Di Lingrui, Rui'er

As she rejoiced, she did not forget to introduce the guests she had brought home to her mother.

"Mm! It's good that you weren't hurt. Earlier, that boy from the Wang family said he saw you returning on the street, so Mom immediately started preparing a victory feast for my little treasure.

"All right~ Stop acting cute! Have you no shame? And these must be the guests you brought back, right?

"Thank you all for taking care of Nannan. If you don't mind, the dishes will be ready soon."

"Go take the guests to sit down first. There are still a few dishes cooking in the pot. Once all the food is ready, Nannan can tell Mom what powerful soul skill she got."

As she soothed her with words and pinched Jiang Nannan's little cheek, Mother Jiang smiled and nodded to Fang Le and the others.

Then, without saying anything more, she energetically plunged back into the kitchen.

The wait was not long. Before long, Mother Jiang brought several more fragrant dishes to the dining table.

Though it was a victory feast, it was hardly extravagant. After all, they were not a wealthy family.

Moreover, Mother Jiang's illness had devoured seventy or eighty percent of the family's already limited assets.

Still, compared to the simple meals the mother and daughter usually ate, today's meal was quite lavish.

Mushroom tofu soup, stir-fried greens, fried meatballs, and homemade pickled dried radish.

As for the rest, there was a fish that seemed to have been deep-fried before being braised in soy sauce. Its color was bright red, its fragrance mouthwatering, and it had clearly been cooked with plenty of seasonings.

There was also a plate of scrambled eggs, which could roughly count as a meat dish.

However, the dish that was hardest to take was the main course placed in the middle of the table.

What the hell was this rabbit meat? That was definitely rabbit meat, right?!

That's right! Masterfully prepared Jiang Family Secret Spicy Rabbit.

The glossy color, the rich red sauce, the enticing aroma—Mother Jiang's cooking skills were undeniably excellent.

Stir-fried rabbit meat? Eating what resembles you to nourish what resembles you?

Fang Le could not help thinking of certain specialties from Blue Star.

In pursuit of nourishment, people ate similar ingredients, like some province's Dragon-Tiger Fight.

However, his guess was not entirely wrong.

It was not about nourishing one's body with something that resembled it, but it was indeed for nourishment: ten-year Soft Bone Rabbit meat.

Because they reproduced in large numbers, they could be supplied to the market on a wide scale. Rich in Soul Power and relatively affordable, they were the only Soul Beast meat the Jiang family could afford now.

Yet no matter how cheap and affordable it was, five taels of rabbit meat still cost thirty Silver Soul Coins. For such a small plate, they had spent at least nearly ninety Silver Soul Coins.

Silver Soul Coins might only be the second tier of currency, but for ordinary people, ninety Silver Soul Coins was still quite a considerable sum.

One could still remember how a certain God King had worked himself to the bone blacksmithing back then, only earning one Silver Soul Coin a month.

Thus, for this broken household, this Soft Bone Rabbit meat was an exceedingly precious tonic.

"It smells so good!"

The Auspicious Beast was the first to voice her admiration. As a jungle native of the Star Dou Forest, what good food could she possibly have eaten?

Nothing more than spirit fruits, spirit water, and raw meat. (A random bystander's reminder: spirit fruits and spirit water really were good stuff.)

"Thank you for the compliment. It's only humble fare, please don't mind it, Miss... Wait!? You can talk?!"

Mother Jiang had originally wanted to modestly demur after hearing the praise, but when she saw the little beast speaking, she was stunned, then greatly alarmed.

Earlier, she had assumed this extraordinary little beast was merely a pet Fang Le had brought along.

Even if it was a Soul Beast, it could at most be ten years old.

Yet she had never imagined that this little beast could actually speak human language.

Though her rank was not high, she was still a Soul Elder. She knew some basic knowledge.

For a Soul Beast to speak human language, it had to break through one hundred thousand years.

She had thought she would never see such a peerless ferocious beast in her lifetime, yet now that legendary existence had appeared right before her eyes.

And it was eating at the same table as her.

This was simply... too unbelievable.

Looking closer, the middle-aged man in black beside them was no ordinary person either. Just his appearance and bearing made him seem incredibly powerful.

And then there was Fang Le, who faintly occupied the central position among them.

Good heavens!!

What kind of immortals had her daughter brought back from this trip?

"Sister Auspicious Beast is Brother Fang's companion... Eh! Right! Sister Auspicious Beast, do you have a human name? Calling you Sister Auspicious Beast all the time feels kind of strange."

Unlike her shocked mother, Jiang Nannan was rather carefree.

After all, she had not properly studied much yet. She only regarded the Auspicious Beast as some special, magical, talking (and pretty) Soul Beast, so she introduced her with great enthusiasm.

(Well... the Auspicious Beast really was special.)

But as she introduced her, she seemed to recall a detail she had overlooked earlier and curiously asked the Auspicious Beast.

"A human name?"

Asked that question, the Auspicious Beast fell into thought. Then she looked at Fang Le and Di Tian beside her, who had likewise fallen silent.

That was right! Uncle Di Tian and Fang Le both had names. Yet ever since she had been born, aside from being called the Auspicious Beast and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she seemed never to have had a proper name.

What should I be called? x2

Jiang Nannan: Count me in!

"Di Jin'er!"

The old father Di Tian was the first to speak, but the name he came up with left everyone around him covered in black lines.

What a perfunctory name.

Everyone thought the same thing.

Yet Di Tian was completely unaware of it.

A name was merely a designation. Besides, wasn't that how all Soul Beasts named themselves?

Scarlet King, Bi Ji, Bear Lord—their names were all more or less like that. Di Tian thought it was perfectly normal for the Auspicious Beast to use such a name.

Gu Yuena: Normal.

Di Tian: Normal.

Some hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit, monkey, and snake: Normal.

"Fang Le~~"

After giving up hope in her old father, the Auspicious Beast looked at Fang Le with a pitiful expression.

That melodious voice practically said outright that she wanted Fang Le to give her a new, pleasant-sounding name.

"Mm... How about Di Lingrui? Your nickname can be Rui'er."

Faced with the Auspicious Beast's longing gaze, Fang Le voiced the name he had been considering.

Though there was an original name, Wang Qiu'er...

Heh! One could only say that a certain God King had no shame at all.

And that name, tsk... bad luck.

"You share a surname with Di Tian. As for your given name, the Auspicious Beast was born with destiny, gathering the spiritual essence of the Star Dou Forest, and she is also its soul.

"As a beast of auspicious fortune, she is as vital to the continuation of the Soul Beasts in the New Dou Forest as the pistil is to a flower.

"Also, rui sounds the same as the last character in Rui'er, so I wonder if you like the name Di Lingrui?"

At the same time, worried that the Auspicious Beast might not like the name, Fang Le explained it to her word by word.

"It sounds nice! So from now on, I'm Di Lingrui! My nickname is Rui'er!"

However, he had worried for nothing. How could Rui'er possibly dislike a name Fang Le had given her?

Except for names like Lucky and Big Yellow!

She was so delighted that she was just short of leaping around like some Great Sage.

Di Lingrui: Hehe! I have a name now!!

Rui'er: Hehe! I have a name now!!