Inside the loft.
The furnishings were simple: a wooden table, a few wooden chairs, and two wooden beds, all hastily made by Zi Nu and Nong Yu.
Zhao Linchuan sat down in a wooden chair, took two torso bones radiating a faint golden glow from his Soul Tool, and gently placed them on the table. His voice was calm as he said:
"These are two Hundred Thousand Year torso bones."
"One for each of you. Absorb them after I leave."
Zi Nu and Nong Yu stood before the table, their eyes fixed on the two Soul Bones, shock filling their faces.
Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones—and the most precious kind, too—were being handed out just like that?
Zhao Linchuan looked at the two women's expressions and sighed silently. They didn't know that, though he seemed generous on the surface, he was actually troubled.
Lately, the system had rewarded him with nothing but torso bones, one after another. If he weren't still thinking about the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, the ocean overlord said to be a million-year-old Soul Beast, he really would have been tempted to absorb one of them.
Zi Nu quietly stepped forward, picked up a Soul Bone, and held it in both hands. She bowed slightly. "Thank you, Young Master."
Nong Yu also stepped forward and took the other one, bowing in greeting just as Zi Nu had. Her voice was soft. "Thank you, Young Master."
Zhao Linchuan waved a hand and stood, brushing the creases from his robe.
"Dress up nicely from now on." His gaze swept over their faces. "I'll come see you again in a few days."
He turned around, his gaze passing through the window lattice and settling on the silver-blue figure by the spring.
"As for the one outside, teach her properly."
"Yes," Zi Nu and Nong Yu replied in unison.
"All right. I still have things to do, so I won't stay any longer."
With that, Zhao Linchuan turned and walked toward the door.
The door swung open, and sunlight streamed in, gilding his figure in gold.
He stepped out of the loft. A flash of golden light, and the Supreme Ease Golden Edge appeared in his hand, carrying him skyward.
The door closed softly behind him.
Nong Yu lowered her head to look at the Hundred Thousand Year torso bone glowing faintly gold in her hands. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help saying:
"Elder Sister Zi Nu, I heard that even a seventy-thousand-year Soul Bone could bring a kingdom to the brink of crisis."
"And this is a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the most precious kind of all..."
"If outsiders found out about it, wouldn't it be enough to overturn the Heaven Dou Empire's rule?"
Her voice held a hint of dazed disbelief, as if she were still dreaming.
"It's such a precious treasure, and he just gave it away. Isn't that far too casual?"
Zi Nu looked at the Soul Bone in her hands, and suddenly fell silent.
After a long while, she spoke slowly, her tone complicated. "For now, let's stay here in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and not go anywhere."
She lifted her head, her gaze settling on Nong Yu's face. "When he comes again, we'll dress up nicely."
"What about her?" Nong Yu pointed outside the window. "He told us to teach her. How should we do that?"
Zi Nu walked to the window and looked through the lattice at the figure outside. Her tone was indifferent as she said:
"We need to teach her how to serve others."
"And we need to dispel her hostility and resentment toward him. After that, we can gradually change how she sees and feels about him."
"As for the rest... that depends on when he comes to claim her."
"Oh." Nong Yu nodded. "I understand, Elder Sister Zi Nu..."
Three days later.
Fifty miles east of Spirit City stood a bustling little town.
With the "Youth Spirit Master Tournament" about to begin, the already lively town had grown even more crowded.
The streets teemed with people, shoulder to shoulder, while colorful banners snapped in the breeze. Teahouses and taverns buzzed with noise.
Inside a fabric shop, Yan Lingji and Bibi Dong walked side by side between the shelves. Bibi Dong's gaze drifted over the fabrics, a hint of puzzlement in her eyes.
"Elder Sister Ling Ji," she asked, unable to contain her confusion, "why are we looking at all this fabric?"
"To make a few sets of clothes for my husband," Yan Lingji replied casually.
"Why not just buy him some clothes?" Bibi Dong was even more puzzled. She tilted her head at Yan Lingji. "If you don't have the money, just take whichever ones you like. I can pay for you."
"You don't understand."
Yan Lingji lifted a bolt of black fabric and examined it from several angles. She held it up to the light to inspect the weave, then pinched it between her fingers to test its thickness. A gentle smile curved her lips.
"As the old saying goes, a husband and wife should know when the other is cold or warm."
"Clothes bought from a shop can't compare to ones made by hand."
"Is that really an old saying?" Bibi Dong scratched her head, bewildered. "How come I've never heard it?"
She thought for a moment, then edged closer. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Yan Lingji, her tone hopeful and pleading.
"Elder Sister Ling Ji, are you good at making clothes? Could you teach me?"
"Of course."
Yan Lingji replied and turned to the shopkeeper behind the counter, who was already beaming at them. She pointed to several bolts of fabric she had chosen.
"This one, this one, and that one... Give me two bolts of each to take with me."
"I want twenty bolts!"
Bibi Dong suddenly spoke up, her voice clear and loud enough to startle the shopkeeper.
She took a black card from her Soul Tool and slapped it onto the counter.
"I want the best!"
The shopkeeper froze for a moment, then his face lit up with delight, his wrinkles crinkling as he grinned.
He agreed over and over, then began packing in a flurry, all the while repeating, "Please wait, honored guests. It'll be ready in a moment."
Yan Lingji looked at Bibi Dong's "money is no object" bravado and shook her head helplessly, muttering under her breath.
"Foolish child from the Pope's family."
"Elder Sister Ling Ji, what did you say?"
"Nothing."
Yan Lingji looked away and said casually:
"Once we've put everything away, we should hurry. Linchuan is back."
"Oh, right..."
Bibi Dong hurriedly replied, quickly stowing the shopkeeper's packed fabrics in her Storage Soul Tool before hurrying after Yan Lingji.
An hour later.
Spirit City, Worship Hall.
According to the original plan, Zhao Linchuan and the others were supposed to split into two groups.
He and Yan Lingji would go to the Worship Hall to "check in" with Golden Crocodile, while Bibi Dong would return to the Pope Hall and report to Qian Xunji on what had happened over the past few days.
But Yan Lingji had insisted that she was "shy around strangers," and dragged Bibi Dong along to the Worship Hall.
Now, they were in Golden Crocodile's residence inside the Worship Hall.
It was a spacious yet simple hall, without much decoration. There were only a few pieces of antique furniture and a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall: "Peerless Under Heaven."
Its strokes were forceful and vigorous, each one sharp as a blade. It was undoubtedly the work of a master.
Golden Crocodile sat upright in the seat of honor, his back straight as a pine. His features were resolute, and a trace of his former edge could still be seen between his brows.
He held a closed jade box in his hands, his gaze resting on its surface. He remained silent, saying nothing for a long, long time.
The three of them stood below him. Yan Lingji stood quietly at Zhao Linchuan's side, while Bibi Dong stood properly on the other, eyes lowered, rarely so well-behaved.
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