Su Heng

Meng Shenji leaned on Luo Chen as they climbed the stone steps one at a time.

The old man's pace was slow. He paused on every step—not because he couldn't manage the climb; how could a Soul Douluo possibly be unable to walk? He simply didn't want the journey to end too soon.

Luo Chen sensed it. His grip tightened slightly, but he said nothing.

"Is that little girl your sister?" Meng Shenji suddenly asked.

"Yes. Her name is Luo An'an," Luo Chen replied.

"Luo An'an... Fule mentioned her in his letter. Hmph, that fellow couldn't even keep an eye on a little runt like you!"

Luo Chen awkwardly scratched his head. Then Meng Shenji asked, "How old is she this year? Has she awakened her Martial Soul?"

Meng Shenji could barely contain his anticipation. He hoped Luo An'an would awaken the same Martial Soul as Luo Chen. Then their family would have two prodigies!

"She's six this year. Her Martial Soul... awakened, but not completely."

"If it awakened, then it awakened. How can it be both awakened and not awakened?" Luo Chen's answer left Meng Shenji thoroughly confused.

Luo Chen described the process in detail: the clump-shaped Martial Soul in her dantian had devoured the energy of the awakening formation, and only after being catalyzed by the power of time had it managed to take shape.

Meng Shenji fell silent for a long while after hearing this. At last, he said, "Bring her to the Education Committee tomorrow. I'll examine her situation. And when did you master the power of time?"

Luo Chen then told Meng Shenji about his extraordinary encounter. Meng Shenji sighed again and again.

The master and disciple chatted on and off as they climbed from the stone steps to the mountaintop.

The gate to Meng Shenji's residence looked just as it had ten years ago: gray-blue stone walls covered in vines.

Luo Chen pushed open the gate and helped Meng Shenji inside. They sat down on the stone bench beneath the old locust tree.

The old man and the young man sat side by side without a word. Meng Shenji was the first to speak. "Ten years. You've changed so much. Your hair's different, your eyes are different, and you've grown up!"

"Teacher, I'm sorry to have worried you all these years."

Meng Shenji didn't reply. Instead, he reached out and patted Luo Chen on the shoulder.

"That friend of yours never stopped looking for you," Meng Shenji said mildly. "He never gave up."

Friend? Could he mean Su Heng? In the academy, Su Heng was the only one he could really call a friend.

Who knew what he looked like now, after all these years? The corners of Luo Chen's mouth lifted slightly. "Su Heng?"

"Who else?"

Luo Chen found it strange, too. It seemed Su Heng had completely escaped his death fated to come; Qian Renxue still hadn't found him. Perhaps it was the butterfly effect.

"After you disappeared, he dropped out. No one knew where he went. Then, when the new students enrolled the following year, he came back. He waited outside the school for a few days, then left. He's come back every year since, perhaps even looking for you at your home. Everyone tried to talk him out of it, but he said, 'What if I run into you?'"

Luo Chen couldn't help but freeze. He'd thought the two of them had merely crossed paths by chance, never imagining Su Heng had cared so much about him.

"Where is he now?" Luo Chen asked.

Meng Shenji shook his head. "I don't know, but he writes me a letter every month to ask whether you've come back. I've replied to almost every one. Judging by the date, his next letter should arrive in the next few days."

Luo Chen stood up. "Teacher, I'll go look for him. I have a feeling he's still in Heaven Dou City!"

Seeing him get up, Meng Shenji waved a hand. "Go on, go on. You came back and still won't sit and reminisce with this old man. Go, then. Bring your little sister tomorrow so I can see what's going on with her!"

Luo Chen bowed. "Thank you, Teacher."

Luo Chen turned and left Meng Shenji's residence, heading for Heaven Dou City.

Where could that kid Su Heng be?

Luo Chen wondered. He truly had a feeling Su Heng was in Heaven Dou City. Ever since he'd emerged from the Time Hourglass, his sixth sense had become remarkably accurate.

It was probably a sign that his spiritual power had grown stronger. He made his way to the snack street they used to love visiting.

He remembered a grilled fish stall there, run by a young man. The fish he grilled smelled delicious, and whenever the two of them came, they each bought one.

When Luo Chen reached the stall, he found that the young man who'd grilled fish back then had grown much more weathered, but his expression and movements were exactly the same.

"Big brother, two grilled fish! One mild and one extra-hot!"

The man at the grill abruptly looked up, his expression dazed. He felt as if he'd heard those words somewhere before.

He remembered two children who'd loved coming to eat grilled fish a long time ago. They'd both eaten a tremendous amount, and he'd heard they were top students at a noble Soul Master Academy. One of the boys had thought his chilies weren't spicy enough—not even the extra-spicy ones—and suggested adding another heat level: extra-hot!

But in all those years, no one else had ever been able to take on the extra-hot challenge.

"Little brother, extra-hot really is spicy! I don't even put it on the menu. Most people can't handle it, and no one else has ever managed to finish it at my little shop."

"Oh? Boss, who was the first person to do it?" Luo Chen asked with a faint smile.

"He was a little Soul Master who kept saying my chilies weren't spicy enough. He suggested I add an extra-hot option, and that's how it came about."

Luo Chen's smile grew brighter. In his previous life, he'd been born near the border between Hunan and Jiangxi, where people could really eat their spice. On top of that, this world's seasonings weren't as good as those in his previous life, so even the extra-spicy fish hadn't been hot enough for him. That was why he'd suggested the extra-hot option to the owner.

"Hahahaha! Big brother, I'm the little Soul Master you're talking about!" Luo Chen said with a grin.

The man selling grilled fish froze. "You're that little Soul Master?"

The man stared for a moment, then slapped his forehead, as if something had suddenly come back to him.

"Little brother! Is your name Luo Chen?" he shouted.

Now it was Luo Chen's turn to be surprised. The man continued, "A lot of years ago, the other boy who came with you told me you'd gone missing and asked me to keep an eye out for you. I waited for years without seeing you, and eventually let it go. Then, two years ago, he came back and told me that if I heard anything, I should look for him at the third shop on the west end of the street. He's been there all this time. You..."

Before the boss could finish, Luo Chen spun around and ran toward the shop.

The two shops weren't far apart. About a minute later, Luo Chen entered the shabby little shop called Xiaopeng Grocery Store.

Before Luo Chen even stepped inside, he heard a young man call out, "Welcome! We're a small business, so no buying on credit..."

Luo Chen followed the sound. Wasn't that Su Heng, all grown up? He was dressed simply, and his purple hair made him stand out.

"Boss, do you sell any Gulu Balls here?" Luo Chen asked with an impish smile.

At the words "Gulu Ball," Su Heng practically jumped out of his seat on instinct. "Gulu Ball? What Gulu Ball?"