Qian Renxue froze for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, she felt like laughing, but when she met Yun Chen's serious gaze, she couldn't quite bring herself to.
"...Little Chen, are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious."
Qian Renxue's expression grew solemn too. She abruptly stepped forward, backing Yun Chen's still rather small, thin frame against the wall.
Her shadow enveloped him.
Hey, don't come so close. Your scent's going straight to my head. Hehehe...
Yun Chen blushed and turned his head away bashfully. Given their current difference in height and how close they stood, he could even smell the faint fragrance coming from Qian Renxue...
Seeing his embarrassment, Qian Renxue suddenly laughed and gently ruffled his hair.
"You little dummy... You don't even know everything about me, and you're already pledging your loyalty?"
"Don't be so rash next time, or someone will sell you off, and you'll end up helping them count the money."
As she spoke, an almost imperceptible trace of fondness flickered in her eyes. It had appeared when Yun Chen declared with utter seriousness, "No matter who you are, I'll be loyal to you."
From that moment on, Yun Chen's place in Qian Renxue's heart had changed.
"So, Xue'er, what's your martial soul?"
Yun Chen spoke slowly. Naturally, he knew what her martial soul was, but he needed her to reveal it herself.
"The Six-Winged Angel..."
The moment those words left her lips, her entire presence changed. Feathers of light enveloped her, forming a massive sphere of light behind her back. Then the sphere slowly dispersed, revealing an angel phantom with six wings.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—five soul rings slowly rose from beneath Qian Renxue's feet.
A Soul King? She was a Soul Saint when she first appeared in the original story.
"Xue'er, how old are you?"
It was a rather ill-timed question. After all, age was the last thing one should bring up in front of a woman.
But Yun Chen desperately wanted to know where he was in the original timeline, so he asked anyway.
"I'm fifteen this year."
"Wow, Xue'er, you're amazing! You're already a Soul King at fifteen."
His praise left Qian Renxue a little embarrassed. Little Chen might not know, but she certainly did: she had been born with innate level 20 soul power.
Gaining only thirty-odd levels in nine years was honestly rather embarrassing.
"Xue'er, since you have the Six-Winged Angel martial soul, doesn't that mean you can become the Angel God?"
"Perhaps..."
At those words, melancholy washed over Qian Renxue. She gazed out at the moonlit night, feeling a pang of regret.
She was in the prime years for cultivation, yet she had come to the Heaven Dou Empire to work undercover. Had she devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivation instead, she might already have become a Soul Saint.
Yun Chen could tell what she was thinking, and he felt rather helpless too. When he read the original story, this had baffled him. With her talent, Qian Renxue could probably have become a god in Spirit Hall before the protagonist even had a chance to grow.
Why bother going undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire?
Only after actually getting to know her did Yun Chen understand something: Qian Renxue merely possessed the basic qualifications. Whether she could pass the Angel God Trial was still unknown.
And with everything between her and Bibi Dong, her decision to come to the Heaven Dou Empire had really been nothing more than an attempt to gain her mother's approval.
Ultimately, the problem lay with Bibi Dong.
Or rather, with the previous generation.
Yet the one who truly paid for that mistake was Qian Renxue, at the cost of her own talent.
"I believe you'll become the Angel God, Xue'er. You definitely will."
Looking at his earnest face, Qian Renxue could only laugh in bemusement. She wasn't even that confident herself, yet here stood a child who firmly believed she would become a god.
As she laughed, her eyes began to mist over.
Father left me, and Grandpa spends all year in the Worship Hall. I hardly ever see him. And that woman, Bibi Dong...
Who would have thought that, in the end, the person who supported me most and wanted to stay by my side would be you...
"Xue'er, do you have any other subjects?"
Yun Chen asked the question despite already knowing the answer. From Qian Renxue's perspective, he looked awkward and a little aggrieved as he asked, his eyes repeatedly darting toward her face with a hint of childish sulkiness.
Qian Renxue smiled and pinched his cheek.
"Nope~ You're my only subject. My one and only."
Hehe, I knew you didn't.
Her one and only subject, huh? With such a wealthy sovereign, shouldn't her subject get a few rewards?
Found myself a rich lady to live off~~
Yun Chen grinned, his mind positively bustling with thoughts.
"Xue'er... Since I'm your first subject, shouldn't I get some kind of title...?"
He looked just like a child happily building a secret hideout with a friend: his friend got to be king, so he wanted to be second-in-command. It was as though they were playing make-believe.
"Sure. What title would you like?"
Qian Renxue didn't even notice the hint of fondness in her voice.
If one had to define Yun Chen's place in her heart, the only answer was that he now ranked just below Qian Daoliu and her parents.
The feeling he gave her was special. She couldn't describe it, but it was undeniably there.
"Hmm... Regent..."
After thinking for a while, Yun Chen named the title he wanted. Qian Renxue was a little surprised; she hadn't expected the little fellow to ask for that.
"Regent? All right... You can have it."
Of course, she was only mildly surprised. After all, Yun Chen was her sole subject, and she intended to keep it that way.
Rather than formally granting him a title, she was simply playing along with little Yun Chen's make-believe.
Hehe... It worked!
With a title like this, won't inheriting Spirit Hall be a breeze?
I can use this title, acknowledged by Qian Renxue herself, to draw on Spirit Hall's resources.
That was what Yun Chen truly had in mind. The title's significance lay beyond the present. For now, it was merely a special emotional bond between him and Qian Renxue.
But in the future, his position as Regent, personally acknowledged by Spirit Hall's young mistress, would give him access to its immense resources.
"All right, little Chen. Give me a hug."
Without waiting for his agreement, Qian Renxue pulled him into her arms and gently rested her chin on his head.
"You're mine. My Regent, and mine alone. Do you understand, little Chen...?"
Her voice was exceedingly gentle, yet somehow, Yun Chen heard a trace of coldness beneath her words.
Just as I thought. Qian Renxue really does take after Bibi Dong... even if that side of her is hidden.
"And you belong to me alone too, Xue'er."
Yun Chen turned the tables on her. The tips of her ears visibly reddened at his words, but to his surprise, she offered no objection.
All that lingered on the breeze was a soft "Mm."
Before you continue