"If you don't think you can do it, then never mind," Xu Tianzhen said.
Exactly, absolutely right. We should just forget it. Great, the matter of the prince consort could end here. As long as nobody blabbed, Xu Yan's backside would be safe!
Now that his backside wouldn't have to get intimate with a plank, Xu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to get up and say something, he saw his little princess extend a hand toward the young man (ง`ω´)۶, making a hellish invitation that would lead to countless deaths.
Xu Tianzhen's eyes gleamed with a strange light as she spoke earnestly. "Although... although I know you might not care much about titles or money..."
"But what if I invited you to the Sun Moon Empire as a princess, to help our empire eliminate those vile Evil Soul Masters who prey on the people and save countless innocent people still trapped in dire straits?!"
"?!"
Xu Yan: "(눈_눈)" Please, I really can't thank you enough. Little ancestor, why do you blurt everything out? How can you talk about something as sensitive as Evil Soul Masters? Don't forget who your father led into Xuanwu Gate to wipe out your eldest uncle's entire family!
"Wait, are you saying... there are a lot of Evil Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire?!"
At the mention of Evil Soul Masters, Qian Yuhan's expression changed abruptly. Clearly, he'd also realized that the clues hidden behind this matter were anything but simple.
It wasn't all that strange for a few Evil Soul Masters to appear in one place.
Even when he had become a god, he'd fought his way from the easternmost part of the Douluo Continent to the west, killing for a full hundred and twenty years, and there were still Fallen Ones cropping up like chives: cut down one batch, and another grew.
But now, the princess of an empire—the greatest nation on the continent—had explicitly said that her country harbored large numbers of Evil Soul Masters, and that the empire wasn't sending troops to wipe them out on a large scale.
That could only mean the empire had some murky connection with the Evil Soul Masters. What's more, the Evil Soul Masters had banded together for warmth, forming a secret organization whose power had grown to a... horrifying degree.
'Qian Yuhan, go with her. Evil Soul Masters are a great tonic for both you and me! We absolutely can't let them get away. We have to kill every one we see! If we see a thousand, we kill a thousand!'
The Rakshasa Phantom rested both hands on Qian Yuhan's shoulders and shook his upper body vigorously, urging him on impatiently. 'Accept! Hurry up and accept! Do you hear me?!'
Yes, of course the Rakshasa Phantom had no ulterior motives. He simply wanted to treat the Evil Soul Masters' souls like little buns and happily munch away.
But Qian Yuhan was another matter.
In the brief span of a few breaths, he'd drawn up an entire short-term plan. Then he took a deep breath and soothed the Rakshasa Phantom. 'Don't worry. I'll decide what to do.'
After calming him down, Qian Yuhan slowly raised his right hand and gently clasped the right hand Xu Tianzhen had extended toward him. "All right."
Xu Tianzhen: "(・∀・)" Hehe!
Gripping Qian Yuhan's right hand tightly, Xu Tianzhen turned around with a lopsided grin, transforming into a (master planner). She laughed hysterically to herself.
'Mwahahahahaha! Let's see who dares call this princess foolish and naive now. I'm so clever I'm practically smoking! With just a little scheme, I've lured him back to the Sun Moon Empire. But what a pity for those stupid Evil Soul Masters. Hehehe.'
"Then let's head back to Bright Capital now!" Afraid Qian Yuhan might suddenly change his mind, Xu Tianzhen tugged him along, but no matter how hard she pulled, Qian Yuhan behind her didn't budge.
Oh no! He seemed to have changed his mind. That was unacceptable!
Xu Tianzhen swallowed and slowly turned around, testing the waters. "What's wrong? Weren't you coming with me to Bright Capital?"
"Um... you're going the wrong way." Qian Yuhan was brief and to the point as he raised a hand and pointed in the opposite direction.
"The way you just went leads to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. That way leads to the outskirts."
A flush of embarrassment crossed Xu Tianzhen's face. Blushing furiously, she tried to justify herself.
"Although you have a point, theoretically speaking, we could still leave the Star Dou Great Forest by going that way."
'Come on, Lao Qian, do you even know how to talk to people? Your emotional intelligence is so low, it's...'
Before the Rakshasa Divine Sense could finish speaking, Qian Yuhan cut in, silencing the Rakshasa Phantom with his words. He looked at Xu Tianzhen and spoke slowly.
"You're right. We could leave the Star Dou Great Forest by taking a detour that way, but the route is long and full of unpredictable dangers. So I think this path would be better."
"What do you think?"
At the end, Qian Yuhan even took care to ask Xu Tianzhen's opinion, putting the words "respect others" into practice.
"I think... hmm... you do have a point. All right, this princess has decided to listen to you." Xu Tianzhen hesitated for a moment, then nodded, blushing.
At that moment, the Rakshasa Phantom finally understood. So... he was the clown all along.
Xu Yan, who was already utterly resigned to his fate, was equally close to tears.
People's joys and sorrows were never the same.
Watching the visible embarrassment on his little princess's face, all he could think was that the table the emperor had kicked over and the planks in the palace guards' hands had both moved one step closer to his backside.
"Also... I have some matters to take care of, and I may not be free for a while. Would it be all right if I had some time to deal with my personal affairs?"
"I'll head to Bright Capital once I've taken care of them." Qian Yuhan considered this for a moment, then added, apparently afraid the eccentric little princess might cause trouble. "You can give me a token. Then I can take it with me when I go to Bright Capital to find you."
"Is it convenient to say what you need to do? If it is, I can have Xu Yan go with you! He's already getting on in years, but he's still a Soul Douluo. I think he should be able to help you."
"Very well. Then I'll have to trouble you," Qian Yuhan said, smiling as he cupped his hands toward Xu Yan.
Damn it! Was I somehow part of your little game too?!
Kids should act like kids!
At such a young age, shouldn't they be studying hard and cultivating diligently?!
Why were they putting on a romantic youth drama here?!
Though Xu Yan had mentally transformed into a roaring tyrant, bellowing for quite a while about being dragged into this strange exchange for reasons unknown,
outwardly, he still maintained a "calm" and "gentle" impassive expression. He nodded solemnly at Qian Daoliu in reply.
"All right, then it's settled... Wait, let me find something. Where did I put that thing... Ah, here it is."
As she spoke, Xu Tianzhen rummaged through the glittering ring-shaped Storage Soul Tool on her hand.
Finally, from a Starlight Sapphire ring that looked extremely expensive, she produced a gold plaque engraved on the front with the words "Princess Mansion."
With a solemn expression, she stuffed it into Qian Yuhan's hand and declared proudly,
"Here, this is the plaque of my Princess Mansion. I'm not bragging, but if you carry this around Bright Capital, everyone will show you some respect. Once you get to Bright Capital, come find me at the Princess Mansion in the eastern part of the city."
"This princess guarantees she'll do her... her... um, what's that phrase again?" Xu Tianzhen blinked, apparently having run out of ink in her belly and forgotten the words.
"Fulfill the duties of a host."
The "cultured man," Qian Yuhan, parted his lips and whispered a reminder so quietly it was barely audible.
"Yes, that's right. Fulfill the duties of a host." Xu Tianzhen nodded, then turned and walked toward Xu Yu.
Suddenly, she turned sideways again, as if worried Qian Yuhan wouldn't remember, and reminded him, "Remember, it's the Princess Mansion in the eastern part of Bright Capital, not those ones in the west or south."
"My princess! I'm still here! The young man might not know his way around Bright Capital, but do you think I don't?"
After speaking, Xu Yan turned around with admirable nonchalance and patted Qian Yuhan on the shoulder. "Where are we going next?"
"Leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, of course. I need to go home and sort some things out." Qian Yuhan took a step forward and slipped past Xu Yan without a trace.
Xu Yan's right hand swatted empty. He froze for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter and praised him. "Hahahahaha! Young man, what fine footwork!"
"You flatter me." Qian Yuhan glanced back at Xu Yan, then spread his wings with a sudden thrust and turned into a golden streak of light, flying swiftly toward the outskirts.
"Hey, young man, wait for me!"
As he spoke, Xu Yan sprang into the air and followed the golden trail Qian Yuhan had left, flying rapidly out of the Star Dou Great Forest. Xu Yu and the others were left behind, and after a brief silence, they let out an awkward chuckle.
On the way out of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xu Yan seemed to have been possessed by some nosy old woman conducting a background check. He kept asking questions, as though he were about to crack open Qian Yuhan's whole life.
Things like, "Young man, which province are you from? Do you have any family?" made Qian Yuhan roll his eyes inwardly.
Where was he from? Angel City, of course—the place that would later become Spirit City.
But Angel City, or Spirit City, no longer existed anywhere on the current Douluo Continent.
Going by Spirit City's location ten thousand years ago, it seemed to have been quite close to the Heaven Dou Empire. After the Heaven Dou Empire split apart, the Xue Family royal house rebuilt the Dou Ling Empire.
So...
Qian Yuhan took out an identity document he'd bought for a fortune on the Dou Ling Empire black market and tossed it to Xu Yan. "Here. If you want to know anything, read it yourself."
(Of course, if the situation called for it, Qian Yuhan could also produce identity documents from the Heaven Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, or even the Sun Moon Empire. He had everything covered, just in case.)
What? You're asking why Qian Yuhan didn't use Sun Moon Empire documents to build rapport?
Why even ask? The people checking his background were Sun Moon Empire royalty. If they needed to, they could dig up the entire family history of any citizen in their country.
In this situation, he obviously had to use documents from the Dou Ling Empire, which was as far from the Sun Moon Empire as possible and didn't even share a border with it, making their investigation harder!
Holy crap, he really was eleven?
Wasn't that even a little younger than the princess?
A four-ring cultivation at eleven, and he'd killed an Eight-Ring Evil Soul Master all by himself. What had I been doing at eleven? Oh, right. I'd been playing in the garden, making mud pies... Comparing people really was infuriating.
Xu Yan's eye twitched a few times as he continued reading.
Dou Ling Empire, Salalik Province, Walden City, Holy Fire Village.
Hey, what was that stack of papers behind it?
Death certificates?
Xu Yan kept flipping through them. The more he read, the worse his expression became. By the time he'd finished, he even felt like slapping himself.
To think this child had already... at such a young age. He must have had a hard life to grow up to this point. And I... interrogated him so harshly... I truly deserve to die!
"Ahem, ahem."
After a few dry coughs, Xu Yan returned the stack of death certificates marked with the character for "tragedy" to Qian Yuhan, looking guilty as he changed the subject. "Young man, how much farther do we have to go?"
"Not much longer. About three hours."
"Good." Xu Yan nodded and fell silent. He became an expressionless machine, head bowed as he flew along at full speed.
Only when Qian Yuhan began slowing down and descending above a small Soul Beast gathering ground did Xu Yan speak his first words in three hours. "You live here?"
"Is that a problem?"
With that, Qian Yuhan landed steadily in the middle of the Soul Beast gathering ground.
The two had barely taken a few steps when Soul Beasts began appearing and disappearing among the shadows of the nearby forest, watching them from hiding.
But these Soul Beasts were so weak that Xu Yan only had to release a bit of the "kingly aura" of an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, and they scattered in every direction.
"This place is really barren! There aren't even many thousand-year Soul Beasts."
That was because I'd eaten almost all the ten-thousand-year ones.
At the thought, Qian Yuhan couldn't help grinning. Then he said,
"You can't compare this place to the Star Dou Great Forest. After all, the Star Dou Great Forest is one of the finest Soul Beast habitats on the entire continent. Its core, the Great Ferocious Land, is counted alongside the Far North Core Circle in the Far North and three other extremely dangerous places as one of the Five Great Forbidden Zones of the Human World."
"If our Sun Moon Continent hadn't arrived and added two more to the list, you Douluo Continent lot could only scrape together three at best."
Qian Yuhan: "ಠ_ಠ" What was that supposed to mean?
Perhaps unwilling to entertain Xu Yan's blatantly provocative remark, Qian Yuhan simply kept walking in silence. There was nothing in this place that could threaten him anyway.
In the end, the two stopped in front of a bare cliff face.
Xu Yan looked around. There were hardly even any blades of grass in sight. Scratching the back of his head, he asked Qian Yuhan quietly, "There's no way forward?!"
"That's right. There's no way forward."
"Then where do we go now? Up to the sky or down underground?"
"Up to the sky."
With that, Qian Yuhan took off from where he stood and quickly came to a stop beside a protrusion on the smooth cliff face.
Before you continue