Lu Mingchuan and Bibi Dong had reached a stalemate.
Since this time had gone just like before, with Yu Xiaogang failing to bring the story to an end, Lu Mingchuan could only do his best to set things up for what came next.
Only...
[This bastard... Why does Bibi Dong keep staring at me?]
[Did she get hooked on kicking me in the crotch? Then she's got another thing coming. If she kicks me, she'll be the one breaking her leg.]
Bibi Dong couldn't help glancing down.
He had to be bluffing. It wasn't as if she hadn't read about this sort of thing in books. Did he think he had an iron rod down there?
Lu Mingchuan noticed Bibi Dong looking at him and hurriedly pulled the Old Butler over to shield himself.
[What happened to the sweet, innocent Saintess? She's clearly a lecherous Saintess! Who keeps staring at someone else's crotch? I really gave you too much credit, Dongzi.]
[And hurry up and say something so we can leave! I'm supposed to be heartbroken!]
[I need to get back and snack on sunflower seeds. I want to see when the next scene starts!]
Bibi Dong wanted nothing more than to grab Lu Mingchuan by the collar and demand an explanation.
But when she remembered that she held the upper hand, she let the thought go.
"Mingchuan, how about coming with me to take a look around Spirit Hall Academy?" Bibi Dong smiled, though there was a teasing glint beneath it.
You want to leave? Let's see if I'll let you.
You're only disappointed. It's not like you've stopped falling for me.
Lu Mingchuan raised an eyebrow. This woman was good.
But...
"Get lost... My business has nothing to do with you..."
"You're a cruel, heartless, vicious, cold-blooded, lucky-six-and-six... woman. I don't want your concern."
Lu Mingchuan rattled off the string of insults so quickly that even he was left gasping.
Bibi Dong stared at him, speechless. What a jerk.
"In that case, I have something important to attend to. Mingchuan, we'll meet again next time."
"Guards."
"Yes!" The guards behind her stepped forward in unison.
"These flowers were specially prepared for me by Mingchuan. We mustn't waste his kindness. Pack them all into the Soul Tools. Don't leave out a single one."
Bibi Dong pointed at the 999 sunflowers before her, waved her hand, then turned and walked away without a backward glance.
Lu Mingchuan stared hard at her retreating figure.
The Old Butler thought his young master was only putting on a brave face. Now, watching the Spirit Hall Saintess walk away, he was regretting it.
So he spoke earnestly, with the weight of experience: "Young master, tsundere has gone out of fashion. These days, it's all about meeting sincerity with sincerity."
Lu Mingchuan felt tears streaming down inside. He leaned on the Old Butler and said calmly, "I'm fine."
[My top-grade sunflower seeds! That wicked woman took every last one!]
[I only got to crack two. Who am I supposed to complain to?]
Behind them, Bibi Dong couldn't help letting the corners of her mouth curl upward.
Serves you right. You're lucky I let you have two.
She couldn't resist taking a sunflower from one of the guards and tasting it herself.
The flavor really was hard to forget.
There's... there's beef!
Lu Mingchuan saw what Bibi Dong was doing. She was actually holding a sunflower and munching on it right in front of him.
Time to go~ Leave this sorrowful place behind.
In Spirit City, there was a place where noblewomen gathered.
As they chatted there, a young woman who was every bit their equal sat among them, laughing and talking.
Tang Yuehua lifted a strand of hair beside her ear and sipped her tea with graceful ease.
She hadn't expected such an entertaining incident to take place in Spirit City. What a shame she had to keep the noblewomen company and couldn't spare the time to see it for herself.
Otherwise, she would have loved to see what it looked like when the foolish Saintess and the lying Grandmaster came together.
She had heard that voice last night while bathing and changing. At first, she had been so frightened that she stayed in the tub, afraid to get out. But as she listened, she realized it had to do with someone's innermost thoughts.
Pretending to be dead and living carefree—what a peculiar idea.
"Yuehua, how does this tea taste? Is it different from the tea you usually drink?" A woman dressed in purple sat beside her, refilled her own cup, then poured another for Tang Yuehua.
But Tang Yuehua was still thinking about what she had just heard. She drank like a bull, without tasting a thing.
She smiled and replied, "It is different. The flavor seems a little richer."
Tang Yuehua had been staying in Spirit City for some time. She had only ever seen Bibi Dong, the Spirit Hall Saintess, from afar, once, amid a crowd.
As a useless person who couldn't cultivate, she had always admired a heaven-blessed talent like Bibi Dong and hoped that one day she might become someone like her.
But after hearing that string of insults...
Tang Yuehua didn't feel nearly as envious anymore.
She believed that strength and brains were both essential. Just imagine trading your brains for strength like Bibi Dong had. The very thought made her want to refuse.
A brain the size of a peanut, sweet and foolish, who could fall for someone as creepy as a lovesick stalker.
Tang Yuehua couldn't imagine turning out that way herself. What kind of death would she have to choose to make it quick and clean?
"Hey, do you think someone can have amazing talent and cultivate incredibly fast, but still have something wrong with their head?"
Tang Yuehua asked the older sisters, with whom she had long since grown familiar. She wanted to know what the families of Soul Masters thought about this.
"Don't be ridiculous. Just looking at that meditation method gives me a headache."
"Do you think someone with a bad head could even understand that thing, let alone cultivate? Little sister Yuehua, you're joking."
"Exactly. How would ordinary people know anything about Soul Masters? But I'd guess someone without brains couldn't get anything done."
The women had no idea where Tang Yuehua got all these strange notions.
Tang Yuehua gave them a strained smile. They did have a point. Without brains, one couldn't even take the first step toward cultivation.
After all, not everyone was a talentless good-for-nothing.
Still, the teasing about Bibi Dong had been amusing.
And after hearing that voice for so long, Tang Yuehua finally remembered where she had heard it before.
It was none other than that young master Lu Mingchuan.
Once she had figured that out, Tang Yuehua's curiosity was stirred.
After all, the "sisters" around her were all talking about the most devoted lover in Spirit City. Who wouldn't want a handsome young man like that around, to make them look even more beautiful?
As the person closest to Lu Mingchuan, she was forced to talk about him.
Her Martial Soul wasn't much good, but her Yuehua Domain was a perfect tool for guiding these spoiled young masters.
She had left the Clear Sky Sect to prove herself, after all.
So Tang Yuehua had opened Moonlight Pavilion in Spirit City, a place specifically for educating spoiled young masters, to see how it went.
After all, everyone in Spirit City was a Soul Master, and no one wanted their family members going around making trouble.
She educated one group of spoiled young masters after another, teaching them to be polite, and her reputation soared.
Now, only the most stubborn bunch of spoiled young masters remained, and Lu Mingchuan was among them.
He had to come to her place every day to cultivate his manners for two hours. That was an order issued personally by someone at Spirit Hall.
[Moonlight Pavilion?]
Before you continue