle.
"That's a relief."
Qian Renxue draped an arm over Bai Wanwan's shoulders, a faint smile on her lips.
Feeling Qian Renxue's arm around her, Bai Wanwan smiled as well, then continued eating her grilled fish.
Soon, Bai Wanwan finished the fish.
Golden Crocodile extinguished the campfire, stood up, and headed toward the edge of the forest.
Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan followed close behind.
After leaving the Soul Beast Forest, they boarded the carriage they had arrived in, and Golden Crocodile drove them toward Spirit City.
Early the next morning.
The carriage stopped outside the Papal Hall.
The carriage door opened, and Qian Renxue stepped out first. She stretched, then stood by the door to wait for Bai Wanwan.
But when she looked toward the entrance to the Papal Hall, her expression involuntarily stiffened, and her pale hands slowly clenched.
"Big sister, what's wrong?"
Noticing the change in Qian Renxue's mood, Bai Wanwan stepped out of the carriage and looked toward the entrance as well. She instantly understood what was happening.
At the entrance to the Papal Hall.
Bibi Dong, the Holy Maiden, emerged from the Papal Hall with a gentle smile on her lips, holding the hand of a girl around five or six years old.
"Second Worship."
Bibi Dong glanced at Qian Renxue beside the carriage as though she were a stranger, then turned her gaze toward Golden Crocodile at the front.
"Mm. Who is this?"
Golden Crocodile nodded calmly and looked at the girl whose hand Bibi Dong was holding.
"The disciple I took in yesterday. Her name is Hu Liena, and she has innate soul power level nine."
As Bibi Dong spoke, she reached out to straighten Hu Liena's hair. Every movement brimmed with tenderness, a stark contrast to the look she had just given Qian Renxue.
"A disciple."
Golden Crocodile murmured to himself, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward Qian Renxue.
With her fists clenched, Qian Renxue stared expressionlessly at Hu Liena beside Bibi Dong. Her eyes betrayed no emotion, but a faint air of hostility radiated from her.
For some reason, no matter how she looked at Hu Liena, Qian Renxue found her irritating. She even felt an urge to beat her up.
As she recalled the look Bibi Dong had given her, then thought of the gentle smile Bibi Dong had shown Hu Liena and the tender way she had straightened her hair, Qian Renxue's urge to beat Hu Liena up grew stronger and stronger.
A sense of hurt gradually welled up in her heart as well.
Cold looks for her own daughter, yet tenderness for a disciple she had only just taken in? How was that fair?
After a long moment.
Qian Renxue suppressed the urge to lash out, and her gaze grew calm again. She gave Bibi Dong a long look, regarding her as a stranger, then took Bai Wanwan's hand and walked into the Papal Hall.
Bibi Dong's expression did not change when she noticed Qian Renxue's gaze, but an almost imperceptible flicker of conflicted emotion passed through the depths of her eyes.
Their footsteps gradually faded.
Golden Crocodile glanced at Hu Liena once more, then stepped down from the carriage and entered the Papal Hall.
Only after Golden Crocodile had receded into the distance did Bibi Dong take Hu Liena's hand and head toward the street ahead.
"Nana, don't go near the Worship Hall unless you have a reason to."
Bibi Dong cautioned her as they walked.
"Why, Teacher?"
Hu Liena looked at Bibi Dong in confusion.
"Because it could affect your looks in the future."
Bibi Dong answered softly.
"Affect my looks in the future?"
Hu Liena's eyes were full of confusion.
She thought it over carefully for a long time, but still could not understand why going to the Worship Hall would affect her future appearance.
"Yes. If you go to the Worship Hall for no reason, you might get beaten up. And getting beaten up could affect your looks in the future. Do you understand?"
Bibi Dong looked at Hu Liena with a serious gaze.
Under Bibi Dong's gaze, Hu Liena first nodded slightly, then shook her head.
She more or less understood that getting beaten up could affect her future appearance.
But she could not quite understand why going to the Worship Hall would get her beaten up.
After all, she had only become Bibi Dong's disciple yesterday. Before that, she had never even passed through the gates of the Papal Hall, nor had she offended anyone. Why would going to the Worship Hall put her at risk of being beaten up?
Seeing Hu Liena's utterly baffled expression, Bibi Dong offered no further explanation and simply led her toward the end of the street.
The Worship Hall.
In a beautiful garden.
Qian Renxue rested her cheek in her hand and quietly gazed at the garden before her. She remained silent for a long time, but her eyes grew increasingly calm, and her expression did not change in the slightest.
Bai Wanwan sat beside Qian Renxue. Watching her gaze grow calmer and calmer, she lowered her eyes slightly and rubbed her fingertips together. An almost imperceptible hint of contemplation flickered through her eyes from time to time, as though she were pondering something.
After a long moment.
Qian Renxue's voice drifted through the garden.
"Wanwan, we'll still be good friends in the future, and you'll always stay by my side, right?"
Qian Renxue turned her head slightly and gazed into Bai Wanwan's eyes, as though trying to see her truest thoughts.
Although she had not known Bai Wanwan for long, Bai Wanwan seemed to be her only friend so far.
"No."
Bai Wanwan tilted her head slightly and looked straight into Qian Renxue's eyes.
Qian Renxue's eyes dimmed a little. She averted her gaze and looked back at the garden before her.
"Why?"
The word slipped softly from Qian Renxue's lips. Though her voice remained calm, her pale hands involuntarily clenched.
"Didn't the Second Worship say I have great talent and might become your right-hand woman in the future?"
"So we'll definitely be good friends in the future, but I won't always stay by your side. As your good friend and right-hand woman, I'll stand ahead of you and cut through every thorn in your path."
"I'll stand behind you and shield you from every storm."
"Even if the world is destroyed, my eyes will still be on you."
Bai Wanwan chuckled softly, watching Qian Renxue's expression the whole time.
Qian Renxue froze for a moment, staring blankly at Bai Wanwan beside her.
But she soon came back to her senses, and an exquisite smile quietly curved her lips.
"Wanwan, if you were a boy, you'd probably be very good at sweet-talking girls when you grew up."
Qian Renxue reached out and lightly tapped Bai Wanwan on the head.
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