Burn Something for Us

His eyes were full of anticipation.

He wanted another reward like the one he'd gotten just now.

"Mm, you did great!"

Su Wen reached out and ruffled Hu Liena's head.

Her hair was soft and fluffy.

Hu Liena had learned well from Bibi Dong.

She had a real talent for combat.

"Hehe!"

Hu Liena smiled with satisfaction.

Su Wen suddenly changed the subject. "Nana, have you ever seen your teacher's Martial Soul Avatar?"

Hu Liena shook her head, her pink lips parting slightly. "Nana hasn't!"

Su Wen chuckled. "No matter. Just imagine your teacher with a spider's lower body, then write me a short essay titled My Teacher, the Spider Empress. Five hundred words!"

Hu Liena blinked, then nodded faintly, as if she only partly understood.

Su Wen patted her shoulder, his voice tinged with temptation. "Remember, praise your teacher until she's as lovely as a flower... Once you're done, your senior brother will give you a reward."

Hu Liena clenched her little fists, looking earnest. "Nana understands. Nana will give it to you tomorrow, senior brother."

After Hu Liena left, Su Wen went into the room and summoned his First Soul Ring.

He wanted to ask whether it came with any dowry gifts.

"Ah Yin!"

"Ah Rou!"

As the Soul Ring shimmered, a blue figure and a pink-purple one drifted out of it.

Chapter 31: Burn Something for Us

On the left, Ah Yin wore a water-blue dress that covered her from head to toe.

Her deep-blue hair fell loose down her back.

Her skin was fair, and her features were gentle as water. An aura of life surrounded her, and her whole body seemed to glow with a soft, water-blue radiance.

On the right, Ah Rou had soft pink hair that fell smoothly around her face.

Her eyes were pink-purple.

She wore a simple, elegant dress, and beneath her gentle expression was a streak of resolve.

As her beautiful eyes rested on Su Wen, they held a hint of curiosity and conflicted emotion.

In the end, all of it gave way to calm acceptance.

Her red lips parted, and her gentle voice rang out, soothing to the soul. "Husband..."

"Master?" Ah Yin spoke softly too, but when she glanced at Ah Rou, a blush rose across her fair face.

Ah Rou reacted the same way when she looked at Ah Yin, her expression a little uneasy.

"You know each other?"

When they both nodded at him, Su Wen was delighted. Things would certainly get interesting from now on.

"May I ask why you called me... us out, husband?"

Ah Rou asked.

"Is it time to serve you in bed?"

Ah Yin added.

When she faced Su Wen,

she seemed perfectly at ease.

But when Ah Rou looked her way,

Ah Yin's ears instantly turned bright red.

She didn't dare meet Ah Rou's gaze.

Ah Rou's cheeks were pink too.

But she didn't say anything.

She only looked at Su Wen, her eyes faintly worried.

Was it too small?

"Heh..."

Su Wen's mouth twitched, and he let out an awkward laugh.

Ah Yin looked embarrassed as well.

It seemed their master couldn't get the cart moving just yet.

"Do you have any dowry gifts?"

Su Wen changed the subject.

"Yes!"

Ah Rou spoke first. "But they're all things for daily life, meant for Ghostly Souls. You probably can't use them, husband."

Su Wen wore an expression that said he'd expected as much. Hearing the gifts were only usable by Ghostly Souls disappointed him, but also left him a little surprised.

From what they said, was the space inside a Soul Ring its own world?

No, it might be the world they went to after dying!

Su Wen asked a few more questions. When it seemed there was nothing useful to learn, he let them return for now.

Before they left, though, they asked Su Wen to burn a few things for them.

Ah Yin wanted a watering can and flowers and plants that grew in shady places.

Ah Rou wanted a comb.

After Su Wen recalled his Soul Ring, he felt a chill all over.

How spooky!

They even wanted him to burn things!

He exhaled, decided to stop thinking about it, and sat down on the bed to meditate and cultivate.

When Su Wen opened his eyes, it was already the next morning.

As he got up to wash,

Hu Liena came happily to his courtyard with the rising sun. "Senior brother, senior brother... Nana finished writing it!"

Hu Liena's little face was lit with a faint smile.

She trotted over, holding a small booklet in both hands.

Her foxlike eyes stared straight at him.

Su Wen took the booklet from her. Her handwriting had improved tremendously under his tutelage; it was no longer crooked and uneven.

He skimmed the contents. They were all about how strikingly beautiful and aloof Bibi Dong looked after transforming into her Martial Soul Avatar.

"Nicely done. Today, I'll take you into Spirit City to buy some things."

"Whatever you want, your senior brother will buy it for you!"

Su Wen decided to have a look around and see if he could get some ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber.

If not, he could find a transport company behind one of the shops. As long as he paid enough, they'd surely bring some over.

Su Wen took Hu Liena to see Bibi Dong first. On the way, he also revised part of Hu Liena's essay; she'd written it a little too much like a love letter.

The two walked into Pope Hall with practiced ease.

"Teacher!"

Bibi Dong was handling some affairs. She glanced over at Su Wen and Hu Liena as they approached, a hint of joy passing between her brows, so faint it was barely noticeable.

"Teacher, here's what you asked for." Su Wen took out the five-hundred-word essay he'd prepared. "It's finished!"

Bibi Dong took it and read it carefully. As she saw all the words crossed out and rewritten, she first raised her brows slightly, then a faint blush rose across her fair skin.

"Not bad. But why is it all praise for me?"

"What about how you felt when you saw my Martial Soul Avatar?"

Su Wen froze. Hadn't she asked him to write about what her Martial Soul Avatar looked like?

A flicker of amusement passed through Bibi Dong's eyes, though her face remained cold. "Never mind. Go and cultivate properly. I'll come see you later."

"Teacher, Junior Sister and I are going to Spirit City."

When Bibi Dong nodded, Su Wen turned and left, taking Hu Liena with him.

"Senior brother, are we buying something?"

On the streets of Spirit City, Hu Liena watched as her senior brother led her straight into a shop and asked curiously.

"That big treat you ate last time!"

Su Wen walked up to the counter, rose onto his toes, and leaned on it with both hands. "Do you sell Whale Rubber here?"

"Xie Yue, Nana hasn't come to see us for so long. I wonder what she's doing now?"

On the street, a boy with fiery red hair and flame-like patterns all over his body looked troubled as he walked, his whole figure seeming to flicker with firelight.

Beside him, a slender boy with short silver hair was about to reply when his gaze was suddenly drawn to a shop.