"Ah, this. I, I was just..." His goofy grin froze, and he quickly waved his hands in a panic.
"I understand." Seeing this, Su Mingyue cut off his stammering.
Su Mingyue suddenly smiled warmly. "Remember, you were the one who chose to get close to me."
As he spoke, he placed a hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder. A golden glint flashed in Su Mingyue's eyes.
"Ah? Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"
His CPU seemed to short-circuit in that instant. Tang Wulin's first thought was that the hand on his shoulder felt so warm!
"Mm—let's properly introduce ourselves. My name is Su Mingyue, I'm six years old, and my Martial Soul is Void Archives."
Feeling Void Archives finish recording the vast amount of data on Tang Wulin, Su Mingyue's smile grew even warmer.
"Oh—ah, I, I'm Tang Wulin. I'm six too, but my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."
A blush crept onto his face. This was Tang Wulin's first time talking so closely with someone his age, and he clearly didn't know how to act.
"Blue Silver Grass, huh? What a distinctive Martial Soul. I think we could become very close friends."
Feeling that Void Archives had nearly finished recording all of Tang Wulin, including the 'gift' from the Golden Dragon King,
Su Mingyue chuckled and casually patted him on the shoulder.
"C-close friends!" Tang Wulin couldn't help exclaiming at the words. His eyes immediately lit up as he looked at Su Mingyue.
"Of course. There aren't many close friends I, Su Mingyue, acknowledge. I wouldn't say I'd take a knife in both ribs for a friend—"
"But I can certainly bare my heart to a friend—literally."
Su Mingyue nodded with a smile, his eyes full of approval.
"Ah, this. I, I really can? We've only just met, and calling each other close friends already—i-isn't that a bit too fast?"
He lowered his head shyly, looking every bit the innocent boy.
"All right, it's settled. Here's my Soul Guidance communication number. Memorize it, and I'll see you at the Soul Master Academy, my interesting Blue Silver Grass friend."
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Su Mingyue handed over a slip of paper. Once Tang Wulin had taken it in a daze, Su Mingyue turned and left with a cheerful smile.
"...A close friend? I... I have a friend now!"
Only after Su Mingyue had vanished from sight did Tang Wulin come back to his senses.
He gazed at the slip of paper as if it were a priceless treasure. Eager to tell his father, he cheered and ran off.
Meanwhile, Su Mingyue—
He kept smiling until he was outside the Spirit Pagoda's grounds. Only then did his expression return to normal.
How did the analysis of my close friend with the Golden Dragon King inside him go?
As he walked home, he asked Xiao Ya through their connection.
...Three different divine powers formed eighteen seals. They lock away the greatest essence within your friend.
There are also tiny, man-made gaps that let a little essence leak out on its own while strengthening your friend's body.
Overall, it's a fairly reasonable sealing formation.
A golden glint flickered in Xiao Ya's eyes, and her answer soon rang in Su Mingyue's ear.
Man-made gaps? Tsk, that really is just like Tang San. Su Mingyue narrowed his eyes slightly, then changed the subject.
First, make a backup plan for extracting his Golden Dragon King. Whenever the mood strikes me, I'll help my close friend deal with his 'problem' properly.
With a pleased smile, Su Mingyue reached the street near his home.
A cool breeze swept past, ruffling his bangs, and Su Mingyue instinctively looked up.
Orange-gold evening clouds had begun to spread across the sky, and the warm sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon.
"So it's this late." As he quietly considered what to make for dinner, Su Mingyue thought he heard a faint call.
He stopped and looked in a certain direction. When he closed his eyes, the cries of "Ming Yue~ Ming Yue~" grew clearer.
"What is this feeling?" he murmured, heading toward the increasingly clear voice. His pace gradually quickened.
After turning through several alleys, he stopped. A petite figure, a white-haired bundle curled beneath a tree, came into view.
"Ming Yue~ Ming Yue~"
Now it was as clear as if someone were calling right beside his ear. Su Mingyue walked toward the white-haired bundle.
But just as he was about to reach her, several rough-looking figures suddenly blocked his path.
"Hey! Kid, you're too young to handle sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Just go home to your mom while you still can!"
"Heh! This is prey our XX Gang found. You little punk—"
"Hold on, boss, second brother. This kid's got a graceful figure too. Why don't we take him along?"
"..."
Their vulgar remarks rang out alongside their leering laughter. As they spoke, the thugs reached out to grab her.
"Honestly, you people are beyond help."
Su Mingyue watched them with cool indifference and snapped his fingers.
Void Archives instantly mimicked the Seven Thunders of Retribution. With a few American quickdraws, the thugs were blown apart in an instant.
All but one, who had the good luck to fall into a trash can, returned to the world as particles.
"You-you-you... I... There aren't any cameras here!"
"You say that out loud when there aren't any cameras? Idiot."
Su Mingyue shot him too, sending him back to the world as particles. Then he put away Void Archives and walked straight over to the white-haired bundle.
"Poor thing..." He crouched down until he was at her eye level.
Su Mingyue gazed at her with a gentle voice.
"..." The white-haired bundle silently raised her delicate face and blinked her watery purple eyes.
"Your beautiful eyes shine like pure amethysts. I like them very much. So, would you like to come with me?"
Su Mingyue smiled warmly. He couldn't resist smoothing her hair, then gently patted her head.
The white-haired bundle rubbed her head against his hand and nodded without thinking.
"So cute. Do you have a name?" Su Mingyue asked with a satisfied squint, his smile unchanged.
"N-Na'er." Her sweet voice rang out, and she blinked her lovely eyes twice.
"My name is Su Mingyue. From now on, you can call me Big Brother. Come on, Na'er. Big Brother will take you home."
The call had vanished completely as soon as he touched Na'er. With a faint suspicion stirring in his mind, Su Mingyue gently took her hand.
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