At noon.
Qian Xunji put down the documents he had been reviewing all morning and rolled his stiff neck. He was about to get up and go for a walk, hoping to relax after days of tension.
"Your Holiness the Pope, a Soul Master guarding the treasury requests an audience." A report came from outside the hall.
"Send him in." Qian Xunji rubbed his brow and replied casually.
Footsteps sounded, and a figure strode into the hall.
The newcomer wore a black robe and had a lean build. He hurried to the center of the hall, stopped, and bowed respectfully.
"Your Holiness the Pope."
His voice was strained, and the hand hanging at his side trembled slightly. He held out a neatly folded inventory with both hands.
Qian Xunji took the inventory and casually unfolded it.
The paper rustled softly in his hands. His gaze swept across the first line, then drifted down without much interest.
"Hm?"
Qian Xunji's finger suddenly stopped. The writing on the inventory was dense, line after line, filling almost the entire sheet.
No, it was several sheets, stacked together, each one covered from top to bottom.
Century-old herbs, millennium-old herbs, rare mineral deposits, Gold Soul Coins, Soul Bones, Soul Tool materials... Every item was clearly labeled, with quantities specified down to the last unit.
Qian Xunji's gaze lingered on the inventory for a long time.
He looked up at the Soul Douluo before him, who was already sweating profusely, and asked in a voice that was strangely calm, "What is this?"
The Soul Douluo's Adam's apple bobbed violently. His lips moved a few times before he managed to speak.
"Your Holiness the Pope, this morning... this morning, someone came to the treasury with your written authorization and took some treasures."
His voice grew quieter. "I saw the Saintess accompanying him, and he had your handwritten approval, so... so I didn't dare stop him."
Qian Xunji said nothing. He lowered his head and turned through the inventory, page by page.
The Soul Douluo stood rooted in place, feeling the air in the hall grow heavier and heavier, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.
He cautiously glanced up at Qian Xunji's expression, then quickly lowered his head again and ventured, "Your Holiness the Pope... if... if it really was a thief, I can take some men and—"
"No need." Qian Xunji cut him off. "He's one of our own."
He waved a hand. "You may leave."
"Yes!"
The Soul Douluo was granted a reprieve. He practically fled from the hall.
Silence returned to the great hall.
Qian Xunji stood alone in its vast center, holding the inventory and turning through it page by page again.
His gaze passed slowly over the dense writing. With every glance, the corner of his mouth twitched a little more.
Thousand-year-old ginseng, one hundred and fifty roots.
Thousand-year-old Snow Lotus, fifty blooms.
Gold Soul Coins...
Soul Bones...
He had thought Zhao Linchuan would take, at most, a few tens of millions of Gold Soul Coins and some rare medicinal herbs. Perhaps two or three Soul Bones at most. That would have been the limit.
But that bastard—!
Qian Xunji drew a deep breath, his fingers trembling slightly as he turned to the last page.
That bastard had carried off a full sixty percent of the treasury's resources!
Sixty percent!
He slammed the inventory down on the desk. The sharp crack echoed through the empty hall.
He braced both hands against the desk, head bowed, chest heaving.
Heaven help him, he truly hadn't known that bastard could be so shameless!
The hall was quiet for a long while.
Qian Xunji slowly raised his head. His expression shifted from anger to dejection, then from dejection to helplessness.
He let out a long sigh. "My precious student..."
He murmured to himself, his voice so low it seemed he was talking to himself—or like an old father fretting over his good-for-nothing child.
"You'd better work hard and get that bastard to fall for you."
Bracing himself against the desk, he dug his fingers into his hair and rubbed hard. His neatly arranged hair became a tangled mess.
"As long as you can get him to fall for you..."
"Just consider these things the dowry your teacher is saving up for you."
Even he thought the words were absurd as soon as they left his mouth. The corner of his lips twisted into a grimace that was worse than crying.
He drew a deep breath and decided to go for a walk.
If he stayed in the hall any longer, he was afraid he might tear the inventory to pieces.
But after taking just one step, he suddenly stopped.
The figures on the inventory flashed before his eyes again: millennium-old ginseng, millennium-old Snow Lotus, Gold Soul Coins, Soul Bones...
In an instant, a surge of Evil Fire flared up and shot straight into his heart!
Qian Xunji spun around and kicked over the desk in front of him!
"Crash—!"
Documents, brushes, inkstones, teacups, the inventory... Everything flew through the air and smashed to pieces on the floor.
Ink splashed across his pristine papal robes, but he didn't even notice.
"To hell with you—!!"
His roar echoed through the great hall. The guards outside flinched and exchanged glances, but none dared to enter.
(Find Douluo: Snatching Bibi Dong and Summoning Yan Lingji on QQ Reading)
Meanwhile, outside Spirit City.
Zhao Linchuan, Yan Lingji, and Bibi Dong walked side by side through the city gates.
Bibi Dong walked beside Yan Lingji, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on her ever since they left the city.
She looked Yan Lingji up and down, muttering to herself and occasionally making a few gestures.
"Big Sister Ling Ji," Bibi Dong couldn't help saying, "you really are a peerless beauty. Just look at how completely you've enchanted Linchuan."
She imitated Yan Lingji's walk, swaying her waist gently from side to side. Then she decided it didn't look right and stopped, pouting.
"You have no idea," she leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "He spent all his savings on clothes and accessories for you."
"Really?" Yan Lingji turned her head, her gaze passing over Bibi Dong and settling on Zhao Linchuan.
The sunlight reflected in her dark eyes.
A happy smile curved her lips, and her voice was soft and gentle.
"Then I'm really lucky. I got such a wonderful man for free."
"Got him for free...?"
Bibi Dong blinked, not quite understanding. She was about to ask more when Zhao Linchuan spoke from the other side, smoothly changing the subject.
"Dong'er, your teacher is really generous."
He looked back at the majestic city fading into the distance and said with a sigh, "I took so many things from him, and he still didn't send anyone after me."
His words distracted Bibi Dong, just as he had intended.
She lifted her chin slightly, wearing a smug expression that seemed to take pride in it.
"Of course. My teacher is a gentleman."
"If some petty man were the Pope, you'd be sitting in Pope Hall right now, emptying your pockets."
"True." Zhao Linchuan nodded, privately marveling.
Qian Xunji's character really was rather different from what he had once imagined.
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(Note: The protagonist will start having children after unifying the continent.)
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