Prince Xue Xing

Xiao Yu tilted his head, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, he raised a front paw, pointed at the lush forest beneath his feet, then gestured toward the direction of the vaguely visible Heaven Dou City in the distance, and finally gave his paw a gentle wave.

Qian Renxue understood his meaning immediately and translated for him: "Yu means that the forest is home, and it is very comfortable. Heaven Dou City... is a faraway place, and he is unfamiliar with it."

Great Emperor Xue Ye did not seem surprised by this answer; in fact, he appeared somewhat satisfied.

A powerful existence that was content with the forest and did not cause trouble was exactly what he was happy to see.

"Content with a pure land, that is very good." His tone was calm. "Xue Qinghe is on good terms with you, and I do not object to him visiting often. You may reside in this forest with peace of mind."

He paused, his gaze becoming slightly more profound: "I hope that you can maintain this 'comfortable' relationship with the Heaven Dou Empire. If you have any needs, as long as they are within reason, Xue Qinghe will do his best to satisfy them."

Xiao Yu understood the implication.

He nodded again and let out a short, sharp cry: "Ao~ (Understood)."

He had no interest in power struggles. As long as the other party did not disturb him from building his home, eating fruit, and improving his strength, maintaining the status quo was the best outcome.

He just hadn't expected his "newbie village" to actually be the Royal Forest.

No wonder he hadn't seen anyone other than Qian Renxue come here; this made things convenient for him. If humans were to invade every day, he wouldn't know what to do.

A faint smile appeared on the face of Great Emperor Xue Ye, as if he had completed a successful diplomatic meeting.

"Good." He did not say anything more. His purpose for the day had been achieved—to personally confirm the existence and state of this soul beast and to convey the empire's stance.

He took one last deep look at Xiao Yu, then said to Qian Renxue: "Qian Renxue, you stay behind. I am returning to the palace."

After all, Great Emperor Xue Ye was the emperor; being able to take time out of his busy schedule to come here and see Xiao Yu was already a huge concession. He was in his prime, unlike Qian Renxue; even without Qian Renxue, the empire could still function under his control.

But if he were gone for too long, the empire might face great trouble, so it was better for him to return quickly.

Qian Renxue watched Great Emperor Xue Ye leave, and only when his figure disappeared did she let out a sigh of relief.

She looked up at Xiao Yu in front of her and revealed a relaxed smile: "Father seems very satisfied with you."

Xiao Yu didn't pay much attention to it. He wasn't a subject of Great Emperor Xue Ye, so why should he care if the man was satisfied? Instead of dwelling on that, he gently called out to Yu Yi and the other beasts.

Yu Yi and the others hurriedly began to move the fruit on the ground. To prevent a repeat of what happened with Xue Beng earlier, Xiao Yu now had them take the "tributes" from Qian Renxue away immediately.

Qian Renxue was accustomed to this scene. Her gaze remained fixed on Xiao Yu; having shed his childishness, Xiao Yu seemed to change with each passing day, and Qian Renxue was amazed every time she saw him.

Yu, what kind of soul beast are you exactly~ Qian Renxue didn't say this out loud, but murmured it in her heart. She could be said to have watched Xiao Yu grow into his current form.

Although it had been less than a month, the secrets Xiao Yu possessed were enough to fill a book.

The intelligence that transcended ordinary soul beasts, his powerful strength, and his ability to command other beasts—these were all things she had never seen in any other soul beast.

That night, in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, the gates of Prince Xue Xing's residence were pushed open with a bang, and Xue Beng ran in, his eyes streaming with tears.

The guards, seeing that it was Xue Beng, dared not intercept him and watched helplessly as he reached Prince Xue Xing.

For this pampered Fourth Prince, the house arrest order was nothing short of torture.

Every day he was confined to the residence, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. In his mind, he kept replaying the cold gaze of that white soul beast, the shattered skull of the Scarlet Mad Lion, and the undisguised, ruthless look in the eyes of Xue Qinghe.

Humiliation and fear gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.

Finally, late that night, he took advantage of the guards' laxity to sneak out, heading straight for his greatest pillar of support—the residence of his uncle, Prince Xue Xing.

"Uncle! You must seek justice for me!" As soon as Xue Beng saw Prince Xue Xing, he threw himself to the ground and began to wail, recounting his grievances.

Prince Xue Xing, who had been wondering why Xue Beng would suddenly seek him out while still under house arrest, saw his nephew crying like this and stopped worrying about the breach of protocol, hurriedly helping Xue Beng up.

"Why are you crying like a grown man? With your uncle here, tell me, who exactly has caused you such great grievance?"

Prince Xue Xing only knew that Xue Beng was under house arrest but didn't know the details. He had assumed Xue Beng's arrogance had displeased Great Emperor Xue Ye, but now it seemed things were not that simple.

Xue Beng nodded repeatedly and immediately described his encounter in the Royal Forest with added embellishments, focusing on how that "unknown little beast" had "arrogantly and domineeringly" killed his beloved pet, the Scarlet Mad Lion.

And how the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, had "favored the soul beast," "bullied others by relying on his status," and even used the incident to have their father punish him with house arrest.

He painted a perfect picture of a victim.

Prince Xue Xing was no fool. Although he was displeased that Xue Beng had been wronged, he didn't believe everything Xue Beng said, but he had a rough idea of the situation.

"...It was just a thousand-year soul beast! Relying on the favor of the Crown Prince, it dared to show such contempt for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and kill my pet in public! Its crime is punishable by death!" Xue Beng gritted his teeth, his eyes full of venom.

"The Crown Prince was blinded by it, and Father... Father actually listened to the Crown Prince's one-sided story! Uncle, you are Father's own brother, a Prince of the Empire; you cannot watch your nephew suffer such a great humiliation!"

"A thousand-year soul beast?" Prince Xue Xing stroked his beard, a flash of disdain in his eyes. In the end, it was just because of a beast; he had thought it was something much bigger.

How much trouble could a beast stir up?

"Hmph, Xue Qinghe has gone too far! To treat his own brother this way for the sake of a beast!" Prince Xue Xing snorted coldly. A thousand-year soul beast, no matter how special, what of it? Could it possibly compare to the dignity of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and his nephew's grievances?

"Xue Beng, rest assured, your uncle will definitely get justice for you. Tell me, what do you want to do?" Prince Xue Xing looked at Xue Beng. Since this matter did not involve Great Emperor Xue Ye and was not a serious issue, Prince Xue Xing could naturally let Xue Beng have his way.

He was certain that no matter how much Great Emperor Xue Ye favored the Crown Prince, he wouldn't severely punish his own brother, a Prince who held real power, over a soul beast.

Hearing this, the teary eyes of Xue Beng were instantly filled with malice.

"Thank you, Uncle. I've decided: since that beast killed my pet, it should go and be buried with it!"

Prince Xue Xing nodded: "Good!"