"Nan Nan, I heard this little Xiao Huo Grilled Fish stall is pretty good. Business is booming, too. Why don't we give it a try?"
The voice of Jiang Nannan's roommate brought her back to her senses. As the fragrant aroma filled the air, a hint of longing appeared in Jiang Nannan's eyes.
Her roommates clustered around Jiang Nannan as they approached Huo Yuhao's stall. The people waiting in line didn't mind her cutting ahead at all. In fact, they eagerly made way for her.
In a world where romance ruled, beauties like Jiang Nannan always enjoyed all kinds of privileges. What was more, these people harbored unrealistic fantasies of their own. Giving up a spot in line was a small price to pay if it won them the favor of the outer courtyard's number-one beauty.
Jiang Nannan smiled gratefully at them, then turned her attention to Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.
"Junior, how much are the grilled fish?"
The soft female voice and Jiang Nannan's exquisitely beautiful face left Huo Yuhao momentarily dazed, and a slight blush rose to his cheeks. Fortunately, he quickly recovered and replied, "Senior, the grilled fish are five Copper Soul Coins apiece."
Tang Ya had set the price of the grilled fish. Taking into account the cost of getting the fish from the academy cafeteria and the labor, five Copper Soul Coins was already a very fair price.
Although Huo Yuhao wasn't making much, business was booming, and he had no trouble supporting himself.
What Huo Yuhao hadn't expected was that the beautiful senior's face would show a hint of hesitation. Her voice remained gentle, but now carried the worldly edge of haggling. "Could you make it a little cheaper? How about three Copper Soul Coins?"
Who would've thought such a beautiful senior would haggle with him over just two Copper Soul Coins? He certainly hadn't expected that.
The thought crossed Huo Yuhao's mind, but his expression didn't change. "I don't haggle over the price of my grilled fish."
"Sorry for interrupting your business, Junior. Maybe I'll try it another time."
Jiang Nannan didn't linger. After apologizing, she turned to leave.
But the next instant, everything changed.
A low, booming voice, thick with anger, rang out. A figure strode toward them. Judging by his appearance, he was around Jiang Nannan's age, tall and powerfully built.
It was none other than Xu Sanshi, who had been pursuing Jiang Nannan.
[Here it comes, here it comes! This scene looks so familiar!]
[What should happen next is Xu Sanshi throwing his weight around, Bei Bei stepping in, and the two making a bet and fighting a Soul Fighting match. Then Huo Yuhao will use his Spiritual Detection to help Bei Bei cheat, and win a Mysterious Water Pill.]
[Tsk, without that Mysterious Water Pill, it would probably have taken Huo Yuhao a few more years to achieve what he does in the future. For starters, without it, even breaking through to level twenty before the holiday would've been a challenge.]
[His Second Martial Soul would awaken much later, and everything that came after would be delayed as well. You could say that the Mysterious Water Pill was a major turning point in Huo Yuhao's early life.]
[As for Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi...]
Ao Yao furrowed his brow slightly, trying hard to recall the original story.
[I can't remember if Jiang Nannan had already gone through that incident by this point.]
[Anyway, the gist of it was that Jiang Nannan's mother was gravely ill, and only the Black Tortoise Divine Pill, made by the Dark Nether Sect Xu Sanshi came from, could save her. As it happened, Xu Sanshi needed to sleep with a girl for the second ritual of his Martial Soul Awakening, so Jiang Nannan made a deal with him.]
[But Xu Sanshi had no experience and went into the wrong room. His Martial Soul Evolution failed, and he left Jiang Nannan with a lifelong trauma.]
[Seriously, who comes up with a ridiculous, clichéd plot about going into the wrong room?]
[What? You say it's something by a certain San? Oh, in that case, never mind. His works are full of plot points even more clichéd than this. Compared to the other outrageous stuff he wrote—like killing the final boss and raping the heroine—this is nothing.]
Jiang Nannan's face suddenly went pale.
The words she'd been about to use to scold Xu Sanshi caught in her throat. She staggered backward two steps, unable to stop herself. When she looked at Xu Sanshi again, her eyes held not only disgust but deep, unmistakable fear.
Ever since Jiang Nannan had entered Shrek Academy, Xu Sanshi had fallen in love with her at first sight and begun pursuing her relentlessly. She hadn't particularly disliked him as a person; she was simply fed up with and repelled by his clingy pursuit.
But now, what had she just read in the Diary?
She would make a deal with Xu Sanshi and give herself to him to save her mother, only for him to go into the wrong...
Thinking of her mother, who had never been in good health and had recently become bedridden, unable even to get up, with her condition showing signs of worsening, Jiang Nannan's breathing hitched. She found herself believing the Diary's contents a little more.
If the medicine called the Black Tortoise Divine Pill from the Dark Nether Sect could really save her mother, and it was the only medicine that could, then she might truly choose to make that kind of deal with Xu Sanshi.
But... the whole going-into-the-wrong-room business was just too much to accept.
She couldn't accept it even just from hearing Ao Yao describe it, let alone if it actually happened to her.
It had already left her with a trauma, okay?
But as soon as she thought of her mother lying in bed, a dull ache stirred in Jiang Nannan's heart.
Even so, it seemed... she had no other choice.
Her mother was waiting to be saved...
Wait!
Jiang Nannan abruptly lifted her head. Her pale face, drained of color by what she'd read in the Diary, now flushed an unnatural red.
If this Diary was so miraculous, couldn't she get a reward through it that would save her mother's life?
Then she wouldn't have to go through something so painful...
Seeing Jiang Nannan remain silent, Xu Sanshi approached her with an ingratiating smile, trying his best to look gentle. "Nan Nan, I'm about to have a match with Bei Bei at the Soul Fighting Arena. Why don't you come cheer me on?"
As he spoke, Xu Sanshi handed Jiang Nannan the two grilled fish he'd snatched from Huo Yuhao's stall using Gold Soul Coins. "Nan Nan, have these two grilled fish first. Once I'm done at the Soul Fighting Platform..."
Before Xu Sanshi could finish, Jiang Nannan took several steps back, putting distance between them.
She looked at him as if he were some kind of plague god.
Xu Sanshi froze for a moment. Hurt showed on his face, but he couldn't understand what was going on.
Jiang Nannan had always rejected his advances, but she'd never avoided him like he was some kind of plague god. Why was she acting this way today?
Had I done something wrong again?
Before you continue