Visiting as a Guest

"So this is your home, Shu Hua?"

Hu Liena was stunned by the luxurious villa before her.

After all, Hu Liena knew about Shu Hua's family. Her parents had passed away when she was young, and her older brother had worked hard to raise her.

Moreover, Shu Hua rarely spoke about her family at the academy, so Hu Liena had assumed that, with only an older brother, Shu Hua must have had a difficult life.

She had never expected Shu Hua's home to be so nice.

However, Hu Liena did not show much surprise. Everything on Spirit Hall's side would be hers someday. Once she inherited the position of Pope, the entire Spirit Hall would belong to her.

So, she was merely surprised by Shu Hua's family circumstances, not by the villa itself.

"Come on, come on! Sister Na Na, I'll take you inside!"

Shu Hua warmly led the three of them into her home.

Shu Hua unlocked the door with her key. The moment it opened, she energetically called out,

"I'm home!"

Shu Hua casually tossed the things in her hands onto the sofa and waited where she stood.

"Welcome home, Shu Hua..."

Tian Dao had been waiting to welcome Shu Hua with a smile. When he saw her, his smile was especially brilliant. When he saw Hu Liena, he realized she was Shu Hua's senior, so he maintained that smile. When he saw Xie Yue, his smile vanished entirely. When he saw Yan...

Yan looked at the person staring directly at him. He could even sense the other man's restraint from the veins bulging on his tightly clenched fists.

But Yan did not care. He was just an ordinary person—what could he do? Wasn't he only a hundred million times more handsome than Yan?

"Brother, let me introduce them to you."

Shu Hua held onto one of Tian Dao's arms, and Tian Dao's restraint immediately melted away. He returned to smiling as he looked at the "guests" Shu Hua had brought home.

"This is Sister Na Na. She often takes care of me at the academy."

"My Shu Hua has troubled you with her care. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me!"

Tian Dao knew this was Senior Na Na, whom his sister often mentioned as someone who had taken great care of her at the academy, so he treated her with the utmost hospitality.

"Ah, no, no. Shu Hua is very popular at the academy. I only help her out occasionally."

Hu Liena humbly returned the courtesy.

"This is Senior Xie Yue. He's Sister Na Na's older brother."

"But let me tell you quietly, Brother. I think you're even better than Sister Na Na's brother!"

Shu Hua whispered into Tian Dao's ear, making his smile transform from a rainbow into the sun.

However, Tian Dao and Xie Yue merely nodded at each other in greeting.

Then it was Yan's turn.

"This is Senior Yan. Um... Senior Yan is very strong!"

When it came to Yan, Shu Hua did not know how else to describe him, so that was all she said.

Yan also wanted to imitate Xie Yue's usual aloofness. Seeing Xie Yue and Tian Dao nod at each other, he nodded at Tian Dao as well.

What Yan had not expected was that, as the leader of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation—self-proclaimed, of course—he had nodded to a commoner with no Soul Power, only for the other party to ignore him completely and leave while chatting and laughing with Shu Hua.

That made Yan unhappy. He wanted to go over and teach him a lesson, letting him understand that the bigger fist spoke louder.

However, Hu Liena defeated him with a single glance over her shoulder before he could get very far.

So Yan could only quietly follow at the back of the group.

"Come, have a seat!"

Tian Dao thoughtfully pulled out a chair for Hu Liena, then returned to the seat at the head of the table.

Xie Yue and Tian Dao tacitly agreed not to mention it. Xie Yue pulled out a chair and found a seat himself.

Yan, utterly lacking in social grace, saw that no one was paying attention to him and sheepishly found himself a seat as well.

The Tian Dao Family had a long rectangular table. Two people sat on each long side, while Tian Dao sat at the head.

Hu Liena sat with Shu Hua, while Yan reluctantly sat with Xie Yue.

"Wow, Brother, you made such a feast today!"

Shu Hua's eyes sparkled as she looked at the sumptuous dishes covering the table.

"Mm. If it's good, eat more. But don't forget to serve some to your senior too."

Tian Dao naturally picked up some food and placed it in Shu Hua's bowl.

"Yes, sir, Brother!"

Shu Hua placed a hand to her temple in a subordinate's salute to her superior, then grinningly placed some food into Hu Liena's bowl.

"Sister Na Na, try it! My brother's cooking is super delicious!"

Seeing Shu Hua's bright, innocent smile, Hu Liena did not refuse.

In truth, Hu Liena had noticed the table full of dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious from the very beginning. However, she was not much of a foodie.

So her attention had merely been focused on Shu Hua.

Now that Shu Hua had placed food in her bowl, Hu Liena decided not to stand on ceremony and eagerly prepared to taste the delicious dish.

Hu Liena carefully picked up a small portion with her chopsticks and gently placed it into her mouth.

The moment it entered her mouth, Hu Liena felt as though she had picked up a pool of water. It melted the instant it touched her tongue.

Next, Hu Liena shut her eyes tightly. Her entire tongue felt like an ocean, filled with fish and shrimp swimming everywhere.

At that moment, Hu Liena even felt as if she had arrived at the sea Bibi Dong had told her about.

She was barefoot on the beach, building sandcastles and picking up seashells.

"How is it, Sister Na Na?"

Shu Hua looked at Hu Liena expectantly.

"Mm, this is probably the best food I've ever eaten!"

Hu Liena did not hold back her praise.

Hu Liena also looked at the person who had made all these dishes—the man who, in Yan's eyes, had nothing but good looks.

Yan and Xie Yue were also slowly savoring the food.

"Shu Hua, this is your gift. It's to celebrate you taking first place with perfect scores in every subject this semester."

As he spoke, Tian Dao pulled out a huge gift box from behind him.

"Mm, thank you, Brother. I love you most!"

Seeing the gift box, Shu Hua rushed over and hugged Tian Dao, leaving tiny kisses of gratitude on his cheek.

"But don't get too proud..."

Tian Dao had not even finished a single word. He had wanted to tell Shu Hua not to be so proud, but she had shattered his defenses immediately.

Tian Dao fell silent. He did not dare touch that spot, simply sitting there as though deep in thought. Yet the faint smile on his face revealed his happiness.

"Shu Hua, this is for you."

As if remembering something, Hu Liena took something from her Storage Ring and handed it to Shu Hua.

"My teacher gave this to me back then. Now I'm giving it to you. With it, you'll be able to go to places you couldn't enter before."

What Hu Liena gave Shu Hua was a Spirit Hall Token. With this token, after Shu Hua awakened her Martial Soul, she could go to Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Hunting Forest to obtain her Martial Soul.

She could also enter the restricted areas of Spirit Hall's library.

"Ah, thank you, Sister Na Na!"

Shu Hua immediately hugged Hu Liena, rubbing her cute smiling face against Hu Liena.

Hu Liena laughed happily, but whenever Shu Hua hugged her, Hu Liena always felt a gaze fixed directly on her.

However, Hu Liena did not think too much about it.