No One Can Stop the Working Emperor Na'er from Coming Home Late, Anxious Her Brother Might Get Mad and Spank Her

Mang Tian took a long drag from his Soul Guidance Pipe, then slowly exhaled.

"The Aolai Blacksmith Association is holding a Forging Competition the day after tomorrow."

"I'll have Wulin take part."

"Let him experience the atmosphere of a competition and see if it can bring out his competitive spirit."

Tang Ziran said, "It's the only thing we can do."

"Let's hope everything goes smoothly," Lang Yue prayed.

The three of them discussed things for a while longer. Then Tang Ziran and Lang Yue left Mang Di Workshop.

Across the street from Mang Di Workshop stood another workshop whose name was very similar.

That was Mang Di Workshop.

The two workshops faced each other across the street.

It was clear how much Mang Di wanted to be close to his older brother, Mang Tian.

Mang Di watched Na'er still hammering away at the metal and muttered, "Ever since we were kids, Mang Tian has always had the upper hand over me."

"The Forging Competition is the day after tomorrow."

"Only apprentices under fifteen can take part."

"Mang Tian will probably have that Tang Wulin enter, too."

If Mang Di had been a member of the Blue Star Transmigrator Army, he would have known that in the original plot of Douluo III, Tang Wulin never took part in Aolai City's Forging Competition.

Everything had changed because of Li Luo, that butterfly from Blue Star, and the flapping of his wings.

Mang Di had an idea and called a halt to Na'er's hammering.

"Na'er, are you interested in taking part in Aolai City's Forging Competition?"

"What's a Forging Competition?"

Confusion flashed in Na'er's eyes. Then she eyed Mang Di warily. "I'm not going."

"Whether it's a small competition or a big one, I'm not going to any of them."

"Nothing can stop me from working."

Na'er raised her hammer and started pounding away again. In just a few more minutes, she'd have put in a full eight hours of work today.

Na'er was an honest girl.

Once she worked eight hours, she'd earn eight hours' worth of Federation Coins.

Federation Coins were precious to her.

Na'er smiled happily.

But she'd started work a little late today, and she was worried Li Luo might notice when she got home.

So she hurried to finish the last few minutes of hammering.

As for the competition Mang Di had mentioned—

Sorry, nothing could stop her from making money.

From Na'er's tone, Mang Di knew exactly where the problem lay.

When talking to Na'er, he couldn't go off on tangents.

He had to get straight to the money.

Mang Di sighed. He couldn't understand why such a cute girl like Na'er loved money so much.

Mang Di said, "If you represent the workshop in the Forging Competition, your pay will be doubled."

"You'll also get an extra subsidy of 1,500 Federation Coins."

"Finally, the workshop won't take a single coin of any prize money you win."

Na'er's eyes lit up. "Boss, is that true?"

"Truer than a pearl," Mang Di replied.

Na'er's eyes shone even brighter. "There's prize money for winning the competition?"

Mang Di knew exactly what Na'er cared about, so he got straight to the point. "The champion gets 30,000 Federation Coins."

"The runner-up gets 20,000."

"The third-place winner gets 10,000."

Na'er looked as if money might start spilling out of her eyes. "Boss, please sign me up as soon as possible. I want to take part in the competition."

Mang Di rubbed his forehead. He knew this was how it would turn out.

"I'll sign you up."

"Come to the workshop before two o'clock the day after tomorrow, and I'll take you there."

"You don't need to come in tomorrow."

"Save your strength."

"No!" Na'er's gaze was resolute. "I'm still coming in tomorrow."

"Boss, don't close up!"

"And I've worked eight hours today, so please settle my wages."

Mang Di: "..."

Na'er successfully collected her wages for the day. As they'd agreed, she earned 30 Federation Coins per hour, so eight hours came to 240 Federation Coins in total.

She tucked the Federation Coins into the pouch she wore close to her body.

Then she pedaled her Soul Guidance Bicycle at full speed.

She was late today.

It was really late.

She had no idea if her brother would notice when she got home.

It was the same street, and the same shop where a pink dress had once been displayed. Na'er's Soul Guidance Bicycle whizzed past.

She'd pedaled as hard as she could.

But she was still late.

The lights at home were already on. Na'er felt uneasy as she pushed her Soul Guidance Bicycle into the courtyard.

Her brother had told her to let him know before she went out.

If she was going somewhere or coming home late, she was supposed to tell him, too.

But she hadn't.

So she was nervous.

Nervous that her brother would be angry.

"You're back." Li Luo stood in the doorway.

Na'er lowered her head. "Brother, I'm sorry I came home late."

"Silly girl."

Li Luo grabbed Na'er and pulled her close. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I'm strict with you because I want you to be able to protect yourself."

"Do you understand?"

Na'er darted forward and threw herself at Li Luo.

She wrapped her arms around his waist.

She buried her face against his neck.

Her legs clung to him like an octopus.

She held on tight.

She choked out, "Brother, you're so kind."

Li Luo smiled. "Silly girl, dinner's ready. I made your favorite, Seafood Braised Noodles."

"To punish you..."

"You have to eat nine bowls tonight."

Still nestled in Li Luo's arms, Na'er said, "Na'er can eat eight bowls. Brother can have the extra one."

"I heard eating too much makes you fat."

"Na'er doesn't want to get fat."

A smile spread across Li Luo's face. Na'er, oh, Na'er. If you were going to get fat, you'd have done it already.

Still, Li Luo didn't insist that Na'er eat an extra bowl.

After all, he'd only said it to distract Na'er and keep her from blaming herself too much.

Na'er stayed draped over him, making no move to get down.

Li Luo didn't rush her. He simply let her cling to him as they shuffled into the living room.

Na'er hopped down.

She obediently set out the bowls and chopsticks, then served the noodles.

At the table, the two of them slurped away.

After they finished their noodles, Li Luo sprawled comfortably on the sofa, with Na'er sprawled comfortably on top of him.

Ever since the day he absorbed the power of the Rainbow Dragon King and realized he could maintain the Red Mountain Meditation Method while exercising, Li Luo had made a habit of keeping it running at all times.

Of course, he couldn't keep it up while he was asleep.

Perhaps it was because Na'er was so close.

Li Luo felt his Rainbow Dragon King Martial Soul absorbing the ambient energy faster.

Suddenly, he sensed something.

He knew his Soul Power Level had fully stabilized at level ten.

He said, "Na'er, my Soul Power Level has reached level ten."

"I can go to the Spirit Pagoda and see if there's a suitable Soul Spirit."

This time, when Na'er heard Li Luo say he'd reached level ten, she didn't look worried like she had the last time.

Na'er had been worried then because she knew their family didn't have much money.

Even though her brother had broken through to level ten, buying a Soul Spirit would still have stretched their finances thin.

But she wasn't worried now, because her brother already had more than a million Federation Coins.

They didn't have to fret about money anymore.

Still, Na'er wanted her brother to have the very best Soul Spirit.

Na'er slid off Li Luo and ran into the bedroom. She pulled out a square box from under the bed.

She ran back out, hugging the box.

"Here, brother."