"I can't talk the girl out of it, so go talk to that young man. He looks like a reasonable person. If you ask him directly, he should agree."
"Talk to him? That's even worse!" Xu Kun shook his head helplessly.
"We've already disgraced our ancestors by using a royal princess to win him over. If I tell him to switch academies to bring the two of them together, it'll only make it look like our Sun Moon Empire is desperately trying to foist a princess on him. Does the Sun-Moon Royal Family have no dignity? No, no! Absolutely not."
"This won't do, that won't do—you've gotten too used to having your own way... In that case, there's only one last, best option!"
By now, the smile on Wu Ergui's face had given way to a serious expression. He walked over to the imperial desk and said quietly, "You're the emperor. Assign the job to Xu Yan and make him solve it for you. If he can't, have him dragged out and beaten with the palace staff."
"Huh? Hand the job off to someone else? That's your best option? Are you serious?"
"Wu Ergui, are you in your right mind?" Xu Kun clenched both fists and stared at Wu Ergui in disbelief, as if he wanted to crack the man's skull open and see whether his brain was made of intestines or something else.
"Do you have a better idea?" Wu Ergui shrugged and spread his hands. "Might as well try anything, even if it's a long shot."
"..." Xu Kun fell silent. He lowered his head and thought for a long time. Finally, as if surrendering to his fate, he stood up and headed for the exit, waving a hand as he went. "Forget it, forget it. I'm done with this. I'm going to sleep! You figure it out yourself!"
"All right, then I'll pay Xu Yan a visit. And if you're not working, go to bed early. At your age, don't try any fancy tricks in bed. You might give yourself a sudden death one of these days."
"..."
This time, Xu Kun didn't even turn around to retort. Instead, like a trendy young man, he raised his middle finger at Wu Ergui with his back turned.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xu Yan, a native of Mingdu, was strolling with Qian Yuhan through the night market of this "City That Never Sleeps."
"Don't hold back. Eat all you want—it's on me!" Xu Yan thumped his chest with a resounding bang. At each stall, he threw money around, buying up all kinds of delicious food and stuffing it into Qian Yuhan's arms.
It was as though Qian Yuhan, whose body was less than a third of his size, were some starving, human-shaped glutton.
"You really don't have to do this. I can get whatever I want myself." Qian Yuhan looked at the pile of cooked food in his arms—enough to last him a week—and sighed, his expression complicated.
"Hahahaha!"
Xu Yan slapped his gleaming bald head and laughed heartily. Then, he suddenly turned sideways and said, "You start eating. I just need to... go relieve myself."
With that, Xu Yan dashed off, leaving Qian Yuhan and the Rakshasa Phantom staring at the mountain of food between them.
Watching Xu Yan's fleeing figure, the Rakshasa Phantom blurted out, 'Old Qian, you don't think that old geezer forgot his money and left us here while he ran off, do you?'
"Probably not." Qian Yuhan chewed on a grilled squid skewer, his face expressionless. "Besides, even if he ran off without paying, we have money ourselves."
'That's true. I've had some success digging up Soul Masters' bones in the Soul Beast Forest these past few years.' The Rakshasa Phantom nodded. Then, pointing at several bizarre dishes with an almost "eldritch" style, it rubbed its hands together like the Fly King. 'Pack these up for me to take back. I want to eat them.'
Qian Yuhan raised an eyebrow and frowned.
"Even if you use a Soul Skill, you're just an elementalized energy body. You can't eat anything. And in soul form, you can't even smell it."
"But I have you!" The Rakshasa Phantom's eyes lit up. Putting on an exaggeratedly pitiful expression, it "pleaded," 'For the sake of the bond we've forged by supporting each other through thick and thin these past few years, surely you can let me possess you and enjoy a meal!'
"Uh—'supporting each other through thick and thin' isn't quite the right way to use that phrase, is it?" Blasted by the Rakshasa Phantom's thunderous word choice, Qian Yuhan was left utterly flustered. Still, he couldn't resist the Phantom's eager gaze.
In the end, he sighed and closed his eyes. 'The food will be cold by the time we get back. If you want to eat, hurry up and do it now.'
'Ha! I knew you were a good sort, Qian Yuhan. If I'd met you eight thousand years earlier, why would I have chosen Bibi Dong?'
As soon as it finished speaking, the Rakshasa Phantom turned into a wisp of green smoke and shot into Qian Yuhan's body. Then it began to feast.
What?
You're asking why it didn't take this opportunity to cause trouble?!
Come on, what would be the point of causing trouble right now? It would mean spending time that could've been used to eat, drink, chat, and have fun on cultivation instead—working hard to become a god?
Never mind the risks and difficulty of seizing control of Qian Yuhan's Sea of Consciousness. The payoff alone wasn't worth it!
After all, once Qian Yuhan became a god, the Rakshasa Phantom would surely ascend with him. And with the Phantom in charge of the divine trials, wouldn't it be much better to slip in a few personal favors and watch the super workhorse Qian Yuhan do the work for it?
"Uncle Wu, you sent for me?"
Damn, why isn't this old geezer staying by the emperor's side? What does he want with me? Did someone find out how often I slacked off at work, coasted on the job, skimmed perks from the palace, and showed up late or left early?
Beneath the shadows, Xu Yan smiled ingratiatingly at the stooped old man before him. In his mind, he'd already counted up every time over the past few years that he'd slacked off, shirked his duties, pocketed perks, or arrived late and left early.
He was just waiting for Wu Ergui to question him. Then he'd drop to his knees and confess at once, hoping for leniency: a pay cut, but no beating.
"Marquis of Xiyang, I bear an oral decree!" Wu Ergui announced.
"Huh? An oral decree!" Xu Yan froze for a moment, then bowed. "Your subject, Xu Yan, Marquis of Xiyang, respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health!"
"I am well!" Wu Ergui sent out a surge of Soul Power to steady Xu Yan, then pulled him to his side and whispered mysteriously:
"'I' just forgot something. My only daughter, Xu Tianzhen, applied to the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, while that young friend wants to study at the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. How are they supposed to grow closer if they do that?"
"His Majesty commands the Marquis of Xiyang, Xu Yan, to resolve this worry on his behalf. His Majesty requires you to make one of them change their application within three days—that is, before the evening of the final day of registration for the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy—without bringing shame upon our nation or offending royal dignity. So it is decreed."
"Ah..." Xu Yan froze. He could clearly feel his left brain trying to elbow his right brain, and he could also sense a tremendous conspiracy closing in around him.
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