This Is What We Call Vision, Baby!

In an instant, countless scraps of paper flew through the air; the brutality of the scene was truly unheard of.

The Rakshasa Phantom offered a sharp critique: "This man's bite force is comparable to an adult hyena from the Star Dou Great Forest!"

"Mmph, I'm done eating, satisfied now?"

After gnawing down the final section of the map, Xu Yan said with his mouth full.

"Here." Qian Yuhan thoughtfully handed a coconut with a paper straw to Xu Yan, his eyes filled with admiration for this Soul Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire: What a talent!

"..."

Likewise, this time, Xu Yan did not refuse the coconut Qian Yuhan offered, because he was truly starting to choke.

For the rest of the journey, Xu Yan and Qian Yuhan did not exchange a single word, and the reason was simple.

Xu Yan, having eaten the map raw, was sulking.

Xu Yan was the type who only needed to think about whether Xu Tianzhen had woken up yet after finishing his map, and if she hadn't, where he could wait without being bored, or whether the snacks at the Princess Mansion would be tasty today.

As for Qian Yuhan, who had tricked someone into eating a map, he had a lot more on his mind.

"Old Qian, what are you thinking about?" the Rakshasa Phantom, lying on Qian Yuhan's back to soak up the sun, yawned while tilting its head and whispering.

"I'm thinking about how to persuade that little girl to turn back from her wayward path and not waste her youth," Qian Yuhan said.

"That's simple! Come, come, let This Seat personally teach you some high-EQ rhetoric. I guarantee that rebellious little brat will be convinced and start studying hard."

"Really?" Qian Yuhan asked, half-doubting.

"Are you kidding? Who do you think I am! I'm not bragging, but I'm a professional! Trust me! It'll be fine!"

As if afraid Qian Yuhan wouldn't believe him, the Rakshasa Phantom slapped its own chest with a resounding thud, so loud that even Xu Yan, walking to the side, could hear a faint, intermittent whistling of wind.

"Fine! Then I shall trouble you for your guidance!"

And so, Qian Yuhan and the Rakshasa Phantom—one human and one soul—one daring to listen and the other daring to speak, spent the entire journey in a state of forced cramming.

Not until they reached the gates of the Princess Mansion did the Rakshasa Phantom pat its rear and retreat into Qian Yuhan's shadow, leaving only a fist waving in the air. It excitedly encouraged Qian Yuhan:

"Keep your spirits up! Qian Yuhan, we both fought our way out of the Soul Beast Forest! Don't lose face! Just stick to what we discussed!"

"Understood!"

Although he felt that the things the Rakshasa Phantom had taught him were somehow off, Qian Yuhan, who had rarely spent long periods interacting with "peers of the opposite sex," decided to trust the Rakshasa Phantom just this once.

"Say, should we find a restaurant to eat first?"

Just as Qian Yuhan was bowing his head in melancholy, Xu Yan's words instantly shattered the beauty of his memories, which had been tinged with a touch of imperfection.

"..."

Qian Yuhan slowly turned his head, one eyebrow slightly arched, as if to say: Isn't it a bit too early for a meal?

"!"

Realizing what a foolish thing he had said, Xu Yan, under Qian Yuhan's piercing gaze, covered his mouth with one hand and fumbled around his body with the other, deliberately feigning busyness to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"You're at your age, why are you so jumpy? Can't you be a bit more steady and mature, like me?"

Knock, knock, knock!

After sternly criticizing Xu Yan's flighty personality, Qian Yuhan walked alone to the tightly shut vermilion gates of the Princess Mansion and tapped three times using the copper ring held in the mouth of the tiger-head knocker.

Creeeak—

As the heavy, copper-clad solid wood door slowly opened a crack from the inside, Qian Yuhan flipped his wrist, and his previously empty palm now held the golden token that Xu Tianzhen had forced upon him back in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"You are..." The young servant in green robes inside first sized Qian Yuhan up, then shifted his gaze past him to land on Xu Yan behind him.

"Oh, Marquis! Why didn't you let us know you were coming? I could have had snacks prepared in the main hall!"

The servant squeezed out a fawning smile, shoved Qian Yuhan aside, and sycophantically rushed to greet Xu Yan.

"Damn, Old Qian, aren't you going to teach him a lesson?"

Seeing his human summon being slighted, the Rakshasa Phantom, feeling slighted itself, poked its head out from the shadow and whispered, trying to stir up trouble, but received only a righteous reply from Qian Yuhan.

"?"

"Why should I teach him a lesson?" Qian Yuhan glanced askance at the gnashing, invisible Rakshasa Phantom and said in a deep voice:

"If I were to use my status to bully him just because he offended me while not knowing who I was, wouldn't I truly become the kind of person worthy of contempt?"

"Tolerance is a virtue."

"Fine, fine, yes, yes, you're the intellectual, you're the refined one, you have all the words, you're right," the Rakshasa Phantom pouted and dove back into Qian Yuhan's shadow.

"Marquis, please, come inside," the servant in green, sporting an asymmetrical mustache, bowed low and said obsequiously beside Xu Yan.

"..."

Seeing that Qian Yuhan's expression remained unchanged and he showed no signs of anger, Xu Yan, holding the intention to help others as much as he could, patted the servant's shoulder meaningfully and kindly warned:

"You, always judging people by their appearance like this—sooner or later, you're going to get into trouble."

"Ah?!" The servant looked up in confusion, about to ask, but saw that Xu Yan had already passed him, walked to the gate, and pointed at the young man he had just shoved aside as a common passerby, saying sternly:

"The real guest today isn't me, it's this young man you just pushed. It's only because he has a good temper that he isn't holding it against you. Otherwise, if your Princess finds out, she certainly won't spare you."

The servant: "!!!" Oh no! I've caused a massive disaster! Everyone, do you think that after offending someone I shouldn't have, I'll still be able to see the sun rise tomorrow? Do you think if I kneel down and apologize to him right now, he'll forgive me! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡!

Thinking this, the servant in the green shirt scrambled and crawled toward Qian Yuhan, intending to slam his knees into the ground to express his deep remorse.

But at the very instant his knees were about to touch the floor, a surge of incredibly gentle golden soul power rose up from beneath him, helping him stand back up.

"It is of no consequence. It was merely a trivial matter; just be more careful next time."

With those words, Qian Yuhan lifted his leg to step over the threshold of the Princess Mansion and walked inside together with Xu Yan.