Leng Yaozhu's Invitation

But the feeling lasted only a moment. Or perhaps Tang Wulin was simply confused.

He had never met this girl, much less had any contact with her.

Yet an inexplicable ache weighed on his heart, as if something had gently closed around it. He could not say why.

Watching Gu Yue walk away, Xie Xie curled his lip and went straight to Li Qingyue's side.

He looked down at the White Rabbit soft candy in Li Qingyue's hand, clicked his tongue, then felt around in his trouser pocket.

When he found nothing, Xie Xie went over to his schoolbag and pulled out a large bag of candy.

The Xie Family had bought it from another province. Each piece was plump and wrapped in exquisite packaging.

Xie Xie shoved the whole bag into Li Qingyue's hands.

"Pfft. What's so great about one piece of candy? If you want candy, have mine," Xie Xie said with a little huff.

"My dad bought these while he was away. They're expensive—this bag alone cost several thousand Alliance coins. Her one piece can't compare."

That woman thinks she can win over our Li Qingyue with one White Rabbit soft candy? Dream on.

Not while I'm here.

Seeing how proud Xie Xie looked, Li Qingyue's eyes filled with helpless amusement, but he accepted the bag anyway.

Na'er came over too. She had stopped running, and her cheeks were slightly puffed with obvious annoyance.

Li Qingyue unwrapped one of Xie Xie's candies and held it gently to her lips.

He had meant to wait for Na'er to take it herself, but the little girl leaned forward instead.

Her soft, pale lips brushed his fingers as she took the candy into her mouth and quietly began to chew.

Only then did her mood seem to improve.

She said nothing, though she still pouted as she stood quietly behind Li Qingyue.

Time passed minute by minute. Wu Changkong returned about twenty minutes later.

Gu Yue followed behind him, walking calmly. Evidently, everything had gone smoothly.

Long Hengxu had little to say about Fifth Class's newest member. If she wanted to join, she could; it hardly concerned him.

Besides, although Gu Yue had reached the Second Ring, her records listed only one ring.

Long Hengxu did not know she had become a Two-Ring Soul Master, so he treated her as a One-Ring Soul Master.

It was a shame for a Soul Master above level fifteen to enter Fifth Class, but since she had asked to go there, he had no reason to stop her.

The students had finished running and were catching their breath when Wu Changkong walked over, calmly sweeping his gaze across them.

Truthfully, the class under his command could only be described as a force of strong horses and sturdy soldiers.

By talent alone, four or five of these children stood out.

The rest might lag a little behind, but they were certainly talented too.

Wu Changkong could hardly imagine how First Class might beat his class.

He knew First Class's three students. Three Two-Ring Soul Masters were impressive, but his own class now had four.

And every one of these children was formidable. Not a single one would be easy to handle.

At that thought, Wu Changkong shook his head with a helpless smile.

Sometimes, his students' astonishing talent left too little room for him to show what he could do as their teacher.

Not that Wu Changkong minded much.

After gathering the children for their morning lessons, he let them go about their own business.

They did not have many lessons at present. During the class advancement competition, they had almost none.

Daily lessons had been suspended for the past two days to make room for special training for the competition.

That evening, Wu Changkong took only the three competing students to train, a rare occurrence.

Aside from Xie Xie, who went to training, Na'er, Gu Yue, and Li Qingyue had nothing to do.

That evening, however, Li Qingyue received a message from Leng Yaozhu.

Li Qingyue always made time for his biggest angel investor.

So when Leng Yaozhu arrived and asked him to meet her at the Spirit Pagoda, he agreed.

Her sudden arrival did not surprise him much.

By his reckoning, she should have taken Gu Yue as her disciple around this time.

The original timeline had clearly changed, but it seemed that Leng Yaozhu taking Gu Yue as her disciple had remained unchanged.

Li Qingyue could also make a fair guess at why she wanted to see him.

His relationship with Leng Yaozhu was unusual—so unusual that even he found it hard to define.

He could hardly call them relatives. More than three generations separated their bloodlines, far beyond any close or collateral family tie.

Given how much Leng Yaozhu valued his background and the talent he had shown, taking him as her disciple would be the best way to keep a hold on him.

Making him her disciple too would give her the most direct, effective means of doing so.

And since Leng Xiaoyue had left, Leng Yaozhu knew nothing about how Li Qingyue was living now. Naturally, that made her even less at ease.

So Li Qingyue had a good idea why she had summoned him.

He did not object. Leng Yaozhu might not have saved his life, but the resources she had provided were the main reason he had been able to live here so freely all these years.

Li Qingyue had never forgotten that kindness, so he did not refuse.

When he went out that evening, he spotted Gu Yue waiting quietly.

Unlike the girl in school uniform that morning, Gu Yue now wore black jeans and a blue long-sleeved top.

Her eyes were as cool as ever, like a deep, icy pool whose bottom could not be seen.

If she had worn the face that truly belonged to Gu Yuena, a single glance would have lifted anyone's spirits.

Yet even with her present delicate features, her aloof, cool bearing gave her the forbidding air of an iceberg.

Gu Yue gave Li Qingyue a slight nod when he arrived.

She said little. Facing this boy now left her with deeply tangled feelings.

He held too many secrets for her to grasp. She could not tell what else he was hiding from her, or what he ought to have told her.

So Gu Yue found herself torn. She wanted to know more about Li Qingyue, yet she had to remain wary of him and keep him from discovering her identity and her other secrets.

Those feelings tangled together until her thoughts were almost impossibly knotted.

Even now, she did not know how to deal with him.

Gu Yue said nothing to Li Qingyue as they got into the car and it slowly drove toward the Spirit Pagoda.

But every so often, she stole a glance through the rearview mirror at the quiet boy beside her, watching his gentle expression.