Old Man, Drop Some Gold

Still, he had to admit that getting on familiar terms with Mu En came with plenty of benefits.

As long as he was alive, he remained Shrek Academy's strongest Soul Master, as well as the supreme authority of the vested-interest group known as Shrek.

Mu En thought Ye Qing had no idea who he was. But Ye Qing had read the original novel, and one glimpse of Mu En's signature wheelchair had been enough to confirm his identity without any probing.

In truth, Mu En had not approached Ye Qing entirely without an agenda. He had personally examined the state of Ye Qing's soul back then, and as a Limit Douluo, he was certain his judgment could not have been wrong.

"Spend more time basking in the Golden Tree's light" had been a suggestion based on his understanding of the Golden Tree.

Yet when Ye Qing's soul actually recovered, the old man was surprised.

Damage to a soul that severe could actually heal?

Out of curiosity, when Mu En happened upon Ye Qing fishing one day, he had Yan Shaozhe get him a fishing rod too. He observed Ye Qing's condition while basking in the sun and enjoying a leisurely life.

Although he ultimately discovered nothing, he did grow fond of this way of passing the time.

As for Ye Qing...

After spending a year learning Douluo's language and another year and a half finishing the Douluo Enlightenment Record, he had absolutely nothing left to do.

He was only five now, and without having awakened his Martial Soul, he could not cultivate either. With such a huge lake right outside his door every day, was it really strange for a fishing enthusiast to come over and cast a line a few times?

And so, an old man and a young boy became fishing buddies. It was quite a dramatic turn of events.

If someone said Ye Qing wanted to cling to a powerful patron's thigh, he really could not deny it. In Shrek as it stood, Mu En was the only person with any discernment. He held immense authority and possessed formidable strength. Aside from not having long left to live, he had practically no shortcomings.

Even Ye Qing's great-grandfather worked under him. Whenever Ye Feng saw Mu En, he had to respectfully address him as Elder Mu.

I'm a Shrek Celestial Dragon with impeccable roots now too. A powerful thigh has practically planted itself in front of me-how could I not grab on?

Besides, if anything goes wrong with the reward I picked after winning my resurrection match, I might need this powerful patron to lend a hand.

Given Mu En's power and authority, he might genuinely shield Ye Qing. He had even let Ye Xishui go, after all. If Ye Qing gave him the impression from the start that he was harmless and obedient...

Hey, wouldn't that put a nice, sturdy thigh right within reach!

The sun gradually sank toward the west. Their buckets filled with fish, then were emptied, then filled again. Neither of them was after the fish; they enjoyed the thrill of getting a bite. Naturally, the fish were all eventually released back into Sea God Lake.

Still, to prove he had not come home empty-handed, Ye Qing kept one large fish. He threaded some Blue Silver Grass through its gills and hung it to one side, planning to take it home later and have the old man grill it for him.

Seeing the sun sinking lower, Ye Qing stood and stretched. After saying a word to Mu En, he began packing up the fishing gear.

This was how they usually spent time together. They fished until sunset, then went their separate ways. Ye Qing generally only needed to help Mu En pack up his fishing gear; everything else was none of his concern.

He had offered to wheel Mu En back before, but Mu En had declined with a smile. Perhaps because he did not want to reveal his identity, they always left separately.

Today, however, Mu En struck up a conversation.

"Child, you're five this year, aren't you?" Mu En asked, smiling at Ye Qing.

"Yes, five. I can awaken my Martial Soul next year." Ye Qing nodded as he replied, his hands still busy.

"I have a grandson named Bei Bei. He's five this year too. If you get the chance, the two of you should spend some time together. Children the same age always have more to talk about."

Ye Qing looked up in surprise, nearly dropping the bait in his hands.

Bei Bei?

In the two and a half years he had lived at Shrek Academy, Ye Qing had never encountered any characters from the original novel. Even though he lived in the inner court, everyone he met was unfamiliar. He had thought he had arrived too early, but apparently he was not all that early?

Bei Bei is five too? We're the same age?

Seeing Ye Qing staring blankly, Mu En assumed he was unused to playing with others. After all, over the past two and a half years, he had noticed that Ye Qing pretty much kept to himself. He was either learning to read under a teacher's guidance or fishing by Sea God Lake.

"Don't worry, child. My grandson has a very nice disposition. I'm sure you'll become good friends." Mu En chuckled.

"Sure, sounds good!" Ye Qing nodded, ready to get acquainted with the Tang Sect's future senior brother.

Although he had no interest whatsoever in joining a lousy organization like the Tang Sect, that did not stop him from making friends. He was already a Shrek Celestial Dragon, which meant he could practically swagger around unchallenged during the Peerless Tang Sect era. Naturally, the more friends he had, the better.

It was not for any other reason-he just wanted to make sure that whenever trouble struck, he could arrange a righteous group beating.

But come to think of it, didn't this generation of the Shrek Seven Devils all end up joining the Tang Sect?

Then that's a dead end. Ordinary friends at most. Getting them to help and shielding myself behind them when trouble comes would be pretty much impossible.

The Tang Sect... if you know, you know.

At that thought, Ye Qing tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle and gazed at the sky, a touch of melancholy in his eyes.

Mu En watched Ye Qing's slightly comical behavior with amusement. Sure enough, the older one got, the more one liked children. "Then I'll bring him over to meet you when there's a chance."

Ye Qing nodded, then changed the subject. With a mischievous chuckle, he sidled up to Mu En and held out both hands. "Grandpa, do you have any more of that tea? Give me a little more, please? We've run out at home."

Old man, drop some gold!

Faced with the pair of little hands held right beneath his eyes, Mu En shook his head, caught between laughter and exasperation. He took a wooden box from behind him and placed it in Ye Qing's hands.

"Here. You little rascal, all you think about all day is this old man's tea."

Ye Qing grinned and thanked him cheerfully. Holding the wooden box in one hand and the culter fish in the other, he skipped off toward home.

"Slow down. Don't fall," Mu En reminded him with a smile.

"I know!"

Ye Qing's reply came from a distance, and his small figure soon disappeared at the end of the path.

"This child..." After Ye Qing left, some clarity returned to Mu En's clouded eyes. He gazed at the path where the boy had vanished, his expression complicated. "What a miracle. To think that under the Golden Tree's influence, his soul not only stopped collapsing, but has grown increasingly stable."

The Golden Tree...

When Ye Qing first transmigrated, his soul had indeed been somewhat unstable. After all, two different souls had merged, so some fluctuations were perfectly normal.

But Mu En had mistaken those fluctuations for an incompletely repaired soul. As time passed and Ye Qing's soul grew increasingly whole, Mu En also believed that the Golden Tree was likely responsible.

A true classic.

When in doubt, quantum mechanics; when explanations fail, parallel worlds.

Whenever something made no sense, all one needed was an excuse.