Fragrant Soup and Icy Fire at the Xu Estate · A Delicate Scheme Entrusted with a Heartfelt Wish

Xu Sanshi flourished his folding fan with a dashing air, looking every bit the young master of the house. "Mm, same as usual: a private room. Bring out our signature dishes, especially that 'Basalt Soul-Shocking Soup'—right away!"

He turned to Long Jinyu and gestured invitingly. His smile was eager. "Please, Junior Sister Long! It's our own little shop, so don't hold back."

Long Jinyu's lips curved slightly. So this place really did belong to him.

The two of them took their seats in a private room.

The soup and side dishes were served quickly. The creamy white soup steamed in its bowl, nourishing herbs drifting within it. Its aroma was utterly enticing.

Long Jinyu scooped up a spoonful and blew on it. It tasted delicious, and even had a gentle nourishing effect on Soul Power.

They ate and chatted.

Xu Sanshi steered the conversation back to the academy, and Long Jinyu casually let slip that he was a specially admitted student of the inner court.

"What?!"

The spoon in Xu Sanshi's hand fell into his bowl with a clank, splashing a few drops of soup. He stared at Long Jinyu, looking him up and down again, his voice pitching high in shock.

"I-In the inner court?! A specially admitted student?! Junior Sister Long... no, I mean, Senior Sister Long?! You're... a lot more than meets the eye!"

His exaggerated reaction amused Long Jinyu. He drew out his words, eyes curving into crescents. "Heehee~ Thank you for the compliment, Junior~ Brother~ Sanshi~."

That "Junior Brother" left Xu Sanshi feeling weak in the knees, but the inner court's reputation quickly sobered him up, and awe welled within him. He leaned closer and lowered his voice, looking as though he were sharing a shocking secret.

"Senior Sister! S-since you're from the inner court, I have to warn you about something! There's a... very dangerous Flame Fiend in the inner court! She's a red-haired madwoman! Her temper's terrifying, and when her Evil Fire flares up, she beats whoever happens to be nearby! You're new here, so stay far away from her! Better yet, give her a wide berth!"

"Pfft—"

Long Jinyu couldn't help it. He quickly raised a hand to cover his lips, his shoulders trembling slightly. It seemed Xu Sanshi was deeply resentful of his role as a "human fire extinguisher."

He cleared his throat, doing his best to suppress his laughter, then played along. "Oh~ You mean that senior sister? I know her. I heard... she often asks you to 'spar' so she can vent her Evil Fire? You've had it rough."

Xu Sanshi slapped his thigh, thrilled to have found a kindred spirit. "That's no sparring! It's a one-sided beating, Senior Sister! Sigh, there are tears in every word..."

Long Jinyu scooped up another spoonful of soup and spoke unhurriedly. "But you can rest easy, Sanshi. I heard the academy has a new Soul Master who can control Ultimate Ice. I expect she won't 'bother' you anymore."

"Ultimate Ice?!"

Xu Sanshi's eyes bulged like copper bells, and his voice rose.

"The academy actually got someone like that?! Thank the heavens! I finally won't have to be that menace's punching bag anymore! Senior Sister, do you know this ice Soul Master? I have to thank her in person for her 'great kindness'!"

Long Jinyu looked up at him, smiling faintly. "Know her? Of course I do."

Before his words had even faded, he lightly tapped the rim of his soup bowl with a fingertip.

A flash of deep blue light passed in silence. The steaming bowl of "Basalt Soul-Shocking Soup" before him instantly froze solid, ingredients and all, into a single block of clear ice. Even the rising steam was frozen in midair, forming a strange mist of ice.

Xu Sanshi: "!!!"

His mouth fell wide open. He stared fixedly at the bowl of frozen soup, then abruptly looked up at Long Jinyu, who was smiling across from him.

Before he could recover from the shock of Ultimate Ice, a tiny flame swirled with nine colors and burst from Long Jinyu's fingertip. He gently brushed it over the icy bowl.

The ice melted in an instant, and steam rose once more. The soup in the bowl was even hotter than before, its rich aroma filling the room again.

The whole thing had taken no more than two or three breaths.

Long Jinyu blew on the soup as if nothing had happened and tasted it. "Mm, just right."

Xu Sanshi stared at the scene, his tongue nearly tied in knots. His brain froze for several seconds.

"S-Senior Sister...! You're the one with Ultimate Ice?! You... you actually have both ice and fire attributes? And they're both... ultimate?!"

Such a beautiful... no, such a powerful senior sister was the savior of that madwoman?! That shrew was damn lucky!

Long Jinyu set down his spoon and replied evenly, "Mm. The soup was delicious. Thank you for the meal."

It took Xu Sanshi a long moment to come back to his senses. "Don't mention it! I'm the one who should be thanking you, Senior Sister! You've saved my life! I'm glad you enjoyed the food! Come by for soup whenever you want. There'll always be plenty!"

Seeing his earnest, foolish expression, Long Jinyu decided the moment was right to get to the point. "Speaking of which, Sanshi, there are a few things I'd like to ask you to help me with, if you don't mind."

Xu Sanshi thumped his chest so hard it boomed. "Just say the word, Senior Sister! I'd climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire for you!"

Watching Xu Sanshi act as though he would bare his heart and soul for him, Long Jinyu's smile faded slightly.

"Xu Sanshi... Jiang Nannan..." The two names passed through his heart, stirring a complicated ripple.

The "Outer Court's Number One Beauty" had been a gifted young girl whose fate had played a cruel trick on her, too. If poverty and her mother's illness hadn't left her desperately in need of life-saving money, why would she have... sold the very chastity she treasured most?

What a damnable world...

He thought of the Nine-Colored Dragon God Martial Soul he had just awakened, and the heaven-defying head start it had given him.

How many people on this continent were like Jiang Nannan—or worse off—and might not even get the chance to awaken a Martial Soul? The plight of the lower ranks of Soul Masters in the Absolute Tang era...

"Should I establish a 'second-generation Spirit Hall' that benefits the masses? Or reform Shrek, this so-called 'number one under heaven,' from within?"

The thought flashed through his mind, heavy with consequence. It wasn't something he could decide right away.

His thoughts returned to the present.

"Too bad I came one step too late."

He glanced at Xu Sanshi across from him, who had no idea what was going through his mind.

That absurd affair that had changed both their fates had already happened.

Xu Sanshi wasn't entirely bad. He was just a muddleheaded fool whose family had arranged things for him, and who had blundered into a terrible mistake without even realizing it.

And that blockhead always managed to step on exactly the wrong land mine whenever he pursued Jiang Nannan, bringing up the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was practically dancing on her wounds over and over.

"Ah, forget it."

Long Jinyu shook his head to himself.

"With emotional intelligence this low, lecturing him won't do any good. If I leave him to figure it out for himself, Jiang Nannan's children will be old enough to run errands before he catches on."

By then, he had made up his mind.

"These 'manuals' from Blue Star might help pry open that wooden head of his, and teach him how to truly respect, understand, and care for someone. The rest will be up to him."

Long Jinyu turned his wrist and took four books from his Storage Soul Tool. They were made from unusual materials and didn't seem to belong to this world. He handed them over. The lettering on the covers looked "ancient and profound," and seemed to radiate the light of reason.

Xu Sanshi hurriedly accepted them with both hands. They felt heavy in his grasp. Though puzzled, he first put them into his Storage Ring, then asked curiously, "Senior Sister, what are these...?"

Long Jinyu put aside the brief distraction from before. His tone carried a touch of teasing and a hint of meaning that was hard to detect. "You've worked hard helping Senior Sister Xiaotao suppress her Evil Fire, so I'm thanking you on her behalf. I heard you're pursuing Jiang Nannan, the Outer Court's Number One Beauty. These books might be... a great help to you."

The moment Xu Sanshi heard Jiang Nannan's name, his ears perked up and his heart raced. He hurriedly focused on "looking" at the titles of the four books in his Storage Ring—

How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Courage to Be Disliked, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and On the Unity of Knowledge and Action: Wang Yangming.

The titles... sounded incredibly profound, full of wisdom! He didn't understand some of the words, but they seemed incredibly impressive!

"Thank you, Senior Sister! Thank you so much!" Xu Sanshi flushed with excitement. These were the exclusive "secret manuals" of an inner court "senior sister"!

Long Jinyu was amused by his reaction.

"Don't mention it. Study them carefully. Also, these ten Gold Soul Coins..."

He took out a small purse.

"They're a special subsidy from the academy's newly established Support Department for Jiang Nannan. Please pass it on to her for me."

"But go only after you've had a preliminary look through those four books. Otherwise... I'm worried you'll scare the girl."

"Remember: explain why you're there, be kind, be patient, and don't annoy her. If she really doesn't believe you, don't pester her. Just get in touch with me."

Xu Sanshi took the purse, even more excited. This wasn't just money—it was the perfect excuse to get close to Nannan! Senior Sister Long was practically his second mother!

"Senior Sister, you're too good to me! You're not asking me for help at all—you're helping me again!"

"From today on, you're my real big sister! My one and only!"

"Don't worry, Senior Sister! I'll get it done! I'll study hard! And communicate properly!"

"Mm." Long Jinyu nodded, then asked as if it were an afterthought, "One more thing. Do you know the current leader of the Tang Sect?"

"Of course I do! I know her very well!" Xu Sanshi immediately nodded. "She's my good buddy Bei Bei's girlfriend, Tang Ya. Are you interested in the Tang Sect, Senior Sister? I can introduce you!"

"I'm a little interested, but there's no rush."

Long Jinyu took out a golden card made of an unusual material ("extorted" from Mu En) and gently placed it on the table.

"The Support Department has assessed the situation and decided to grant the Tang Sect funds for rebuilding. There are one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins here. Since you know the sect leader, could you pass them on to her for me?"

"O-one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins?!" Xu Sanshi sucked in a sharp breath, and his hands trembled. It was an enormous sum! He instinctively tried to refuse. "Senior Sister, this is far too valuable! Why don't you deliver it yourself..."

Long Jinyu raised a hand to stop him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Hey, I trust your character and ability. If the sect leader has any doubts, just mention my name to Bei Bei. He'll understand." He spoke with profound meaning.

Long Jinyu's unusual eyes seemed to see right through people. Xu Sanshi was shaken, and a surge of pride at being trusted utterly welled up within him. He put the gold card away solemnly and straightened his back. "It's an honor to have Senior Sister place such trust in me, Xu Sanshi! Don't worry, Senior Sister. I'll handle this perfectly!"

"Mm, good, good..."

Long Jinyu smiled in satisfaction and lowered his head to take another sip of soup.

"...Delicious~"

Xu Sanshi immediately called toward the kitchen, "Did you hear that? My sister said it's delicious! Bring out ten more bowls! Pack them up! Let my sister take them home and enjoy them at her leisure!"

Long Jinyu: "..."

"That's really~... not~ necessary~"

He said it even as he put on an expression that said, "I can't do anything with you."

But deep in those mismatched eyes, a faint smile flashed by. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, then he quickly forced it flat again.