Luliduo and Qianshui (Part One)

"Ah~ Hello, Sister Luliduo! I'm Li Dui."

The other end was a little cold. A short while passed before she replied.

"Hello."

"Um, are you free right now? Can I treat you to a meal?" She had saved Li Dui's life, so he didn't mind her being a little aloof.

This time, he had to wait longer. The person on the other end seemed to be thinking it over.

"I'm at Rainy Mountain, in the public area, at the Ten Thousand Languages Pavilion, private room D03776. I have someone with me."

"Sure, no problem. I'll come over right now." Li Dui didn't mind how many people she had with her. He was going to thank her, not hit on her.

Li Dui knew about Rainy Mountain. It was the Virtual Universe Company's virtual headquarters, much like Raging Waves Island was for the Giant Axe Martial Arena.

They had a Ten Thousand Languages Pavilion there, too. It seemed to be a chain.

After the call ended, a sly smile flickered in the eyes of the green-haired girl sitting across from Luliduo. Her name was Qianshui.

She had been the one to bring up the old story and insist that Luliduo accept Li Dui's request. She had also been giving Luliduo looks the whole time, urging her to invite Li Dui over.

Qianshui didn't have any other motive. She just thought it would be fun. In her eyes, they were above Li Dui in status, standing, and strength. They were also ten thousand years older than him. This little fellow had this connection with Luliduo and was a member of Luo Feng's race. She was simply curious about him.

The two girls sipped their drinks and chatted. Before long, the communication device in the private room rang. It was a member of the staff downstairs.

"Your Highness Qianshui, a Your Highness Li Dui from the Giant Axe Martial Arena says he's here to visit your private room. Shall I show him in?"

"Bring him up."

The staff member ended the call, then gestured for Li Dui to follow.

"Your Highness Qianshui—you're that Qianshui, right?" Li Dui remembered the name. She was from Luo Feng's generation, a member of the Primordial Secret Realm. She got along well with Luo Feng, Rong Jun, and that prince fellow.

"Come in."

After the staff member knocked, a clear female voice came from inside.

Li Dui entered, grinned, and waved. "Hello, Your Highnesses! I'm here."

The two women sat side by side in chairs that looked like sofas.

One had black-and-brown hair and a pretty face. Mysterious patterns extended from her neck to both sides of her jaw. Those were features of the Jieluo Race. She was Luliduo.

The other was a beautiful young woman with naturally curly green hair and faint green patterns on her face. She had to be Qianshui.

Luliduo nodded.

Qianshui laughed and pointed to the chair opposite her. "Little Li Dui, come sit down."

"Sure, thanks."

"You know Luliduo already. I'm Qianshui, from the Virtual Universe Company. Like Luliduo, I'm currently in the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm. I'm good friends with Luo Feng from your race," Qianshui introduced herself.

"Wow, you're so pretty, and you're so powerful, too." Li Dui spoke in an easygoing, casual tone. He wasn't the least bit nervous around the two "Your Highnesses."

It wasn't an act. After all, they were only two Domain Lords from the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm. To put it bluntly, he could punch each of them once and turn them into whimpering messes. And this was a private gathering, so of course he didn't bother thinking about status or rank.

"Hahaha, you sure know how to talk, kid. But flattery won't help you. We're definitely getting you to treat us to something nice today." Qianshui laughed without a care for her image.

There was a hint of surprise in Luliduo's eyes, too. They had once fallen to the Doomsday Secret Realm, and its Core Members had a peculiar attitude toward Core Members of the higher secret realms.

Not many people could stay as calm as Li Dui.

"Of course. I came in such a hurry that I didn't prepare anything. I'm really sorry." After saying that, Li Dui turned to Luliduo, bowed slightly, and said earnestly, "Thank you for saving me."

He truly remembered her kindness. If he ever made it big, he would repay her for sure.

Luliduo gently shook her head. "It was no trouble. You don't have to keep remembering it."

"Hey, what do you mean, you came in a hurry? That happened ages ago. If you were going to prepare a gift, you'd have done it already. You just aren't sincere!" Qianshui cut in.

Luliduo nudged her shoulder, telling her not to say such things.

Li Dui chuckled awkwardly. "Hehe~ My bad, my bad. I really did forget. Next time, next time, okay?"

"Nope, the gift is separate. After today's meal, you still owe us three more!" Qianshui grinned like a fox. She was finding this little fellow even more entertaining than she had expected.

A person's impression of someone often came from their own feelings. If someone else had said and done what Li Dui had, Qianshui might have scoffed.

But from Li Dui, she found it amusing. Before he had arrived, she had already decided he was an interesting junior.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sister, treating you to a meal is no problem. But could you stop calling me 'kid' all the time? In twenty thousand years, we'll be about the same age, okay?"

That wasn't entirely unreasonable. A few hundred years and ten thousand years apart was a huge gap, but someone twenty thousand years old and someone thirty thousand years old could still be called the same age.

Qianshui was about to fire back when Li Dui spoke again.

"Oh~ Come to think of it, mentioning gifts reminds me of something. When I get back, I'll give each of you three."

"What is it? You're so stingy, only three? When you get back... Are you on a mission?" Qianshui asked curiously.

Luliduo wasn't much of a talker; it was just her nature. Still, she had a good impression of Li Dui, and she was curious about what he meant, too.

Li Dui glanced up at the ceiling. After thinking it over, he decided it should be fine to say. The Virtual Universe System wouldn't be keeping close tabs on three little nobodies like them. As long as he avoided anything too sensitive, it would be all right.

"Yeah! I'm on a mission in Xueluo World. It's a mission item. I'm not being stingy, Sister. There's no point in having more than that. Three crystals—if... I succeed, the mission alone will give me a hundred thousand points." Li Dui gave a vague answer.

Actually, Li Dui had forgotten that the Human Race strictly controlled Xueluo Crystals and didn't allow them to be given away privately. He had been vague because he was cautious.

The two women understood. Neither of them had done the mission in Xueluo World, but they had studied its description. The mission item was the Xueluo Crystal. They didn't know the specifics, but the unique second mission in Xueluo World had left a deep impression on them. A hundred thousand points was practically the reward for a life-or-death mission.

The two women shook their heads almost in unison. Luliduo spoke first. "We can't accept something that valuable."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go showing off just because you have something, kid. And don't go talking about it outside, either. Xueluo World is so dangerous! I didn't even dare go there back then. Are you somewhere safe right now?" Qianshui asked with a note of concern.

"I'm safe, don't worry! Nothing's wrong. I'm even eating in real life. Big restaurant, big slabs of meat, big cups of liquor."

Qianshui snorted. "Hmph, as if I've never eaten that kind of food."

As she spoke, she grabbed a device and rapidly entered their order.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked, "What does that thing do?"

Li Dui glanced at the ordering device beside him. Qianshui's hands flew over it, but she'd ordered less than two hundred and fifty... billion Universe Coins' worth of food.

He reached over to add some dishes, but he had barely added a few before Qianshui stopped him. "That's enough, that's enough. Why order so much? Are you made of money?" Then she restricted his access to the ordering device. She had booked the private room, so she had higher permissions.

Li Dui gave her a helpless look, then answered her earlier question. "Once it fuses successfully, one of its effects is to make Law Comprehension clearer. Three crystals can double that. As for the other effect..." Li Dui shook his head and said no more.