Aunt Leng, You Can't Do This

"How dare you!"

The room was dim, the curtains drawn tight, not a sliver of sunlight getting through. The girl sat on the bed, the air around her growing heavier by the moment. Her black eyes were filled with anger.

King of Ten Thousand Monsters, transformed into human form, knelt on one knee with his head bowed. He didn't dare offend her in the slightest and could only listen meekly to her reprimand.

"I told you long ago that none of you were to act without my orders. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

A vast dragon's might burst from her. King of Ten Thousand Monsters lowered his head even further, not daring to look up at her.

"My Lady, it was my fault."

At that moment, Di Tian stepped forward and said quietly, "Your Highness, King of Ten Thousand Monsters only acted without permission because he wanted you to recover your strength as soon as possible. Fortunately, I stopped him in time, so things didn't get out of hand."

King of Ten Thousand Monsters kept his head down, but inside, he was cursing. You're the one who told me to go with you, and now I'm the one getting chewed out.

But Di Tian shot him a sidelong glance, and he didn't dare even think another word. What could he do? The other man's fists were bigger than his.

Gu Yue sighed softly, rose to her feet, and walked to the window. She drew the curtain aside just a crack and looked out at the sun.

"Golden Dragon King was imprisoned in the Divine Realm. His bloodline has appeared in the mortal world, which means he must have fallen to human Deities. And if his bloodline exists among humans, it must have countless ties to the Deities of the Divine Realm."

"To act before we understand the situation would be no different from alerting the enemy."

"It could even be a Deity luring us into a trap."

Di Tian was sweating bullets. She was right. If Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan hadn't intervened, he really would have met his end there.

"Enough. You may leave. As for Shen Nanxun, I'll investigate him myself. You don't need to get involved."

"Yes!"

Di Tian and King of Ten Thousand Monsters withdrew respectfully.

Only once they were outside did King of Ten Thousand Monsters dare to raise his head and speak. "Boss, why didn't we tell My Lady the truth? That human kid—"

"How dare you!"

Di Tian punched King of Ten Thousand Monsters in the back of the head. It wasn't a powerful blow, but it landed with pinpoint accuracy. King of Ten Thousand Monsters staggered half a step forward, clutching the back of his head with a thoroughly aggrieved expression.

"Boss, what did I say wrong this time?"

"Have you forgotten what Your Highness just said?" Di Tian lowered his hand and stood with it clasped behind his back, his dark-golden vertical pupils slanting toward him as his voice returned to its usual deep, solemn tone.

King of Ten Thousand Monsters paused, then quickly corrected himself. "That human prince..."

"Mm." Di Tian nodded slightly. "Until we find a chance to inform My Lady, call him that from now on. The Crown Prince's origin within that human youth is still weak. If My Lady learns that His Highness's remnant consciousness is inside him, who knows what kind of turmoil it might stir up? For now, we'll keep it from her."

"Understood." King of Ten Thousand Monsters nodded, then couldn't help rubbing the back of his head again. This is such a raw deal. Di Tian was the one who told me to go, but I'm the one taking all the blame.

Di Tian didn't look at him again. He turned to gaze into the distance, his golden vertical pupils filled with complicated emotions. Although My Lady was half of the former master, she was still not the former master. But the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince.

"Ahhh, I failed~"

Xu Xiaoyan, who had just woken up, rolled back and forth on the bed, wrapping herself into a puffy pink caterpillar. Her adorable bunny pajamas from last night were rumpled around her, one rabbit ear on the hood sticking up and the other drooping—just like her mood.

Her plan last night had been perfect. She'd pretend to go to sleep, then wait for him to fall asleep before secretly drawing a little turtle on his face and taking a picture.

Then she could threaten him with it later. Shen Nanxun, you wouldn't want this photo getting out, would you?

What a flawless plan!

But she'd hugged a pillow and lain on the sofa, listening to Shen Nanxun pace around in the room. She'd listened and listened, then fallen asleep. She hadn't drawn the turtle, and she hadn't even noticed when he left. Thinking that Shen Nanxun was probably eating breakfast outside right now, with no idea what she'd planned last night, while her perfect revenge scheme hadn't even made a ripple, she couldn't help rolling over again.

Just you wait!

A fire of determination flared in Heroine Xu's eyes. If she got another chance like that, she absolutely wouldn't let it slip by.

This time had just been a fluke.

She'd grab the fragrant Shen Nanxun good and tight, then give herself free rein to indulge in wicked fantasies!

Just as she was waving her fists and swearing her oath beneath the covers, the bedroom door suddenly swung open. Shen Nanxun stood in the doorway, carrying two bags of steaming-hot breakfast and holding a half-eaten bun in his mouth.

Shen Nanxun had just returned to see the pink caterpillar on the bed frozen mid-oath, fist raised.

Their eyes met.

Xu Xiaoyan's small face visibly changed from pale pink to pink, then deep pink, then bright red. At last, even the two rabbit ears on her hood seemed to turn red.

"You... You get out! Who said you could come in?" She grabbed a pillow and held it in front of herself. Her voice was sharp and shrill, just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Shen Nanxun leaned against the doorframe and took the bun out of his mouth, his face expressionless. "This is my room."

"Ahh, sorry." Xu Xiaoyan wished she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into. She didn't even bother putting on her shoes, hurrying out barefoot.

"By the way, what were you doing, rolling around on the bed?"

When Shen Nanxun asked, Xu Xiaoyan had just reached his side. Her small body quivered, and her eyes darted away.

"Well, I was just..."

She couldn't exactly tell him she'd been imagining him in all sorts of miserable situations just now!

Xu Xiaoyan's mind raced, spinning so fast it nearly sparked. Her eyes flitted left and right, from the bun in Shen Nanxun's hand to the soy milk on the bedside table, from the soy milk to the tree outside the window, gilded by the morning sun. When she ran out of things to look at, her gaze could only settle on the button at his chest—the one she'd rubbed loose, which he'd fastened again.

In the end, she steeled herself and said:

"I was practicing."

"Practicing?" Shen Nanxun's eyes swept over her cocooned body and her bare feet. Nothing about her looked like she was practicing.

"Exactly!" Once Xu Xiaoyan had found an excuse, her confidence visibly swelled. She put her hands on her hips and raised her chin.

"My Star Wheel Ice Staff Martial Soul morning practice! Every morning, I have to roll around on the bed eighty-one times to perfectly fuse starlight with Soul Power. This is a secret technique passed down through the Xu Family, and it's not for outsiders! What you just saw was the key moment of my cultivation."

The more she spoke, the more smoothly the words came, and the more she felt like a genius. He wasn't part of the Xu Family, so it wasn't as though he could actually ask her father whether the family's secret bed-rolling technique was real.

Shen Nanxun looked at her standing there with her hands on her hips and chin held high. After a moment, he asked, "Then are you finished practicing?"

"Y-Yes, I'm finished."

"Then go eat breakfast." Shen Nanxun shoved the bag of breakfast into her arms. The warmth of the soy milk seeped through the paper bag into her hands. "I had them add extra sugar to yours."

Xu Xiaoyan held the warm bag of breakfast and looked down. There were two cups of soy milk and two baskets of soup dumplings. A tiny cross had been pressed into the lid of one cup with a fingertip.

That was the mark for extra sugar.

She raised her head, about to say something, but he had already walked over to the bed and started tidying the sofa she'd slept on last night. He picked up the blanket and shook it out, then retrieved a rabbit-ear hair clip she'd dropped between the cushions. After looking at it, he placed it on the coffee table.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window and fell across his slightly bowed profile. Xu Xiaoyan watched him set the rabbit-ear hair clip on the coffee table, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the breakfast bag. The paper crinkled softly under her grip.

"Thanks."

The word came out in a hurried whisper. Then she hugged the bag of breakfast to her chest and pattered out barefoot.

Heroine Xu felt so guilty. Shen Nanxun was so good to her, yet she'd been having such unrestrained fantasies about him.

She really was the worst!

But... why was he getting more and more irresistible?!

After tidying the room, Shen Nanxun rubbed his still-aching head, then sat cross-legged on the bed.

His consciousness quickly sank into the Sea of Consciousness.

"Xue-jie, what exactly happened just now?"

Shen Nanxun had fainted quickly and woken up just as fast. He hadn't had the faintest idea what had happened.

Qian Renxue said excitedly, "In short, that guy helped you deal with the problem and beat the crap out of Tang San's divine consciousness."

"That was satisfying. So satisfying!"

After hearing it from Qian Renxue, Shen Nanxun pieced together what had happened. At the critical moment, Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan had saved him and dealt with the divine consciousness of Tang San inside Tang Wulin at the same time.

The nine-colored ball of light still floated in the Sea of Consciousness, only now it seemed more solid. Its nine-colored glow slowly revolved, carrying a little more vitality than before.

Just then, a dragon's roar that shook the cosmos suddenly rang out from within the nine-colored radiance. It wasn't like the faint, distant echoes from before. This was a clear, unmistakable roar, close enough to feel.

A golden dragon's shadow abruptly burst from the ball of light. At first, it was no more than a tiny wisp, but in an instant it swelled into a giant dragon covered in brilliant golden scales, wheeling through the void of his Sea of Consciousness. Its long, powerful body arced through the air, its whiskers falling like golden waterfalls. Wherever its claws stepped, ripples of golden light spread in layers, turning the entire Sea of Consciousness into a dazzling expanse of gold.

It circled through the void, then lowered its head and charged straight at Shen Nanxun.

Shen Nanxun didn't dodge. A deeper instinct told him that there was no need.

As the golden giant dragon reached him, it abruptly shrank, transforming from a colossal creature that blotted out the sky into a streak of golden light no thicker than his forearm. It hovered in front of him, its golden eyes fixed on him, then lowered its head.

Almost by instinct, Shen Nanxun reached out and gently laid his palm on its head.

The golden dragon trembled slightly beneath his palm. Then its whole body transformed into a dazzling golden beam of light and rushed toward his palm, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. The moment the golden light entered his palm, a warm, surging power coursed through his meridians.

It was like something he'd lost for countless years had finally returned to where it belonged.

Shen Nanxun's eyes snapped open. His consciousness shot back from the Sea of Consciousness. He was still sitting cross-legged on the bed in the real world, but there was something new in his right palm.

He lowered his head and saw a golden spear lying quietly in his hand. Its long shaft gleamed with flowing gold, a golden dragon relief coiling around it. The dragon's head rose beneath the spearhead, its body winding down the shaft and its tail tapering at the butt. Every golden scale was distinct, so vivid that, in the morning light, they seemed to move.

The tassel was golden, as though made from a dragon's mane. It drifted soundlessly in the breeze coming through the window. The warmth of the spear was nothing like the chill of metal; it felt just like the scales of the golden dragon he'd touched moments ago.

"Golden Dragon Spear!"

After spending half a month in Eastsea City, he finally received some new information. He headed back to the Spirit Pagoda to meet that Heavenly Phoenix Douluo.

He hadn't been idle over the past half month, either. During the day, Na'er dragged him around to every attraction in Eastsea City, and at night, he had to meditate. All in all, his days had been fairly fulfilling.

The Spirit Pagoda elevator rose soundlessly, the numbers ticking up one by one.

Na'er stood beside him. Su Jiuyin had tied her silver hair into a little ponytail with a newly bought pale blue ribbon, while the cowlick on her forehead still stuck up stubbornly. She seemed to be in an especially good mood today, a half-chewed toffee in her mouth and her cheeks puffed out a little. Her silver eyes sparkled as she watched the numbers change.

The elevator stopped at the top floor, and the metal doors slid silently open. That faint, cool fragrance drifted toward them again, mingling with the rich, mellow scent of red wine.

The entire floor was a private lounge. Leng Yaozhu sat by the tall floor-to-ceiling window, sipping wine as she looked down over all of Eastsea City.

She seemed to be drinking all the time, yet she also seemed incapable of getting drunk. Shen Nanxun was about to ask her something when the corner of his eye caught sight of someone. Another person stood in the corner of the observation room. Black hair, black eyes, and a simple, pale green dress. She stood there quietly, emanating an air of indifference entirely unlike Leng Yaozhu's cool composure.

Gu Yue.

She was here.

Gu Yue's lashes were lowered slightly. From the moment Shen Nanxun entered, she'd looked at him only once. Even so, Ahoge King watched her warily.

The two of them were still clearly at daggers drawn.

Shen Nanxun didn't linger. He walked straight over to the woman and asked, "Your Excellency, can you tell me what the second task is now?"

"Mm." Leng Yaozhu murmured softly, then leaned back lazily and said, "A tournament will be held in Skysea City soon. They'll invite a team from Shrek Academy to take part in an exhibition match to open the event. I'll arrange for you to join them. Your goal is to defeat them."

"That's it?" Shen Nanxun was a little surprised. It didn't feel as though it could be that simple.

"Of course not."

Leng Yaozhu shook her head and pointed to Gu Yue beside her. "You can only bring my disciple. Two against seven."

"Ah?! Why not me!" Ahoge King's hair stood on end again. She didn't want to share Shen Nanxun with Gu Yue.

Shen Nanxun quickly held her back. He glanced at Gu Yue, whose expression remained calm, then gave a slight nod. "Fine."

"But once this is over, you'll tell me everything. No more tricks. I won't accept you arranging anything else, either. I know Your Excellency holds a high position, but my Shen Family isn't to be trifled with."

Leng Yaozhu didn't seem to care about Shen Nanxun's warning. The corner of her mouth merely curved faintly. She rose from the leather chair, her wine-red dress cascading like water. Her high heels struck the polished floor with a crisp click.

"Come with me." She left him with those three words, then walked toward the back of the observation room without looking back.

Shen Nanxun frowned slightly and patted the back of Na'er's hand, which was gripping his sleeve, signaling for her to wait. Ahoge King reluctantly let go, but her silver vertical pupils stayed fixed on Leng Yaozhu's back until the wine-red figure disappeared behind a metal door at the end of the corridor.

After following her into one of the rooms, Leng Yaozhu raised a hand and pointed at him. Then she said:

"Take off your clothes."

"???"

Aunt Leng, you can't do this!