Soul Bone

"Whenever he sees a noble bullying commoners on the street, he beats them on sight. After beating them, he doesn't even run. He just stands there and says, 'My big brother is the Crown Prince, and my teacher is Sword Douluo Chen Xin. If you don't like it, go take it up with them.'"

"Those nobles don't even dare complain after getting beaten. If they complain to the Crown Prince's residence, His Highness the Crown Prince is his big brother. If they complain to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sword Douluo is his teacher. If they complain to the palace, Xue Ye's desk is already piled high with his letters of complaint. Every time, he simply writes, 'Leave it to the Crown Prince's discretion,' and sends them right back into His Highness's hands."

Bibi Dong's brows twitched.

Chrysanthemum Douluo caught that subtle movement and knew he had struck the mark, so he simply let himself go.

"Especially Xue Beng. Uh... Your Holiness the Pope knows that Xue Beng, the fourth prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, is a useless spoiled wastrel. When Li Hanche caught him bullying commoners on the street, he went up and gave him a beating."

"Xue Beng was still feeling wronged after getting beaten. Hiding behind his guards, he shouted at him, 'Do you know who my big brother is? My big brother is Xue Qinghe!' It would have been better if he hadn't shouted. The moment he did, Li Hanche beat him even harder."

"Li Hanche even said, 'Your big brother is Xue Qinghe? Isn't my big brother Xue Qinghe too? How can you be more arrogant than me? No one in Heaven Dou City can be more arrogant than I am.' After that, whenever Prince Xue Beng saw him, he took a detour—one wider than even the Soul Ancestors he'd beaten up."

Bibi Dong picked up the teacup beside her and lowered her head for a sip.

"How did things end on her side?"

"On the young lady's side—uh, on His Highness the Crown Prince's side—there are letters of complaint from nobles every day."

"Some accuse him of beating people, some accuse him of using his backing to bully others, and some accuse him of being even more arrogant than the Fourth Prince."

"Every time, His Highness summons him over, shuts the door, gives him a thorough scolding, then tells him to get lost and says he doesn't want to see him for the next few days."

"Then he goes to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Once His Highness calms down, he comes back from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect carrying jade and jewels he swiped from Ning Rongrong's room, grinning as he makes a trip to the Crown Prince's residence. Then the matter is considered settled."

"Then the next day, there are new letters of complaint. It goes around and around, and it's practically become Heaven Dou City's regular entertainment."

He paused, then summed it all up in one sentence.

"Your Holiness the Pope, in this subordinate's opinion, this child's character can be summed up in one word: shameless!"

Only after the bedchamber had fallen silent did Bibi Dong come back to herself.

"Finished?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo lowered his head.

"Finished. This subordinate takes his leave."

After Chrysanthemum Douluo's figure vanished—

Bibi Dong remained seated in the chair by the window. Thinking back on Yue Guan's lengthy report, the corner of her mouth twitched.

"Just like her. The older one and the younger one—neither gives anyone peace of mind."

At the same time, Snake Spear Douluo was racing back toward Heaven Dou City at full speed.

A jade box was tucked inside his robes. It was in perfect condition, and the tens-of-thousands-of-years-old head soul bone within would have counted as top-grade even in Spirit Hall's secret vault.

Only when Grand Worshipper Qian Daoliu personally placed the jade box in his hands did he tell him that this soul bone had already been purified by angel holy light.

Soul bones that were tens of thousands of years old retained the soul imprints of the soul beasts they had once belonged to. Their resentment ran deep and their wills were savage; low-level soul masters simply could not withstand that kind of impact.

The angel holy light had washed away every trace of those lingering impurities, leaving only the purest origin of the soul bone.

Snake Spear Douluo sped up even more.

Not the slightest delay could be tolerated in carrying out the young lady's orders.

As dusk had only just climbed over the streetlamps of Heaven Dou City, Ning Rongrong was pulling Li Hanche into a crouch before a little stall selling sugar figurines.

Today's shopping haul was as plentiful as ever. In her left hand, she held up a freshly bought phoenix sugar painting, while around her right wrist was a bracelet supposedly made from "polished deep-sea coral."

"Li Hanche, look at this sugar figurine! The old man says he can shape one after someone's face. I want one made of you."

"Make one of yourself. Then eat it."

"No! It has to be you! Old man, make him! Make him uglier!"

The old man making sugar figurines laughed so hard his mouth would not close as his practiced hands began sketching on the stone slab.

Just then, an attendant in the uniform of the Crown Prince's residence passed through the crowd, hurried to Li Hanche's side, and bowed.

"Young Master Li, His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence. There is urgent business."

Li Hanche turned and glanced at him.

"You send her back to the villa first."

Ning Rongrong lifted her head from the sugar-figurine stall, her lips pouting.

"You're going to the Crown Prince's residence again? Didn't you promise to play dice with me tonight so I could get my revenge?"

"Lose to me another day. I have business today."

He turned and headed toward the Crown Prince's residence.

In the study of the Crown Prince's residence, Li Hanche pushed the door open and walked straight in.

Over the past two years, he had come to the Crown Prince's residence so often that the guards at the entrance could not even be bothered to announce him anymore.

He walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing one leg over the other as his gaze settled on Xue Qinghe behind the desk.

"Big Brother, what can I do for you? I'm very busy."

Xue Qinghe sat behind the desk with a scroll in hand. Hearing those words, he set it down and said with a faint, knowing smile.

"Heh. By busy, you mean taking Ning Rongrong shopping?"

Li Hanche's expression did not change.

"Yeah. After shopping, go home and play some games, then cultivate for a while. What a pleasant life."

Xue Qinghe did not take the bait. He merely gestured with his eyes toward a jade box on the desk.

"For you."

"Oh."

Li Hanche rose from the sofa, walked over to the desk, and casually picked up the jade box.

The moment he lifted the lid, he saw what was inside.

A complete skull. The bone was lustrous white like jade, its surface flowing with an exceedingly faint golden sheen.

It was the trace left behind by some kind of sacred attribute power.

The skull was whole and exquisitely shaped, every seam like a naturally formed pattern, faintly emanating an ancient and powerful aura.

His pupils abruptly contracted, and his mouth moved faster than his brain.

"Holy shit! Bro, why are you giving me something this unlucky?!"

Before his words had even faded, his hands reflexively shoved the jade box away.

The ten-thousand-year head soul bone drew an arc through the air and rolled onto the carpet.

The air in the study froze.

Xue Qinghe lowered his head to look at the soul bone lying on the carpet, then raised his gaze to Li Hanche.

There was no expression on his face. His lips were pressed into a straight line, and his eyes held a death glare Li Hanche knew all too well.

Li Hanche shuddered.

He looked at the soul bone on the carpet, then at Xue Qinghe's expression, and instantly realized what he had just done.

He bent down, fumbling over the carpet with both hands to pick up the soul bone. As he did, he bowed and scraped.

"Bro, no, that's not what I meant. Who gives someone a skullcap as a gift...?"

"Get lost! That's a ten-thousand-year head soul bone!"

Xue Qinghe's words stunned Li Hanche for a moment. Then he lowered his head and carefully examined the skull in his hands.

He had tossed it aside so casually just now that he had not even seen what it was.

But upon closer inspection, the faint golden glow flowing across the bone surface and the soul power patterns vaguely visible within it—

It really was a soul bone, and a head soul bone of such a high grade that he could not even determine its exact age.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hiss! Wait, bro. Are you trying to murder me?"

Holding the soul bone in both hands, he turned it over and over as his tone grew increasingly outrageous.

"A head soul bone that's tens of thousands of years old—can this little body of mine even absorb it? Are you trying to turn your little brother into an idiot?"

Xue Qinghe took a deep breath.

Don't get angry. Don't get angry.

This little brat has always been like this. It's been two years. I should be used to it by now.

"Relax. I specifically had someone process it for you. Just absorb it without worry."

Li Hanche raised the soul bone before his eyes and studied it for a while longer, wearing the expression of a pawnshop owner appraising an antique.

As he examined it, he kept laying it on thick.

"So this is what a soul bone looks like? First time I've ever seen one. A ten-thousand-year one, too—and a rare head soul bone at that. Bro, you're just giving this to me? Don't you need it?"

"I don't. This thing isn't worth my attention, so I'm rewarding you with it."