Xue Qinghe, I've Already Seen Through Your True Colors

Did Xiao Xue know that you knew she was Xiao Xue?

The sentence was a little convoluted, but its meaning could not have been clearer.

Da Xue immediately shook her head. "I knew His Highness had been replaced, but I didn't dare say anything. If Xiao Xue could make His Highness disappear, then of course she could make a maid like me disappear too."

"I don't want to die yet."

Su Yuntian nodded.

It seemed Da Xue was not one of Spirit Hall's people.

She usually seemed foolish, yet she handled many matters with great discretion. Presumably, to protect herself, she had turned a blind eye to many of "Xue Qinghe's" abnormal actions.

Once he understood that, Su Yuntian's gaze toward Da Xue softened considerably.

"Don't be afraid. I know this secret too. I know you've suffered greatly holding it in. Don't worry, I'll protect you from now on."

The secret she had hidden for six years had been exposed, and with it came the fear and endurance she had suppressed for those six years.

As she looked at Su Yuntian's handsome face, Da Xue felt for the first time that there was someone in this world who could understand her. Her already bright, watery eyes shimmered with tears.

Hearing Su Yuntian's comfort, Da Xue could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Su Yuntian had not expected things to turn out this way, so he could only offer Da Xue his shoulder.

The fear and unease she had suppressed for six years were so overwhelming that before long, her tears had soaked Su Yuntian's shoulder.

Da Xue herself gradually came to her senses as the Charm's effects faded.

When she realized what she had said to Su Yuntian, she cried even harder.

...I'm doomed. Xiao Tian wouldn't report me to "Xiao Xue," would he?

Su Yuntian gently patted Da Xue's back. "Sister Da Xue, you were the first person I saw after I woke up at death's door. You will always be my sister, and I'll protect you."

Su Yuntao was his elder brother, while Da Xue was his elder sister.

Su Yuntian had never doubted that.

Da Xue could not help freezing. "I... but I'm just an ordinary person."

Ever since she had seen how much "Xue Qinghe" valued Su Yuntian, Da Xue had never considered herself and Su Yuntian to be the same kind of people, much less thought of them as siblings.

Yet Su Yuntian's resolute words left her momentarily dazed.

"Forget what happened just now. Sister, you only need to keep acting foolish like before," Su Yuntian said firmly. "Leave everything else to me."

With that, Su Yuntian raised a hand and gently wiped away Da Xue's tears.

Ten minutes later, the two left the room. Da Xue continued arranging the decorations throughout the Crown Prince's Mansion, while Su Yuntian returned to his own room to meditate and cultivate his Soul Power.

He would soon be fourteen years old, yet his Soul Power was only level 23.

Take Shrek Academy's admission standards, for example: twelve years old and Soul Power at level 21. Anyone older or with lower Soul Power would not qualify.

Based on that condition alone, Su Yuntian had no hope of studying at Shrek Academy. Of course, he did not want to go there either.

What concerned Su Yuntian was that the Shrek Seven Devils, led by Tang San and Xiao Wu, had all reached level 26 or higher by the age of twelve.

They had higher starting points and improved faster, fully deserving the title of "monsters."

But what about Su Yuntian himself?

In just over two years, his Soul Power had risen from level 7 to level 23. That could be considered very fast.

But it was not enough.

Yes, it was still not fast enough, because his martial soul had awakened too late.

If he wanted to make a name for himself in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament a few years from now, Su Yuntian had to become stronger faster—faster than Tang San!

The noise and festivities outside seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Su Yuntian sat meditating in his room until late at night, when he finally opened his eyes.

At that moment, his Soul Power was brimming within him, and he even faintly sensed signs of a breakthrough. Su Yuntian felt that half a day of meditation could not possibly raise his Soul Power by an entire level. It was most likely the benefit he had gained from that thousand-year Snow Fox.

Although his Soul Power was full, Su Yuntian's stomach was flat with hunger. He stood, stretched lazily, then pushed open his door and prepared to find something to eat in the kitchen.

When he reached the kitchen, Su Yuntian discovered a charcoal brazier in the dining hall, with a box of prepared food placed atop it.

It turned out Da Xue had anticipated that Su Yuntian would come to the kitchen looking for food, so she had arranged for someone to prepare a meal and a charcoal brazier to keep it warm.

Su Yuntian felt warmth in his heart. Without standing on ceremony, he took out the dishes, laid them out, and began eating heartily.

Just as he was enjoying himself, someone suddenly stepped into the dining hall.

The newcomer stood tall, though his brows and eyes showed a trace of exhaustion. It was none other than Xue Qinghe, who had just returned from the New Year celebration.

"Your Highness?"

Su Yuntian was dumbfounded. He wondered why Xue Qinghe had returned to the Crown Prince's Mansion instead of obediently drinking at the banquet in the imperial palace's main hall.

Xue Qinghe's eyes widened. "Why are you eating my food?"

To be honest, the banquet in the main hall was primarily meant to entertain the kingdom's nobles and high-ranking Soul Master veterans. Xue Qinghe had never intended to eat there.

Now, after finally enduring the banquet until it ended, he had wanted to return for a late-night meal. Who would have thought that Su Yuntian had already devoured the food set aside for him?

Su Yuntian was stunned as well. "Wasn't this food saved for me?"

Xue Qinghe sat down across from him with a speechless expression. "It was saved for me! I told Da Xue before I went to drink."

Su Yuntian immediately went stiff.

This was awkward.

He had just been deeply grateful to Da Xue. Now there was no need to thank her. When he saw her later, he would make sure to "thank" her properly.

In his haste, Su Yuntian had a sudden idea. He grabbed another pair of chopsticks and placed them beside Xue Qinghe's hand. "Come on, come on, let's eat together."

Xue Qinghe was speechless, but he was indeed starving. He simply stopped wasting time and began fighting Su Yuntian for the food.

After a ravenous feast, the box of food that had been saved earlier was completely wiped out by the two of them.

Xue Qinghe leaned back in his chair with satisfaction, smiling as he narrowed his eyes.

With that expression, he looked a little like an oversized cat. Watching him from across the table, Su Yuntian felt an urge stirring within him.

...He wanted to pet the cat!

Xue Qinghe asked lazily, "Did the soul hunt go well?"

Lu Renjia had been assigned by him. After returning to the city, he had immediately sent Xue Qinghe a brief report on the main events.

Su Yuntian nodded. "I learned a rather interesting Soul Skill. Would Your Highness like to try it?"

Su Yuntian amused Xue Qinghe. "Can you even charm men?"

...Lu Renjia's report had said that Su Yuntian had absorbed the soul ring of a seventeen-hundred-year Snow Fox and acquired a charm-type skill.

"You won't know unless you try."

Su Yuntian's pair of red eyes suddenly became somewhat dreamy, as though veiled in a soft glow.

"Xue Qinghe" discovered that those eyes were like an abyss, suddenly drawing his consciousness away.

In the blink of an eye, everything around him became hazy. At that moment, the only thing left in his vision was the smiling youth before him.

Su Yuntian's smile was like the warm winter sun, filling "Xue Qinghe's" heart with warmth.

"Your Highness, may I see your true face?"

Note 1: Brothers who have made it this far, click Add to Bookshelf for triple the happiness!

Note 2: Please recommend it! Please vote with recommendation tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! Important things must be said three times. I'm shamelessly begging all you brothers for recommendation tickets! If the recommendation tickets reach 1,000, I'll post an extra chapter!