The Little Fox at the Door

At the exit of the Soul Hunting Forest,

After leaving the forest, they first rested at a nearby hotel before boarding the carriage home.

Inside the carriage, Shang An lay on his side with his head resting on Bibi Dong's round, jade-like thigh, sleeping with his eyes closed. After days of searching and fighting, once he finally relaxed, his six-year-old body was utterly exhausted.

The moment he got into the carriage, his eyelids began battling each other. After struggling for a while, he caught the faint fragrance drifting from Bibi Dong and tilted his head, falling asleep.

Bibi Dong's muscles tensed, and she felt slightly uncomfortable at first. But when she saw Shang An's fair, adorable little face and sensed the comforting aura radiating from him, she gradually relaxed. She adjusted her sitting position slightly so that he could lie more comfortably.

After washing up at the hotel, the grime that had covered him was gone, and the tranquil, peaceful, comforting aura that had been hidden beneath the forest filth gradually began to emanate from Shang An's body.

Breathing in Shang An's scent from so close by, Bibi Dong felt her heart settle into peace. Even her obsessive, stubborn mind, filled with fixation, found a rare moment of tranquility.

Without realizing it, Bibi Dong leaned closer and took a deep breath, her face showing the satisfied expression of a cat lover petting a cat, completely intoxicated. Suddenly, she came to her senses and looked around. Shang An was still asleep, sleeping deeply. Chrysanthemum Douluo was outside serving as the driver, while Hu Liena had leaned against the carriage window and fallen asleep as well.

No one had noticed her little action. Bibi Dong let out a sigh of relief, then gently stroked Shang An's cheek with her slender, fair right hand. She leaned close and took another deep breath of his scent, thoroughly enjoying it before revealing a captivating smile.

The carriage stopped in front of the Pope Palace.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's voice came from outside.

"Your Holiness, we've arrived at the Pope Palace."

Bibi Dong suddenly woke up. Shang An's aura was simply too comfortable, especially when he was asleep, when it became even more pronounced. Without realizing it, she had pressed her face against him. Fortunately, no one had noticed.

She first woke the still-groggy Hu Liena, then looked at Shang An, who was still sleeping. After hesitating for a moment, she picked him up, used Soul Power to protect his body, and flew toward her own bedchamber.

Once inside, Bibi Dong used Soul Power to lift the blanket, then gently laid Shang An on the bed, removed his boots, and slowly lowered the blanket over him. Seeing that he had not been disturbed, she sighed in relief.

She leaned over and took another deep breath of Shang An's scent, her expression intoxicated, before reluctantly leaving the bedchamber.

In the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong looked at the huge pile of documents stacked on her desk, and her expression fell. To show how much she valued Shang An, she had personally taken him to hunt for a Spirit Ring over the past few days. The result was that all the work from those days had piled up, waiting for her to deal with it.

Bibi Dong could have delegated some authority and had elders help handle the matters, but in order to better control Spirit Hall, there were many things she had to do herself. Otherwise, she could not have escaped her position as a puppet in such a short time, nor would she have begun to show signs of standing on equal footing with the Worship Hall.

Several hours passed, and the sky had completely darkened. Bibi Dong rubbed her slightly swollen head and let out a small sigh of relief. Fortunately, she was a Title Douluo with powerful spiritual strength, so she could process documents quickly. Otherwise, she might have worked herself to death.

After setting down the final document, Bibi Dong flashed into her bedchamber and took a comfortable bath. At her level, her body no longer produced much grime. Bathing was more of a hobby, a way to ease her mental pressure.

She used Soul Power to evaporate the droplets from her body, changed into a loose light-purple nightgown, and walked to the bedside. Looking at Shang An, who was still asleep, she smiled.

"Looks like Xiao An really was exhausted these past few days. It's good for him to get some more rest."

After muttering to herself, Bibi Dong quickly slipped beneath the blankets, instinctively hugged Shang An, breathed in his scent, and smiled contentedly before soon falling asleep.

In his sleep, Shang An felt a pair of slender hands wrap around him, holding him tightly as though they wanted to squeeze him into their owner's body.

He opened his eyes. The room was still pitch-black, clearly indicating that it was early, but Shang An had practiced the Golden Eyes of Truth. Mere darkness was nothing to him, and seeing at night posed no difficulty.

Shang An tried to move, only to discover that Bibi Dong was holding him tightly. Afraid of waking her, he remained still and used Psychic Power to cleanse Bibi Dong's mind.

He wanted to gradually weaken Bibi Dong's fixation on Qian Xunji and Yu Xiaogang, replacing that fixation with himself and subtly increasing his importance in her heart.

After finishing, his spiritual power was greatly depleted, and he fell asleep again with his head resting against Bibi Dong's breasts.

The sky gradually brightened.

Bibi Dong opened her eyes and looked through the window at the sky outside. It was already morning.

"I actually slept for so long."

She usually got up before dawn, but perhaps she had been too tired the day before. Besides, sleeping with Xiao An was simply too comfortable, as though she did not need to think about anything at all.

Holding Xiao An felt like holding the whole world. There were no worries, no sorrows. She did not need to think about the countless affairs of Spirit Hall, nor the scheming and power struggles with the Worship Hall, nor...

"Xiao An, perhaps you really are the gift Heaven sent me."

Looking at Shang An's face, she could not help kissing his forehead. Then she released him, changed into her exquisite and magnificent Pope robes, and left the bedchamber.

Shang An opened his eyes, a trace of complexity appearing in them. Did this woman really not see him as a man?

And could using Psychic Power only twice truly have achieved this much? Shang An knew himself well. His Psychic Power was still far too weak; its effects could not possibly have been so great.

It seemed that this woman truly had begun treating him as emotional support. Perhaps it was also related to Shang An's own behavior. Even without using Psychic Power, Bibi Dong might have gradually come to rely on him emotionally.

Shang An was not entirely wrong. At first, Bibi Dong had only valued his potential and his ability to help her. Later, seeing how adorable and lovable he was, she had wanted to vent upon him some of the maternal affection she had never shown that child.

Then, in the Spirit Beast Forest, she had seen his confident, eloquent manner, which overlapped with a certain image from her first love. Added to that was her pity for his resilience, her infatuation with the tranquil and peaceful scent on him, and the two cleansings by Psychic Power.

Shang An had already begun to gradually replace a certain figure. Perhaps he was still far inferior to a certain Xiao Gang for now, but Shang An was by Bibi Dong's side. As their feelings accumulated over time, replacing and surpassing him was only a matter of time.

After getting dressed, Shang An walked out of the bedchamber and saw the little fox standing prettily outside.

When Hu Liena saw Shang An emerge, excitement appeared on her face. She quickly walked over, then put on a resentful expression.

"Junior Brother, Senior Sister has been waiting here for you for a long time."

Shang An unobtrusively avoided the demonic claw Hu Liena extended toward his cheek.

"Does Senior Sister need something?"

"Boohoohoo, Junior Brother, you're so heartless!"

Hu Liena widened her eyes, looking as though she were about to cry and wanted him to comfort her. But Shang An ignored this little actress and did not play along, merely looking at her calmly.

Hu Liena was not embarrassed either. She forcefully grabbed Shang An's hand and led him out of the bedchamber.

"Junior Brother, Teacher asked me to take you to enroll at Wuhundian Advanced Spirit Master Academy."

For some reason, whenever she faced this mature, adorable Junior Brother, she always had the urge to tease him.

"Hm? I'm going directly to the Advanced Spirit Master Academy?"

Shang An was somewhat surprised, but on second thought, it made sense. With his twenty-seventh rank Soul Power, he was qualified to attend the Advanced Spirit Master Academy.

"That's right, Junior Brother. After all, you're already a Soul Grandmaster. You're almost catching up to Senior Sister."

"But Teacher said you need to study on your own at the library and make up for the basic knowledge of Spirit Masters."

Shang An nodded. The orphanage had only a limited variety of books, and some important yet basic knowledge was taught only in junior Soul Master Academies.

If Shang An attended the Advanced Spirit Master Academy, he could only teach himself this foundational knowledge in the library. Still, he had great confidence in his learning ability.

"Junior Brother, since Senior Sister is working so hard to take you to enroll, shouldn't you properly repay Senior Sister?"

Hu Liena teased as she looked at Shang An's impossibly adorable little face.

"Then don't take me. I'll go find Teacher."

"Ah, Junior Brother, don't be so serious. At this rate, you'll never get a girlfriend."