Jiang Ci'an wisely chose not to pick up that thread. Instead, he reached out and took his childhood sweetheart's hand, then headed toward the back courtyard.
"Don't go imagining things. They're just guests. Come on, let's go back and continue our training. We can't let that slide."
Xiao Xiao pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes to their joined hands, answering in a sullen little voice.
"Oh." (⩌⤚⩌)
Xiao Xiao was a little unhappy with the protagonist's attempt to change the subject.
Still, she obediently nodded and followed Jiang Ci'an back to the courtyard.
There was no helping it. She might have gotten angry if it had been anyone else, but when it came to her own Ci'an... she could only forgive him.
Just before they went inside, though, Xiao Xiao couldn't help turning to look once more in the direction Dong'er and the others had left. Her gaze was distant.
Hopefully, they really were just guests.
Meanwhile.
On the street, Da Ming and the others were heading toward the two shops.
The three of them made their way through the bustling crowds and around two streets, until the two shops came into view.
They stood side by side. Neither had a particularly large storefront, and their location was indeed somewhat out of the way. Along with several nearby shops that had closed for business, they formed a sort of unspoken silence.
Da Ming was inspecting the shops' exteriors and planning how to renovate them when Wang Dong'er suddenly spoke behind him.
"First Dad, Second Dad."
Da Ming stopped and turned around. Seeing little Dong'er's serious expression, he asked gently,
"What is it, Dong'er?"
Wang Dong'er lifted her eyes. Da Ming's gentle face was reflected in her blue-pink gaze as she asked earnestly, "Can I be friends with him?"
Da Ming paused slightly. Instead of answering right away, he asked, "Why do you suddenly want to?"
Wang Dong'er thought it over, lowering her eyes to her toes. After a moment, she looked up again, her voice a little quieter. "Maybe... I feel like he's a little like me. I mean, I'm an orphan too, in a way?"
Her words came out somewhat out of the blue, but Da Ming understood.
Er Ming opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but Da Ming stopped him with a look.
Looking into little Dong'er's clear eyes, Da Ming nodded gently.
"That's something you'll have to find out for yourself, Dong'er. Once things have settled down a little, you can go get to know him. How does that sound?"
Wang Dong'er visibly relaxed. A smile bloomed on her face, and she nodded vigorously. "Okay!"
Er Ming was puzzled. He sent his voice through Soul Power, his words carrying a hint of confusion. "Big Brother, why?"
Da Ming kept his expression calm and replied through Soul Power, "Dong'er has always lived up in the mountains. She has no playmates, and her parents aren't by her side. The two of us are only elders to her, after all.
"Now that Dong'er is out and wants to make a friend, that's perfectly normal. There's no need for us to stop her."
Da Ming paused, then added, "Of course, just to be safe, we should look into those two children's backgrounds."
Er Ming still had questions, but he didn't argue. He nodded slightly to Da Ming, then turned and went to make the arrangements.
Da Ming, meanwhile, took Dong'er into the shop and continued planning its renovation as thoughts passed through his mind.
There were two reasons he had agreed to Dong'er's request.
First, Dong'er really did need a few friends.
The child had grown up on the mountain with the two of them, two old geezers. Because of her status, children her own age didn't dare approach her.
She might have a cheerful disposition, but always being alone wasn't a long-term solution.
The boy seemed composed and polite, and the girl beside him was quiet, too. If they could become Dong'er's playmates, that would be a good thing.
The second reason was those two children's talent.
He had seen it at a glance.
The Soul Power fluctuations around the boy were steady and restrained. He was clearly already at level sixteen.
The young girl beside him wasn't bad either. She was at level fifteen.
At their age and rank, they were undoubtedly both talented and well-resourced. But on top of that, they had to be working very hard at their cultivation. Otherwise, they couldn't possibly have reached such levels.
And that was even more remarkable.
By contrast, Dong'er...
Although she had awakened her Martial Soul at the age of three, her body had been weak from birth, so she'd been taking medicine all along. She hadn't obtained her Soul Ring until she was six and her health had stabilized.
Yet after having her Soul Ring for so long, she was only at level fourteen.
One had to remember that Dong'er had grown up eating all kinds of heavenly treasures. Her First Soul Ring had even been absorbed beyond her limits, and after absorbing it, her Soul Power had shot straight to level thirteen.
But nearly half a year had passed, and she'd only gained one level!
Anyone would shake their head at that.
With two hardworking playmates around, maybe Dong'er would be motivated to put in more effort.
Of course, that was assuming the investigation turned up nothing troubling.
As he thought, they reached the back courtyard of the shop.
Da Ming set his thoughts aside and looked down at little Dong'er, who was gazing around at the new house with her face tilted up. He smiled.
"Come on, Dong'er. Let's pick out a room first."
Dong'er cheered and dashed inside ahead of them.
Smiling, Da Ming followed.
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month went by.
Ping'an Pharmacy, back courtyard.
The autumn sun slanted over the courtyard wall, gilding the entire training ground in warm gold.
In the training area, Xiao Xiao was still dressed in light training clothes. She carried two small black cauldrons on her shoulders, with a third hovering above her head. All three were out, and the black force of suppression poured down like a waterfall, shrouding her in deep shadow.
Even so, Xiao Xiao continued pouring Soul Power into the cauldrons, gradually increasing the weight of the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to make the "Body Tempering Method" as effective as possible.
Jiang Ci'an sat on a stone bench not far away, holding the tonic he had just prepared. He took small sips as he silently refined its medicinal power.
Unlike Xiao Xiao, who needed the pressure of the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to maximize the Body Tempering Method's efficiency, he had blown himself up hundreds of times and was now an old hand. He could take it a little easier.
As long as he had enough tonic, he could keep his cultivation efficiency at its limit. That made him look like the most relaxed one there.
Keeping a sliver of his attention on Xiao Xiao, Jiang Ci'an watched the clouds drift slowly across the sky, his thoughts wandering.
Honestly, the past month or so hadn't felt real.
For the first few days, he had been a little tense, wondering if Da Ming and Er Ming might come back for another round.
But as it turned out,
a month passed, and aside from Da Ming sending someone over in the middle to say they would be thoroughly renovating the two shops and bringing over quite a few Gold Soul Coins as compensation, he hadn't seen Da Ming, Er Ming, or Wang Dong'er again.
It was as if nothing had happened at all. None of the contingency plans he'd prepared had been needed. It was almost as though he'd been worrying for nothing.
But this also proved that things weren't as he had imagined.
Da Ming and Er Ming had brought Wang Dong'er to Shrek City, and it was probably just a coincidence.
He still didn't know why, but for now, he was safe. That was a good thing, at least.
Jiang Ci'an brought his thoughts back and sensed the Soul Power within him.
After more than a month of cultivation, his Soul Power had improved again. He was already at the peak of level sixteen, and in two or three days, he would probably break through to level seventeen.
That meant he could start planning ahead for his Second Soul Ring.
He pulled a copy of an internal Soul Beast compendium from his sleeve. He'd bought it from the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce not long ago. Opening it, he let his eyes wander over the illustrations and descriptions of various Soul Beasts.
As he read, a servant hurried over and whispered in his ear,
"Young master, Mr. Ning is here. He says the engraving knife you asked for has arrived."
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