Invitation to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well (3)

"Don't think so badly of my sister?" Zhu Zhuqing froze for a moment upon hearing that, then filled with anger and disdain. "I acknowledge your status, your achievements, your strength, and your methods, but that doesn't give you the right to spout nonsense. If you don't know what happened, then please don't judge, much less offer advice. Thank you!"

To Zhu Zhuqing, everything Ye Qingcang said was complete bullshit.

Not a single sentence was useful.

She understood what Ye Qingcang meant.

In short, he was telling her to think it over. Maybe her sister had not truly wanted to kill her and had only acted that way out of necessity.

That might fool a child, but it would never fool her!

Was the sudden coldness fake?

Was the targeting she had suffered since childhood fake?

Were all the assassination attempts she had endured along the way fake?

Even the wounds on her body were fake?

If Ye Qingcang had guided her in combat techniques, she would have gladly accepted it. No matter how much hardship she had to endure, as long as she improved, she would persist.

But when it came to her private affairs, Ye Qingcang had no right to instruct her!

If you had never endured another's suffering, do not urge them to be kind!

Ye Qingcang had overstepped!

"Fine..." Ye Qingcang's tone seemed to soften, as though he had backed down. Yet to Ning Rongrong, it sounded rather like he was humoring a child. "Since you thanked me, and since you praised me, I won't say anything else. Good luck?"

Zhu Zhuqing's breathing gradually steadied.

The tremors in her body slowly subsided as well.

Ye Qingcang's confident posture instead stirred Zhu Zhuqing's competitive spirit. This loyal little kitten had no idea what kind of hell she was about to fall into. With a cold little face, she nodded politely, then turned and left without another word.

Nodding at you was courtesy.

Not speaking was my temperament.

But compared to Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong thought more deeply.

She glanced at Zhu Zhuqing's retreating back.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Zhu Zhuqing's figure.

A flash of envy passed through her glass-like eyes.

Then she turned back to look at Ye Qingcang, who was manipulating the alchemy array to refine soul bones, and bluntly asked, "Did that bastard Dai Mubai betray her?"

Ning Rongrong did not think Ye Qingcang would deceive Zhu Zhuqing.

Nor did she think Zhu Zhuqing was worth Ye Qingcang resorting to deception.

Her father had told her many times that a leaf before one's eyes could block out Mount Tai.

Often, even what one saw with one's own eyes might not be real. Therefore, what Zhu Zhuqing had seen and heard might not necessarily be the truth.

It was true, but only a partial truth.

Since Ye Qingcang had chosen to remind Zhu Zhuqing, it could only mean that she was currently in danger. This danger probably did not involve her life, because Blue Tyrant Academy's rules had been personally drafted by Ye Qingcang. Therefore, taking the contrast Ye Qingcang had emphasized as the key, there was only one possibility: Dai Mubai had betrayed Zhu Zhuqing. Only that could have prompted Ye Qingcang's warning!

"You're very smart." Ye Qingcang maintained the alchemy array with one hand while multitasking. "But you should also know that people only believe the truth they see. As the saying goes, people won't turn back until they hit a wall. That is the reason. No matter what you tell her, she won't listen."

"I knew it..."

Ning Rongrong clenched her little fists viciously.

She recalled the conflict she had had with Dai Mubai at the gates of Shrek Academy more than two years ago.

She wanted to warn her friend Zhu Zhuqing, but suddenly realized that Ye Qingcang was right. No matter what she said, Zhu Zhuqing would not listen at this moment.

She sighed listlessly.

After several seconds of silence, she changed the subject. "I want to be friends with you..."

"Is it you who wants to be friends with me, or does the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect want to be friends with me?" Ye Qingcang took out a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone from the alchemy array. The palm-sized soul bone was as beautiful as a work of art. He handed it to Violet to complete the packing process. "I have many friends. Anyone who is not my enemy can potentially become my friend, and I do not mind being friends with them. But friends are not all the same. I hope you understand that."

"Tell me about it?" Ning Rongrong tucked her hands into her sleeves.

"I divide friends into six tiers."

"From lowest to highest, they are chance acquaintances, pleasant conversationalists, kindred spirits, sworn brothers, entrusted with life and death, and eternal companions."

"Chance acquaintances, as the name suggests, are friends you have met once. As long as you find them agreeable, and without harming your own interests, helping them makes you chance acquaintances."

"Pleasant conversationalists, as the name suggests, are friends with common topics. You can talk well together, and there are requirements regarding each other's status, background, and interests. The friendship born from that is being pleasant conversationalists."

"Kindred spirits, as the name suggests, are friends whose aspirations and paths align. You share a common goal, and on the long road toward it, you can support each other. Those are kindred spirits."

"Sworn brothers, as the name suggests, are friends you treat as your own brothers. This is also the limit ordinary friendships can reach. I treat your brothers as mine, and you treat mine as yours, with no doubts between us. That is being sworn brothers."

"Being entrusted with life and death means that if you die one day, you can safely entrust your children to me. If I die, I can safely entrust mine to you. Extending that further, it means we can both leave our final affairs to the one still alive, allowing the one who dies first to rest in peace."

"The last one, eternal companions, is a kind of friendship that only exists in fantasy. Literally, it means friends through life after life. But to reach that realm, both sides must first be sufficiently strong. You could say it is merely a concept."

Ye Qingcang refined the twenty-sixth soul bone.

Even Qian Renxue was only at the sworn brothers stage.

The final two stages were practically decorative.

"Is there a seventh kind of friend? For example..." Ning Rongrong blinked, fully displaying the charm of her Little Witch persona. "A girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend?" Ye Qingcang laughed as though he had heard a joke. "Girlfriend is merely a polite term. It does not belong in the sequence of friends, because I prefer to call a girlfriend a lover. Lovers have another set of standards. I cannot see your sincerity, and you cannot see my true intentions. Do you want to try?"

"Why not?" The Little Witch, who feared neither heaven nor earth, had her own advantage: she could boldly make a direct move.

Reservedness was a fine quality, but it could also be seen as waiting without sufficient capital, or as a means of raising one's value.

Ning Rongrong, who did not need reservedness to embellish her character, rejected what she disliked and admitted what she liked. Life was short, so why hesitate? "I have to consider whether this is the only chance I'll get in this lifetime!"

"Perhaps you should add another sentence..." Ye Qingcang refined the twenty-seventh soul bone and casually glanced at the crimson clouds on the horizon. "Restoring the glory of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is the duty of our generation."

"I didn't fall for you because of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!" Ning Rongrong turned her head disdainfully. "Who I like is my business. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might be able to dictate matters of my marriage—for example, that I cannot remain unmarried for life, that I must marry an auxiliary-system soul master, or marry a female assault-system soul master—but who I like and what my personality is like, not even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can decide!"

"Then what do you like about me?" Ye Qingcang uncovered another layer of truth. "The Magnetic Field Martial Path in the middle volume of the Stellar Martial Path can optimize one's own magnetic field. No one's magnetic field is absolutely harmonious, except those who cultivate the Magnetic Field Martial Path. What attracts you is not me, but my optimized magnetic field. It is like an ugly duckling instinctively admiring a white swan. I am not saying you are an ugly duckling, nor am I saying I am a white swan. I mean only one thing: perhaps what you like is the halo, not me as a person. If those halos were on someone else, perhaps you would like someone else..."

"But if you refuse to give me the chance to understand you, then all I can like is the halo!" Clever Ning Rongrong used Ye Qingcang's own theory to counter him. "It is wrong to judge others so arbitrarily. You cannot be certain that what I like is definitely the halo. Maybe I like you, but you have to give me a chance to understand you. If you do not, then I can only see those halos around you. It depends on whether you are willing to let me understand you!"

"I really like your bold argument!"

"No, I should say... I really like that brave heart of yours!"

Ye Qingcang laughed.

He was not someone who liked playing guessing games.

He handed the thirty-sixth soul bone in his hand to Violet.

He clapped his hands, and the alchemy array shattered.

Then he turned to Ning Rongrong.

He looked at the eldest daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

He did not make it too clear, merely offering a vague hint. "As a reward for your courage, I will give you an immortal herb that will benefit you. I will not stop you from getting to know me. After we return this time, there will be an opportunity for you to understand me. If you are willing, you can try to seize that opportunity, though it will be difficult, and though you may regret that choice..."

"I won't regret it."

"Even if I see your dark side."

It had to be said that Ning Rongrong truly deserved to be called the Little Witch who gave even Ning Fengzhi headaches. Her thoughts were not only difficult to grasp, but exceptionally sharp as well.

She could pick up subtle clues from just a few vague hints.

Among the three Shrek girls, Ning Rongrong probably had the deepest mind.

"Call them all back." Ye Qingcang patted the box filled with thirty-six soul bones and instructed Violet, "The soul bones are full, so there is no need to continue hunting. Maintain the ecological cycle. It is getting late too. Have them come back and distribute these, then prepare to depart tomorrow. I also have some things to explain."

"Yes."

Violet took out the Jade Seal Machine.

After fiddling with it a few times, she sent out the message.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Blue Tyrant Academy's teams had returned.

Ye Qingcang clapped his hands.

The chatting and laughing students quickly fell silent.

Two or three seconds later, the scene was completely quiet.

This also drew the attention of the groups from Tianshui Academy, Blazing Academy, Godwind Academy, and Spirit Hall, all of whom turned to look over.

"Thirty-six soul bones, thirty-six students."

"One for each person. Come up and collect them in order."

"Follow the rankings of the three lists, from top to bottom."

"Those not on the lists will collect according to Soul Power Level."

"Any objections?"

Ye Qingcang stated obvious things in a matter-of-fact tone. Yet even though the groups from Tianshui Academy, Blazing Academy, Godwind Academy, and Spirit Hall had already expected it, guessing that Ye Qingcang's command for these students to hunt soul beasts and extract soul bones could not be so simple, and that he might distribute a few to motivate the students, they had never expected him to be so generous. With one wave of his hand, he gave away all thirty-six Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones!

"Thirty-six Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones!" Yue Guan's eyes gleamed. He knew his own circumstances best. To this day, he did not have a single soul bone on him. The few soul bones he could buy were all thousand-year ones. If Dugu Bo was the weakest among Titled Douluo, then he was definitely the poorest among Titled Douluo. "Thirty-six of them, old ghost!"

Guimei understood Yue Guan's excitement.

Even with money, it was hard to find a suitable soul bone.

One issue was incompatible attributes.

What Yue Guan wanted was a soul bone from a plant-type soul beast.

Like Ah Yin's soul bone.

Giving him other types of soul bones would not suit him.

The other issue was age.

Soul bones and External Soul Bones were two different things. External Soul Bones could grow along with the soul master, but the upper limit of a soul bone was determined the moment it was produced.

Soul bones below ten thousand years were useless to Yue Guan.

Soul bones above ten thousand years would never fall into Yue Guan's hands.

Those who recognized their value had long since absorbed them.

Those who did not recognize their value did not know what they were.

Still, it was painful to watch something you could not have!

When Ye Qingcang selected a plant-type twenty-thousand-year soul bone that Yue Guan had dreamed of, Yue Guan stared at it as though he were looking at his wife... No, he did not have a wife, so that analogy was wrong. Rather, he looked at that soul bone like a dog looking at a bone, drooling with desire.

But Yue Guan had one good trait: he knew when to advance and when to retreat, and he understood proper limits!

Since Ye Qingcang had taken that soul bone, he did not dare try to seize it by force.

Besides, he did not have the strength to seize it by force.

Like Shui Bing'er, Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian, Hu Liena, and the others, he could only watch helplessly as these Blue Tyrant Academy students of commoner origin received their soul bones and entered their respective tents to begin absorbing them.

Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones that most Soul Sages did not even possess!

A group of soul masters in their twenties, thirties, and forties were being equipped with them!

Does Blue Tyrant Academy still accept students?

I want to join too and get a soul bone!

Compared with Ye Qingcang, Yue Guan immediately felt that his own leader, Bibi Dong, was no longer appealing. They were both God Trial Takers, but look at Ye Qingcang—how generous he was! No one here was ungrateful. It was no wonder the students he had nurtured with soul bone after soul bone worshipped him so much. Then look at Bibi Dong, who wanted the horse to run fast without feeding it grass. If Bibi Dong gave him a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, he would have no problem licking her feet!

However...

"A soul bone?" Yue Guan instinctively caught the Crystal Storage Box Ye Qingcang tossed over. He looked at Ye Qingcang in disbelief, his mind blank. "Th-this... what does this mean?"

"I will not let my friends suffer losses." Ye Qingcang waved his hand, leaving the entire Spirit Hall group stunned by his generosity. "Consider this soul bone payment and a deposit. As payment, it is compensation for Chrysanthemum Elder going against public opinion to support and escort Blue Tyrant Academy. As a deposit, I have a favor to ask of Chrysanthemum Elder. I would like Chrysanthemum Elder, Ghost Elder, and several people from Spirit Hall to accompany me somewhere. At that place, there will be another reward for the favor I need done."

"Chrysanthemum Grandpa, please accept it..." Hu Liena saw Yue Guan's hesitation. She shook Guimei's arm, signaling him to support Yue Guan. "Ghost Grandpa, what do you think?"

"Old chrysanthemum..." Guimei knew what Yue Guan was hesitating about. He was simply afraid Bibi Dong would hold him accountable. But since Hu Liena had already stepped forward to share the responsibility, he had to give his brother an opening. "They have put it that way. You are not going to refuse their goodwill, are you?"

"Then I shall accept it with gratitude!" Yue Guan stroked Hu Liena's head, silently remembering this favor. He did not count it as a favor owed to Ye Qingcang, because Ye Qingcang had just said that he would need his help after they arrived. Doing his utmost to handle that matter well would be the best repayment. "We will depart with Blue Tyrant Academy tomorrow morning!"

The groundwork was finally complete.

Writing this had been exhausting.

He had truly done everything he could to help Qian Renxue repair her relationship with her mother.