You Get Back Here, Old Lady

What kind of twisted logic is this?

Bibi Dong's face stiffened. Whenever she thought she had Naruto figured out, he would always pull some even more shameless stunt that left her jaw on the floor.

Could things even be interpreted that way?

Besides, would the victim, Tang Hao, even accept that?

However, after this ordeal, it was uncertain whether Tang Hao could even survive the encirclement by Spirit Hall. Pondering this silently, she snapped back to reality and glanced at Naruto, who was still gossiping. Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze, choosing to ignore him.

The physician in this small town clinic was merely a Great Spirit Master-level support-type spirit master. Having reached the age of fifty, his steps were heavy and slow.

Passing through the rows of crowded hospital beds, he first glanced at the frail young man who was still gossiping, then found his attention drawn to the towering stack of empty bowls beside him.

"This... you have to pay for the food, you know..."

The old man looked at the young man, who was as fair-skinned as a girl, his tone full of suspicion.

Naruto finally snapped out of his daze and gave a slight nod.

Although the luggage he had been carrying—along with the hundreds of Explosive Tags he had accumulated over the years—was completely gone, he still had dozens of Gold Soul Coins on his person; he wouldn't starve to death just yet.

A faint trace of spiritual power spread from the old man's withered fingers toward Naruto's arm.

The old man looked up at Naruto.

"What about this injury of yours?"

"I suffered a backlash while cultivating and things went wrong."

Naruto spouted nonsense. The old man merely frowned, not particularly caring whether he had suffered a cultivation deviation or failed at a self-detonation. He spoke in a businesslike tone.

"Your meridians are severely damaged. I can only treat the muscle damage on your body. It will cost two Gold Soul Coins each time."

Naruto nodded. He hadn't expected much from a Great Spirit Master-level healing-type spirit master anyway; as long as he could regain his mobility, that was enough.

Over the next few days, Naruto stayed in the clinic, watching through the front door as batches of Spirit Hall troops rested briefly before departing. Then, one day, two streaks of light—one gold and one black—flashed across the horizon.

Countless people looked up, Naruto included, and Bibi Dong's murmur reached his ears at the perfect moment.

"Yue Guan... Gui Mei..."

Seeing old acquaintances, Bibi Dong couldn't help but feel a touch of nostalgia. Just as she gloomily withdrew her spiritual power, she saw Naruto beside her with his eyes wide open, gesturing at her with his chin.

"?"

Knowing exactly what Naruto wanted to ask, Bibi Dong couldn't help but roll her eyes and retort sharply.

"Spirit Hall must have won. There are no signs of injury, just slightly chaotic auras, and judging by their current state, they seem to be in a good mood."

With that, Bibi Dong waved her hand to dismiss him, but as if remembering something, she suddenly fell into deep thought. It seemed Yue Guan had been holding something in his arms earlier.

However, Bibi Dong hadn't dared to let her spiritual power get too close at the time, so she really couldn't be sure.

Not noticing these details, Naruto frowned and asked.

"You can only get a rough idea?"

Bibi Dong, having returned to her senses, glanced back at Naruto and grew even more annoyed. "What else? The amount of spiritual power I can mobilize right now is limited, and those are two level-95 Title Douluo on the other side. Are you trying to get us killed?"

Naruto nodded helplessly.

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, there was actually a hidden layer to this that Bibi Dong hadn't noticed.

If it were the version of herself from years ago, upon seeing Yue Guan and Gui Mei, she would have immediately found a way to attract their attention rather than carefully probing with her spiritual power, terrified of being discovered.

Why such a change had occurred, perhaps even Bibi Dong couldn't explain.

Watching the gold and black streaks of light disappear completely over the horizon, followed by the dense ranks of the Spirit Hall army beginning their withdrawal, the entire incident had come to an end.

Naruto prepared to leave as well.

The damaged meridians in his body were still recovering at a snail's pace. As for the damaged muscles, they had returned to normal; as long as he didn't engage in combat, the current Naruto looked no different from an ordinary spirit master.

If he did have to fight, he would just let his opponents taste a group beating from his Shadow Clones.

Almost exactly as the Spirit Hall forces were pulling out, Naruto left the town, walking aimlessly with his pack on his back.

"What now? Where do you plan to go?"

Glancing at Naruto wandering in the outside world, Bibi Dong, who was lazily leaning against her seat, sat up slightly and rested her chin on her hand, muttering to herself.

"You can't go to Shrek Academy anymore..."

"How about Spirit Hall?"

Naruto, who was on his way, looked grim and furrowed his brows. The low, persuasive voice of Bibi Dong echoed in his ears, sounding like a devil trying to trick him into signing a contract of servitude.

"Not to mention Spirit Emperor-level healing spirit masters, you could even find Spirit Douluo-level ones."

"There is no shortage of spirit rings, simulated cultivation grounds, or various precious medicinal baths. Besides, with me backing you, who knows? You might even enjoy the treatment of a Pope's personal disciple."

Bibi Dong tempted him step by step; in her words, Spirit Hall sounded like a paradise.

After a brief moment of thought, Naruto asked, "Are you sure that after I graduate from Spirit Hall Academy, I'll be able to leave Spirit Hall?"

"Besides, our dear Pope has quite a few messy things to do later. Are you trying to become a god and rule the continent, or are you planning to drag the entire world down to the grave with you..."

Naruto was genuinely curious about this last question. Judging by the inner trauma of this Dong Trumpet, her reckless, devil-may-care attitude at the end really gave the impression that she was ready to drag the entire continent down to the grave with her.

"Fine, fine, fine! The filthy Spirit Hall is not worthy of our righteous gentleman!"

Bibi Dong replied with great dissatisfaction. As soon as the words left her lips, she withdrew her gaze and ignored Naruto entirely.

As for Naruto's final question, she simply brushed it off with ambiguity. Although she had indeed harbored thoughts of completely destroying the filthy place that was Spirit Hall back in the day, she hadn't actually succeeded, had she?

Since it didn't happen, why should the blame be pinned on her?

She had picked up seven or eight parts of someone's thick-skinned nature. However, thinking of Naruto rejecting Spirit Hall's proposal yet again, Bibi Dong still felt a surge of indignant irritation.

Shrek Academy wouldn't do?

Spirit Hall wouldn't do either?

This annoying brat was truly a handful. When had This Seat ever expended so much mental energy on anyone? After cursing Naruto back and forth in her heart several times, the foul air in Bibi Dong's chest dissipated quite a bit.

And speaking of expending mental energy...

Bibi Dong couldn't help but daze for a moment, then she propped her forehead and shook her head gently. As her slender palm opened, a beautiful figure radiating golden light appeared in her palm.

If it were Xiaoxue at this age, she would certainly be less of a headache than this brat.

Bibi Dong was certain of this in her heart. She lowered her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she carefully observed the Qian Renxue before her. Suddenly, she furrowed her brows and began to manipulate the soul power in her palm to make adjustments.

This part... it doesn't seem quite right...

It was laughable, really. When Bibi Dong first attempted to recreate Qian Renxue using soul power, she was shocked to realize that she had never really observed Qian Renxue's face carefully.

The various details had long since been forgotten, or rather, she had never truly memorized them at all, forced to blur over the details based on mere feeling.

As a result, Bibi Dong had to make slight adjustments to this sculpted image every so often.

The lack of mental energy she had spent on this daughter was evident from this.

This was also one of the few pastimes Bibi Dong had during her leisure time, a memory worth cherishing. As for Yu Xiaogang...

It wasn't that Bibi Dong hadn't thought of Yu Xiaogang for a long time; it was mainly because at Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang was a teacher. He would suddenly appear in front of Naruto, perform a display of impotent rage, and then flick his sleeves and leave in a huff.

The one you cannot have is the "white moonlight," but what happens when that white moonlight, who is actually a good-for-nothing, keeps hovering right in front of you?

In all honesty, Bibi Dong privately hoped that Yu Xiaogang would stay a little further away, but if Naruto were to ask her about it, she would be as stubborn as a dead duck, refusing to admit it to the death.

"Is this Qian Renxue?"

Bibi Dong's train of thought was interrupted. She snapped back to reality, instinctively turning to the side to shield the "Qian Renxue" in her palm against her chest.

She whipped her head around and glared fiercely at Naruto.

"What are you doing here?"

Naruto curled his lip in silence. "Can't I just take a look? Is it really that big of a deal?"

Only then did Bibi Dong notice that she might have overreacted. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to treat it as showing a friend a portrait of her daughter, and slowly revealed the little soul-power figure in her arms.

Draped in the Angel God Suit, with the wings of the Six-Winged Angel spread wide behind her, and paired with that near-perfect face, the figure radiating golden light truly looked like an angel descending.

This was the clearest moment of Qian Renxue in Bibi Dong's memory.

"She really is beautiful!"

Naruto opened his mouth in admiration. Bibi Dong felt a sense of reflected glory; the corners of her mouth lifted imperceptibly, and she puffed out her chest with pride.

"And who do you think her mother is?"

"Hmm..."

Lowering his head, he pondered for a moment.

Naruto's expression turned serious, and he suddenly said solemnly, "Mom, I've decided."

"Oh, and what have you decided?" Bibi Dong didn't even lift her head, her eyes filled with pride for her daughter, responding offhandedly. Then, she immediately realized what he said, her eyes widening as she whipped her head around. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

Naruto ignored her completely. He withdrew his consciousness, and the Naruto in the outside world now had a destination, his steps becoming much lighter.

Watching the direction the external Naruto was heading, Bibi Dong's pupils shook, and she sprang up from her seat.

"No! What do you think you're doing!?"

Naruto merely turned his head slowly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Hehe!"

"Hehe your head! Get back here, you brat! You are not allowed to go!"