Xue Beng's Malice, Scarlet Mad Lion

Watching the expressions on Xiao Yu's face shift constantly, so much like a human's, Xue Qinghe found it quite novel. Could these really be the same mindless soul beasts he had known?

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I think I'll pass." Xiao Yu shook his head at Xue Qinghe.

Seeing this, Xue Qinghe understood what Xiao Yu meant and could only sigh helplessly: "Alright, since you refuse, I won't force it."

Xiao Yu nodded and allowed Xue Qinghe's hand to rest on him, then began to "battle" with the pile of fruit in front of him.

Time slipped away in a flash.

"Your Highness, we should be going." A soldier glanced at the sun, which was about to sink into the west, and couldn't help but offer a reminder. They had stayed here long enough; if they didn't return now, he feared it might attract unwanted attention.

"Mm." Xue Qinghe snapped out of his trance and looked at the yellowing sky: "Has it been that long? I didn't even realize."

"Then let's go." Xue Qinghe stood up and said, looking down at Xiao Yu: "We'll come back tomorrow. Goodbye."

Xiao Yu casually raised a small paw and waved, as if bidding farewell. Seeing this, Xue Qinghe smiled; it seemed that after spending this time together, this soul beast had developed quite a bit of affection for him.

After Xue Qinghe and his party left, Xiao Yu was once again left alone.

"I've eaten enough, time to get down to business." Xiao Yu stood up from the ground and walked toward the horizontal log.

This log certainly couldn't be used as it was; not to mention its weight, fixing it in place would be very troublesome, and it would easily fall down.

Following the thoughts in his mind, Xiao Yu channeled his manifested Gale Phantom Wings and began to work on the log.

"Swish, swish~" Wood shavings flew wildly in the wind, and soon, the log was sliced into many long wooden strips.

"Whew~ done." Xiao Yu let out a long breath as he looked at his masterpiece, but if it were only this amount, it would be far from enough.

He would evolve in the future, and since he planned three steps ahead, he naturally couldn't build a house that only fit Leo's size. If he was going to build, he would build a big one.

Picking up the wooden vines and strips, Xiao Yu flew up to the treetops and began to ponder where to start.

On the other side, Xue Qinghe had just returned to the palace and hadn't even reached his sleeping quarters when he was blocked by a young man.

"Xue Beng? Is something the matter?" Seeing this "younger brother," who rarely interacted with him, seeking him out today was quite a surprise to Xue Qinghe.

"Imperial Brother." Xue Beng smiled and suddenly said: "Actually, it's nothing major."

"I heard that you found a pet you fancy in the Royal Soul Beast Forest and have been visiting it these past few days. I was curious, what kind of soul beast could possibly earn such favor from you?" Xue Beng wore an expression of amazement.

"As it happens, I also found a soul beast I like yesterday, so I was wondering if I could accompany you to see yours tomorrow. How about it?"

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe's expression became unreadable; he truly couldn't understand why Xue Beng would suddenly bring this up.

But after a moment of thought, Xue Qinghe shook his head and feigned helplessness: "Sorry, Xue Beng, I'll be honest with you. The truth is, I haven't even earned the recognition of that soul beast yet."

He paused, then added: "Furthermore, that soul beast doesn't like strangers. If I were to rashly bring you along, the rapport I've built up over these past few days might all go down the drain."

However, Xue Beng didn't take the latter part of Xue Qinghe's words to heart; his attention was entirely focused on the first part.

He chuckled inwardly: I didn't expect my Imperial Brother to be such a loser. It's just a beast; why bother with meaningless things like 'recognition'? Isn't it enough to just beat it up and give it some food?

Oh, Imperial Brother, you really are too kind. Xue Beng didn't say this out loud, but his gaze toward Xue Qinghe became somewhat disdainful.

"Oh, come on, Imperial Brother, it'll be fine. I'm just curious what kind of soul beast it is, nothing more." Xue Beng said with an impatient look: "Besides, Father has already agreed to this, so you might as well say yes."

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe frowned and scrutinized Xue Beng. This Xue Beng actually knew to ask Xue Ye first; it seemed he wasn't as foolish as he looked.

If he didn't have Xue Ye's endorsement, Xue Qinghe would never have agreed to let Xue Beng come along, but with Xue Ye's intent, it was a different matter.

Right now, he had been given time off by Xue Ye and couldn't interfere with political affairs for the time being, so he had to find ways to act in other areas.

As for why Xue Ye would agree to such a request, Xue Qinghe had a guess.

It was highly likely that Xue Ye hoped the relationship between his two sons could improve; after all, Xue Ye only had these "two" children left now.

"Brotherly love and respect, is it?" Xue Qinghe muttered to himself, then looked at Xue Beng and said: "Since you've already asked Father, I assume you are truly curious. In that case, you may come with me tomorrow."

But Xue Qinghe added: "However, Xue Beng, once we reach the Royal Soul Beast Forest, you must listen to me. Don't go acting recklessly like you do in Heaven Dou City."

Xue Beng agreed on the surface, but in his heart, he didn't take it to heart at all. Please, the whole reason he was going was to deepen his reputation as a playboy; if he didn't act recklessly, could he even be called a playboy?

After Xue Beng left, he returned to the vicinity of his own residence, but he didn't head straight inside. Instead, he took a detour and went straight to a warehouse in the back.

"Your Highness, Fourth Prince."

The two Soul Ancestor guards on duty weren't surprised to see Xue Beng arrive; they seemed to have known he would come.

"Mm, open the door. How is that soul beast I had you 'taking care of' doing?" Xue Beng nodded.

"Yes." The guards opened the door, and inside the warehouse, there was a cage. Inside that cage was a soul beast.

Its entire body was covered in bright red fur, but it was also covered in wounds. It was hard to tell if the fur was stained red by blood or if that was its original color. Its massive body lay in the cage, and its large lion head kept licking its wounds, letting out a low growl from time to time.

It was, in fact, a thousand-year Scarlet Mad Lion.

This was the soul beast Xue Beng had found in a soul beast forest yesterday. To others, it was a thousand-year soul beast to be avoided at all costs, but to the royal family, it was no different from a wild animal that could be captured at will.

"Under our 'care,' this soul beast has already learned to obey for short periods," the guard on the side said with disdain as he looked at the beast.

"Oh?" Xue Beng raised an eyebrow: "I'll have to test that."

"Get up." Xue Beng shouted at the Scarlet Mad Lion.

The Scarlet Mad Lion growled low at the command, then reluctantly crawled to its feet.

Seeing this, Xue Beng became even more confident about what would happen tomorrow.