The Flower-Selling Girl

Lingdou City was about eight thousand li from Xuanming City, where the Xuanming Sect was located in the neighboring Heaven Dou Empire.

Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao rode their Motorcycle Soul Guidance Vehicle, stopping along the way. After ten days, they finally arrived at this large city built around the Xuanming Sect.

The two found a large hotel and booked two neighboring luxury suites.

"Yuheng, little brother, I'll be waiting for you at Shrek." Xiao Xiao took a bite of steak from her fork and blinked at him, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Those were the words Wu Ming had said to Xue Yuheng when the two of them had set off.

Xiao Xiao had nearly worn the words out over the past few days. Did he know how painful it was to have someone suddenly spring them on him like that?

Xue Yuheng cleared his throat twice, put a piece of her favorite candied fruit on Xiao Xiao's plate, and smiled. "After dinner, let's go shopping at the mall."

These past few days, Xiao Xiao had accompanied Xue Yuheng through all kinds of hardship on the road. It had been a different sort of experience.

Only then did Xiao Xiao brighten a little. Grinning, she said, "My cousin says Xuanming City is most famous for its commerce. It's known as the second Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Xue Yuheng's mouth twitched. Why do I feel like my little stash of money is in danger?

After dinner in the hotel restaurant, they each returned to their rooms to bathe and get dressed.

At seven, they were at Xuanwu Square, the most famous square in Xuanming City.

At the center of the square stood a towering Xuanwu stone statue, about a zhang tall. Mottled patterns covered the turtle's shell, while a coiled serpent raised its head.

The warm yellow light of Soul Guidance Lamps washed over the statue, lending the divine beast an even more imposing air.

Xue Yuheng wore a well-fitting, elegant black suit. Xiao Xiao wore a long pink lace dress, paired with white stockings and the bean shoes Xue Yuheng had insisted on.

As soon as they reached the square, Xiao Xiao spotted the white pigeons and couldn't take another step. Xue Yuheng paid two copper coins for pigeon feed.

The flock flapped over to them. Xiao Xiao scattered grain, teasing the pigeons into taking off, landing, and fluttering about. Xue Yuheng and the old man who kept the pigeons sat on a nearby bench and watched.

Just then, beneath the bright Soul Guidance Lamps, a girl approached the lively edge of the square. Dressed simply and carrying a box of fresh flowers, she tried to sell them to the people passing by.

But few stopped to buy any.

Xue Yuheng had an eye for beauty. He turned to the old man beside him and asked, "Who's that?"

"She used to come from a family that ran a flower shop. Her father died young, and then her mother fell ill a few years ago. Sigh, the poor child's had a hard life." The old pigeon keeper spoke with regret.

Xue Yuheng stood and walked straight over to the tall, golden-haired girl, who looked about ten. He said a few words to her. She first stared at him in disbelief, then nodded and left with a smile.

Xue Yuheng paid for the flowers but didn't take a single one. He returned to Xiao Xiao, took the white pigeon from her hands, and gave it back to the old man.

The old man shook his head and sighed. "Help someone in an emergency, not out of poverty. What you did may not have helped her."

"It was just a small business deal," Xue Yuheng replied flatly. He didn't give the old man a chance to say anything else. Taking Xiao Xiao, who was utterly confused, by the hand, he headed into Gourmet Street beside Xuanwu Square.

Xue Yuheng grumbled to himself. This can't go on. I need to help Xiao Xiao get used to the role of Crown Princess as soon as possible.

It's not as if I'm a womanizer. I'm the only Crown Prince of the Dou Ling Empire. Isn't having lots of heirs a fine quality in an emperor?

Gourmet Street beside them was already bustling. Food stalls lined the road, and the scent of grilled meat and sweet soup mingled with the vendors' calls.

Glossy skewers sizzled. Children crowded around the sugar-art stall, and the warmth of everyday life filled the seemingly endless street.

The delicious night-market food quickly made Xiao Xiao forget her questions.

Soul Masters always had big appetites, but Xiao Xiao's was especially impressive. In the end, she ate until her stomach was round and full.

"Xiao Xue, I can't eat another bite..." Xiao Xiao wiped the sugar from the corner of her mouth, burped, then handed Xue Yuheng a candied fruit skewer, looking a little embarrassed.

In keeping with the principle of not wasting a single grain of food, Xue Yuheng finished everything Xiao Xiao couldn't.

It was fragrant and sweet.

Over these ten days, aside from traveling and admiring the scenery along the way, Xue Yuheng had spent the rest of his time cultivating Martial Soul Fusion with Xiao Xiao.

After fourteen days of cultivation together, they had used up ten Creation Points on Wu Ming, leaving them with 106.

Creation Points could be used for far more things than Xue Yuheng had imagined.

They could be called a universal source of energy. They could be used to start fires, make ice, and power a Motorcycle Soul Guidance Vehicle... Xue Yuheng had also figured out why he couldn't absorb a Soul Ring.

The Power of Creation used by the Wordless Heavenly Book was far higher in energy rank than the Soul Rings formed from accumulated Soul Power.

In other words, Xue Yuheng's "Martial Soul" was too powerful. The seven-hundred-year-old Soul Beast Offering Hall had hunted for him the day after his Martial Soul Awakening, when he revealed his innate full Soul Power, had been too weak.

It wasn't that the Wordless Heavenly Book couldn't absorb that Yellow Soul Ring. The Power of Creation had shattered it outright.

Based on Xue Yuheng's estimates over the past few days, his First Soul Ring would need to be at least several hundred thousand years old before he could absorb it.

A Soul Master could keep cultivating without absorbing Soul Rings, but Douluo Continent wasn't like the world of cultivation, where someone in the Qi Refining stage could practice high-level techniques and overcome opponents stronger than themselves.

A One-Ring Soul Master simply had one fewer Soul Skill than a Two-Ring Soul Master, and early on, that gap was enormous. What was more, Xue Yuheng didn't have a single Soul Ring.

In that moment, Xue Yuheng used a little of the Power of Creation in the Wordless Heavenly Book to speed up the digestion of the food in both their stomachs.

What a glutton.

He wondered what someone would think if they found out that a certain person had used the Power of Creation in the Wordless Heavenly Book to digest food.

At half past ten, the night market grew livelier still. But Xue Yuheng, who still had energy to spare, took Xiao Xiao, her cheeks flushed, back to their hotel suite.

"Wow! Did Xiao Xue buy these?" Xiao Xiao rubbed her eyes, staring at the flower petals covering the bed in disbelief.

Xue Yuheng smiled. "I was going to give you a little surprise, but you got so drunk."

At the barbecue stall, Xiao Xiao had seen the man beside them drinking beer and wanted some too. She'd only taken a sip, but she'd gotten drunk anyway.

"Xiao Xue! I... I'm not drunk... hic..." Xiao Xiao flopped onto Xue Yuheng's bed and hugged a pillow. She took in the flower scent, fidgeted for a while, then fell fast asleep.

Xue Yuheng took off Xiao Xiao's shoes and socks, covered her with the blanket she had kicked away, then left the room.

Inside the study of the luxury suite,

"Have you found out anything about her?" Xue Yuheng asked the woman in the room. As he had for the past six years, he was reading some of the books on the continent that he carried with him.

She was the deputy captain of Moon Shadow Squad, and also the "Ying" of Moon Shadow—a powerful Soul Douluo at level eighty-six.

The classical beauty in a dark green qipao wore a slender plum-blossom hairpin. Her expression was a little strange as she replied, "She's the flower-selling girl Your Highness met today."

Xue Yuheng closed the history book he had been reading and fell silent for a while before asking,

"Is the Xuanming Pill the only way to cure her mother's illness?"

"No. Her mother was injured by a fire-attribute Soul Beast. Based on my assessment, a healing-type Soul Emperor would be enough." The woman in the qipao offered a cheaper option.

A Xuanming Pill cost several thousand, or even ten thousand, Gold Soul Coins. Hiring a Soul Emperor to treat a minor injury like this would cost only a few hundred.

Was Xue Yuheng short of money? Clearly not.

"She has good talent and could become a powerful expert worth cultivating. For the great revival of the Dou Ling Empire, you can help her out a little more." Xue Yuheng pondered for a moment, then opened the book and ended the discussion.

The women of Moon Shadow Squad all had Seven Orifices Exquisite Hearts. After six years alongside Xue Yuheng, how could "Ying" fail to hear the unspoken meaning behind Prince Gan's words?

"Yes. I'll make the arrangements right away."

For a girl, feeling indebted was the most lethal thing of all.