Qian Renxue: That woman can, why can't I?

Heaven Dou City, a private room in a secluded high-end restaurant.

Qian Renxue, in the guise of Xue Qinghe, sat at the head of the table. The tea in front of her had gone cold, clearly indicating she had been waiting for some time, and her mood was far from pleasant.

"Creak—"

The door opened, and Snake Lance Douluo entered with Ghostly Shadow.

"Greetings, Young Master," Ghostly Shadow bowed slightly.

"At ease."

Qian Renxue waved her hand, not even allowing Ghostly Shadow to sit before getting straight to the point:

"I called you here because I have one question."

"That Xuan Hao..."

Qian Renxue's eyes were filled with confusion and annoyance. "Is he with Martial Soul Hall or not? Doesn't he know what the Angel Family represents? Doesn't he know what my identity means?"

Ghostly Shadow sighed inwardly and answered truthfully, "Replying to the Young Master, Xuan Hao naturally knows."

"If he knows, then why is he acting like that?!"

Qian Renxue slammed the table, her usually gentle face contorted with anger. "Disdainful? Sarcastic? Even using that woman to pressure me?"

"His actions in Heaven Dou City these past few days, whether it was scheming against Dugu Bo or using the Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, all show that he is an extremely shrewd person who understands how to weigh benefits and adapt to circumstances!"

"I also valued his intelligence and felt he could achieve great things, which is why I offered him such generous terms from the start, even promising him the position of Pope!"

"And the result?"

Qian Renxue laughed in extreme anger. "He looked down on it? He even treated me like a joke?!"

"Does he think that only that woman can give him everything? Does he think I, Qian Renxue, cannot?"

Ghostly Shadow remained silent for a moment, looking at the pampered daughter of heaven before him, who was accustomed to everyone obeying her. He sighed inwardly.

How could he explain this?

Should he say the Young Master has too low emotional intelligence? Or that she's too arrogant?

"Young Master, do you... want to hear the truth?"

"Speak!" Qian Renxue said coldly. "Don't beat around the bush. If you don't explain clearly, I'll go back and ask Grandpa for clarification!"

Ghostly Shadow had no choice. He knew he couldn't avoid this matter.

"Young Master, the problem isn't that your conditions aren't good enough, but rather... your attitude."

"Attitude?" Qian Renxue frowned.

"Yes." Ghostly Shadow organized his thoughts and explained cautiously, "I watched Xuan Hao grow up. His personality is a bit... peculiar. He's the type who responds to kindness but not to force."

"If you speak to him nicely, make him happy, or offer something he's genuinely interested in, he might happily agree even if the benefits aren't that great."

"But..."

Ghostly Shadow glanced at Qian Renxue, his voice lowering:

"Young Master, just now... you came across as condescending, as if it were his fortune to be noticed by you, and that he should follow you from now on..."

"To be honest, I was watching from the side and was on pins and needles the whole time."

"On pins and needles?" Qian Renxue asked, confused.

"I was afraid Xuan Hao's temper would flare up, and he'd just punch you straight in the face!"

Qian Renxue's eye twitched slightly, finding it hard to believe. "Hit me? He'd dare to lay a hand on me?"

"He really would!" Ghostly Shadow said seriously.

"Young Master, you might not fully understand Xuan Hao's status in Martial Soul City. For the past two years, he's been a little overlord at Spirit Academy. Out of over a thousand students, at least two-thirds have been dealt with by his own hands."

"From the top of the Education Committee down to the students, who doesn't treat him with respect and try to appease him?"

"Let alone you, even when His Holiness the Pope took him as a disciple back then, he had to coax and trick him, even making significant concessions, before he could bring him back."

"Normally, His Holiness dotes on him. Although he occasionally scolds and beats him, he always treats him as an equal... or even like a younger brother, never putting on airs as the Pope."

"He accepts favors, even if it involves being hit or scolded, with a smile, even acting shamelessly and cutely."

"But if it's a stranger..."

Ghostly Shadow cautiously glanced at Qian Renxue's darkening facial expression:

"Especially someone like you, meeting for the first time, with no past favors or connections, who immediately adopts an 'I'm the boss, and it's your honor to follow me' attitude, even threatening him with his sister..."

"To be honest, it's already very restrained that he didn't punch you in the face today."

"..."

Qian Renxue was stunned after hearing this.

That woman... that cold-blooded, emotionless woman who always had a frosty expression towards everyone, actually doted on a child like that? And treated him like a brother?

An indescribable sourness and jealousy welled up in her heart, making Qian Renxue's expression even more grim.

"So..."

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly, "You mean, I still have to... coax him? Beg him?!"

Who was she? The Young Master of Martial Soul Hall! The successor of the Angel Family!

From childhood, only others had coaxed her, doted on her. When had it ever been her turn to humble herself and coax someone else?

"Young Master, you can't put it that way," Ghostly Shadow said helplessly. "It's true that you are a proud daughter of heaven, but Xuan Hao... is also a once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigy."

"Under ten years old, level thirty-five, top-tier True Dragon Spirit, with a mind like a demon."

"His talent, his methods, his arrogance are no less than yours."

"Among geniuses, the most taboo thing is who is superior to whom."

"In his eyes, he is no less than you."

"Therefore, your 'gift' tricks might truly just be... a joke in his eyes."

A long silence fell upon the private room.

Qian Renxue sat there, her expression shifting unpredictably.

She had always thought she had done her best, offered the greatest sincerity, and presented the highest price.

She never expected...

That from the very beginning, her stance had been wrong?

The Junior Martial Brother, whom she saw as needing a "gift," was actually a Xiao Zu Zong who needed to be "coaxed"?

She was unwilling.

Truly unwilling.

Why could that woman do it, and she couldn't?

Why could that woman make such a genius devoted, while she threw away all her chips and only received disdain?

"He doesn't respond to force, only to softness, is that it..."

After a long while, Qian Renxue loosened her grip, a flicker of unyielding light in her eyes.

"A fine prodigy indeed."

"Since that woman can coax him, why can't I, Qian Renxue?"

"I refuse to believe there is anyone in this world that I, Qian Renxue, cannot win over!"

She looked at Ghostly Shadow, her eyes regaining their composure:

"Elder Ghost, since you know him so well."

"Then tell me, this kid... besides cultivating and causing trouble, what does he like most?"

Ghostly Shadow was stunned for a moment, "Uh... money?"

Qian Renxue: "..."

"Are you serious?"

Ghostly Shadow thought for a moment and recounted how Xuan Hao extorted protection fees at Spirit Academy.

Hearing this, Qian Renxue was speechless, "Isn't this just a bandit?"

She Long also couldn't help but chuckle.

With such talent and status, his mind was still fixated on money?

Is that all he's capable of?

Ghostly Shadow explained, "Xuan Hao just dislikes owing favors. So, if he can solve a problem himself, he will never ask for help. If a problem can be solved with money, he will never involve troublesome personal connections."

"Whatever he wants, he earns it himself, or snatches it, or... exchanges it in his own way."

"This way, he owes no one and lives with a clear conscience."

Qian Renxue was puzzled, "Then what about the Pope?"

"Since he's so independent and dislikes owing favors, then between him and that woman..."

"It's the same," Ghostly Shadow explained. "In the past two years, Xuan Hao has almost never proactively asked Your Excellency for anything. Whether it's Soul Tools, Medicinal Herbs, or cultivation resources, if he could obtain them himself, he would never ask."

"Unless he was truly at his wit's end with no other choice, he would never easily use Your Excellency's favor."

"He himself has told Your Excellency that whether it's master-disciple or family ties, they essentially involve an exchange of benefits. But if there's too much of it, it becomes corrupted. Only by maintaining a certain independence can the purest relationship be maintained."

"Emotions need to be nurtured, not consumed. If one party gives too much and the other only knows how to take, then this relationship will eventually sour and turn into bestowal and charity."

"This child, though seemingly lawless, is actually... extremely measured."

If Xuan Hao were truly someone who didn't know his limits and only knew how to stir up trouble, Bibi Dong, with her personality, would never have tolerated him, let alone doted on him!

Xuan Hao's interactions with Bibi Dong were terrifyingly well-measured!

It was as if he was constantly pushing her buttons, making Bibi Dong want to hit him, but she could see clearly that Bibi Dong wasn't truly angry.

If it weren't for Xuan Hao's careful nurturing of their relationship over the past two years, Bibi Dong would have already taken action regarding this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast matter!

"Interesting..."

A flicker of surprise flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes. "It seems I've been using the wrong approach."

She had initially thought Xuan Hao was a spoiled brat or a greedy scoundrel.

But now, it seemed this kid's mind was even more mature than she had imagined, even... colder.

He viewed everything as a transaction, a way to protect himself from harm and restraint.

No wonder he had disdained her offer of recruitment.

Because in his eyes, it was "charity," "trouble," and even more so, an "unpayable debt of gratitude."

"Since he's so sensible, what's going on this time?" Qian Renxue asked.

"If it were just ordinary trouble, that woman would have at most scolded him a couple of times. But now, not only have two Titled Douluo from your side personally come to Heaven Dou City to apprehend him, but you've even mobilized all of Spirit Hall's spies."

"This kind of mobilization doesn't look like a simple runaway case."

Qian Renxue stared intently at Ghostly Shadow, trying to discern something from his stiff face:

"What earth-shattering event did he cause in Martial Soul City?"

"..."