A Match Made in Heaven

Bibi Dong stopped instead, glaring at him angrily. "I refuse to believe your whole body is made of iron!"

She stomped her foot furiously and left him with a threat. "Just you wait! Sooner or later, I'll find a chance to bite you to death!!"

With that, she ignored Zhao Linchuan and marched straight to the exquisitely arranged low table. She plopped down, her lips jutting out in a deep pout, and slapped the table. "Food, food! I haven't had a proper meal all day—I'm starving!"

"Your mouth is on your own face. If you chose not to eat, how is that my fault?" Zhao Linchuan said as he walked to the campfire. With practiced movements, he removed the whole suckling pig from the grill, its skin golden and crisp, grease sizzling across the surface. The enticing aroma of roasted meat immediately filled the air.

Bibi Dong eyed the two ornate wine jars on the table, both clearly much larger than the ones from last night, along with their matching jade cups. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she pushed them aside. "Hey, why did you prepare so much wine today?"

"Tell me! Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?" Her face was full of vigilance.

"My dear Miss," Zhao Linchuan said, setting the fragrant roast suckling pig on the table and rolling his eyes helplessly, "you're a Soul Emperor with profound Soul Power. Do you really think a few jars of sweet drink could knock you out?"

"How would I know?" Bibi Dong curled her lips, picked up a wine jar, and poured herself a cup. She brought it to her nose and sniffed. "Maybe you slipped some colorless, odorless poison into it."

As she spoke, she cautiously took a small sip.

"Hm?" The sweetness on her tongue made her pause. It was not the fiery liquor she had expected, but a sweet beverage carrying the fresh fragrance of flowers and fruit.

Somewhat surprised, she looked at Zhao Linchuan. Under the moonlight, the sharply defined lines of his profile seemed to have softened.

Warmth stirred in Bibi Dong's heart, and her tone unconsciously gentled. "I didn't expect... you to be rather considerate."

"Ah..." Zhao Linchuan let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head. "Wasn't I just worried that the 'pet' I worked so hard to pick up might starve to death? What a loss that would be!"

"Pet?!" Bibi Dong's expression, which had only just softened, instantly bristled again. Her voice shot up. "You think I'm a pet?!"

"I said 'pet' as in something cherished, understand? The key is 'cherished'!" Zhao Linchuan forced out the explanation with a perfectly serious expression.

"You're saying I'm not human!" Bibi Dong pointed a slender finger angrily at Zhao Linchuan's nose.

"I never said that. You're the one who interpreted it that way." Zhao Linchuan spread his hands, looking entirely innocent.

"Hmph!" Bibi Dong was so infuriated by his shameless manner that she could not speak. She decided not to continue the verbal battle—otherwise, she might truly die of anger.

She turned her grief and indignation into appetite, reaching out directly to grab a steaming piece of roast pork Zhao Linchuan had just carved.

Ignoring the heat, she bit down viciously, as though she were biting into Zhao Linchuan's flesh.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Zhao Linchuan watched her eat without the slightest trace of ladylike grace and smiled teasingly. "With those table manners, you're really the Saintess of Spirit Hall?"

"I'd say you look more like some starving ghost reincarnated after going three days without food."

Bibi Dong shot him a fierce glare and could not be bothered to argue. She simply worked even harder at stuffing meat into her mouth, viciously making up her mind.

Eat! Eat it all! I won't leave you even a crumb! Starve to death, you bastard!

Half an hour later.

Bibi Dong lay sprawled across the soft grass without a shred of dignity, rubbing her round, bloated little belly.

She looked resentfully at Zhao Linchuan beside her, who remained calm and composed and had clearly eaten very little. "You... you said you'd already eaten?!"

"Of course." Zhao Linchuan looked as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I ate a long time ago."

"What's wrong? Who made our Saintess angry enough to stuff herself like this?"

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, feeling a lump of anger lodge in her chest. She nearly choked herself to death!

She had tried her hardest to starve him to death, only to find that he had already eaten his fill!

Furious, she turned her head away and refused to speak.

"Oh, right, Dong'er." As though he had suddenly remembered something important, Zhao Linchuan turned onto his side to face her. "Didn't you say you had a secret to tell me?"

"What earth-shattering secret was it? You can tell me now, right?"

Bibi Dong kept her head turned away and said sulkily, "Right now... I don't want to tell you anymore!"

"Then forget it." There was just the right amount of regret in Zhao Linchuan's voice, as though he truly did not intend to press her.

"Y-you don't want to ask what the secret is?" Bibi Dong could not help turning back, her voice carrying a hint of probing flirtation.

"A secret is private information that belongs only to someone," Zhao Linchuan said in a low voice, with an understanding tolerance that even carried a trace of loneliness. "It can only be shared with the person you trust most, the person who puts you most at ease."

"If you think I'm not qualified to know, or if you don't want to tell me, then of course I can't force you... I was too forward before, too frivolous with my words. From now on... I'll mind my boundaries."

"Don't! Lin Chuan, don't misunderstand!" Bibi Dong immediately panicked when she heard that.

She had finally found a friend with whom she could share her secrets, someone who let her feel relaxed and at ease. She was afraid he would truly distance himself from her.

"Actually... this secret might not be anything particularly shocking to you..." She took a deep breath and spread her hands flat.

Buzz! Buzz!

Two utterly different yet equally powerful auras instantly spread through the air.

Above her left palm, the phantom of a gigantic spider quietly emerged, its entire body covered in vicious bone spurs and radiating a cold aura of death—the Death Spider Emperor!

Above her right palm was another spider phantom, even stranger in form, wreathed in dark purple light that seemed capable of devouring souls—the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor!

"I once thought... that possessing Twin Martial Souls was a talent unique in this world, my greatest secret and my greatest reliance..." Bibi Dong's voice carried a trace of complicated emotion as she looked at Zhao Linchuan. "But I never expected that you were one as well... It seems I'm nothing special after all."

She had wanted to take the opportunity to ask Zhao Linchuan what his second Martial Soul was, but after hearing what he had said earlier, she no longer dared to ask. She feared crossing his "boundaries."

Zhao Linchuan revealed a perfectly timed look of shock, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Twin Martial Souls?! I truly never expected... that you possessed such a rare talent as well!"

"I thought I was a lonely anomaly in this world. But now, it seems..." He gazed at Bibi Dong's breathtakingly beautiful face, his tone carrying the weight of destiny. "Perhaps you and I truly are a match made in heaven."

"W-who is a match made in heaven with you?!" Bibi Dong's cheeks flushed red. She shot him a coquettish glare, wanting to refute him, only to find her heart pounding wildly. For a moment, she was left speechless.

They had known each other for only two days, yet this mysterious and powerful man had already cast a deep shadow over her heart. An indescribable feeling quietly began to take root.