Apprentice

Qian Renxue followed Chen Qi's pointing finger and saw a little girl dressed in tattered clothes.

For some reason, Qian Renxue felt an instinctive aversion to her. In short, she just didn't like her.

Qian Renxue grew agitated and tugged Chen Qi along, wanting to keep walking.

"Let's hurry back. Forget all this stuff."

Chen Qi was stunned. By rights, Qian Renxue shouldn't have been so repulsed by a little girl.

But there was one exception: Hu Liena.

She was Bibi Dong's apprentice, and Bibi Dong had given all her love to this disciple.

That made Qian Renxue, who had yearned for her mother's love for years, incredibly jealous. So she detested Hu Liena.

At the thought, Chen Qi grew suspicious. He looked at the little girl and called out loudly.

"Hey! Little girl over there, what's your name?"

At his words, Hu Liena sucked on her fingers and answered instinctively.

"Hu Liena."

As expected.

It really was Hu Liena.

But that left Chen Qi baffled. They weren't supposed to know each other yet, were they?

It looked like Hu Liena was still living at the orphanage. Bibi Dong hadn't taken her as an apprentice yet, so how could she already have a conflict with Qian Renxue?

Could this be a woman's sixth sense?

Gurgle, gurgle.

Hu Liena's stomach betrayed her with a rumble. She looked at Chen Qi pleadingly, as if saying, Big brother, please treat me to a meal.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue grew jealous. She hurriedly pulled Chen Qi away and scolded Hu Liena.

"What are you staring at? Don't look at Chen Qi with those pitiful eyes. I'll gouge them out if you do."

Then, without caring how Hu Liena reacted, she quickened her pace and left.

Hu Liena blinked, unable to understand what had happened.

She only knew that the big sister from earlier seemed to dislike her.

"Little sister, why did you run off here? I've been looking everywhere for you."

Hu Liena's brother, Xie Yue, came running from the other side. The moment he saw her, he let out a long breath of relief.

"Big brother, I'm so hungry. A really handsome big brother was going to buy me something to eat, but a big sister took him away. I'm so pitiful!"

Chen Qi: Don't spread rumors or make things up.

On the street, Bibi Dong had, for once, come out in casual clothes. Like all the people passing to and fro, she didn't look like the Pope at all.

She had just happened to see Qian Renxue inexplicably losing her temper at a little girl. A plan to rile Qian Renxue suddenly popped into her head.

She immediately went up to the siblings and said with a smile,

"Hello, little girl. How about letting big sister buy you a meal?"

Though Bibi Dong's actions were enough to leave people dumbfounded, her looks were still stunning, even in the Douluo Continent, where beautiful women were everywhere.

Xie Yue eyed Bibi Dong warily and instinctively shielded his little sister.

"Who are you?"

Seeing Xie Yue protect his little sister first thing, Bibi Dong nodded in approval and said,

"I'm Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall."

Inside the restaurant, Hu Liena picked up her bowl and wolfed down her food. She swore this was the most delicious thing she'd ever eaten in her life.

"I'm so full!"

Four or five empty bowls sat on the table, all of them emptied by Hu Liena.

The other customers in the restaurant couldn't help wondering if they were seeing things.

How could a little kid only a few years old eat several adults' worth of food?

Xie Yue sat across the table, staring straight at Bibi Dong.

"Don't just watch me. You should eat too."

"Your Holiness, there's something I don't understand. Why are you treating my little sister to a meal?"

Bibi Dong smiled at his question.

"I've only just taken the position of Pope, and I want to nurture a group of children to become the future pillars of the Pope Palace. I've taken a liking to you siblings, and I want to take you on as my personal disciples."

After hearing Bibi Dong's explanation, Xie Yue was even more confused. They were just little kids who hadn't even awakened their Martial Souls yet.

What exactly had she seen in them that made her want to take them as apprentices?

Could she be a kidnapper pretending to be the Pope, using this as an excuse to abduct them?

"If I become your apprentice, will I get to eat this well every day?"

Hu Liena had just finished another bowl of rice. She looked at Bibi Dong and asked,

"What's so special about this? If you become my apprentices, I'll treat you to meat and fish at every meal, until you're sick of it."

As she spoke, Bibi Dong couldn't help recalling when she had first gone to Spirit Hall. The food there had completely upended her expectations.

What kind of food had she been given at the orphanage?

Even Spirit Hall's pigswill was better than that.

When Hu Liena heard that becoming Bibi Dong's apprentice meant eating meat and fish at every meal, her eyes lit up.

Ignoring Xie Yue's frown, she hurriedly agreed.

"I want to become your apprentice. Your disciple Hu Liena pays her respects to her teacher."

Seeing Hu Liena accept her as her teacher in the blink of an eye, Bibi Dong grinned from ear to ear.

With just one meal, she'd landed Hu Liena, who could make Qian Renxue unhappy.

If she then showered Hu Liena without end with the motherly love Qian Renxue had longed for, just imagining Qian Renxue's reaction was enough to amuse her.

Seeing his little sister agree just like that, Xie Yue thought she was such a glutton. She'd accepted Bibi Dong, who might well be a kidnapper, far too hastily.

But before long, he stopped suspecting that Bibi Dong was a kidnapper, because they really were taken to the Pope Palace.

The next morning, veins stood out on Qian Renxue's face as she strode toward the Pope Palace, one step at a time.

"That crazy woman! She's got a screw loose, calling me to the Pope Palace again!"

Chen Qi followed silently behind her, not daring to say a word.

Because of Hu Liena yesterday, her favorability had dropped by ten points. If he said anything now, her favorability might plummet like a roller coaster.

Bang!

Qian Renxue kicked open the doors of the Pope Palace and stormed in, fuming as she shouted at Bibi Dong.

"Interrupting my cultivation—are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Facing Qian Renxue's rudeness, Bibi Dong forcibly held back her anger and said,

"Qian Renxue, I called you here today because I want to introduce someone."

At that, Hu Liena came scampering over and into Bibi Dong's arms.

Bibi Dong smiled at Hu Liena.

"This is my newly accepted apprentice, Hu Liena."

Crack, crack.

Qian Renxue clenched her fists. The immense force made her bones crackle.

At last, she understood why she'd felt such an aversion to Hu Liena.

It turned out Bibi Dong had deliberately brought her here to provoke her, Qian Renxue.

"What are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do? This Pope took on a disciple for the sake of Spirit Hall's future. Otherwise, some people would cause trouble, and I wouldn't be able to keep things under control."

Qian Renxue gritted her teeth. She swore that the first thing she'd do after becoming a god would be to kill Bibi Dong. Mother or no mother.

You only gave birth to me, that's all.

"Ah, big brother, you're here too!"

Just then, Hu Liena noticed Chen Qi. She waved at him happily in greeting.

This time, Chen Qi didn't dare approach her as he had yesterday.

Forget the drop in favorability—Hu Liena was also famous for being hopelessly love-struck.

Even knowing Tang San was her enemy, she'd fallen for him without hesitation. She'd even been willing to betray Spirit Hall.

Was this some kind of curse?

Why was everyone connected to Yu Xiaogang and Bibi Dong so strange?

Either you love me, or I love you. The Continent of Love really lived up to its name.

"Bibi Dong, if there's nothing else, we'll be leaving. If you need us again, try not to call for Master. Otherwise, we'll have to bring the Grand Elder along next time."

Chen Qi decided to leave. If they stayed any longer, Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong might end up in a mother-daughter one-on-one.

"I won't see you out."

Once Bibi Dong had accomplished her goal, it didn't matter much whether Qian Renxue stayed or not. She waved her hand and let them go.

"Bibi Dong, just you wait! I'll get my revenge one day!"

After saying that, Qian Renxue angrily spat on the ground and left.

Hu Liena watched Chen Qi and Bibi Dong leave, puzzled. What had just happened? Why had they suddenly left?