Are You a Boy or a Man?

Bibi Dong would have had to be blind not to see Hu Liena's feelings. She, too, had once loved Yu Xiaogang deeply, and the ending seemed all too similar.

Hu Liena shook her head desperately. Bibi Dong was deeply disappointed in her now, and her trust in Hu Liena had dropped considerably.

"Teacher, no! You have to believe me!"

Bibi Dong made no move, merely telling Hu Liena to leave.

No matter how capable Li Tianyi was, could he really bring down Spirit Hall? Did he think there were no Titled Douluo here?

Hu Liena gritted her teeth and turned to leave.

It was a terrible feeling to be overlooked and lose someone's trust.

Hu Liena returned to the dungeon. Since Bibi Dong wasn't taking this seriously, she would meet this old friend who had once fought alongside her herself.

Ling Chen was swinging the Green Steel Sword in the dungeon. Having regained control of his original body felt wonderful.

He no longer felt powerless, unable to lift a finger, or painfully small and weak.

If he were sent back to Slaughter City in this body, at least he wouldn't have to skulk around and hide.

Before transmigrating, Ling Chen had experience with diving. Finding the Green Steel Sword in Fuxian Lake had required strength in his core and limbs, so the former Ling Chen had been fairly strong.

And after Chen Xin's training, that added strength meant he could now lift a hundred-jin weapon in Douluo Continent without breaking a sweat.

Hearing footsteps, Ling Chen paid them little mind. Hu Liena had brought his meals these past few days. Even though she'd improved somewhat, the two of them had treated each other like they were invisible.

But hadn't Hu Liena just brought him food? Why was she back again?

Hu Liena looked at the mess on the floor without cleaning it up, then peered through the cell door at this unfamiliar face.

The aura was familiar, and she knew the Green Steel Sword, but his bearing was different. It was almost the same as Tang San's situation.

She'd already been fooled once. To be fooled a second time would be adding insult to injury.

"Li Tianyi, don't think you can use Tang San's tricks to fool everyone and escape Spirit Hall!"

Ling Chen stared at Hu Liena, utterly confused. What are you talking about, girl? Escape?

Ling Chen had no desire to leave right now. Until he obtained Qian Daoliu's Martial Soul Origin, he intended to cling to Spirit Hall and stay put.

"Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. If you could improve the food a little, I wouldn't mind staying here."

Hu Liena was dumbfounded by his reply.

What was he even talking about? He'd changed his appearance to trick her into letting him go, hadn't he? So why was he asking for better food and saying he wanted to stay?

Something was wrong. Very wrong!

Hu Liena suspected Li Tianyi was deliberately lowering her guard so he could slowly find an opening and escape.

But that didn't make much sense. Even if Li Tianyi escaped the dungeon, could he escape Spirit Hall?

"You think I'm going to believe you?"

Hu Liena looked at Ling Chen scornfully. It was better to be cautious.

Ling Chen picked his nose and fell silent, meeting Hu Liena's beautiful eyes. Hu Liena refused to back down, meeting his gaze, and the two of them simply stared at each other.

One minute, then two. The dungeon was so quiet they could hear each other's hearts beating.

"Thump-thump—thump-thump!"

Their heartbeats seemed to fall into sync.

"Memories wound up like a spring..."

Ling Chen couldn't help humming to himself, but he didn't look away.

A faint blush appeared on Hu Liena's face, too. The two of them were starting to look rather intimate. Unable to stand it, Hu Liena turned her face away. Her heart was beating noticeably faster now.

It felt like a deer bounding around in her chest, just like back in Slaughter City.

Ling Chen smiled faintly, turned around, and sat on the bed. He took two pieces of bread from his Soul Tool and handed one to Hu Liena.

"What, did your heart just skip a beat?"

Hu Liena pushed his hand away and hurriedly fled. She didn't know what was going on with her; her heart was inexplicably racing.

As Ling Chen chewed his bread, he felt nothing but regret.

They were on opposing sides, and that meant their fates would be different. In the end, Tang San would destroy Spirit Hall, and Hu Liena's position as its saintess would amount to nothing but a fleeting dream.

If Bibi Dong acknowledged Qian Renxue as her daughter, Hu Liena probably wouldn't even have become the saintess.

"Poor thing. What a pity!"

Watching Hu Liena hurry away, Ling Chen couldn't help sighing.

Night fell, and Hu Liena came to bring him food again. This time, though, it wasn't porridge. It was Soul Beast meat.

"Well, would you look at that! I thought Spirit Hall was stingy, but you've got good food after all!"

Hu Liena gave Ling Chen a disdainful look. Didn't he know his own place? He was a prisoner! He should be glad to get anything at all, and he still wanted a good meal?

"I admit you have some talent, but look where you are. In this dungeon, even getting out is a luxury. I really don't know what you're thinking."

Ling Chen grinned, grabbed the meat, and devoured it. Sucking his fingers, he said,

"Good grief, this is delicious!"

"For the sake of this piece of meat and our friendship, I'll stop beating around the bush. I can tell you a few things, so you'll have something to report back."

How could Ling Chen not know what Bibi Dong was up to? She'd sent Hu Liena to bring him food and even changed the menu. Wasn't she trying to get him talking?

"Go ahead. What do you want to know?"

Hu Liena paused, at a loss for words. She wasn't sure whether to ask about work or something personal. In the end, though, she asked the question that had puzzled Spirit Hall for a long time.

"How did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect find out that Spirit Hall was going to launch the Soul Hunting Operation against you?"

Ling Chen pointed at himself. The answer was obvious.

"Because you wanted to come after me, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was on guard. By chance, Spirit Hall's plan failed."

"Is that all?"

Hu Liena clearly didn't believe him. Why would so many sect disciples be needed to protect one child?

Ling Chen chuckled. Hu Liena really wasn't easy to fool.

"I don't know anything else. I'm not the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I don't know how they organized things, either."

Ling Chen wasn't lying. He was just a bell-ringer who looted corpses. All he ever thought about was how to loot corpses.

Hu Liena saw the helpless look on Ling Chen's face and didn't press him further. Instead, she asked another question.

"When you had a child's body, how did you dare enter the Star Dou Great Forest? And in an area full of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, no less?"

Ling Chen didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked,

"If you heard the Sky Azure Bull Python's roar, would you be able to resist going to take a look?"

Hu Liena mulled that over. Something about it just didn't add up. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—was that something a little kid could simply go watch?

Wait. Hu Liena realized she still hadn't figured out how old Li Tianyi was.

"Are you a boy or a man?"