Sisters' Gathering

Ye Lian didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he turned to Wu Siming and asked, "Siming, what do you think?"

Wu Siming smiled faintly. A glimmer of ambition shone in his eyes.

"What if we just killed off all the higher-ups? Then Xia Bu wouldn't have to be constrained by his orders anymore."

"You really dare to say that."

Ye Lian shook his head helplessly. He knew there was no point trying to talk sense into him.

Jia Meng stood quietly to one side, lost in thought.

Time slipped by like white horses glimpsed through a crack. Before long, it was the day of the Sisters' Gathering.

The capital was an ancient and beautiful city, drawing countless visitors with its rich history and distinctive cultural charm.

Along its streets, classical buildings stood in elegant rows, each seeming to tell a thousand-year-old story.

The setting sun spilled across the ground, adding a warm, lively glow to the ancient city.

Where the capital's largest and most prestigious school stood, its timeworn buildings rose amid a stretch of lush trees, as though guarding a long and storied history.

Tall camphor trees spread their branches overhead, forming a natural canopy and lending the ancient school a solemn, sacred air.

Wu Siming gazed at the timeworn buildings. His brows furrowed, and he grumbled, "This place is so old. Good thing I brought tickets for the amusement park. We can go there later!"

A hint of distaste for old things slipped into his voice.

Xia Bu stood beside him, grinning as he teased, "We're at someone else's school, and you're insulting it. Be careful they don't come out and hit you."

Jia Ruo was always carefree. She shrugged and said, "My gang's always been good at getting into fights. It's mainly because you three are here—I don't want to get into it with a bunch of men and ruin my image."

There was a hint of smugness in her voice as she joked.

"What image? You don't have one," Wu Siming said without hesitation.

"The capital's full of people making fun of me. Keep running your mouth, and I'll beat you up," Jia Ruo threatened.

"Jia Ruo, if you don't want to get your hands dirty, I've got just the right little toy for you."

Just then, Jia Meng rummaged through her bag and pulled out a plush toy, handing it to Jia Ruo.

It was a Rottweiler about the size of a palm. Its fur was soft and fluffy, and it looked adorable.

"What's this?" Jia Ruo asked curiously.

Jia Meng smiled faintly and explained, "Just channel some Soul Force into it, and you'll see."

Following Jia Meng's instructions, Jia Ruo channeled some of her Soul Force into the plush toy.

The plush toy came to life in an instant. Its tail wagged, and a gleam appeared in its eyes as it gradually grew into a full-sized Rottweiler.

"This is a plush toy just like the one Ye Lian's old man used to have. I've already built a combat array into it, powered by Soul Force."

"The Soul Force you just used was to make it recognize its master."

"It'll automatically attack anyone who means you harm, or any evil spirit. Otherwise, it'll follow you around on its own. No matter the situation, it won't stray more than three meters from you."

Jia Meng explained carefully.

Jia Ruo stroked the Rottweiler's wagging tail. From the look in her eyes, it was clear how much she liked it.

She reached out and ran a hand through its fur, feeling its soft, fluffy coat.

"It's so adorable. I'll just call it 'Dancing With the Dog' from now on." Jia Ruo spoke gently.

Wu Siming raised an eyebrow and couldn't help teasing her. "Hey, Meng, you're not trying to court Jia Ruo, are you? What's all this about?"

There was a hint of teasing in his voice.

Jia Meng shook her head and replied evenly, "Of course not. I just happened to have a toy lying around, so I gave it to her."

Wu Siming gave her a suspicious look.

"Normal people don't just make a toy because they're bored, you know. What, you get bored and go collect some rare evil spirit?"

Wu Siming turned to Xia Bu.

"Sometimes, yeah," Xia Bu said, sounding a little guilty.

Ever since Jia Meng had altered his taste, collecting Soul Force no longer interested him.

In fact, it had become a hobby. Whenever he had nothing to do, he enjoyed collecting rare, strange evil spirits using his unique methods.

"Huh? Are you saying I'm abnormal?"

Wu Siming turned to Jia Ruo, then pointed at himself.

"Let me tell you, you don't have to doubt yourself. If anyone here is abnormal, it's the three of you. I'm the most normal one."

Only then did Jia Ruo remember to straighten Wu Siming's collar. She looked over at Jia Meng and said, "Meng, just so we're clear, you're not my type."

"Don't worry. I'm only interested in men, and I'm not into you," Jia Meng replied.

"That's good. Then, Meng, your type is a plush-toy guy? You're not into flesh-and-blood men?" Jia Ruo asked curiously.

"There are too many rules for flesh-and-blood men. I don't want to invite trouble," Jia Meng said casually.

"If you've made one, why not use it? Then what was all that work for?" Wu Siming said.

"Making plush spirit dolls is just a hobby of mine. Apart from chatting with Soul Force every day, I need something interesting to do," Jia Meng replied.

Xia Bu stood to one side, his brow furrowed slightly as he pondered something.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Jia Ruo noticed Xia Bu's unusual expression and asked.

Xia Bu came back to himself and answered calmly, "Nothing. I just think Meng's idea makes a lot of sense."

"Making plush toys to collect Soul Force sounds like it would get boring if you did it every day. You'd need to find something fun to do, or you'd never have a moment's peace."

Jia Ruo fell silent, lost in thought.

Soul Force was produced by the emotions people felt. As long as there were people in the world, Soul Force would never run out.

The workload of gathering Soul Force was also enormous. She was already getting dark circles under her eyes from exhaustion.

She lifted her head to gaze at the blue sky, a hint of worry showing in her eyes.

After a while, something suddenly occurred to her. She raised an eyebrow and asked Jia Meng, "Meng, what kind of Soul Force does Dancing With the Dog need?"

Jia Meng smiled faintly, thought for a moment, then replied, "It doesn't need much Soul Force to make an ordinary one, but even a single one can collect a little in a short time."

"What? One can do that?" Jia Ruo's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Doesn't that mean you can collect Soul Force on a much larger scale with enough of them?"

Excitement crept into Xia Bu's voice.

He imagined that if the plush dolls could be put to extensive use, the formidable Soul Force Corps would be able to fulfill its mission much faster.

Jia Meng shook her head.

"You're overthinking it. Dancing With the Dog can only collect Soul Force below the second level because I put a lot of Soul Force into its frame."

She pointed at Dancing With the Dog as she explained.

"The dolls can collect Soul Force, but their power is limited. They can only deal with evil spirits on their own. They're easily destroyed, whereas I can collect far more Soul Force."

Jia Ruo fell silent, and a sense of despondency settled over her. Just as hope had begun to rise, it was crushed.

What she didn't know was that while plush dolls couldn't generate Soul Force on their own, that didn't mean flesh-and-blood people couldn't.

It was just that it hadn't been fully developed yet. With a few other objective conditions limiting it, Jia Meng still had plenty of research to do.