Bi Ji talked with Yang Fan all night, trying to glimpse a corner of his world.
So Yang Fan played webnovel tailor.
He told her about things like the Battle Through the Heavens Continent, the Ancient Dragon God, and magical beasts, then said he used the cultivation system of the Douluo Continent to explain his Martial Soul.
In short, it was a heavily altered version of the Douluo Continent that was close to the real thing, but not quite.
Fortunately, this was the era of the Legend of the Dragon King, when the theory of parallel universes had already appeared. Coupled with the webnovels that were all the rage, it was easy for Yang Fan to lead Bi Ji astray.
His story was plausible enough, and with the eloquence he'd honed while appraising treasures, plus his highly deceptive age, Bi Ji had actually been taken in by his wild fabrications.
She even felt she'd found a turning point in the Soul Beasts' fate.
If they found the coordinates of Yang Fan's original plane, would the Soul Beasts have a new place to live? Could they avoid forcing their little mistress to shoulder burdens she shouldn't have to bear?
Di Tian was far too devoted to the Dragon God. And their mistress was just a child who'd spent tens of thousands of years out of touch with the world. Even with fragments of the Dragon God's memories, she was still only a child.
Ultimately, the Soul Beasts' fate rested in their own hands.
With that thought, Bi Ji took some clothes for their mistress and some food from the Space Bracelet on her wrist and handed them to Yang Fan.
"Your world is very important to our Soul Beast Clan. I don't know if you've learned her identity through your strange Martial Soul."
As she spoke, Bi Ji glanced at Na'er, who had hopped barefoot twice on the soft bed before flopping down in the middle.
"I need to discuss with the others how we should treat you. Sorry for the trouble, but could you look after Na'er for the next few days? Her constitution is special, and she eats a lot. Take these specially prepared foods."
After saying that, Bi Ji left the room, leaving Yang Fan with Na'er, who lay on the bed like a lazy little cat.
Na'er rolled over on the bed and gazed up at Yang Fan with big, watery eyes full of anticipation.
"Big Brother, will you come keep me company?"
Yang Fan stood beside the bed.
Looking at the completely defenseless little girl on the bed, he couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
He might look like a twelve-year-old boy, but inside he was a transmigrator in his twenties or thirties.
Was he really supposed to share a bed with a little six-year-old girl when his mental age was decades older?
Even if the little girl had lived for tens of thousands of years and was an ageless child, he still felt completely ill at ease.
"Na'er, be good and sleep by yourself. Big Brother will make a bed on the floor beside you."
Yang Fan folded his arms, trying to make one last stand with the dignity of an older brother.
"No!"
Na'er pouted, then reached out with both hands and grabbed his arm with pinpoint accuracy, gently rocking it as she wheedled.
"Sister Bi Ji said you have to take good care of me. Big Brother Yang Fan, the bed is so big. You can sleep over there, and I'll sleep over here. Okay?"
Feeling her soft touch against his arm and catching her milky-sweet scent, Yang Fan sighed helplessly.
He looked down at Na'er's utterly innocent face, and his resolve began to crumble in an instant.
"All right, all right. You win."
Yang Fan resigned himself, took off his shoes, and lay down on the other side of the bed. He even used the clothes Bi Ji had left behind to mark a Chu-Han Boundary between them, then solemnly warned Na'er.
"Promise me you'll sleep quietly. Don't move around, and don't cross this Chu-Han Boundary."
"Got it!"
Na'er cheerfully answered. She had no idea what a Chu-Han Boundary was.
The next day at noon, when Yang Fan woke up, he found that Na'er hadn't just ignored the Chu-Han Boundary—they were wrapped around his arm, her arms and legs clinging to him.
She rubbed her little head against his shoulder, found a more comfortable position, and started snoring again.
Feeling the warm breath beside him, Yang Fan's body stiffened a little.
He listened to Na'er's unguarded sleep-talk, but the corner of his mouth rose in a helpless, indulgent smile.
"So this is what it feels like to have a little sister..." he murmured, then resigned himself and closed his eyes.
What could he do now? He might as well nap a little longer.
Since his Martial Soul Awakening, he hadn't slept this long or this comfortably.
He hadn't had much talent before, so he'd usually used meditation in place of sleep. Whale Rubber had helped, but without hard work and sweat, how could he have cultivated to level ten at age ten using the most ordinary meditation technique, with just 0.5 Innate Soul Power, and unlocked his true cheat?
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Fan felt an itch on his nose.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Na'er brushing her silver hair between his nose and mouth. When she noticed he was awake, she laughed like silver bells.
Yang Fan sighed. He suddenly felt a little tired.
"Hungry? Bi Ji left some food for you."
Yang Fan lifted Na'er off him and set her down on the other side of the Chu-Han Boundary, then took out the food Bi Ji had left.
He hadn't paid much attention to it yesterday, but now he saw that it was packed with energy. It was probably made from Soul Beast meat or high-year medicinal herbs. After all, Na'er looked only about six.
For an ordinary child, eating this would be like bursting apart. That was what had happened to him at eight when he ate century-old Whale Rubber. If he hadn't been lucky and had a transmigrator's naturally strong spiritual power, he might well have died right then.
"No! I want burgers, grilled skewers, candied hawthorns... all the yummy stuff! Sister Bi Ji always says they're unhealthy and won't let me eat them... I've been eating the stuff you're holding for weeks, and it's not tasty at all..."
Na'er looked at Yang Fan pitifully. (⋟﹏⋞)
"All right, all right. Big Brother will take you out for some good food."
How could Yang Fan refuse a pitiful little Silver Dragon Fish like her? Maybe she'd opened up to him because she'd seen someone from her family—Bi Ji? At first, she'd been a little mute.
Eat up! He still had the money he'd made selling metal yesterday!
At dusk, he leaned alone against the red railing; the new moon hung like a curved eyebrow in the southwest.
Yang Fan took the skipping Na'er to the snack street at Eastsea City's night market.
"Big Brother Yang Fan, that smoking ice cream looks so magical! And that grilled sausage smells so good!"
Na'er clung to the edge of the food cart with both hands, her big, watery eyes shining as she stared at the pure-milk ice cream inside.
Yang Fan followed the direction of her finger. An ice-cream cart gleamed beneath the neon lights, and beside it stood a retro-red food cart, sizzling as it grilled pure pork sausages.
He sighed helplessly. "Na'er, you're young. Eating cold and hot foods one after the other before bed could upset your stomach."
"It won't! Na'er's tummy isn't afraid of hot or cold!" Na'er immediately turned to him and retorted with righteous indignation, then put on a pitiful expression.
She wrapped both hands tightly around Yang Fan's arm and gently shook it as she wheedled, "Big Brother Yang Fan, buy me one, please?"
"...All right."
Yang Fan thought about it. With the Silver Dragon King's constitution, perhaps she really wasn't afraid of being caught between ice and fire. He readily pulled out some small change and, amid the stall owner's kindly smile, took a serving of milk ice cream and a golden, crispy grilled sausage.
"Yay! Big Brother Yang Fan is the best!"
Na'er cheered and eagerly took the ice cream. She carefully licked it once, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Holding up the ice cream, she gazed longingly at the sausage in Yang Fan's hand, parted her lips, and gave the command: "Ah~"
Yang Fan smiled helplessly and held the sausage to her mouth. He watched as she took a very satisfied bite, then gently wiped a little sauce from the corner of her mouth.
"Take it slow. No one's going to steal it."
Yang Fan spoke softly.
Na'er swallowed the bite of sausage and looked up with a smile. Then she lifted her ice cream to Yang Fan's mouth. "Big Brother Yang Fan, you eat some too! It's super sweet!"
He lowered his head and took a gentle lick of the ice cream from Na'er's hand.
Mm, it really was quite sweet.
"Super sweet~"
Lan Yin's voice came from Yang Fan's Sea of Consciousness, thick with jealousy.