Close Friend and Na'er

"Uh, this... I, I was just..." The silly grin froze, and he immediately began waving his hands in a flustered panic.

"I understand." Seeing this, he cut off the other's stuttering words directly.

Su Mingyue suddenly offered a gentle, warm smile: "Remember, it was you who chose to approach me."

As he spoke, he rested a hand on the other's shoulder, a flash of golden light flickering in Su Mingyue's eyes.

"Huh? Eh? W-what does that mean?"

His CPU seemed to short-circuit for a split second; Tang Wulin's first sensation was actually how warm the hand on his shoulder felt!

"Hmm—let's have a formal introduction. My name is Su Mingyue, I'm 6 years old, and my Martial Soul is the Void Archives."

Feeling the massive amount of data from Tang Wulin being recorded by the Void Archives, Su Mingyue's smile grew even warmer.

"Ah, oh—I, I'm Tang Wulin, also 6 years old, but my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

A blush rose to his face involuntarily. Having his first close-range interaction with a peer, Tang Wulin was clearly at a loss for what to do.

"Blue Silver Grass, huh? That's a very unique Martial Soul. I think we could become great best friends."

Sensing that the Void Archives had almost finished recording Tang Wulin in his entirety, including the 'gift' of the Golden Dragon King, Su Mingyue chuckled and gave his shoulder a light pat.

"B-best friends!" Unable to help but exclaim the term, Tang Wulin looked at Su Mingyue with sparkling eyes.

"Of course. There aren't many people I, Su Mingyue, acknowledge as best friends. I won't say I'd go through fire and water for a best friend."

"But when it comes to giving my heart and soul (literally) to a best friend, I, Su Mingyue, can still manage that with ease."

Nodding with a smile in return, Su Mingyue's eyes were filled with genuine recognition.

"Uh, this... can I really? We've only just met, so, so isn't 'best friends' a bit too fast?"

Tang Wulin lowered his head in sudden shyness, looking every bit the innocent youth.

"Alright, it's settled then. This is my spirit communication number, keep it safe. See you at the Soul Master Academy, my interesting Blue Silver Grass best friend."

Ignoring any protest, he handed a slip of paper to Tang Wulin. After the boy took it in a daze, Su Mingyue turned and walked away with a beaming smile.

"...Best friend, huh? I, I have a friend now too!"

It wasn't until Su Mingyue's figure had completely vanished that Tang Wulin finally snapped back to reality.

Looking at the slip of paper as if it were a priceless treasure and eager to share the news with his father, he cheered and ran off.

Meanwhile, on Su Mingyue's side.

He maintained his smile until he had left the vicinity of the Spirit Pagoda, at which point his expression returned to indifference.

'How is it? The analysis of this best friend of mine who houses the Golden Dragon King.'

Walking toward home, he communicated with Xiao Ya to ask.

'...Three different types of divine power have constructed eighteen seals. While they lock away the most massive essence within your best friend's body...'

'...there is actually a man-made gap that allows a tiny bit of essence to leak out autonomously, which also serves to strengthen your best friend's physical body.'

'...Overall, it can be considered a relatively reasonable sealing array.'

A faint golden light flickered in his eyes as Xiao Ya's answer echoed in Su Mingyue's ears.

'A man-made gap? Tsk tsk, as expected of Tang San.' Narrowing his eyes slightly, Su Mingyue changed the subject:

'Draft a backup plan to extract his Golden Dragon King. When I feel like it one day, I'll help my dear best friend resolve his "troubles."'

With a pleased smile, Su Mingyue returned to the streets near his home.

As a cool breeze swept by, Su Mingyue, his bangs fluttering, looked up instinctively.

The orange-yellow sunset had begun to blanket the sky, and the warm sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon.

"It's this late already." As he softly pondered what to make for dinner, Su Mingyue vaguely seemed to hear a faint call.

He stopped and looked in a certain direction. Closing his eyes slightly, the cry of "Mingyue~, Mingyue~" became increasingly distinct.

"What is this feeling?" Murmuring to himself, he walked toward the source of the sound, his pace gradually quickening.

After turning a few corners and stopping, a petite figure—a ball of white fur curled up under a tree—came into view.

"Mingyue~, Mingyue~"

It was now as clear as if it were being whispered right into his ear. Su Mingyue couldn't help but walk toward the white-furred ball.

But just as he was about to reach her, several ruffian-like figures suddenly blocked his path.

"Hey! Kid, meddling in things isn't something you can handle at your age. If you've got nothing to do, hurry home and find your mommy!"

"Heh heh! This is prey that our XX Gang found, you little brat, you can't—"

"Wait a sec, Boss, Second Brother, I think this kid looks pretty delicate too. Why don't we bag him up as well?"

"..."

Filthy language accompanied by frivolous laughter rang out. The thugs reached out their claws as they spoke.

"Truly, ignorant of the situation."

Looking indifferently at the group of people, Su Mingyue snapped his fingers.

The Void Archives directly simulated the Seven Thunders of Retribution, and in an instant, a few American-style iaijutsu strikes were unleashed.

Except for one piece of trash who had luckily fallen into a dumpster, the group of thugs returned to the heavens in molecular form.

"Y-y-y-you... I... I... there are no surveillance cameras here!"

"You dare mention the lack of surveillance? Idiot."

With a single shot, he sent the man to return to the heavens in molecular form as well. Su Mingyue put away the Void Archives and walked straight up to the white-haired ball.

"How truly... pitiful." He crouched down to keep his line of sight level with hers.

Su Mingyue spoke in a soft voice, gazing at her.

"..." Silently raising her head, the white-haired ball blinked her watery, beautiful purple eyes.

"Beautiful eyes, as dazzling as pure amethyst. I like them very much. So, are you willing to come with me?"

Smiling gently, Su Mingyue couldn't help but raise his hand to smooth her hair, taking the opportunity to stroke her head as well.

Unable to help herself, she nuzzled against the small hand on her head and nodded subconsciously.

"So cute. Do you have a name?" Su Mingyue asked, his smile unchanging as he narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

"Na... Na'er." A sweet, clear voice rang out, and the white-haired ball blinked her beautiful eyes twice more.

"My name is Su Mingyue. From today on, you can just call me Big Brother. Let's go, Na'er, Big Brother is taking you home."

The calling sensation from earlier vanished completely the moment he touched Na'er. Su Mingyue felt a faint guess forming in his heart as he gently pulled her to her feet.