Clever Tang Yuehua

News of the Meng Family Bounty had already spread throughout Baihe City. The impact of a reward of one million Gold Soul Coins was simply too great.

Even Soul Masters could not remain unmoved by the temptation of one million Gold Soul Coins. Quite a few Soul Masters had appeared in Baihe City over the past few days, though their strength was fairly average. So far, Huangfu Ji had not seen a single Soul Master stronger than a Soul King.

However, all these Soul Masters had one thing in common: they had come in groups.

At a tea stall, Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua sat drinking tea and eating pastries. Though Huangfu Ji was doing most of the eating, Tang Yuehua had not touched any. She merely sat there quietly, watching.

There were more than twenty Soul Masters in the vicinity, and not far from the tea stall stood Baihe City's Great Soul Arena.

After looking around, Tang Yuehua said softly, "I'm afraid all the Soul Masters nearby are waiting for Xing Hu."

Huangfu Ji raised his teacup and inconspicuously glanced at the Soul Master behind Tang Yuehua before giving a slight nod.

"Correct."

Perhaps because he knew he had been targeted by a bounty, Xing Hu had not shown himself for several days. Huangfu Ji even wondered whether he was still in Baihe City.

Because he had killed several Soul Masters in life-or-death battles, some of whom had forces backing them, Xing Hu's residence was never fixed in order to prevent anyone from seeking revenge. He might stay in the west of the city today, the north tomorrow, and perhaps in the mountains outside Baihe City the day after. In short, his whereabouts were unpredictable.

The Great Soul Arena was the only place Xing Hu frequented, but now he was not even coming here.

The saying that a monk might run away but the temple could not did not apply to Xing Hu at all, because he had no temple. He was not even from Baihe City.

No one knew where Xing Hu was from. Some said he was from the Heaven Dou Empire, while others claimed he had come from the Star Luo Empire.

Huangfu Ji put down his teacup, left some money behind, and rose to leave. Tang Yuehua followed him.

"Where are we going?" Tang Yuehua asked in confusion as she followed Huangfu Ji.

Huangfu Ji said calmly, "Out of the city."

"To find Xing Hu?" Tang Yuehua asked.

Huangfu Ji nodded. He guessed Xing Hu was most likely outside the city now. As long as the bounty remained, Xing Hu would not show himself. Even if they waited in Baihe City for a year, they would not find him.

He did not have that much time. He still had to go to Heaven Dou City, and the Royal Academy was about to begin classes.

He did not want to become the first Grand Duke in history to be expelled. Though that would not happen, arriving early certainly would not hurt.

The two left the city on foot. As a young girl who was learning noble etiquette and striving to be poised and elegant, Tang Yuehua had never imagined that one day she would walk out of the city with a friend she had only known for a few days.

This was not even an outing. They were simply looking for someone.

After walking for two hours, Tang Yuehua stopped in frustration.

Her gemstone-bright eyes were now filled with exhaustion. She was not a powerful Soul Master and did not have enough stamina. Having held up her skirt and walked continuously for two hours, she was already exhausted.

Yet Huangfu Ji acted as if he had not noticed at all.

Why does this Grand Duke Qingyang have no idea how to treat a woman gently?

She was a perfectly lovely young woman. Following him out here was one thing, but Huangfu Ji had nothing in his head except finding Xing Hu.

"Say, can we rest for a while?" Tang Yuehua asked weakly, her arms hanging at her sides and her head lowered.

Huangfu Ji, who had been hurrying along ahead, suddenly stopped. He turned to look at the listless Tang Yuehua, and his expression immediately became somewhat awkward.

He admitted that he had indeed overlooked the fact that Tang Yuehua was only a level-nine Soul Master. He would not feel tired after walking for two hours, but Tang Yuehua was different.

"Sorry, I... overlooked you."

Tang Yuehua looked thoroughly frustrated. She felt Huangfu Ji could be compared to her two brothers, who only knew how to swing giant hammers. No, he was even worse. Whenever her two brothers had something good, they always thought of their younger sister first.

They also took her feelings into consideration.

But Huangfu Ji had completely ignored her.

"Huangfu, if you weren't a Grand Duke, you'd be destined to be alone for the rest of your life."

Unable to hold it in, she mocked him.

At least, that was how she saw it at the moment. Without the status of Grand Duke, Huangfu Ji would have a hard time finding a wife in the future. After all, not every powerful man had a wife—just look at her two brothers.

Her eldest brother, Tang Xiao, was already forty-three this year. Not to mention a wife, he did not even have a girlfriend. Every day, all he knew was swinging giant hammers; his mind was full of nothing but swinging giant hammers. Their father was worried sick over it.

Her second brother, Tang Hao, was also twenty-eight this year. Two years ago, he had left the sect to train in the City of Slaughter. She still did not know whether he had returned, but he was just like their eldest brother, with nothing in his mind but swinging giant hammers.

The two brothers had absolutely no interest in romance. It was as though, in their eyes, women would only interfere with their hammer-swinging.

Not to mention those two—even Qian Xunji, the mighty Pope of Spirit Hall, was still single.

Huangfu Ji said nothing. The two casually found a stone by the roadside and sat down.

Supporting herself with both hands on the stone, Tang Yuehua looked up at the cotton-candy-like white clouds in the sky.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Tang Yuehua suddenly asked.

Huangfu Ji looked at her first, then shook his head.

"No."

He was not lying. He truly did not have a girlfriend. Liu Erlong did not count; at most, they were only good friends. Perhaps in a few years, she would start dating Yu Xiaogang.

Tang Yuehua wore an expression of complete certainty.

Just as she thought. With the way Huangfu Ji did not treat women like women at all, how could he possibly have a girlfriend?

Gurgle~

Suddenly, an untimely sound rang out. Blushing, Tang Yuehua covered her stomach. She had barely eaten any breakfast, and after walking continuously for two hours, she was hungry now.

Yet this place was in the middle of nowhere, with no food to be found at all.

At that moment, Huangfu Ji took out the wooden box Liu Erlong had given him before he left from his Soul Tool. When he opened it, the fragrance of cake wafted out.

"It smells so good." Catching that scent, Tang Yuehua's eyes immediately lit up.

Huangfu Ji picked up a piece of cake and handed it to her.

"Thank you." Taking the cake, Tang Yuehua parted her cherry-red lips and took a small bite.

"It's delicious! Where did you buy it?"

Huangfu Ji smiled. "I didn't buy it. A friend made it when I was leaving, and I hadn't eaten it yet."

Tang Yuehua tilted her head at him.

"A girl?"

Huangfu Ji nodded. "That's right. She was my classmate at the Junior Soul Master Academy—my first friend in life."

Tang Yuehua froze for a moment, then looked at the cake in her hand.

A girl. His first friend in life. A cake given to him before his journey.

Putting her clever mind to work, she quickly figured out most of it.

"She must be very pretty, right?" Tang Yuehua's eyes held a teasing glint. And he said he didn't have a girlfriend. If she wasn't his girlfriend, why would she give him cake?

Huangfu Ji gave a hum of agreement.

"She really is beautiful."

"Her temper's just a little bad."

As he said that, he suddenly smiled, Liu Erlong's figure appearing in his mind.

Tang Yuehua quietly ate her cake, her bright eyes playful.

Clearly, neither of them had expressed their feelings. That girl obviously liked Huangfu Ji, but Huangfu Ji himself didn't know it.

And judging by Huangfu Ji's expression, he clearly liked her a little too. He just hadn't realized it himself.

As expected, nothing can escape my, Tang Yuehua's, discerning eyes.

I've seen through everything.

I'm so smart.

Shaking her head, Tang Yuehua smiled with a touch of pride.