"Nannan, I heard Little Huo's Grilled Fish tastes pretty good, and business is booming. Why don't we try some?"
Her roommate's voice brought Jiang Nannan back to her senses. As she smelled the aroma wafting through the air, a flicker of temptation appeared in her eyes.
Jiang Nannan's roommates crowded around her as they approached Huo Yuhao's stall. The people waiting in line did not mind her actions in the slightest. Instead, they voluntarily cleared a path for her.
In a world whose underlying logic was lovesick obsession, beauties like Jiang Nannan always enjoyed all sorts of privileges. Besides, these people harbored certain unrealistic fantasies. If simply giving up their place could win them the favor of the Outer Court's greatest beauty, it would be an incredibly worthwhile bargain.
Jiang Nannan gave them a grateful smile before turning her attention to Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.
"Junior, how much are these grilled fish?"
The gentle female voice and Jiang Nannan's exquisitely beautiful face left Huo Yuhao momentarily dazed, and a slight blush rose to his cheeks. Fortunately, he recovered in time and immediately answered:
"Senior, they're five Copper Soul Coins each."
Tang Ya had set the price of the grilled fish as well. Considering the cost of sourcing supplies from the academy cafeteria and the labor involved, five Copper Soul Coins was already a very fair price.
Although Huo Yuhao did not earn much from each sale, his bustling business more than made up for it, and supporting himself was no problem at all.
What Huo Yuhao had not expected, however, was for a hint of difficulty to appear on this stunningly beautiful senior's face. Though her voice remained gentle, it took on a touch of the mundane world of haggling:
"Could you make it a little cheaper? How about three Copper Soul Coins?"
To think such a beautiful senior would actually haggle with me over two Copper Soul Coins. I really didn't see that coming...
The thought flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind, but his expression remained unmoved. "I don't bargain over my grilled fish."
"Sorry for interrupting your business, junior. I'll try some another time."
Jiang Nannan did not linger. After apologizing, she prepared to turn and leave.
But in the next instant, the winds shifted and the clouds changed.
A deep, powerful voice brimming with anger suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a figure strode over. Judging by his appearance, he was probably about Jiang Nannan's age, with a tall, muscular build.
It was none other than Xu Sanshi, who had been pursuing Jiang Nannan all this time.
[Here it comes, here it comes. This scene really does look familiar!]
[Next, Xu Sanshi should throw his weight around, Bei Bei will step forward, and then they'll make a wager and have a Soul Fighting match. After that, Huo Yuhao will use his Spiritual Detection to help Bei Bei cheat and win a Mystic Water Pill.]
[Tsk. Without this Mystic Water Pill, Huo Yuhao would probably need a few more years to achieve what he eventually does. Never mind anything else, without it, just reaching rank twenty before the holidays would be enough to stump him.]
[The process of unlocking his second martial soul would slow down, and everything that comes afterward would slow down considerably too. You could say this Mystic Water Pill is a turning point in Huo Yuhao's early days.]
[As for Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi...]
Aoyao frowned slightly, trying hard to recall the original story's plot.
[I can't remember whether that incident had already happened to Jiang Nannan at this point.]
[Anyway, the gist is that Jiang Nannan's mother was seriously ill, and only the Black Tortoise Divine Pill made by the Xuanming Sect, where Xu Sanshi came from, could save her. As luck would have it, the second ritual of Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul Awakening required him to consummate a union with a girl, so Jiang Nannan made a deal with him.]
[But Xu Sanshi had no experience and went in through the wrong door. Not only did his Martial Soul Evolution fail, he also left Jiang Nannan scarred for life.]
[Seriously, could an actual human being really dream up a plot as outrageously tasteless as going through the wrong door?]
[What? You're saying this is a certain San's work? Never mind, then. After all, there are countless even more tasteless scenes under his pen. Compared with all those insane plotlines about fucking the final boss to death and raping the heroine, this is barely a splash of water.]
Jiang Nannan's face abruptly went pale.
She unconsciously swallowed the words she had been about to use to rebuke Xu Sanshi, and her body retreated two steps against her will. When she looked at him again, her eyes held not only disgust but also a deep trace of terror.
Ever since she had entered Shrek Academy, Xu Sanshi had fallen for her at first sight and begun pursuing her like sticky candy that refused to come off. Jiang Nannan had not felt much ill will toward him as a person; she had merely found his clingy pursuit irritating and repulsive.
But now, what had she just seen in the diary?
She had made a deal with Xu Sanshi and given him her body to save her mother's life, only for him to go in through the wrong...
Thinking of her mother, whose health truly was poor and who had recently become bedridden, unable to get up and even showing signs of worsening, Jiang Nannan's breath caught slightly. She began to believe some of what the diary said.
If the Xuanming Sect's medicine called the Black Tortoise Divine Pill really could save her mother, and if it were the only medicine capable of doing so, she might truly choose to make such a deal with Xu Sanshi.
But... going through the wrong door was really rather difficult to accept.
Never mind actually having it happen to her. Just hearing Aoyao describe it was more than Jiang Nannan could bear.
I'm already scarred by it, okay?
Yet whenever she thought of her mother lying in bed, a dull ache stirred in Jiang Nannan's heart.
Even so, it seemed... she had no choice at all.
Her mother was still waiting to be saved...
Wait!
Jiang Nannan abruptly raised her head. An unnatural flush rose to the face that had turned rather pale from the diary's contents.
Since this diary was so miraculous, could she obtain a reward through it that would save her mother's life?
Then she would not have to endure that kind of painful ordeal...
Seeing Jiang Nannan remain silent throughout, Xu Sanshi approached her with an ingratiating smile, trying hard to look gentle. "Nannan, I'm about to go to the Soul Fighting Arena with Bei Bei. Come cheer me on, okay?"
As he spoke, Xu Sanshi held out the two grilled fish he had snatched from Huo Yuhao's stall using a Gold Soul Coin:
"Nannan, have these two grilled fish first. Once I get off the Soul Fighting Platform..."
Before Xu Sanshi could finish, Jiang Nannan took several steps back, putting some distance between them.
Her expression made it seem as though Xu Sanshi were some god of plague.
At this, Xu Sanshi froze slightly. A hurt expression appeared on his face, but inwardly, he was puzzled.
Although Jiang Nannan had rejected his advances before, she had never avoided him like the god of plague the way she did today, had she?
Could I have done something wrong again?
Before you continue