Luo Yang opened the door.
Sure enough.
Leng Yaozhu stood outside, wearing a lightweight silk nightdress with a hem that fell only to her knees, revealing her long, fair calves.
Her snow-white feet were bare, and her long hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall. Bathed in moonlight, she seemed to be surrounded by a dreamlike halo, so beautiful she looked otherworldly.
"Aunt Leng?" Luo Yang tried to make his voice sound normal. "It's so late. Why are you..."
"I came to reward you." Leng Yaozhu spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, a hint of teasing laughter in her voice. Before Luo Yang could react, she stepped straight into the room.
Luo Yang: "..."
He silently closed the door, then turned to look at Leng Yaozhu, who had already sat down casually on his bed. He felt like crying.
He really didn't want this reward!
Leng Yaozhu patted the spot beside her and smiled brightly.
"Come here. Sit."
Luo Yang obediently went over and sat beside her.
Leng Yaozhu naturally put an arm around his shoulders and let him lean against her. Her warm body heat seeped through her thin nightdress, soft and comforting.
"You did really well today," she said softly, her voice full of undisguised affection. "You not only won the match, but also helped Ye Xinglan reach enlightenment. Shrek owes you a favor now."
Luo Yang nestled obediently in her arms, not daring to move. His voice was muffled. "It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, Aunt Leng."
"You always say things like that." Leng Yaozhu laughed and poked his cheek, the gesture intimate and natural. "What have I taught you? You don't need me to teach you at all."
She paused and looked down at the little one in her arms.
"You know, when I first met you, I just thought you were a pitiful child who'd lost both his parents and needed someone to take care of him." Her voice was so gentle it sounded like she was talking to herself. "But later, I realized you didn't need taking care of at all. You're clearer-headed than anyone, stronger than anyone. It's you who's given Aunt Leng so much, without even realizing it..."
Luo Yang fell silent and listened quietly.
"You remind me of someone." Leng Yaozhu continued, her voice turning distant, as if she'd fallen into memories from long ago. "Someone I had a crush on for many years, but could never have."
Luo Yang knew who she meant.
Yun Ming, the Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy, one of the most powerful Limit Douluo alive, and Ya Li's man. Much of the tangled relationship between Leng Yaozhu and Ya Li stemmed from him.
"But you're different from him." Leng Yaozhu suddenly smiled. Her smile held a hint of relief and gratitude. "That person stood high above me, forever out of reach, like a star in the sky that I could only gaze up at. But you... you're right here beside me. I can hold you, protect you, and watch you grow up bit by bit."
She tightened her arms, pulling Luo Yang a little closer, as if she wanted to press him into her very being.
"So you need to hurry up and grow up. Once you're all grown up, Aunt Leng can..."
She didn't finish, but the unspoken meaning and suggestive pause had already sent Luo Yang's heart pounding so hard it nearly leaped out of his chest.
This... This wasn't how things were supposed to go!
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Even his voice trembled a little.
"Aunt Leng, I'm still young..."
"I know." Leng Yaozhu answered as if it were only natural, without the slightest embarrassment. "So I'm only hugging you for now. We'll talk when you're grown up."
Luo Yang: "..."
So was this... a reservation in advance?
Leng Yaozhu looked at his utterly despairing, hesitant expression and burst out laughing. Her bright smile lit up the whole room.
She let go and ruffled his hair, her touch full of affection.
"All right, I won't tease you anymore. Aunt Leng really does have a reward for you this time."
She withdrew her hand, palm facing up, and gently turned it over.
In an instant, a wisp of flame appeared in her palm.
At first, it was only as big as a fingernail, a deep crimson. But after just one breath, it rapidly expanded and changed!
Crimson turned to orange-yellow, orange-yellow to golden yellow, golden yellow to blazing white, and finally settled into an indescribable shade of dark gold.
Within the flames, the faint silhouette of a phoenix circled, cried out, and danced!
Though tiny, its shadow exuded a heart-stopping pressure, as if it weren't a wisp of flame at all, but a slumbering ancient divine beast!
Luo Yang's pupils contracted.
"This is the Phoenix True Fire passed down through the generations of the Leng Family," Leng Yaozhu said. "Only the head of each generation is qualified to inherit it. It's the foundation that's kept our family standing on the continent for ten thousand years."
She gazed at the flame in her palm, a trace of nostalgia flashing in her eyes.
"This flame isn't a Soul Skill or a Soul Bone Skill. It's an origin flame inherited through our bloodline. It carries the will and power of every Leng Family head before me. It can burn everything to ash, and it can also be reborn from the ashes. It's the greatest support that's allowed me to reach where I am today."
She raised her head and looked straight at Luo Yang, her gaze blazing.
"And now, I'm giving it to you."
Luo Yang froze.
"Please don't, Aunt Leng." The words came out almost instinctively. "This is far too precious..."
Just from its name, he could tell it was priceless. And anything connected to the phoenix had to be top-tier among the top-tier. How could a treasure like this, passed down through generations, be given to an outsider like him?
But Leng Yaozhu didn't give him the chance to refuse.
She lightly tapped the flame with her fingertip. It floated toward Luo Yang as if alive, then hovered in front of his brow.
The next moment—
The flame sank into the space between his brows.
Luo Yang felt a warm current flow into his body, traveling through his limbs and bones.
Every inch of flesh it passed through seemed to be tempered anew, and every cell rejoiced.
He closed his eyes. Deep in his consciousness, he vaguely saw a fiery phoenix soaring with its wings spread. The phoenix glanced at him, then turned into a sky full of flames and vanished into his Sea of Consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, a phoenix mark about the size of a fingernail had appeared in the center of his forehead.
The mark was dark gold, vivid and lifelike, as if a phoenix were about to take flight. It glimmered faintly, radiating a subtle warmth.
Leng Yaozhu nodded in satisfaction and reached out to touch the mark. Her fingertip met its warmth.
"It looks good. It suits you."
Luo Yang stared blankly as he touched his forehead, feeling the warmth of the mark. His thoughts churned like a stormy sea.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
In that small plane controlled by the War God Temple, there was a Fire Host Clan from the Falan World.
Among that clan, only the royal family, with its purest bloodline, possessed a personal True Fire—the Seven-Colored Lotus Flame. It could burn anything and was the very foundation of the Fire Host Clan's survival.
As for the Phoenix True Fire of the Leng Family, its quality was probably no lower—if anything, it was higher. After all, it came from the bloodline of a true phoenix, an inheritance of a divine beast!
Leng Yaozhu looked at his dazed expression and smiled faintly, a sly glint in her eyes.
"All right, I've given you your reward. Now..."
She patted the spot beside her, her eyes curving into crescents.
"It's your turn to reward Aunt Leng."
Luo Yang: "..."
He silently climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Leng Yaozhu.
Satisfied, Leng Yaozhu pulled him into her arms. Just like the night before, she used him as a body pillow and gave a contented hum.
"So comfortable. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight."
Luo Yang lay stiffly, staring at the ceiling, feeling like crying.
So this was the price of the reward?