Difference

"I was the one who had Xiang Ya bring us to her room, and stay here with us." Qian Ren Shuang walked up to the boss, hands in his pockets, an innocent smile on his face, his tone as mild as if he were chatting with a neighbor. "Do you have a problem with that?"

The boss's back was still pressed against the wall. The spot on his chest where Guilmon's forehead had rammed him burned with pain, several bones broken, every breath carrying the taste of blood.

When he saw Qian Ren Shuang crouch down, that beaming expression on his face frightened him even more than a punch would have. He hurriedly waved his hands at once. "No problem, no problem! I..."

The boss swallowed a mouthful of bloody foam and explained at top speed, "I'm just more obedient, and I look like him, so I was put in this position as the real boss's stand-in. Our boss is a Soul Ancestor. Please spare me, I'm really just a puppet, I'm nothing at all!"

"Guilmon, there's no need to kill this man." Qian Ren Shuang reached out and stopped Guilmon, who was about to go further.

It was not that he had gone soft. It was just that at this time, in this place, if he killed this boss and the crowd in the gambling den panicked, it would very likely draw over the people from the Spirit Hall branch not far away to inspect the situation. Spirit Hall's influence was so vast that it surely had no shortage of spies from other factions inside. For now, aside from a few trusted aides, Qian Ren Shuang would avoid any scene with too many people and too many eyes if he could.

Ugh, I was so focused on fixing my arm earlier that I forgot. I should've been a little harsher and driven Xiang Ya out of the room too. Qian Ren Shuang felt a flash of regret.

He had only wanted to borrow a quiet place to treat his injuries, but in a moment of carelessness, he had let this gambling den dealer watch his "medicine and food share the same source" from start to finish. But a small mistake was already made, and regret was useless. Adapting to the situation was what really mattered.

He pulled back his thoughts and said to the puppet boss, "We don't have any particular goal. We just want to stay here for a day. During this day—Xiang Ya has to keep accompanying us."

The puppet boss had clearly misunderstood. His eyes darted, and he revealed an expression that said "I get it, I get it," hurriedly nodding. "Understood, understood! Forget one day, even giving her to you is no problem!"

Qian Ren Shuang could not be bothered to explain. He gestured to Guilmon, and only then did Guilmon pull back its forehead and let the boss down from the wall. Qian Ren Shuang added, "I didn't use soul rings to beat you because you're not worthy, not because I don't have any. If you want to try, go ahead and call that Soul Ancestor boss of yours over—but the price will be your life."

"Understood, understood!" The puppet boss clutched his chest, bowing and scraping as he backed out. His feet seemed to have sprouted wind-fire wheels, and in a flash he was gone.

After the sound of footsteps had completely disappeared, Guilmon turned its head and asked in confusion, "Qian Ren Shuang, aren't you afraid that puppet boss will leak your whereabouts?"

Qian Ren Shuang shrugged, his tone casual. "If I killed him now, my whereabouts would definitely be leaked—if a gambling den boss died, it'd be strange if Spirit Hall's people didn't come investigate. If I let him go, then whether this guy is a puppet or not, the situation is still under control."

His interest stirred, and he counted on his fingers as he analyzed it for Guilmon. "If he really is just a puppet, then at most a Soul Ancestor will come later. Worst case, we fight again.

Even if he really is the boss and chooses to leak my whereabouts, by the time the news reaches Tang Hao's ears, that time will be enough for me to heal your arm."

He had calculated both sides of the account, and neither was a loss.

"Mr. Qian Ren Shuang, thank you." Xiang Ya suddenly spoke. Her voice was not loud, but every word was very clear. She bowed deeply to Qian Ren Shuang, her forehead almost touching her knees. "Other soul masters wouldn't care whether someone like me, who has no innate soul power, lives or dies."

"All right, all right, enough of that." Qian Ren Shuang waved his hand, his attention already shifting to Guilmon. "Guilmon, come in. It's time to treat the injuries on your forearms."

He turned and walked into the room, completely ignoring Xiang Ya's words of gratitude behind him, spoken like lines from a stage play—"For today's kindness, this humble girl has no way to repay you, and can only offer herself to you, serving at your side, bringing tea and pouring water..." —as those words drifted into Qian Ren Shuang's ears, he simply pretended he had not heard them.

Although Guilmon was Qian Ren Shuang's detached martial soul, to put it plainly, a detached martial soul was only a layer of connection. They were still two independent individuals as before.

What Guilmon's body required was ultimately somewhat different from Qian Ren Shuang's, and treating it took 20 hours in one go.

Guilmon's two bandaged forearms finally recovered completely. It moved its claws, spreading its five fingers and then clenching them, testing them again and again several times before suddenly speaking. "Qian Ren Shuang, why do I feel like my whole body is a bit lighter? It's like my entire body is stronger."

"It's nothing." Qian Ren Shuang put away the martial soul Food Is Heaven, the five large golden words scattering into points of light in midair. "The main effect of my ability is to strengthen the internal organs and meridians. Once those things are strengthened, physical fitness naturally rises too."

He yawned, his eyelids already beginning to fight each other. After struggling on for more than 20 hours from beginning to end, his mental power was almost exhausted, and drowsiness surged up like a tide.

He looked at Xiang Ya, his voice hoarse with fatigue. "Miss Xiang Ya, you don't mind if I sleep in your room for a while, do you?"

"I don't mind, I don't mind." Xiang Ya nodded repeatedly, even showing a trace of joy on her face. Qian Ren Shuang had rejected her "offering herself" just now, and she had been somewhat disappointed. Now that she heard he only wanted to sleep, she instead breathed a sigh of relief, and there was no time to be anything but happy.

"Perfect, Guilmon is sleepy too." Before Guilmon had even finished speaking, it had already curled up on Xiang Ya's narrow bed like a big dog lying on the ground asleep. Its body was too large, taking up two-thirds of the entire bed, leaving only the remaining third, just enough for one person to squeeze on sideways.

Qian Ren Shuang's sleeping posture was unexpectedly proper—he lay on his side, legs slightly curled, arms folded over his chest, his whole body drawn into a posture like a newborn baby. His breathing soon steadied.

Xiang Ya stood beside the bed, looking at the man and the beast, somewhat at a loss.

She wanted to go out, but when she thought of how that puppet boss had been beaten, yet might come back for revenge, being alone would instead be even more dangerous.

After hesitating for a while, she climbed onto the bed quietly, gently wrapped her arms around Qian Ren Shuang from behind, and closed her eyes too.

"Medicine and food share the same source" did indeed consume no small amount of mental power. Qian Ren Shuang slept for fifteen hours straight. When he woke, the sky outside the window had brightened again.