Bring Ling Nan Along

Zheng Li said wistfully.

Xiao Nai: "..."

It really was true that a penny could make even a hero feel helpless!

After that, Zheng Li thought about a lot of things.

New dishes? No, no. The ingredients in the two worlds were different, though he could substitute other ingredients.

But the key was that he and Xiao Nai only knew how to make a few simple home-cooked dishes... What good would that do?

Brewing alcohol? He had no idea how. Gunpowder? He had no idea how to make that either. He never paid attention to that kind of thing, and he hadn't studied engineering. Maybe he'd come across it by chance, but he couldn't remember anything about it. And there was no point even mentioning things like paper. Douluo World already had those...

Zheng Li: "I suddenly feel so useless..."

"The system is glad the host has come to understand this."

"Get lost! I don't want to hear your voice." Zheng Li's face was expressionless.

Ling Nan had just finished bathing and walked in. "???"

"A Li, are you still mad that I landed on top of you earlier? I really was out of strength then. I couldn't even control which way we fell. I swear I didn't mean to use you as a cushion." As he spoke, he draped an arm around Zheng Li's neck, shirtless. "Don't be mad. I'll treat you to a meal later..."

Don't misunderstand. It was the kind of arm-around-the-neck thing guys did with their buddies.

"Stop, stop, stop! What did you just call me? A Li?! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Call me Zheng Li!" Zheng Li pushed Ling Nan away. "Also, I'm not mad. I wasn't talking about you. I was talking to myself."

Ling Nan eyed him suspiciously. "Really?"

"Really!"

"Then you'll let me treat you to a meal later!" Ling Nan smiled, looking adorably pleased.

Zheng Li was already immune to it.

"Sure. I'm happy to have someone treat me to a meal. I can save a couple of coins, too."

"Hm? A Li, are you short on money?" Ling Nan paused with the towel in his hand as he dried his hair.

"...Call me Zheng Li!"

"All right, A Li." Ling Nan nodded seriously.

Zheng Li: "..."

"You still haven't answered me. Are you short on money?"

"I am!"

Zheng Li didn't hide it.

"How much? Want to borrow some from me? Don't be shy. My clan has plenty of businesses, so I have money to spare." Ling Nan looked like a rich young master.

"Your family?" Zheng Li paused, then realized what he meant. "I didn't expect you to be a sect's young master!"

Ling Nan chuckled but didn't deny it, accepting the label.

"I'm short by quite a bit. I won't trouble you." Zheng Li refused.

"How much is 'quite a bit'?"

Zheng Li glanced at him. "One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Oh, just ten... One hundred thousand?!" Ling Nan gaped. "Damn! What do you need that much money for?"

His sect could afford that much, but even as its young master, he couldn't just get that many Gold Soul Coins for no reason.

He only had a little over a thousand Gold Soul Coins on him, after all.

Zheng Li didn't answer Ling Nan's question.

Ling Nan didn't press him either.

All right, he'd been bragging too much. He'd better keep a low profile from now on.

After getting ready, they went to eat. Su Yunqing didn't come along this time.

After the meal, Zheng Li was about to head back to the dormitory.

Ling Nan said, "Why go back to the dorm? Come on, let's explore outside the academy. I heard it gets lively beyond the gates at night! There are lots of vendors, so there must be plenty of good food!"

Zheng Li was speechless. The last part was the real point, wasn't it?

Tonight... Was this when Bei Bei tricked Xu Sanshi out of the Mysterious Water Pill?

The Mysterious Water Pill... I wonder if it'd be useful to me.

But even if it were useful, so what? I can't get my hands on one.

Buy it from Xu Sanshi? Forget it. I can't afford it, and I don't need it anyway. My cultivation speed isn't slow.

The Soul Ascension Pill that comes later, though, I can arrange to get.

As for the timing, it seemed to be tomorrow. Zheng Li couldn't remember exactly when.

But there were only a few possibilities: after breakfast in the morning, at midday, or after class in the afternoon.

Huo Yuhao and the others had classes too, just like him.

In that case...

All right, it's decided. I'll wait by Sea God Lake at all three times!

There's one important thing: I have to go with Huo Yuhao, or Ma Xiaotao's flames will probably burn me to ash!

"A Li, what are you thinking about? Hurry up! I can't wait any longer. Good food, here comes Ling Nan~"

With that, he dragged Zheng Li toward the Shrek Academy gates, even using Soul Power. Was he worried he wouldn't be able to pull Zheng Li along otherwise?

Zheng Li's mouth twitched as he thought:

What a "Gluttonous Cat"!

Also.

"Call me Zheng Li!!"

Bring Ling Nan Along

Outside the Shrek Academy gates.

"This grilled Spirit Beast meat looks good. I'll buy some. That soup smells amazing, too. I'll buy some to try. This vegetable pancake... Hmm, not bad. I'll get a few..."

Ling Nan's eyes lit up. Whenever he saw food, he went over to take a look, and if it caught his eye, he bought it!

Luckily, Ling Nan had a Soul Guidance Ring for storage. Otherwise, even "ten pairs of hands" wouldn't have been enough to carry it all.

"Gluttonous Cat, you've bought so much. Can you even finish it?" Zheng Li asked, his head aching.

Ling Nan was buying some fried Spirit Beast meat when he paused. "Gluttonous Cat? A Li, are you calling me?"

Zheng Li had corrected him about the way he addressed him several times, but it hadn't worked. He'd given up.

"Obviously!" Zheng Li replied irritably.

"Oh... My mom calls me that, too." Ling Nan smiled, not bothered by it. "You mean all the stuff I bought? Of course I can't finish it all, but it won't spoil in the Soul Guidance Ring. I can eat it little by little."

"Fine. Whatever makes you happy."

He really wasn't good at accompanying people on shopping trips. This was torture.

"Xiao Li, the way you two address each other is a little strange," Xiao Nai suddenly said. "A Li... Gluttonous Cat... It sounds even more intimate than the way you and I address each other."

Zheng Li: "..."

"This isn't my fault. You heard him. Ling Nan insists on calling me that."

Xiao Nai said coolly, "I know. But you're the one who called him Gluttonous Cat. No one made you."

"...I'll change. I won't call him that again." Zheng Li's instinct for self-preservation kicked in.

"You don't need to tell me whether you change it or not," Xiao Nai said coolly.

"..."

Zheng Li's mouth twitched. Was she jealous?

After that, no matter what Zheng Li said to Xiao Nai, her answers were all more or less just "Mm," leaving him helpless.

Xiao Nai, it'd be one thing if you were jealous of a girl, but Ling Nan's a guy!

How could you think I'd be interested in a guy? To put it bluntly, he's an eleven-year-old kid.

This is exhausting.

They kept browsing. Suddenly, Ling Nan's eyes lit up. He sniffed the air, then, as if he'd identified the smell, said, "It's fish! The smell of grilled fish! A Li, come on. I want to buy some!"

As he spoke, Ling Nan tugged Zheng Li back the way they'd come.

"The smell of grilled fish? Is it Huo Yuhao?"

On their way there, Zheng Li had been paying attention to his surroundings. As soon as they'd left the academy gates, he'd spotted Huo Yuhao by the road not far away. He hadn't started grilling yet; he'd only just set up.

The timing felt a little off. After all, Zheng Li had gone to eat. In his memory, Huo Yuhao had been called away by Tang Ya just after washing up.

But he wasn't going to dwell on it.

Once Ling Nan had dragged him over to where the grilled-fish aroma was coming from, Zheng Li saw a familiar face.

It really was Huo Yuhao.

The line was already long. Unless something unexpected happened, they wouldn't get any today.

Sure enough.

Ling Nan called out to Zheng Li before joining the line, but the senior in front of him, who wore a purple school uniform and was in fifth or sixth year, said something to him. Ling Nan came back looking dejected.

"A Li, my heart's breaking. Why is he only selling twenty portions? Sigh... My grilled fish..."

Ling Nan looked so heartbroken, as if he'd just missed out on a fortune.

Zheng Li comforted him. "The person selling the fish is from Freshman Class One. We saw him today, remember? Besides, he can't be selling for just one day. Come earlier tomorrow."

"True."

Zheng Li didn't pay attention to Ling Nan's reply. He was looking at the female student standing in front of Huo Yuhao, dressed in a purple school uniform.

She looked about fourteen or fifteen, with long, golden hair that fell in large waves down her back. Her beauty was breathtaking.

"Jiang Nannan..."

Zheng Li didn't look at her for long. If Xiao Nai had once been far inferior to Jiang Nannan, now that she'd become a Martial Soul, she wasn't inferior to her in the slightest.

"Is there anything else you want to buy? If not, let's head back."

He couldn't wait to cultivate.

Just as he finished speaking, a low, deep voice filled with anger rang out. "Kid, you dare refuse to sell to me?!"

"Xu Sanshi..."

Zheng Li muttered as he looked at Xu Sanshi, dressed in black.

"A Li, let's wait a little longer. Looks like there's going to be a show." Ling Nan was intrigued.

Zheng Li rolled his eyes. You're curious about everything!

A curious cat?

He gave up.

The events that followed didn't change much. Zheng Li just didn't notice the unnatural look on Ling Nan's face when he saw Tang Ya.

About ten minutes later, they were in the northwest corner of the Spirit Martial Soul Department at Shrek Academy, sitting in the stands of the Soul Fighting District.

The Soul Fighting District was hexagonal, with an open space in the middle for matches. Rows of seats rose in rings around the arena.

Zheng Li was expressionless, but inside, several hundred "Godly Taotie Bulls" were stampeding through his mind.

He'd been dragged there.

Ling Nan was excited, seemingly because he'd run into something so interesting on his very first day of class.

But the result wasn't what Ling Nan had expected. He'd thought it would be an intense battle, but it ended in the blink of an eye. They hadn't even used many Soul Skills.

Ling Nan's eyes were filled with confusion. This wasn't what he'd just heard. Weren't the two senior students, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, supposed to be evenly matched?