Crushing Qian Zong

Realizing she had been rude, Ling Yuan straightened, placed a hand before her chest, and bowed.

"Ling Yuan greets the two Titled Douluo. May I ask who you are?"

"You're a fine young lady. Take good care of Zong'er."

Guang Ling nodded with a smile, then vanished before Ling Yuan's eyes.

"Don't wander off, young lady. Someone will come for you shortly."

With that reminder, Azure Luan's figure faded away as well.

Ling Yuan extended her senses. Unable to detect either Titled Douluo's presence, she was left scratching her head.

"Are Titled Douluo all so fond of helping strangers these days?" Ling Yuan shook her head and let the thought go. "Good thing they weren't enemies. Even I would struggle against two Titled Douluo at once."

She felt the fluctuations of her Soul Power again, grinning almost from ear to ear.

"I thought it would take at least another two months to reach level 89. I never expected to break through so soon."

Ling Yuan turned to share the good news, then froze. Qian Renxue was gone.

"Where's the young mistress...?"

She stood there, staring blankly at the empty space behind her.

A cold wind swept through the alley and brushed her face, clearing her head a little.

"Those two Titled Douluo must have taken the young mistress away. In that case, I'll wait here.

"If someone comes for me, the young mistress should be safe.

"If no one comes..."

Ling Yuan did not dare finish the thought.

If no one came, she would face Spirit Hall's harshest punishment.

Martial Soul Library.

Qian Renxue had resumed her disguise as Xue Qinghe.

She straightened her clothes and sat down across from Qian Zong.

"Zong'er, did anything happen while I was away?"

Qian Zong shook his head. "Nothing much. How did things go between you and Bibi Dong, Ancestor?"

Qian Renxue lowered her gaze, her hand drifting toward her left cheek.

The finger marks had long since faded, but she would never forget that piercing pain.

In Bibi Dong's heart, she mattered less than a man who had deceived her.

The thought brought a wave of dejection over Qian Renxue.

"When your ancestor steps in, how could she fail?" Qian Renxue lowered her hand and forced a smile. "I'll be going now. Rest up and let your injuries heal, Zong'er."

"I see. So you got slapped, Ancestor."

Qian Renxue stopped in her tracks. Shocked as she was, she betrayed nothing on her face.

She raised her chin proudly. "She's just a big fool. Where would she find the nerve to slap me? Don't let your imagination run wild, dear grandson."

Qian Zong smiled and pointed at her right cheek. "Ancestor, your face is still red."

Qian Renxue hurriedly covered her right cheek.

Her lie exposed, she could no longer keep up the act. She said, sounding thoroughly aggrieved,

"Hmph! She's awful! I was trying to help her, but she slapped me for the sake of a man who fooled her so completely she might as well have been born yesterday. I hate her!"

"Pfft~"

The sight of Qian Renxue acting like a little girl made Qian Zong grin uncontrollably.

Was this really the noble, cool Qian Renxue from the animation?

"What are you laughing at, dear grandson?" Qian Renxue turned on him, closed the distance in two steps, and pinched his cheeks, pulling them outward. "You're awful too. Let me show you what your ancestor can do."

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Ancestor, I was wrong."

"Your ancestor wasn't wrong. You were."

"Right, right. You're right, Ancestor. I was wrong."

Qian Zong did not dare fight back and begged for mercy over and over.

After kneading his cheeks, Qian Renxue felt a little less miserable.

While she was distracted, Qian Zong twisted his head out of her clutches, edged half a step back, and covered his cheeks with both hands.

"You're too brutal, Ancestor. I'm injured!"

"It was your idea. Now I've been bullied, and you're laughing at me. If I don't hit you, who should I hit?"

"Heh heh heh..."

"You're still laughing!" Qian Renxue reached for him again.

Qian Zong had learned his lesson. He hopped backward, neatly dodging her hand.

Qian Renxue refused to give up and trotted after him.

In the blink of an eye, she had backed him into a dead end.

With a bookshelf behind him and nowhere to dodge, he hurried to explain. "You've misunderstood, Ancestor. I was laughing because Bibi Dong cares about you."

Qian Renxue planted her hands against the bookshelf on either side of his head and looked straight at him. "What makes you say that? Dear grandson, you aren't making fun of me, are you?"

Warm breaths brushed Qian Zong's face, mingled with the faint fragrance of a young woman.

For a moment, his thoughts strayed.

Nearly six hundred generations separate us. That's far beyond even the third generation and fifth degree of kinship. Qian Renxue and I can't count as close relatives, can we?

By the standards of mortal kingdoms, they would not even count as distant relatives, let alone close ones.

But this was Douluo Continent, a world that could just about be called fantasy, where ancestral bloodlines could reawaken.

Part of the reason Qian Renxue trusted him unconditionally was that Qian Zong's bloodline had returned to its ancestral roots.

And that ancestor was Qian Renxue after she became a god.

Forget it. I haven't accomplished anything important yet. I can't let romance hold me back.

Qian Zong shook his head, driving away the stray thoughts.

"We're of one mind, Ancestor. Why would I lie to you?"

His expression turned serious as he said with conviction,

"With your mother's temperament, anyone else who insulted Yu Xiaogang to her face would have their whole clan wiped out in the next instant.

"But you didn't just insult Yu Xiaogang. You argued so fiercely that you nearly shattered her convictions, and she still didn't really do anything to you.

"That shows how important you are to her."

Qian Renxue recalled what had happened in the Papal Hall, nodding now and then.

He might actually have a point.

"All right. I believe you." Qian Renxue withdrew her arms and stood before him, straightening his collar. "Next time, tell me sooner, dear grandson. I wouldn't want to hurt you by mistake."

Qian Renxue had calmly accepted her role as Qian Zong's ancestor.

There was nothing embarrassing about being her dear grandson's ancestor.

Qian Zong nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "You're right, Ancestor."

Qian Renxue was very pleased. Thinking back on his words, she turned her right cheek slightly and asked, "Is there still a mark on my face?"

"Uh..." Qian Zong said meekly, "Ancestor, it's your left cheek."

Qian Renxue paused. Recalling Bibi Dong's slap, she realized it had indeed landed on her left cheek. She frowned. "Didn't you say it was my right?"

"Heh heh heh..." Qian Zong gave her a polite but awkward smile.

Qian Renxue stiffened. Then, realizing what he had done, she pinched his cheeks again and pulled hard. "You little scoundrel! You even lied to your ancestor."

"I was wrong, I was wrong! I really was wrong this time, Ancestor." Qian Zong wanted to cry but had no tears.

He had only been running his mouth. How could he have known Qian Renxue herself could not remember which cheek had been slapped?

That was even more ridiculous than being blinded by love.

After they played around for a while, Qian Renxue was in excellent spirits. The gloom between her brows had vanished.

"Dear grandson, I've stayed here too long. I'll be leaving now.

"But I've prepared an adulthood gift package for you. Remember to accept it when it arrives."

Qian Renxue smiled mysteriously, then left the private study.

Qian Zong paid her gift no mind. He crouched in a corner and gently rubbed his reddened cheeks with both hands, trying to ease the pain.

An adulthood gift package? How boring. We're both freeloaders. What good stuff could you possibly have? Now, if you stripped off all your Soul Bones and gave them to me, that would be something. Qian Zong grumbled to himself.

After all, both his resources and Qian Renxue's came from the Worship Hall. Neither of them had much treasure of their own.