The silver-haired, silver-eyed girl, trying to get a free meal?

North Sea City.

As the largest coastal city in the north, this city not only hosts the North Sea Legion, granting it immense strategic importance, but its economic development is also second to none within the northeastern coastal economic belt.

Especially at night, the famous commercial streets are bustling with vibrant lights and lively crowds.

"Hurry up, Xiao Xun, I want to eat that!"

Shen Xing clutched a skewer of grilled squid with two bites already taken out of it in one hand, while dragging Shen Nanxun by the wrist with the other, weaving through the dense, bustling crowd.

Shen Nanxun was dragged along, his footsteps unsteady, his face expressionless.

He had been accompanying Shen Xing for a full three hours. Starting from the hour of the Rooster, before the sky had even fully darkened, until now, with the moon hanging high in the sky, he couldn't remember how many streets he had followed his second sister down, how many alleys they had ducked into, or how many stalls they had eaten at.

Holding an iron sword all day long hadn't worn him out, yet Shen Xing had managed it. This forced him to reaffirm a truth: a woman's talent for shopping is truly unrivaled.

Regardless of his past or present life, whether six or twenty-six, once this species enters "commercial street mode," their endurance is comparable to a perpetual motion machine.

"Big Sister, can we take a break?" Shen Nanxun was truly out of energy. He had been practicing swordplay all day and still had to meditate at night; he had no time to rest at all.

Shen Xing draped an arm over his shoulder and said carelessly, "Your big sister is heading back to Ming Capital for classes tomorrow, so you'd better keep me company a while longer."

His second sister was currently studying at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy. In fact, most officials in the North Sea system or their backing families were graduates of that academy. Although Shrek Academy was the continent's premier institution and had supplied many talents to the military, and many legions were very happy to accept Shrek students, due to certain special historical reasons, the North Sea Legion did not have a single Shrek graduate serving in its ranks.

Shen Nanxun followed Shen Xing mechanically, when suddenly, he felt the golden light deep within his consciousness pulse slightly. Qian Renxue's voice echoed in his mind, her tone cold and tinged with a hint of imperceptible dissatisfaction.

"You haven't meditated today."

Shen Nanxun responded in his heart: "Second Sister is leaving tomorrow. Let me finish shopping with her tonight, and I'll make it up when I get back. Besides, I really want to eat some spicy rabbit head. I've been practicing for so many days, Sister Xue, just let me indulge a little."

Qian Renxue didn't speak again, but within the sea of consciousness, she sat with her arms crossed on a golden tree branch and pursed her lips: "A soul master, how can you have such strong cravings for food..."

The lights of the night market flowed like a river on both sides. The aroma of grilled meat, the sweetness of sugar-roasted chestnuts, and the pungent, contradictory scent of deep-fried stinky tofu mingled together, stirred by the night breeze into a wave that rushed toward them.

Shen Nanxun didn't react in time and bumped into her arm. He looked up, followed Shen Xing's gaze, and then froze slightly.

Not far ahead, at the entrance of their favorite spicy rabbit head shop, stood a little girl.

Silver hair.

Shen Nanxun's pupils contracted slightly.

She was a little girl who looked about five or six years old, with a slender frame and average height for her age. A mop of short, silver-white hair hung down to her shoulders, looking a bit messy, and her build was overly thin. Yet, the girl's delicate eyebrows and straight, elegant nose could not hide her refined features.

The most distinctive thing, besides the silver hair, was those silver eyes.

It was hard for Shen Nanxun not to associate these physical traits with that half of the Silver Dragon King, a creature whose appetite was comparable to the wisdom of the Dragon God.

But logically speaking, if it really were her, she shouldn't be appearing here. Moreover, the silver eyes were enough to indicate that she had completely split off. That made it even stranger.

The girl stood at the entrance of the spicy rabbit head shop, looking up at the burly, thick-necked boss behind the stove. Her silver eyes watched him earnestly, her voice crisp and clear.

"Boss, Boss, if you don't mind, I'd like to eat for free every time I come by. I'll just take up a corner, and you provide the bowl and chopsticks. If it's not busy, I'll sit; if it is, I'll stand. I definitely won't get in the way of your business."

"You don't need to add any dishes. I've brought my own appetite. I'll leave once I'm full. I won't linger, and I definitely won't pay."

Shen Nanxun's expression cracked for a moment, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

To summarize: a free meal by smooth-talking.

Shen Xing, standing beside him, had naturally witnessed this scene and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Over there, the burly boss was clearly stunned by these words. He opened his mouth, his large ladle hovering in his hand for a long while as he looked the silver-haired girl up and down.

"Little one, are you here to cause trouble or to be a customer?"

"I'm not causing trouble!" The girl shook her little head like a rattle-drum to prove her innocence, then said very seriously: "But I'm not here to be a customer, either."

The boss scratched his head, not quite following, "Then what are you doing in front of my shop?"

"Inspecting the food," the girl said with a straight face.

The boss: "..."

"You little thing, you're quite interesting." The boss laughed helplessly and, with a grand gesture, scooped a large rabbit head out of the pot. "Eat up. I'll treat you for free, until you're full."

"Really, Boss?"

The girl's eyes widened suddenly, those silver pupils shining brightly. She had never heard such an indulgent request.

Let her eat until she was full?

"Of course!"

The boss was full of confidence and dismissive; how much could a five- or six-year-old skinny little girl eat? He figured she wouldn't even finish one rabbit head.

Shen Nanxun's eyelid twitched. He subconsciously took half a step back and pulled Shen Xing back with him.

"Xiao Xun, why are you pulling me?" Shen Xing asked, confused.

"Second Sister, stand further back," Shen Nanxun said expressionlessly. "I'm afraid of getting blood on us."

Shen Xing: "???"

Blood didn't end up splattered everywhere, but shock certainly was.

They watched as the girl devoured every single rabbit head in the bowl and the pot like a whirlwind, showing no restraint and leaving absolutely nothing behind.

After finishing everything, she licked the chili oil from the corner of her lips and asked longingly, "Are there any more?"

Little did she know how devastating that sentence was to the chubby boss.

"Great-grandma, save me!"

The chubby boss shuddered violently, nearly losing his breath before collapsing onto the floor.

Na'er scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Boss, I'll pay for her tab!"

Just then, Shen Xing walked over with Shen Nanxun. Ignoring whether the chubby boss was awake or had heard her, she casually tossed a card onto the table.

She leaned down slightly and asked with a bright smile, "Little sister, why are you here all by yourself? Where is your family?"

The young girl's large silver eyes glanced at Shen Xing, then locked onto Shen Nanxun, who was following closely behind. She blinked, then quickly lowered her head.

Seeing the girl's filthy clothes, Shen Xing could roughly guess the situation, so she said softly, "What's your name? Where is your family? Tell big sister and I'll give you some candy."

She had already pulled a piece of candy from the small pouch at her waist and dangled it in front of the girl. "I just bought this at the candy shop up ahead—Sea Salt Toffee. It's delicious! Try it!"

The girl hesitated for a moment before whispering, "My name is Na'er. I don't have a family."

So Gu Yue isn't human.

Indeed!

Hearing that name, Shen Nanxun was unsurprised, yet he still couldn't help but feel astonished. After all, this was half of the Silver Dragon King, one of the destined trendsetters of the entire Dragon King era.

Getting involved with Na'er now would inevitably entangle him in many future events.

"Thank you, but I don't want it." Na'er shook her head and refused. "People say you shouldn't take candy from strangers. That's how they trick little kids."

Shen Nanxun said gloomily, "But you can eat a stranger's spicy rabbit head, right?"

Na'er's small face flushed red. She lowered her head further, her long silver hair falling from her shoulders to cover most of her face, leaving only the tips of her pale pink ears visible. Her lips moved slightly as if she wanted to argue, but in the end, she said nothing and buried her head even lower.

What she ate was just food; that had nothing to do with her!

"Smack!"

Shen Xing slapped the back of Shen Nanxun's head. The force wasn't heavy, but the sound was crisp. Shen Nanxun stumbled half a step forward, clutched the back of his head, and looked back at his second sister with a blank expression.

"What are you saying!" Shen Xing's willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and her ice-blue eyes glared at him. "So what if a little girl is hungry and eats a meal? She only ate a tiny bit, didn't she?"

A massive bit, more like.

Shen Nanxun looked at the chubby boss, who had yet to wake up, and sighed silently.

Seeing that he was behaving, Shen Xing retracted her hand with satisfaction. She crouched down again, her face once more wearing that gentle, melting smile. She fished another piece of candy from her pouch and held it in her palm alongside the first Sea Salt Toffee.

"Look, Na'er, now there are two," Shen Xing said, her voice soft and gentle. "One piece of candy means a bad person, because bad people only want to use one piece to trick a child. But someone who gives two pieces isn't a bad person, because bad people wouldn't be willing to give away two."

Na'er looked up, her silver eyes blinking as she looked at the two candies in Shen Xing's palm, then at Shen Xing's smiling face. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she were seriously considering the logic of this argument.

A moment later, a look of sudden realization dawned on her.

"So that's how it is." She nodded earnestly, then reached out with both small hands to take the two candies. "Then big sister is not a bad person. Thank you, big sister."

"Huh?"

Shen Nanxun couldn't believe it. She actually fell for it. Truly, one dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it.

Na'er had some intelligence, but not much.

"Hehe, then do you want to come with me? I promise you can eat whatever you want from now on." Shen Xing was fully in the mode of kidnapping a child.

Na'er looked silently at Shen Nanxun behind her and whispered, "Can I really eat anything?"

"That's a given."

Shen Xing patted her chest in assurance.

Shen Nanxun had already turned his face away, unable to bear the sight, while his mind raced.

He hadn't expected his older sister to want to take Na'er home just because she was cute. But this girl's identity was too special; if not handled correctly, it would be a massive headache.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons of taking Na'er in, Shen Nanxun's eyes suddenly widened.

He saw that Na'er had somehow crept up to his side, grabbed his right wrist with both hands, lowered her head, and took a big bite.

"Hiss—"

Shen Nanxun gasped. It wasn't that it hurt much—Na'er's little fangs felt itchy against his skin—but at this moment, her silver pupils were filled with intense longing.

"Awoo..."

She made a satisfied sound like a small beast while biting down. At this moment, it was impossible to tell the difference between a creep and Na'er.

Damn it, she was treating him like food!