The next morning, the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon.
With the Heaven Dou Empire's affairs of state and the Imperial Knights' military business to attend to, Qian Renxue left for the palace early.
Before leaving, she reminded Meng Chen over and over to stay in the Crown Prince's Residence and recuperate, and ordered the maids and guards to be at his beck and call.
Inside his room, Meng Chen sat cross-legged on the cushioned white jade couch, blood energy surging through his body.
"Phew..."
Meng Chen exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes.
By now, the first blood energy seal had stabilized, and its immense power was continuously tempering his muscles, bones, skin, and membranes.
Beyond the first seal, the second was showing faint signs of loosening.
According to the inherited memories, when the second Golden Dragon King Seal breaks, the blood energy surge will multiply in intensity. If my body isn't strong enough, that violent Dragon King divine power could very well backlash and damage my meridians...
Meng Chen propped up his chin, quietly considering his options.
Breaking through the second seal and enduring its power would require extremely rare, potent body-tempering medicinal herbs, along with powerful medicines to fortify his foundation and replenish his vitality.
Although heavenly treasures were piled mountain-high in the Crown Prince's Residence, Qian Renxue was meticulous. If he requested a large quantity of exceptionally fierce body-tempering herbs all at once, she would inevitably grow suspicious.
The best option is still to find them myself.
Having made up his mind, Meng Chen sprang down from the couch.
He changed into a lightweight, understated platinum-colored brocade robe made from fine fabric. With the hefty stack of Gold Soul Coin cards Qian Renxue had pressed upon him tucked away, he slipped out of the Crown Prince's Residence on his short little legs.
Traffic streamed along Heaven Dou City's bustling main shopping street, and voices filled the air.
Today, however, an exceptionally eye-catching sight had appeared in the marketplace.
Whether they were peddlers and laborers or finely dressed noble young ladies, almost everyone's gaze was drawn at once to a small figure strolling leisurely down the middle of the street.
The little boy looked about five or six, with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and fair, tender skin. His exquisite little face seemed sculpted from jade and dusted with pink, radiating an inborn nobility and grace.
But the most unfair part-the thing everyone longed to touch-was the pair of fluffy rabbit ears standing atop his soft, short black hair, gleaming with a faint, warm golden sheen!
As he walked, those adorable little ears bobbed along. Paired with his large, innocent eyes, he looked just like a little bunny that had strayed into the mortal world, instantly piercing the hearts of countless young women and wives along the way!
"Heavens... whose little young master is that? He's just too adorable!"
"I want to go over and hug him and stroke those little ears!"
"Ooh, darling, look at that little boy! His cuteness is going to melt my heart!"
Feeling the burning gazes directed at him from all around, Meng Chen's mouth twitched. He could not help reaching up to press down the uncontrollable golden rabbit ears on his head.
For some reason, perhaps due to the influence of the Golden Dragon King bloodline after he broke the first seal, his martial soul mutation had grown more severe.
The rabbit ears he had once been able to retract freely could now only stay hidden for brief periods, remaining visible most of the time.
Wonderful. He was turning every single head, and it was honestly becoming more than he could handle.
Meng Chen greased his heels and vanished from the main thoroughfare in a flash, relying on his nimble footwork. He then hurried through the noisy streets and arrived at the Benevolent Heart Apothecary.
"Finally here."
Meng Chen entered the apothecary's spacious hall.
The hall was spacious and tranquil, with rows of rosewood medicine cabinets several meters tall arranged neatly throughout. Several Ye Family medicine attendants in pale blue-green dresses were quietly checking prescriptions at the counter, completely oblivious to this returning "big spender."
Meanwhile, in a secluded seating area farther inside, two girls wearing the uniforms of the Heaven Dou Royal Junior Soul Master Academy were enjoying a little get-together.
One was about twelve, her figure already beginning to show a young girl's graceful curves. She had neatly cropped dark purple hair and deep green eyes that glinted with an uncanny allure and pride. She was Dugu Bo's own granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
The girl sitting opposite her was also about twelve. Her black hair fell like a waterfall, and a thin black veil covered her face, revealing only clear eyes like autumn waters. She exuded a chilly, lonely air that kept strangers at a distance. She was Ye Lingling, inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia.
"Lingling, Grandpa insisted that the serpent poison in my body has been getting restless lately. He forced me to come to your family's apothecary for 'Ice Congealing Grass' to bathe in. I'm practically pickled through!"
Dugu Yan rested her cheek in one hand, utterly bored.
Ye Lingling raised her teacup and took a small sip before speaking calmly in her cool voice.
"Grandpa Dugu is doing it for your health. The sooner the backlash from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison is suppressed, the safer you'll be."
As they chatted, Dugu Yan casually glanced toward the entrance with her emerald eyes. She suddenly froze, her voice cutting off.
"Yanyan, what's wrong?"
Puzzled, Ye Lingling followed her gaze.
Even with her habitually cold and withdrawn temperament, Ye Lingling could not help staring for a moment.
An adorable little boy, as delicately sculpted as pink-tinted jade, had walked into the apothecary.
His head was tilted slightly upward as he earnestly studied the labels for expensive, rare herbs on the medicine cabinets. The fluffy golden rabbit ears atop his head quivered gently with his movements.
"H-heavens!"
Dugu Yan's faintly haughty expression crumbled in an instant. Stars filled her eyes, and she even swallowed involuntarily.
"What a... soft, adorable... little boy! Lingling, look at those ears! Are they real? They're so fluffy..."
Although twelve-year-old Dugu Yan was fiery and arrogant, she was still a little girl at heart. Against something this fluffy and explosively cute, she had absolutely no resistance.
Before Ye Lingling could stop her, Dugu Yan sprang to her feet and rushed straight over to Meng Chen in a few quick strides.
"Hi, little brother!"
A figure carrying a faint waft of perfume suddenly blocked Meng Chen's path.
Startled, Meng Chen instinctively took half a step back and looked up.
Before him was a lovely face that still held a trace of childishness but already possessed a spirited air. Her purple hair was particularly striking, and her deep green eyes stared unblinkingly at him, brimming with fervor.
Not far behind her, another girl with a black veil and a cool demeanor slowly approached. Though she said nothing, her beautiful eyes also rested on Meng Chen, filled with undisguised wonder and curiosity.
Could these two be Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling?
Something stirred in Meng Chen's heart. He recognized these two famous young prodigies of the Heaven Dou Empire at a glance.
By his reckoning, they were only twelve now, still young girls.
Before Meng Chen could speak, Dugu Yan had already crouched down with sparkling eyes until she was at his eye level, rubbing her hands together as though itching to reach out.
"Wow, your skin looks even nicer up close! What's your name, little brother? Are those ears your martial soul? Can I... touch them?"
Even as she spoke, this fiery girl showed no sense of fair play. Her wicked little hands had already landed on Meng Chen's fluffy golden rabbit ears with the speed of a thunderclap that left no time to cover one's ears!
"Mm!"
His rabbit ears were naturally sensitive. The moment the girl's cool, slender fingertips gave them a gentle rub, Meng Chen shuddered uncontrollably. A faint blush instantly spread across his little face, and he hastily pulled away, flustered enough to turn angry.
"Hey! Boys and girls shouldn't touch so freely! Why are you getting so handsy?"
"Pfft..."
Seeing Meng Chen shield his ears like a startled little animal, his cheeks slightly puffed out in an adorably fierce expression-
Dugu Yan laughed so hard she shook like a flowering branch, and even Ye Lingling could not keep the corners of her lips from curving upward beneath her black veil.
"All right, all right, I was wrong. I'm sorry, okay?"
Grinning, Dugu Yan withdrew her hands.
She tilted her head and studied Meng Chen curiously, then glanced around the enormous apothecary hall before asking in puzzlement.
"But, little brother, why isn't there an adult with you... what are you doing at the Benevolent Heart Apothecary all by yourself? Are you sick? Or did you want to buy some medicine?"
Before you continue