My Second Brother Is Xue Qinghe
Doro peeked out from behind the wall, wiggling his round body as he walked over to Xue Beng. He looked down at the Fourth Prince, whose eyes were rolling back and whose face was swollen like a pig's head, then pulled an Ju Zi from under his belly, broke it open, and stuffed a segment into Xue Beng's mouth.
"Want another one?" Doro handed over another segment of Ju Zi, blinking his big purple eyes, his tone incredibly sincere.
The Xue Beng recoiled violently as if it had seen a ghost, its back slamming against the broken bricks, causing it to grimace in pain. As it crawled backward, it stammered through its swollen, distorted mouth, "You... you stay away... My father is the Xue Ye! If you dare kill me, the Heaven Dou Empire will not let you get away with it!"
Jiang Lan walked up to him, squatted down, and tilted her head to look at him. In Xue Beng's eyes, the dark gold bodysuit looked like a Little Monster wearing human skin, and his black eyes were round and bright, but there was no warmth in them.
"Do you know who my older brother is?" Jiang Lan asked.
The Xue Beng shook its head frantically, its head bobbing like a rattle drum.
"My eldest brother is the Sea God," Jiang Lan said. "My second brother is Xue Qinghe."
Xue Beng's expression froze.
He couldn't listen to anything about the Sea God Sea God, but the name Xue Qinghe was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.
His elder brother, Xue Qinghe, is the current Crown Prince, a gentle and refined prince known to everyone in the entire Heaven Dou Empire, and also the person he has dared not offend the most over the years.
Everyone in the court knew how close Xue Qinghe was to the Emperor.
The Fourth Prince's domineering behavior outside was something he feared most, especially if it reached Xue Qinghe's ears.
Now, this kid who punched him flying is actually calling Xue Qinghe "Second Brother"?
"You... you're talking nonsense! How could Brother Qinghe have a brother like you!" Xue Beng's voice was sharp and shrill, like a rooster crowing while someone was choking it.
"Go ask him if you don't believe me." Jiang Lan shrugged, giving him a "believe it or not" look. "Oh, by the way, I haven't told you yet, these three sisters aren't ordinary people either. When you get back, you can investigate who the most favored young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is. After you've done that, you'll know what you were thinking earlier."
Xue Beng's gaze unconsciously swept towards Ning Rongrong, Ning Rongrong snorted coldly and turned her face away, exuding an innate air of nobility.
"You, you wait..." Xue Beng struggled to get up, but his whole body ached as if he had been run over twice by a carriage. His legs gave way and he fell back down.
Jiang Lan turned around and walked towards Xiao Wu and the other two, her cloak swirling gracefully behind her.
He walked over to Xiao Wu, straightened his back, and said, "Let's go, I'll treat you to milk tea to calm your nerves."
Xiao Wu nodded, and the gloom on her face dissipated considerably.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing followed behind him. As they passed the Xue Beng, Ning Rongrong deliberately stopped and added with a smile, "Your Highness, my name is Ning Rongrong. My father is Ning Fengzhi, the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School. If you want to make a big fuss about today, my father will definitely accompany you to the end."
Xue Beng's face turned completely pale.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... Ning Fengzhi... the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who even his father, the Emperor, had to give him some face.
What kind of people did he mess with today?
Jiang Lan turned around and waved to Doro. Doro popped the last segment of Ju Zi into his mouth and jogged after him.
On the way back, Ning Rongrong hugged Jiang Lan and asked curiously, "Little Guga, how did you know we were in trouble?"
Jiang Lan scratched his head and said, "I just happened to be passing by when I heard a noise over here, so I came to see what was going on."
"Just passing by?" Ning Rongrong stared at him with a hint of disbelief, but she didn't stop walking, still holding Jiang Lan in her arms as if afraid he would get lost.
Jiang Lan shifted in Ning Rongrong's arms, adjusting to a comfortable position, and continued to ramble, "Yeah, I originally brought Doro out to buy Ju Zi, but then I turned a corner and heard someone shouting 'Come on, arrest him!' I thought that voice sounded so irritating, so I came over to see who was bullying someone."
Doro followed behind, a half-eaten Ju Zi peel dangling from his mouth, and mumbled a name as a kind of testimony.
Xiao Wu's eyes were still red. She reached out and poked Jiang Lan's forehead. "You're just bragging. Coming out to buy Ju Zi in broad daylight, wearing a Penguin Suit and running around the streets, who would believe you just happened to be passing by?"
"I want to wear it!" Jiang Lan puffed out her chest, then glanced at Xiao Wu as if remembering something. She noticed that although Xiao Wu was smiling, there was still a hint of lingering sadness in her eyes. So she reached out her little hand and gently patted the back of Xiao Wu's hand. "Sister Xiao Wu, don't be sad. I'll make you a super sweet bubble tea later, the kind that'll make you stick to your chair."
Xiao Wu chuckled and sniffed, "Then I'll add coconut jelly too."
"Add! Add double!" Jiang Lan waved his hand generously.
Zhu Zhuqing followed quietly to the side, her gaze fixed on the little one being held by Ning Rongrong.
When she saw Jiang Lan activate his third Soul Skill, she tensed up completely. The oppressive aura emanating from his dark gold battle suit was ten times stronger than that of all the guards from Xue Beng combined.
In the blink of an eye, the Little Monster who punched the fourth prince away has turned back into the penguin doll nestled in the girl's arms, begging for milk.
The contrast is so stark it's almost surreal.
The four people and one soul returned to Honey Snow Ice City, where it was the busiest time of day at noon.
The eight robots were busy making a racket, and the line was surprisingly long.
Originally there were four robots, Jiang Lan made four more in the past few days, which is just enough to experience Honey Snow Ice City.
The four people and one soul entered the Honey Snow Ice City's back courtyard through the back door, avoiding the crowded front hall.
The old locust tree in the courtyard had been renovated by Jiang Lan; strings of colorful little lanterns hung from its branches, jingling and clanging in the wind.
In the corner stood a newly made stone table and several bamboo chairs. On the table were a few small tin toys, which Jiang Lan used to entertain Doro when she had nothing else to do.
As soon as Xiao Wu entered the backyard, she relaxed, found a bamboo chair, sat down, rested her hands on her knees, and stared blankly at the wildflowers in the corner of the yard.
She was in a much better mood than before, but she looked a little tired.
"Little Guga, can I stay here for a while?" Xiao Wu suddenly spoke up. "I don't want to go back to the Blue Tyrant Academy. At least not for the next few days."
Jiang Lan was standing on tiptoe to straighten the tin dog on the stone table when she heard this, and without turning her head, she said, "Sure, stay as long as you want."
Xiao Wu paused for a moment, then looked up at him.
She had prepared a whole host of reasons, but in the end, she couldn't use any of them.
The little thing in the Penguin Suit agreed so readily that she was a little taken aback.
"I can stay here, but there are conditions." Jiang Lan turned her head and held up one finger, "You have to taste the new milk tea flavors for me every day. I'm currently developing strawberry mochi boba and cheese grape Bingbing, and I'm having trouble finding taste testers."
"No problem, I drink it every day." Xiao Wu laughed, her eyes curving into two crescent moons. In that instant, it seemed as if the gloom of the past few days had been washed away.
"We're going to stay here too," Ning Rongrong suddenly said, still holding Doro in her arms.