Qian Renxue's Heart Fluttering

"Your Highness." The soldiers remained on guard against Xiao Yu; after all, no matter how one looked at it, this was still a soul beast.

Seeing Xue Qinghe approach the soul beast, the soldiers hurriedly offered a reminder, but seeing Xue Qinghe wave his hand, they had no choice but to step forward a few paces, fearing that if the soul beast suddenly attacked and accidentally injured His Highness, they would be unable to shirk the blame.

Fortunately, Xiao Yu seemed to have no intention of attacking them. Xue Qinghe had already arrived at Xiao Yu's side, yet Xiao Yu showed no reaction at all.

"So cute~" Matching the adorable appearance of Leo, Xue Qinghe's starry eyes sparkled, and he subconsciously reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to pet Xiao Yu.

"Hmm?" However, Xiao Yu was incredibly sensitive; even while savoring these fruits, he had been keeping an eye on Xue Qinghe and his group.

After all, as a transmigrator, he naturally felt a sense of resistance toward outsiders. He had only refrained from reacting to their approach earlier because they had brought him food.

But for you to actually want to touch him—isn't that a bit too lacking in boundaries?

Xiao Yu suddenly turned his head, rolled his eyes at Xue Qinghe, then shuffled a few steps to the side and continued eating.

Although he didn't speak, Xiao Yu's meaning was self-evident.

Seeing that this little beast wouldn't let him pet it, Xue Qinghe sighed helplessly and had to retract his hand, though he felt a bit surprised inside. This little beast's intelligence was truly high; it seemed as if it had known their intentions all along.

"Not letting me touch it now doesn't mean it won't later." Xue Qinghe pondered and asked, "Do you like eating these?"

Xiao Yu did not react, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Xue Qinghe had no choice but to signal the soldiers nearby to take away a large portion of the fruits, leaving only about five or six pieces beside Xiao Yu.

"?" Xiao Yu slowly formed a question mark. Hey buddy, didn't you bring these for me to eat? Is there any reason to take them back?

Watching Xiao Yu's bewildered expression, Xue Qinghe chuckled. He had been led by the nose by Xiao Yu the whole time, but now he had finally managed to turn the tables.

"Ahem." Meeting Xiao Yu's gaze, Xue Qinghe coughed lightly and said softly, "These fruits can be yours, but you must follow me. How about it? As long as you follow me, you'll have a constant supply of fruit to eat."

Xue Qinghe looked confident. After all, judging by Xiao Yu's actions earlier, it loved eating fruit, and since it was still just a juvenile, no matter how high its intelligence was, it couldn't be that high. He only needed to lure it a little, and he would surely achieve his goal.

But unfortunately, Xue Qinghe was destined to be disappointed. Inside this Leo was the soul of an adult, so Xue Qinghe's plan was doomed to fail.

Offering favors for no reason—either you're a schemer or a thief. I was wondering why you suddenly brought me food; it turns out you want to keep me as a pet.

Xiao Yu quickly figured out Xue Qinghe's intentions and couldn't help but shake his head. He wanted to make him leave with just this little bit of stuff? What kind of person couldn't resist such a temptation?

Xiao Yu simply gathered the remaining fruits together and continued eating as if he hadn't seen them, not taking Xue Qinghe's words to heart at all.

"Your Highness, this..." Watching the little beast's actions, the soldiers nearby were puzzled. What did this lack of reaction mean?

"It seems to be a refusal." Xue Qinghe, however, saw it clearly. The little beast definitely understood his words; its lack of reaction could only mean that it wasn't interested.

This was beyond Xue Qinghe's expectations. He had thought that by hitting upon its hobby, he would be able to subdue it easily, but it turned out this little beast was not so easy to fool.

"Then should we..." The soldier made a gesture of taking it by force.

Xue Qinghe shook his head, looked at Xiao Yu, and said quite magnanimously, "No rush. A soul beast with such intelligence is rare in history, and I'm not short on time. We can take it slow. Let's leave it at this for today; at least it no longer resists our proximity."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe had the soldiers put the fruits back and said to the unresponsive Xiao Yu, "How about this? I won't insist that you come with me. Just let me pet you once, and all these fruits are yours."

If you were talking about that, Xiao Yu wouldn't be sleepy anymore. His eyes lit up as he looked at Xue Qinghe, as if saying, "For real?"

Xue Qinghe nodded with a huff; it really was a glutton.

"Then what are we waiting for? Come on." Xiao Yu nodded at Xue Qinghe. He didn't mind making this kind of deal a few more times.

Seeing Xiao Yu actually respond to His Highness, the soldiers on both sides clicked their tongues in wonder; they had never seen such an intelligent soul beast.

Xue Qinghe's eyes also lit up, and he immediately stepped forward and reached out his hand.

This time, Xiao Yu didn't dodge like before. He stayed where he was and let Xue Qinghe's hand land on his head.

"So cool." The moment he touched Xiao Yu's head, Xue Qinghe's first sensation was coolness—not the freezing kind, but a refreshing chill.

As the Wing-Type Elf King, Leo was always surrounded by a faint breeze, which helped him clear away dust and mud, keeping him clean and preventing him from being soiled.

Xue Qinghe's hand kept stroking Xiao Yu's head, as if he could keep doing it forever.

It was fine at first, but after Xue Qinghe's hand had been on his head for nearly two minutes, Xiao Yu finally felt something was wrong.

Hey, hey, hey! Didn't you say just once? How many times has this been?

Xiao Yu irritably shook off Xue Qinghe's hand, glared at him, and then continued eating.

Seeing Xiao Yu's resistance, Xue Qinghe sighed and reluctantly withdrew his hand, his cheeks slightly flushed. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to keep petting it, as if something were enticing him to do so.

"Alright, let's go." Xue Qinghe stood up and said to the soldiers, "Let's come back tomorrow. That's all for today."

"Yes!" The soldiers nodded.

Before leaving, Xue Qinghe looked at Xiao Yu with determination; he was prepared for a long-term battle.

After Xue Qinghe left, Xiao Yu stopped his movements. He suddenly had a premonition that he would likely have to deal with this person quite a bit in the future.

Troublesome, but whatever. Let them come. As long as you bring food, a few pets won't make me lose a chunk of meat. Xiao Yu quickly put the matter to the back of his mind. Only when he couldn't eat another bite did he reluctantly move the fruits under a tree and wrap them in leaves.

Although there didn't seem to be any soul beasts around to steal them, leaving food out in the open wasn't his habit; it was just for peace of mind.

On the other side, Xue Qinghe's carriage drove back into the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, and all of this was seen by a gloomy-looking youth in fine robes on the main street.

"Why does His Highness the Crown Prince keep leaving the palace these past few days?"

This youth was none other than the famous playboy of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng.