Open and Aboveboard

Gu Yue ground her teeth.

Her teeth creaked, yet she found herself unable to say a word.

The two of them remained locked in a stalemate.

Zhong Shenxiu stood where he was, utterly still.

Gu Yue stood where she was, equally motionless.

He looked at her.

She looked back at him.

The afternoon sunlight streamed down from above, blending their shadows together.

All around them was the bustle of Hundred Crafts Workshop—vendors calling out their wares, customers haggling, and the hum of Soul Tool testing intertwining into the uniquely noisy backdrop of the place.

Yet between the two of them seemed to hang an invisible membrane, shutting all that noise away.

Gu Yue glared at Zhong Shenxiu.

She wanted him to know through her glare that she was angry—very angry, incredibly angry!

But Zhong Shenxiu merely looked at her calmly.

Those pale golden vertical pupils gleamed faintly beneath the sunlight.

The light was neither dazzling nor scorching, yet it carried an indescribable...

presence.

Gu Yue suddenly realized she could not look away.

Those eyes were too bright.

Not the kind of brightness that hurt the eyes, but a gentle, accepting brightness, as though they could contain everything.

Like sunlight hanging high above the heavens, shining upon all things without burning a single living creature.

Like the source of life that nurtured all creation—warm, bright, eternal.

A word suddenly came to Gu Yue's mind—

Light.

Zhong Shenxiu's martial soul was the Radiant King Dragon.

The power he wielded was light.

But what she felt at that moment was more than just light.

It was something...

more fundamental.

Those eyes watched her without any emotion or ripple, yet somehow made her heart race.

Not because she was afraid.

Not because she was angry.

But because...

they were too bright.

So bright that she felt as if everything about her had been seen through.

So bright that she felt nowhere to hide before those eyes.

Gu Yue's cheeks suddenly grew warm.

It was slight and fleeting, almost impossible to notice.

But she felt it herself.

She did not know why it had happened.

She could only assume Zhong Shenxiu had angered her into it.

Right, that had to be it.

That taciturn blockhead who could kill any conversation had made her angry.

She bit her lower lip, abruptly turned away, and stopped looking into those eyes.

"Let's go!" she said, her voice slightly higher than usual. "Food!"

With that, she strode forward without looking back.

After taking a few steps, she suddenly realized there were no footsteps behind her.

She stopped and turned around.

Zhong Shenxiu was still standing there, those golden vertical pupils calmly watching her.

"What are you doing?" Gu Yue frowned.

Zhong Shenxiu looked at her and slowly said,

"You're going the wrong way."

Gu Yue froze.

"Qingyun Restaurant is to the east."

Zhong Shenxiu pointed in the opposite direction. "You're going west."

Gu Yue: "..."

She looked down at the direction she had taken, then at the direction Zhong Shenxiu was pointing.

Then her cheeks became even hotter.

"I-I knew that!" she said stiffly. "I was just checking whether you were following me!"

Zhong Shenxiu looked at her.

There was still not a ripple in those golden vertical pupils.

Yet Gu Yue swore that she saw an extremely faint glimmer in those eyes, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

That glimmer seemed to say:

"Oh, really?"

Gu Yue felt like gritting her teeth again.

But she held it in.

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her expression calm.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked.

Zhong Shenxiu nodded and headed in the correct direction.

Gu Yue followed, and the two walked side by side.

Qingyun Restaurant truly lived up to its reputation as Eastsea City's finest restaurant. It did not judge the two of them by their age simply because they were children; instead, it treated them seriously.

When Zhong Shenxiu and Gu Yue stepped through the restaurant's doors, they were not greeted by the usual waiter with a hint of perfunctory impatience, but by an elegant middle-aged man dressed in a blue-gray long robe. His gaze swept over the pair, and a trace of barely perceptible surprise flashed through his eyes—the bearing of these two children was far too unusual.

Especially the boy.

Those pale golden vertical pupils made people afraid to meet his gaze directly.

But the middle-aged man was only briefly startled before returning to normal. He gave a slight bow. "Are the two young guests here to dine?"

Gu Yue nodded.

Without saying anything, she took a card from her clothes and casually placed it on the counter.

It was a pitch-black card edged with a ring of fine gold filigree. At its center was the emblem of the Federal Bank, inlaid with a special Soul Tool technique, gleaming with a faint, cold light under the lamps.

The middle-aged man's pupils contracted slightly.

A Black Gold Card.

A Black Gold Card could only be issued by the Federal Bank to those with deposits exceeding ten million Federal Coin.

There were fewer than fifty people in all of Eastsea City who possessed one.

Yet this girl, who appeared to be no more than ten years old, had casually taken one out.

He drew a breath, but his attitude did not change in the slightest—he did not become fawning, nor did he become nervous. He simply retained his composed and refined manner.

"This way, please." He gestured politely. "A private room upstairs."

Gu Yue put the card away and followed him upstairs.

Zhong Shenxiu followed behind her without saying a word.

They were led to a private room on the third floor. It was not large, but it had been decorated with exceptional elegance—sandalwood tables and chairs, several ink-wash landscapes hanging on the walls, and an orchid by the window trimmed to perfection. Beyond the window lay the streets of Hundred Crafts Workshop, their clamor blocked by a soundproof formation, leaving behind only faint tranquility.

"Please wait a moment," the middle-aged man said. "The dishes will arrive shortly."

He withdrew and gently closed the door behind him.

Gu Yue walked to the window and watched the pedestrians below before suddenly asking, "Aren't you curious why I have a Black Gold Card?"

Zhong Shenxiu had already taken a seat.

He looked at her and said, "I'm not curious."

Gu Yue: "..."

She took a deep breath.

Don't get angry.

Don't get angry with someone who can kill any conversation.

She was the Silver Dragon King, an existence who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, the leader of the Soul Beasts.

She needed to have restraint.

She needed to have poise.

She needed to—

"Can't you at least pretend to be curious?!" she finally could not hold it in.

Zhong Shenxiu thought about it.

"I can."

"Then pretend to be curious!"

"Alright." Zhong Shenxiu nodded and said in that utterly emotionless tone, "I'm curious."

Gu Yue: "..."

She suddenly wanted to open the window and throw him from the third floor.

But she restrained herself.

Because she realized that although Zhong Shenxiu had said he was "curious," there was still not the slightest ripple in those golden vertical pupils.

He was brushing her off.

Openly and aboveboard.

Brushing her off in the most direct way possible.

Gu Yue gritted her teeth as she glared at him for several seconds, then turned away indignantly and ignored him.

Forget it.

If she kept getting angry with him, he would eventually anger her to death.

She should just enjoy the view.

Hundred Crafts Workshop outside remained as lively as ever. Crowds flowed through the streets, and the calls of vendors rose and fell. Yet though Gu Yue's gaze rested on the street, her mind was nowhere near it.

She recalled the way Zhong Shenxiu had looked at her just now.

Those eyes...

They were too bright.

So bright that she did not dare look straight at them.

So bright that her heart raced.

So bright that she—