Missing a Gatekeeper

"Oh, so you're actually quite a nice person, Uncle."

"A seven-ring Soul Saint actually came over to ask whether we needed any help. Helpful people like you are quite rare these days, Uncle."

Bai Wanwan took a sip of the juice in her hand and looked at the middle-aged man before her with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"Young Lady jests."

"I already said that I have always been unscrupulous in my actions, so I am equally unscrupulous when it comes to helping others. Though my methods may have been somewhat abrupt, I, Shi Nian, absolutely bear no ill intentions."

Shi Nian's voice was righteous and imposing.

"Tsk, that was beautifully said."

"I'm almost moved. Are you daring to move, Uncle?"

Bai Wanwan chuckled softly.

Bai Wanwan had some impression of Shi Nian. In the original work, he had contributed such iconic scenes during the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Academy Tournament as catching the Invitation of the King of Hell barehanded, delivering a Spirit Bone from a thousand miles away, and proving that even a small gift carried great sentiment.

Shi Nian glanced at the two Titled Douluo, Moxiong and Guibao, who were watching him from behind, and revealed a somewhat stiff smile.

Dare to move?

Did he dare try moving even once?

If he tried, he might just die.

"Sister, I think the residence is still missing someone to guard the gate. A Soul Saint's strength isn't bad—he'd count as mid-level combat power in any faction. How about keeping him here to watch the gate?"

Bai Wanwan wrapped her arm around Qian Renxue's and asked in a low voice.

"Guard the gate?"

"That could work, but it depends on whether he is willing."

Qian Renxue gently wiped the corner of Bai Wanwan's mouth with her fingertip.

Feeling Qian Renxue's touch, the tips of Bai Wanwan's ears quietly reddened. For some reason, she felt that Sister seemed a little different today.

But after thinking about it carefully, nothing really seemed different.

They had spent ten years together day and night. Wasn't it normal for them to be close?

Shaking her head to cast away those thoughts, Bai Wanwan turned her gaze back to Shi Nian and asked, "Uncle, since you're such a good person, you shouldn't mind helping us guard the gate, right?"

"Of course, this is entirely voluntary. If you're unwilling, Sister and I won't force you."

Bai Wanwan's gaze was exceptionally gentle.

It stood in stark contrast to the gazes of Guibao and Moxiong behind her.

Yet Shi Nian's expression grew increasingly stiff.

Guard the gate?

A dignified Soul Saint was actually going to guard a gate.

At that moment, he felt as though he had suffered an insult—a tremendous insult.

But when he looked again at Moxiong and Guibao, who were eyeing him like tigers watching prey and even approaching him step by step, Shi Nian felt that, before life itself, being a little flexible about one's principles was not entirely unacceptable.

After all, one could not be too rigid in life.

As the saying went, those who understood the times were true heroes. From the very first moment he saw these two young ladies, he had felt an urge to follow them. Following his original and truest thoughts, guarding a gate was actually quite promising.

As for being threatened by Titled Douluo and forced to agree to anything, that definitely had not happened.

"Young Ladies, to be honest, I am extremely experienced at guarding gates. With me here, the gate will certainly remain safe and sound. In short, as long as I live, the gate lives."

Shi Nian clenched his fist, and the illusion shattered inch by inch like a mirror.

After dispelling the illusion, Shi Nian very consciously followed behind Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan.

At the same time, Moxiong and Guibao withdrew their Martial Souls and hid themselves in the shadows once more.

After giving Shi Nian an approving look for being sensible, Qian Renxue walked forward with Bai Wanwan.

After taking two laps around Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan returned to the residence.

Before the residence gates.

Shi Nian looked at the vermilion gates before him, and a sense of melancholy gradually rose in his eyes.

"Close the gate properly. From now on, you'll be responsible for opening and closing it. It's very easy."

"Understand?"

Guibao reached out and patted Shi Nian on the shoulder, his tone exceptionally indifferent.

"Understood."

Shi Nian silently nodded.

"If you fail to guard the gate properly, I know a place with beautiful scenery that would be perfect for you to rest in peace."

"A smart person should understand what to do."

Moxiong likewise patted Shi Nian on the shoulder, though there was a trace of brutality in his eyes.

"Understood."

"Please rest assured, you two. I have already found where I belong. At this moment, it feels as though even my soul has been elevated."

Shi Nian nodded silently, his gaze never leaving the grand doors before him.

If he could do it all over again, he would have slapped his former self at the Auction House.

Pride?

Did you even have such a thing?

And yet you wanted others to give you face.

Unfortunately, what had happened could no longer be changed.

After everyone entered the residence, Shi Nian stepped inside as well and reached out to close the doors, adapting to his new identity.

In the residence's Back Hall.

Bai Wanwan rested her head on Qian Renxue's lap, basking leisurely in the sun.

"Comfortable?"

Qian Renxue reached out and lightly tapped Bai Wanwan's forehead.

"Very."

"Sister, do you want to try it too?"

Bai Wanwan patted her own lap and looked up at Qian Renxue.

"No."

"But I think I could try something else."

A thoughtful look appeared in Qian Renxue's eyes.

"Something else?"

"Sister, what do you mean?"

Bai Wanwan sat up, looking at Qian Renxue in confusion.

"A body pillow."

"I seem to be lacking a body pillow."

Qian Renxue's gaze lowered to Bai Wanwan's slender waist, so slim it could barely be grasped in one hand.

"A body... pillow?"

Bai Wanwan blanked for a moment, following Qian Renxue's gaze down to herself. "Sister, you can't possibly mean me, right?"

Bai Wanwan pointed at herself, her tone uncertain.

"What do you think?"

Qian Renxue smiled faintly, rose to her feet, and wrapped her arms around Bai Wanwan's waist from behind, resting her head on Bai Wanwan's shoulder.

Bai Wanwan's body stiffened. Feeling the warm breath by her ear, her cheeks gradually flushed. She stood there rigidly, as though her mind had short-circuited.

Qian Renxue did not know whether a lap pillow was comfortable.

But the body pillow in her arms felt rather comfortable to her, and it even carried a faint fragrance.

Just then.

An ill-timed voice rang out.

"Cough~"

"Young Ladies, someone at the entrance claims to be the Second Prince of the royal family. He has come to deliver something. Should I let him in?"

Shi Nian lowered his head slightly, not looking at Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan ahead of him.

"Let him in."

"Remember to take him to the place in the Middle Hall where we discuss matters. We'll wait for him there."

Qian Renxue cast Shi Nian a somewhat displeased glance.

She even had the urge to send him to the Extreme North to mine.

But unfortunately, that bitterly cold land in the Extreme North belonged to no force, so she could not send him there to mine.

"Yes, Young Lady."

Shi Nian answered and silently withdrew.

But for some reason, he had suddenly felt a chill run through his body, as though something bad was about to happen.