Bibi Dong's Emotional Freezing Point

Hu Liena screamed as she flew out of the seventh floor of the library. Her tiny body tumbled down the stairs, rolling down twelve steps in a row before slamming into the wall between the sixth and seventh floors and coming to a stop. Since the staircase was spiral-shaped, the token she had been showing off also fell to the ground with a clattering sound.

The once-glamorous Hu Liena was now covered in dust after tumbling down the stairs. A clear shoeprint marked her delicate, adorable face, blood trickled from her nose, and her cherry-red lips had been bitten open by her teeth after being squeezed while she spoke, drawing blood.

"Brother."

Qian Renxue cried out in surprise, calling tentatively. She did not understand. Her brother should not be the sort to hit little girls. In the past nine years, he had never hit her; at most, he would rap her on the head.

Though Hu Liena's words were infuriating and wildly presumptuous, she was only a six-year-old child with a strong possessive streak. After being fed a few misleading words by an adult, it was understandable that she might say such things. But why had her brother attacked her and kicked her right in the face?

Qian Renhan's expression was utterly indifferent, his eyes slightly narrowed. Qian Renxue was right. After putting away the Bamboo Scroll and hearing Hu Liena's voice, he had recognized her identity, but he did not care much. She was nothing more than an ignorant, love-addled, ungrateful little fox. Killing her would take only one sword strike. He had not intended to lower himself to the level of a six-year-old brat, but what had truly enraged him was her final sentence: "Then I'll be the Saintess of Spirit Hall."

What nerve. Spirit Hall had taken her in, fed her with his family's food, and housed her in his family's home. Just because she had received a little favor from that woman Bibi Dong, she dared to claim that she would become the next Saintess of Spirit Hall. The Saintess was the Pope's successor—the next Pope. Was eating and drinking her fill not enough? Did she also want to seize his family's foundation?

Do not give him that nonsense about Hu Liena being too young to understand. The moment she came to the seventh floor and said those words, it meant Bibi Dong had already taught her all the basic knowledge and that she understood what the Saintess represented. Most likely, after studying the key knowledge on the seventh floor, she would head to Soul Master Academy.

Even a dog he raised would know to wag its tail when its master arrived and bark when strangers came. This fox truly did not know whose family Spirit Hall belonged to, nor why the two of them were called Young Masters.

"Who allowed this thing to enter?" Qian Renhan asked coldly as he stepped out of the room, facing the two Soul Douluo guards.

"Eldest Young Master, she had the Pope's token, so we..."

The two Soul Douluo bowed, their voices trembling. With their status, they would not even fear Title Douluo elders, but the person before them was the little boss. Elders could only be considered senior executives.

"From this moment on, this thing is forbidden from setting foot on the seventh floor of the library. She is unworthy," Qian Renhan said in a tone that allowed no dispute.

"But Eldest Young Master, the Pope's side..."

Cold sweat trickled down the two Soul Douluo's foreheads. On one side stood the Eldest Young Master; on the other, the acting Pope. They could not afford to offend either.

"The Pope? That woman?"

Qian Renhan drew Hu Liena's fallen token into his hand. With a squeeze, he crushed it out of shape.

Though the token was forged from special materials, its hardness was only average. Otherwise, it would not have been kept in a Soul Tool and taken out only when needed. Would it not have been better to wear it over her chest as a protective charm?

With a flick of his hand, Qian Renhan tossed the now-crumpled token onto Hu Liena and said flatly, "Get lost. If she has any objections, tell that woman to come find me."

Hu Liena, her face bearing a shoeprint, met Qian Renhan's icy blood-red eyes, devoid of the slightest emotion. The idol image she had held of him in her heart shattered. All kinds of humiliation surged through her, and she burst into tears as she rushed out of the library toward the Papal Palace.

"What bad luck. My mood for reading is ruined." Qian Renhan put the Bamboo Scroll back and headed outside as well.

"Brother, aren't you reading anymore?" Qian Renxue asked.

Without turning around, Qian Renhan replied irritably, "Someone will be coming to make trouble soon. Do you think it's appropriate for me to stay in this library?"

"Oh."

Once her brother left, Qian Renxue no longer had any desire to read either. Still, compared to when she had been practicing swordsmanship earlier, some of the frustration and jealousy in her heart had finally been released.

At the Papal Palace, Bibi Dong was handling official affairs. She had to make everything flawless in order to completely earn Qian Xunji's trust and avenge her grievances.

Just then, Hu Liena ran in crying. "Teacher, Teacher!"

"Nana, what happened to you?"

Bibi Dong looked up and saw Hu Liena's tear-streaked face, her body filthy, a clear shoeprint on her face, and bloody foam at her mouth. She immediately flew into a rage. After more than two months of sleeping beside her, she had nearly come to regard Hu Liena as her own goddaughter. How could she allow her goddaughter to suffer such a grave injustice?

"Nana, who hit you? Tell me. Your teacher will seek justice for you!"

Pressed against Bibi Dong's chest, Hu Liena seemed to find her pillar of support. She wailed, "Teacher, it was Qian Renhan! It was Qian Renhan! He said I wasn't allowed to enter the seventh floor of the library, then kicked me out with one kick! He even crushed the token you gave me into this!"

Hu Liena held out the token that had already been crushed into a ball.

"Qian Renhan."

Bibi Dong was furious. "Nana, I'll find a Healing Soul Master to treat you first, then I'll go settle the score with him!"

On Sword Peak, Qian Renhan sat cultivating on a Cliff Face as usual. As for Qian Renxue, he had sent her back to Worship Hall.

Not long afterward, two sets of footsteps sounded from a distance, one large and one small. The larger set of footsteps carried an extremely violent aura.

Qian Renhan opened his eyes, turned his head slightly, and said flatly, "What are you here for?"

"You should know exactly what you did. Why did you treat Nana like this?" Bibi Dong demanded sharply. Holding Hu Liena's hand, now changed into clean clothes and looking refreshed aside from her still-red eyes, she had come to seek justice.

Qian Renhan gave a scornful smile. "You should also know what you told Hu Liena. Even a dog I raise knows to properly protect its master and its master's home, but the fox in your hand is worse than a dog."

"What did you say?" Bibi Dong trembled with rage, feeling personally insulted by those words.

"I'll say it once. Keep this fox under control, and keep its mouth under control. Otherwise, next time I'll throw her to the soul beasts."

What should be done if a dog one raised went mad and betrayed its master? Naturally, it would be stewed. But Hu Liena was human, so he could not bring himself to eat her. He would throw her to the soul beasts instead and make some use of her waste.

Qian Renhan's gaze was frigid. Those cold blood-red eyes frightened Hu Liena into tears again. Hugging Bibi Dong's leg, she said in a trembling voice, "Teacher!"

Bibi Dong shouted furiously, a trace of killing intent even appearing in her eyes. "You dare!"

Qian Renhan looked at Bibi Dong with contempt, his words filled with disdain. "What do you think you are? What right do you have to control me? Do not mistake me for Old Man and Xiaoxue, those two fools. I do not care about you at all."