On the morning of the fourth day, Xu Tianming changed into a light golden fitted outfit and left Mo Mang Palace.
The morning mist over Mingdu had yet to fully disperse.
A silver-white soul engineering carriage was parked outside the eastern gate of the imperial palace. Its body was wider than an ordinary carriage, its exterior engraved with intricate soul tool formations. A dark gold emblem of the Hall of Virtue adorned each door, while a long, slender detection antenna mounted on the roof slowly rotated.
A middle-aged man stood beside the carriage.
His silver-white hair fell to his waist, smooth strands carrying a faint golden sheen. He looked to be around forty, with fair skin, a high nose bridge, and narrow ice-blue eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners, giving him a shrewd air.
He wore a loose, open-fronted dark purple robe, its hem embroidered with subtle gold-and-red toad patterns. A purple-gold jade belt circled his waist, and a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer badge hung over his left chest.
A single gold-rimmed monocle rested over his left eye. His gaze behind the lens was calm, yet concealed a hint of sharpness. He was Jing Hongchen, master of the Hall of Virtue and headmaster of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
When he saw Xu Tianming approach, Jing Hongchen revealed a gentle smile.
"Junior Brother, you're here."
"Greetings, Senior Brother. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Not at all. I only just arrived as well."
Jing Hongchen sized Xu Tianming up.
Xu Tianming had golden hair and red eyes, with a handsome face. He stood straight-backed in the morning breeze, without the slightest hint of a child's restlessness. Such composure was indeed rare among children his age.
No wonder Master had accepted him as a disciple. He truly was impressive.
Jing Hongchen was about to speak when the soul engineering carriage's window was suddenly pushed open from within, and a fluffy white head poked out.
It was a little white-haired girl with a high side ponytail. A large ice-blue bow was pinned in her hair, and her big aqua-blue eyes stared curiously at Xu Tianming.
"Grandpa, is this His Highness the Seventh Prince?"
"Xiao Meng, mind your manners."
Jing Hongchen raised a hand and pushed her back inside.
The little girl ignored her grandfather. Her gaze lingered on Xu Tianming's face for several seconds before she blurted out—
"He's really good-looking."
The air fell silent for a moment. Jing Hongchen rubbed his forehead, while another voice drifted from inside the carriage, carrying a touch of helplessness.
"Meng Hongchen, can you watch what you say?"
"I'm just telling the truth!"
"Keep your truth to yourself."
The carriage door opened, and Meng Hongchen hopped down first.
She wore a short white shirt trimmed with ice-blue along the collar, a large purple bow pinned at her chest, a light-blue pleated skirt, white knee-high socks, and little leather shoes that clicked crisply against the ground.
The morning sunlight fell over her, making her palm-sized face look especially fair and clean. Her aqua-blue eyes sparkled, and she looked like an icy grape freshly pulled from the water.
Xu Tianming glanced at her. Meng Hongchen beamed and, without the slightest reserve around strangers, walked straight up to him.
At that moment, the carriage door opened again, and a silver-white-haired boy with short, medium-length hair stepped down. He was Meng Hongchen's older brother, Xiao Hongchen.
His hair was soft and fluffy, his side-swept bangs concealing half his face. His features were so beautiful they were almost androgynous, while his long, narrow eyes were sharp.
Most striking were his eyes. His right eye was ice-blue, his left emerald green, with faint golden lines around the edges of his pupils.
He wore a white stand-collar shirt tied with a purple ribbon at the neck, layered beneath a fitted dark purple jacket with gold-trimmed cuffs.
After getting down, he first lowered his head to straighten his cuffs before looking up at Xu Tianming.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Seventh Prince."
His tone was proper, neither ingratiating nor disrespectful.
The eight-year-old boy stood before Xu Tianming with his back straight, a faint trace of self-assurance in his eyes. He was not arrogant, but he was not easy to approach either.
Meng Hongchen had already spun around once before coming over again.
"Your Highness, how old are you?"
"Six."
"Then I'm two years older than you. I'm eight."
Meng Hongchen puffed out her chest as if she had gained some great advantage.
"Then shouldn't you call me Big Sister?"
Xu Tianming looked at her.
"Big Sister Meng."
The moment those three words left his mouth, Meng Hongchen froze on the spot.
She clearly had not expected Xu Tianming to say it so readily. Her aqua-blue eyes instantly lit up as she turned to Xiao Hongchen.
"Brother, did you hear that? His Highness called me Big Sister!"
"I heard."
"He really called me that."
"I'm not deaf."
Xiao Hongchen had a bit of a headache. Meng Hongchen clearly had no intention of stopping. She circled halfway around Xu Tianming before asking again.
"Your Highness, what's your Martial Soul?"
"The Sun."
"The Sun? Is it the Sun Martial Soul inherited by the imperial family?"
"Yes."
"When you cultivate, do you glow all over?"
"A little."
"Wouldn't that be really bright? Can you suppress it?"
"Yes."
"Then aren't you hot all the time?"
"A little."
"Then what do you do in summer?"
"...I haven't thought about that."
Xiao Hongchen finally could not listen any longer.
"Meng Hongchen, can you say a little less?"
"How have I said that much?"
"You haven't stopped talking since we met."
"That's because I have things to talk about with His Highness."
"He's His Highness. What could he possibly have so much to talk about with you?"
"How do you know he doesn't want to talk to me?"
Xiao Hongchen opened his mouth, but failed to come up with a response. After a moment of silence, he resigned himself to leaning back against the carriage and looked at Xu Tianming.
"Please forgive her, Your Highness."
"It's fine."
Xu Tianming said, "It's quite lively."
Xiao Hongchen paused slightly.
He had originally thought that imperial children would all put on airs. Especially this Seventh Prince, who was said to be Master Kong's newly accepted disciple, possessed of extraordinary talent and also the emperor's own son. Whenever he went out, he should at least have a squad of guards accompanying him.
Yet Xu Tianming only had two ordinary attendants at his side. He spoke without any airs, and as he stood in the morning breeze while his younger sister chattered around him, asking question after question, he actually answered every one.
Xiao Hongchen looked at Xu Tianming, then at his own sister, and felt something he could not quite put into words.
This prince... seemed rather different from what he had imagined.
Jing Hongchen had not spoken the entire time.
He stood to the side, watching the three children go back and forth with a faint smile on his face. Once they had talked enough, he finally said, "Get in. We can talk on the way."
The four of them entered the soul engineering carriage.
The interior was far more spacious than it looked from outside. The seats were covered in soft leather, and a small table by the window held a pot of tea and several plates of pastries. Jing Hongchen sat in the front row with his eyes closed, resting.
Xu Tianming sat by the window. Meng Hongchen naturally took the seat opposite him, while Xiao Hongchen sat beside Meng Hongchen.
Once the carriage started moving, it traveled along Mingdu's main road toward the outskirts. Meng Hongchen's attention still had not left Xu Tianming.
"Your Highness, how did you become Master Kong's disciple?"
"After Master saw my Martial Soul, he decided to accept me himself."
"Master Kong personally accepted you as his disciple?"
Meng Hongchen's eyes grew even brighter.
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