How come I'm the one being conquered?

Bai Jun sighed helplessly at the sight. He couldn't possibly accept such a title. He then bent down, crouching in front of Su Shang to roll up her blood-stained sleeves. He used a handkerchief to wipe away the bloodstains on her wrist. After finishing, he gently patted Su Shang's shoulder and comforted her:

"Alright, stop looking like you're about to cry. Just try not to do such foolish things in the future."

"No, I can't!"

Su Shang remained kneeling on the ground, her clear, transparent eyes revealing a stubborn resolve.

Bai Jun, while meticulously wiping his blood-stained fingers with the handkerchief, his half-closed eyes flickering with helplessness, asked patiently, though he had no idea what this young girl was trying to accomplish: "Why?"

"Because..." Su Shang's fingers, which had been twisting her clothes, suddenly loosened slightly, trembling. But in the next moment, she clenched them tightly again. Despite looking like she was about to cry, her tone was remarkably firm: "I need to take responsibility for you!"

As if hearing something unbelievable, Bai Jun gasped, stumbling backward to the side of the road. A look of disgust appeared on his cool, handsome face. "On what basis are you saying such a thing... But let me make one thing clear, the punishment for hooliganism under Xianzhou law is very severe. Don't think you can act with impunity just because you're a girl."

"Hooligan? Where?! I'll definitely not let him get away with it!"

The moment she heard the word "hooligan," Su Shang sat up straight, looking around vigilantly, as if daring anyone to approach and face her wrath.

But after searching for a long time and finding no trace of the so-called hooligan, Su Shang looked at Bai Jun in confusion, only to find that his disgusted gaze was directed squarely at her.

"Wait, benefactor, are you calling me a hooligan?"

Su Shang swallowed hard, an expression of disbelief on her delicate, pretty face. Still unwilling to believe it, she cautiously poked her head forward, glanced around again, and then asked, "Are you talking about me?"

Seeing her pure and innocent, almost foolish demeanor, Bai Jun immediately dismissed his earlier thought. How could such a simpleton possibly cause trouble like a hooligan? He shook his head helplessly and sighed, "No, just pretend I was joking."

"Ahaha, benefactor, you really scared me!" Hearing this, Su Shang finally relaxed completely. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled with relief.

Well, it seems she really is an idiot... Bai Jun concluded silently. He bent down and picked up the shattered Qiongshi Bird Skewers from the ground, mourning them with a touch of heartache. Then, his expression softening slightly, he turned and said:

"However, your answer was too flippant. Please think more carefully before answering in the future!"

With that, he turned to leave, but after only two steps, he felt his sleeve being tugged.

"No, benefactor! My mother taught me that one must repay kindness. You saved me, so I must take responsibility!" Ignoring Bai Jun's exasperated expression, Su Shang held on to his sleeve, unwilling to let go easily.

"I understand your determination, but no matter what, saying such things to a man you've just met is a bit inappropriate, don't you think?" Bai Jun took a deep breath and, adopting a serious yet gentle tone as if speaking to a child, pried her fingers open.

"In-inappropriate? But I just want to repay you!"

"Enough, how long are you going to pester me? This is really unbecoming." Bai Jun glanced back at Su Shang, ignoring her pleading eyes, his tone becoming slightly impatient. "I'll just pretend none of this happened, and you should probably forget about it too, okay?"

"Why would you say to forget? You just saved my life... Saying to forget is just too strange!"

"What's so strange about it? If anything, you're the strange one!" Noticing the odd glances from passersby, Bai Jun, his sense of shame about to explode, retorted loudly.

"Don't go, please, my conscience will absolutely not forgive me—Ugh!"

Seeing Bai Jun turn to leave, Su Shang immediately tried to stop him. But as soon as she grabbed his wrist, in her haste, she tripped over her own feet, falling to the ground with a thud.

"You, you're really just thinking of yourself all along..."

Seeing her stubbornness, it was truly impossible to reason with her. Bai Jun sighed helplessly and took out a skewer. Under Su Shang's confused gaze, he slowly said, "Fine. Since you insist on compensating me, let's just say it's settled if you buy me a skewer of candied hawthorn. Also, don't call me benefactor anymore; just call me Bai Jun."

"I understand, Benefactor Bai Jun!"

Hearing this, Su Shang, who had been frowning with worry, finally relaxed. She didn't bother with her wind-blown hair, her face breaking into a bright, cheerful smile.

Finally, she echoed his phrasing and added, "Benefactor, you can just call me Su Shang!"

Unlimited Bounty

As the title suggests, I'll get straight to the point: I want to start a bounty and also address some questions.

This is my second book, and I've never had a bounty before. Coupled with my slow update speed, the comments are all filled with discussions about when I'll drop the book.

A new book really needs support. Without feedback, a young seedling can lose its motivation, especially with so many malicious comments...

Honestly, it makes me quite sad.

I promised in my last book that I would write it to a million characters, and I did. The current pause is only temporary. I will definitely finish it as promised. Please be merciful with your words. Besides, if I were truly going to drop it, why wouldn't I use an alt account? Why would I be so foolish as to use my main account to be insulted?

The framework and outline for this book are planned to be around 1.3 million characters. I won't go back on my word regarding fundamental issues, so you can rest assured. If you don't believe me, there's no need for sarcastic remarks; just go elsewhere and read whatever you like. You can come back later to see if I kept my word.

I have about 110,000 characters in reserve. Below are the reasons for the slow updates:

First, due to an operational error, I only signed the contract after writing 50,000 characters, which wasted a week and a half of recommendation slots. That's why the updates have been a bit slow; at least this way, I can get a few more days of recommendation slots.

Second, I am currently a sophomore majoring in foreign languages, and the academic pressure is immense. Much of my reserve manuscript has to be squeezed out of my free time. To ensure stable and quality updates, I must maintain a good stockpile of reserve manuscripts.

Alright, that's enough complaining. That's all for the explanation. Now, regarding the bounty notice: starting today until October 1st, I'm launching an unlimited bounty (I'll close it early if I can't keep up).

[3000 recommendation tickets per chapter]

[200 monthly tickets per chapter]

An additional chapter for every 10,000 in rewards or 100 knife pieces.

20 chapters for a golden treasure chest, 10 chapters for a silver treasure chest. Although I feel it's unnecessary to say, I'll add it anyway.

The current data is 65 monthly tickets, 1314 recommendation tickets, 4652 in rewards, and 32 knife pieces. I will tally the update data every day in the backend at midnight.

Lastly, I hope more people will leave comments. These comments will be a continuous source of motivation for updates. All feedback is welcome, and I will read everything, meow!

Chapter 25: Could She Really Be a Genius?

"Ding—"

[Noble Moral Commendation +15]

The cold, mechanical voice in his mind made Bai Jun pause for a moment. After regaining his composure, and before he could even feel happy, he suddenly realized his wrist was being tightly gripped by a small hand, the skin he touched feeling slightly warm.

"Su Shang, have you held on enough?"

He looked down and saw Su Shang, who was smiling foolishly opposite him. He coughed softly and nodded at her gently and kindly, signaling her to let go quickly.

Unexpectedly, Su Shang didn't understand his meaning at all. Instead, she thought this was proof of his approval. She smiled back, met Bai Jun's gaze calmly and openly, and tightened her grip even more. Bai Jun's expression darkened, and he unceremoniously slapped the back of her hand.

"Ouch, that hurt! Why did you do that, benefactor?" Su Shang, in pain, quickly withdrew her small hand, which was now red from the slap. She rubbed her sore hand and complained indignantly.

"I'm reminding you to go buy me a Qiongshi Bird Skewer. Also, remember to call me Bai Jun!" Seeing her show no remorse and not even know what she did wrong, Bai Jun rolled his eyes with a hint of weariness, his tone perfunctory.

"Oh, oh! Okay, ben— uh, Bai Jun!" As soon as she spoke, Su Shang realized she had made another mistake and quickly corrected herself, covering her head. "Can you tell me where to buy it?"

Despite the regional differences, many culinary styles within the Xianzhou Alliance still shared similarities.

Take the candied hawthorn mentioned earlier, for example, which could also be called Qiongshi Bird Skewer. It originated from the Qiongshi Bird, which bore clusters of fruit on its tail. This bird was clever and charming, with a sweet and pleasant call, making it very lovable. Therefore, people gave the candied hawthorn an elegant name specifically for this bird. Over time, everyone accepted this designation.

Su Shang vaguely remembered that Uncle Mu next door used to make it for her often when she was a child.

"You can buy Qiongshi Bird Skewers everywhere at the Starcruiser Sea Hub... Wait, you don't know?"

"I'm new here, I don't know yet."

This time, it was Bai Jun's turn to look surprised. He looked Su Shang up and down again, only then realizing that her fashion sense and speech differed noticeably from the surrounding pedestrians.

When his gaze fell upon the ancient Xuanyuan Sword beside Su Shang, Bai Jun slapped his forehead and suddenly realized, "Wait a minute, is your mother Su Yi?"

"Huh? How did you know? D-Does that mean you're from Yaoqing too, Bai Jun!"

Ancient Xianzhou sayings have it that when old friends meet, tears well up in their eyes.

Although Su Shang had only left Yaoqing a few days ago, being a stranger in a foreign land, coupled with her sensitive and delicate girlish heart, made her prone to homesickness. Now, seeing a fellow countryman, and one who had just saved her life, Su Shang was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. She rushed forward and hugged Bai Jun.

"As if!"

Bai Jun pushed away Su Shang, who was smearing snot and tears on his clothes, with disgust. He pointed directly at the Xuanyuan Sword by Su Shang's hand.

Who in Yaoqing didn't know the great fame of the Great Void Sword Art? And the family heirloom sword, Xuanyuan, was renowned throughout the industry.

Some said it was forged from the residual embers of the divine arrows shot by the Aeon of The Hunt to extinguish stars, while others claimed the sword was a demonic blade forged with the pure fire of Suiyang. In any case, anyone who had seen the sword knew its origin.

Su Shang's usually slow mind now seemed exceptionally sharp. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and blinked a few times. An idea suddenly appeared in her mind: "Could it be... Bai Jun, you know my mother!"

Indeed, one couldn't have any expectations of her. Bai Jun helplessly held his forehead, marveling at the girl's erratic thinking, but he was too lazy to retort. He simply went along with Su Shang's words.

"Something like that. I lived in Yaoqing for a while and had the honor of meeting your mother a few times. But it was from a distance, so I never interacted with her. Strictly speaking, I only knew of your mother on my own."

"Oh, oh, I see, I understand..."

She said she understood, but Bai Jun felt from her clear yet foolish eyes that she didn't really get it. He couldn't say anything else, so he just told her where to go to buy the Qiongshi Bird Skewers.

"Uh, benefactor, could you repeat that? I didn't hear clearly just now."

Su Shang scratched her cheek, her voice filled with confusion and a hint of embarrassment. Bai Jun suddenly remembered that this girl was a bit slow, so he sighed, grabbed Su Shang's wrist, and walked towards the food stalls on the east side of Xuan Ye Avenue.

Su Shang followed obediently behind Bai Jun, looking around like a curious baby, just like other Outworlders. She would occasionally tug at his clothes and ask what things were. "Bai Jun, Bai Jun, what's floating in the sky? Whose bedsheet is that?"

"That's a temperature and wind direction detector."

"Oh, oh! This must be Luofu's morning glories! I saw them in a book. They're so pretty with their white flowers!"

"No, those are hydrangeas. Morning glories only bloom in autumn, you idiot." Bai Jun waved his hand impatiently and turned around, making a shushing gesture with his finger. "Be quiet for a bit. I'm actually terrible with directions. If you keep distracting me like this, we might get lost."

Su Shang became much quieter after that, following behind Bai Jun silently. When she encountered something curious, she would just look at it more and never disturb Bai Jun with her questions. It seemed she was genuinely afraid of getting lost.

Turning left along the main road into Xuan Ye Avenue, the first intersection ahead led to the food stalls, which were crowded with many tourists queuing to buy various Luofu specialty snacks.

The taste itself wasn't particularly amazing, and the prices were a bit high. Locals in Luofu rarely ate here; only Outworlder tourists who had just arrived were willing to spend the money.

Bai Jun stepped forward and ordered two Qiongshi Bird Skewers. The task of paying naturally fell to Su Shang behind him. When she heard that two skewers cost 3,000 Credits, her fingers, which were counting money into her wallet, paused for a moment. Finally, she gritted her teeth and handed the money to the vendor.

"So expensive, and such a small portion. A whole skewer of candied hawthorn in Yaoqing is only 400 Credits..." Su Shang looked at the Qiongshi Bird Skewer in her hand, which had only four pieces of fruit, with heartache. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to eat it.

"You're not eating it? Then it's perfect for me."

"No! I'll eat, I'll eat!"

Bai Jun held the Qiongshi Bird Skewer to his mouth and reached out to snatch the skewer from Su Shang's hand. Startled, Su Shang quickly stuffed the skewer into her mouth. She didn't want to eat none of the candied hawthorn she had spent so much money on.

Seeing her adorable, protective behavior, Bai Jun chuckled and shrugged. It was just a joke; he wouldn't snatch things from a young girl.

He casually leaned against a wooden railing, his hands crossed loosely on the railing, his gaze lazily sweeping across the other end of the Chahai. He occasionally popped a Qiongshi fruit into his mouth with a languid air, his relaxed demeanor making Su Shang glance at him more than once.

She hadn't had a good look earlier. Now, staring intently, Su Shang realized that Bai Jun was indeed quite handsome.

His tall, slender build, skin as white as fine snow, a cool and handsome face, gentle eyes, and clean, long fingers. His nails were neatly trimmed, and his fingertips had a few calluses, like traces left from practicing swordplay for a long time...

Su Shang's breathing gradually slowed, her gaze seemingly captivated, staring blankly at his profile.

Suddenly, she remembered a white flower she had picked and put in her pocket earlier. Without thinking, she tucked it behind Bai Jun's ear, where it complemented his silvery hair.

"What are you doing?"

"It looks good..."

Suddenly snapping back to reality, Bai Jun, sensing her unusual gaze, stared at her with a strange expression. Su Shang's face instantly flushed a light red, and she began to stammer an excuse. "Huh? I-I'm a bit hot, haha, why is Luofu so hot!"

Speaking, she fanned her burning hot cheeks with the hand not holding the Qiongshi Bird Skewer, then suddenly pointed at the wide star gate in the distance, trying to change the subject: "Oh right, what is that big thing on the Jade Realm Gate? It's so cool!"

Bai Jun first looked at the white flower she had tucked behind his ear, thought about it, decided it looked good, and then quietly tucked it back in.

His gaze then followed Su Shang's finger towards the Jade Realm Gate. He took a bite of the Qiongshi Bird Skewer and calmly replied, "That majestic spirit is called the 'Lord of the Divine Firmament, Commander of Thunder and Lightning, Exorcist of Demons and Sweeper of Filth.' The name is too long to remember, so we just call him the Divine Monarch for short."

"Uh, Exorcist of what, Commander of what, Sweeper of what Divine Monarch?"

Seeing Su Shang's confused expression, Bai Jun didn't think his explanation was unclear. Instead, he attributed her lack of understanding to her limited comprehension. He cleared his throat and rephrased it in a simpler, more understandable way: "Our great immortal is like the old grandpa who manages the thunder family within the three realms, striking whoever he pleases. His name is too long to memorize, so just call him Third Grandpa."

This time, she understood.

Su Shang clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh, oh, Third Grandpa!"

Bai Jun pursed his lips, trying his best to maintain a standard smile, thinking to himself that this girl was indeed a big dummy.

"Oh right, Bai Jun, I wanted to ask you for a favor!"

Su Shang seemed to remember something important and suddenly tugged on Bai Jun's sleeve. A rare look of seriousness appeared on her usually silly face:

"Um, actually, I came to Luofu to join the Cloud Cavalry. I'm new here and don't know my way around. Could you take me to the Cloud Cavalry's registration office?" Midway through her sentence, her carefully maintained serious expression slipped back into a goofy smile, and she scratched her head, finding it hard to say.

"The Cloud Cavalry registration office?"

Bai Jun blinked, scanning Su Shang with disbelief. But then he remembered her mother was the renowned Su Yi, and he felt relieved. As the saying goes, a tiger father has no dog son; the same logic applied to mother and daughter.

Seeing that Bai Jun remained silent, Su Shang thought he was going to refuse her and felt a pang of disappointment. "It's okay if you're busy, I can ask one of the patrolling Cloud Cavalry brothers..."

She quickly stuffed the rest of the Qiongshi fruit into her mouth, tossed the skewer into the trash can, and mumbled, "Never mind, I've had a bit too much sugar today. Think of it as a walk to burn it off. I'll take you."

"You really are a great benefactor!" Su Shang was instantly moved to tears, and her good impression of Bai Jun rose a few more notches.

"Just helping out... Hey! You dummy, stop wiping your tears on me!"