"Mm, then hurry back, honey." Ah Yin nodded with a smile, then pushed Zhao Ling out of her room.
She felt rather excited. After four or five days, she finally had a chance to rest for a night.
My darling husband, go on, hurry up. And once you're gone, don't come looking for me tonight.
Seeing how eager she looked, Zhao Ling felt something was odd, but he thought nothing more of it. After all, Ah Yin's gentle, virtuous characterization in the original work had left a deep impression.
Once she had pushed Zhao Ling out, Ah Yin swiftly shut the door and locked it.
Only after doing all that did Ah Yin cheer joyfully inside. "Yes! I can finally get a proper rest tonight!"
Hearing the cheer from the room, Zhao Ling's face darkened. So she was sick of him.
Heh, it was just a lousy door. If I really wanted to force it open, it would be easy.
Still, remembering that Ah Yin really had been exhausted these past few days, he muttered to himself.
"All right, I'll let the girl get some proper rest tonight. She's my wife, after all. I can't torment her too much."
After muttering that, Zhao Ling turned and left the hotel. He released his spiritual power and searched the streets for the beautiful woman who had passed the warning to him and Ah Yin.
After about ten-odd minutes, Zhao Ling finally found the beautiful woman on a street a kilometer from the hotel and strode up to her.
"Thank you for what you did earlier. Thanks to your warning, my wife and I were spared unimaginable consequences."
Zhao Ling wore a very gentle smile, far gentler than when Liu Erlong had watched him pin her two cousins down and smash them into the ground over and over.
Looking at Zhao Ling before her, Liu Erlong did not know whether to feel happy or embarrassed.
Ever since coming to Suotuo City, she had been unable to find a chance to approach Zhao Ling and could only watch them from afar.
Now Zhao Ling had sought her out because she had warned them earlier. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to get close to him and learn about him?
At that thought, Liu Erlong's exquisite face broke into what she considered a gentle, charming smile.
"You're too kind, sir. With your strength, you could easily pin a Soul Emperor to the ground and grind him into it. Even without my warning, you wouldn't have been in any danger."
For some reason, looking at the woman's gentle, charming smile, Zhao Ling felt a faint sense of incongruity, though he could not figure out why.
He did not show it, however. Instead, he nodded slightly at her and introduced himself.
"My name is Zhao Ling, and I'm from Nuoding City. May I ask your name, miss? Would you do me the honor of joining me for a drink, as a token of my gratitude?"
"..." Liu Erlong's lips twitched. She had to admit that she felt a little admiration for Zhao Ling.
This was only our first proper meeting, wasn't it? Asking my name, I could understand.
But inviting me straight out for a drink? What were you planning to do after that?
No wonder this fellow could hold a beauty in each arm and win over two such beautiful women. His skin really was thick.
Liu Erlong knew she could not accept his invitation too readily, or she would seem cheap. This Zhao fellow already had two beauties prettier than her before him.
If she made herself seem too cheap, her standing would be lower than theirs from the outset. How would she take the initiative later?
With that in mind, Liu Erlong deliberately put on a wary look, stepped back twice, and introduced herself.
"My name is Liu Erlong, and I'm from Heaven Dou Imperial City. Inviting me out at our very first meeting seems rather improper, doesn't it? Besides, you seem to have someone you love already. Aren't you two deeply in love?"
"Liu Erlong? You're Liu Erlong?" Zhao Ling's eyes instantly widened like bronze bells, filled with disbelief.
Seeing such a strong reaction, Liu Erlong found it rather funny. This fellow had mocked her in his diary as a she-tyrannosaur who liked picking up discarded shoes, as though he knew her very well.
Yet now she was standing right in front of him, and he did not even know what she looked like. She silently scorned him.
Liu Erlong did not show it, however. She merely tilted her head in feigned confusion, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhao Ling.
"What is it? Have you heard my name before? Do you know me?"
Zhao Ling smiled awkwardly, unsure how to answer for a moment. He simply summoned the Diary Copy and began venting in it.
[What the hell? Can someone tell me what's going on? The person who warned Ah Yin and me was actually Liu Erlong.]
[I have to say, she really was young and full of life in her maiden years.]
[More importantly, she really is beautiful. She doesn't fall too far short of Bibi Dong or Ah Yin. No wonder the original work designated her as Yu Xiaogang's spiritual wife.]
[Huh, what's Liu Erlong doing at the Great Soul Arena? At this point in time, she shouldn't possibly have met Yu Xiaogang yet.]
[Hmm, what happened today is a little funny. Yu Xiaogang brought his older brother to cause trouble for me, only for their younger cousin, whom they hadn't even met, to see through their scheme and come running to warn me.]
[In a sense, Liu Erlong betrayed her future spiritual husband for me. If Yu Xiaogang finds out someday, won't he be so furious he turns into a green~hat~turtle?]
[Most importantly, once word of today's events gets back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the clan and I will very likely become mortal enemies.]
[If Yu Luomian finds out his own daughter tipped off the clan's enemy, will he cough up three liters of blood in rage? Will he hit her?]
[Hmm, for her sake, I need to remind Ah Yin never to tell anyone what happened today. Otherwise, I'd be letting down her kindness in coming to warn us.]
Once he finished venting, Zhao Ling clicked to upload the diary and received the hidden weapon Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm along with its complete crafting method, which had already been placed in his storage space.
Why had the system given him Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm as a reward, and even included its crafting method?
Did this mean the system might also give him all the Tang Sect's hidden weapons and their crafting methods in the future?
If he really received every Tang Sect hidden weapon and crafting method, then even if Tang San still successfully transmigrated to the Douluo World, the Tang Sect hidden weapons he took the greatest pride in would lose most of their advantage.
Chapter 74: A gift for you
Since Zhao Ling possessed the strength of a Titled Douluo, he naturally had no use for Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm, so he planned to give this ready-made weapon to Ah Yin.
After all, she was his first woman, and she was neither particularly strong nor backed by anyone.
Because she feared that people from Spirit Hall would see through her identity as a Soul Beast, Zhao Ling had now sealed her Soul Power with the Soul-Sealing Seal.
Giving Ah Yin Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm would at least protect her at a critical moment.
According to the original work's setting, Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm was among the very best single-target Tang Sect hidden weapons and could even injure a Titled Douluo.
At that thought, Zhao Ling felt very happy, and the smile on his face unconsciously grew.
Watching Zhao Ling grin so widely that the corners of his mouth were almost reaching behind his ears, Liu Erlong felt utterly baffled.
What was wrong with this fellow? Why was he smiling so happily? Was there something seriously wrong with him?
Soon, however, Liu Erlong saw the illusory "Zhao Ling's Diary Copy" appear before her.
Her delicate brows lifted slightly. What was going on with Zhao Ling? He even had time to write in his diary while talking to her?
Liu Erlong opened the diary with her mind while waving a hand before Zhao Ling's eyes and asking tentatively.
"Are you all right? Why are you spacing out? I asked how you knew me and my name. Is that so difficult to answer?"
With that, her pretty face grew stern, deliberately showing displeasure. Her lovely, picturesque eyes read the contents of the "Diary Copy" while her ears pricked up, greedily listening to Zhao Ling's words.
Knowing that her personal "Zhao Ling's Diary Copy" was visible only to her, Liu Erlong felt no pressure at all doing this in front of Zhao Ling.
Zhao Ling came back to his senses and toned down his smile before solemnly lying to Liu Erlong's face.
"Several years ago, I visited an Advanced Soul Master Academy in Heaven Dou Imperial City and heard that name. Apparently, she was the academy's reigning beauty, admired by many male students. But I heard she was a she-tyrannosaur, so no one dared pursue her.
"I was very curious just how explosive this academy beauty's temper could be for those people to call her a she-tyrannosaur. I thought they were utterly shameless, slandering a beautiful young woman like that..."
The more Zhao Ling spoke, the more anger and dissatisfaction showed on his face. Even his fists clenched tightly, as though he were truly indignant on Liu Erlong's behalf.
Liu Erlong did not know what to say to that. She knew people at the academy often called her a she-tyrannosaur behind her back, and there were quite a few of them.
But Zhao Ling hardly had the right to be indignant for her, did he? Besides, he had called her a she-tyrannosaur in his diary too. Why didn't he reflect on himself?
Moreover, Zhao Ling had just written that her running over to warn him and Ah Yin was betraying her future spiritual husband or something. She found that very strange.
Hadn't the earlier diary said her father interrupted her wedding to her cousin Yu Xiaogang? She had even fallen out with her father over it.
Since the wedding had been interrupted, why would she and Yu Xiaogang still become spiritual husband and wife? Wasn't that contradictory?
Could it be that she and her cousin Yu Xiaogang still successfully completed their wedding rites later and became spiritual husband and wife, only without consummating the marriage?
How was that possible? She and her cousin Yu Xiaogang both knew their identities. How could they still become spiritual husband and wife? Just how big a hole would she need in her head to do something like that?
Cousins could not be actual husband and wife, but they could be spiritual husband and wife? Wouldn't her father stop them if he knew? It made no sense. Liu Erlong could not understand it at all.
Yet Zhao Ling had not explained why her father later failed to stop her and Yu Xiaogang from becoming spiritual husband and wife. It made her feel that Zhao Ling really was such a bastard.
Hurry up and tell me why! Was it really all right to keep leaving me hanging like this? Believe it or not, I'd bite you to death.
Though dissatisfied, she knew that if Zhao Ling could not be bothered to explain, she could not ask him either. After all, she lost the ability to speak whenever she mentioned anything from the diary.
She could only suppress her dissatisfaction and keep reading.
Seeing Zhao Ling say that, for her sake, he must never reveal that she had secretly warned them gave her some comfort. Though Zhao Ling was quite a dog, he occasionally did act like a human.
Since Liu Erlong had not accepted Zhao Ling's invitation for a drink, the two slowly walked together to the entrance of her hotel and said goodbye. Only after watching her enter did he turn and enter the neighboring hotel where he was staying.
Meanwhile, Ah Yin was happily reading her personal copy of Zhao Ling's Diary Copy.
Ah Yin was quite interested in enjoying other people's juicy gossip, especially how Liu Erlong would get involved with her cousin. If her father had not stopped them, they probably would have slept together.
Ah Yin had originally thought their separation was the end of the story, but she had not expected the two cousins to become spiritual husband and wife in the end.
This gossip was simply delicious. It practically blinded Ah Yin's titanium-alloy eyes and could make her laugh herself to death.
Just as Ah Yin was savoring the gossip, someone knocked on the door. She hurriedly closed the Diary Copy and called tentatively toward the door.
"Who is it?"
Zhao Ling's gentle voice soon came from outside. "Ah Yin, your husband is back. I said I'd be back right away, didn't I? I kept my word. Be good and open the door. I have a gift for you."
Ah Yin shook her head like a rattle-drum. "No, no! Honey, go back to your own room and rest, will you? Can't you let me get one good night's rest?"
"Be good, Ah Yin, open the door. I really have no other intentions. I swear to heaven, I only want to give you a gift. I absolutely won't do anything strange."
Zhao Ling's voice remained full of tenderness, maintaining his harmless demeanor throughout, but Ah Yin shook her head even more vigorously.
"I said I'm not opening it, and I mean it. I don't believe you have any nice gift for me. Don't think you can fool me like an idiot. Yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, didn't you always say you'd only hold me and wouldn't do anything strange?
"But once I let you into the room, I can basically forget about sleeping all night. Because of you, I haven't even been able to watch the matches at the Great Soul Arena these past few days. Every day, I've been curled up in your arms catching up on sleep. Don't think you can trick me."
Ah Yin gave a dissatisfied little huff, showing her determination not to open the door no matter what.
"Ah Yin, are you really not opening the door? I'll ask you one more time. If you still refuse and I force the door open, don't cry too miserably."
Zhao Ling's tone grew considerably sterner, making Ah Yin shudder in fright. She knew very well that with his strength, breaking through this door would be effortless.
Moreover, with Zhao Ling's current wealth, never mind paying for a door-he could easily buy the entire hotel. She could only sigh pitifully and finally open the door...
Chapter 75: Such a considerate husband
Once the door opened, Zhao Ling looked at the pitiful expression on Ah Yin's face and felt like laughing.
It seemed he had treated her too harshly these past few days for her to wear such an expression.
With a casual beckoning gesture, Zhao Ling took Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm out of his storage space, and it appeared before them.
Looking at the exquisitely crafted Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm, its entire body gleaming coldly, Ah Yin sensed that it was extremely dangerous, perhaps because of her Soul Beast instincts. She instinctively stepped back and asked in confusion.
"Honey, what is this? Why does it look so dangerous?"
"Mm, this is called Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm. It is indeed very dangerous. It's a single-target weapon that can fire twenty-seven highly poisonous pear blossom needles at once, with terrifying destructive power.
"It's forged from the silver mother of deep sea sunken silver. During forging, human blood is needed to awaken the silver mother's sharpness. Its power is terrifying, enough to severely injure a Titled Douluo. I want to give it to you. With this protecting you, I'll feel more at ease."
Zhao Ling looked at Ah Yin tenderly and introduced Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm to her. Her pupils instantly contracted, and her face filled with disbelief.
"Hiss... Honey, are you sure you're not joking? This thing can threaten a Titled Douluo?"
Ah Yin would not believe the claim that Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm could severely injure a Titled Douluo. After all, Titled Douluo stood among the very strongest people on the entire Douluo Continent.
The claim that this thing could severely injure a Titled Douluo was simply inconceivable to her.
So she had changed "severely injure" to "threaten." In her view, even being able to threaten a Titled Douluo would already be terrifying.
Zhao Ling said little more about it. After all, Ah Yin did not know just how difficult it was to manufacture Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm. Even now, with its crafting method, even if Zhao Ling had the materials, finding someone to forge it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Not to mention that he did not even know where to find its most important material, the silver mother of deep sea sunken silver.
In the original work, the divine smith Lou Gao had only managed to create it after tremendous effort, even paying with his life to manufacture Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm. It was only natural for it to be somewhat powerful.
Ultimately, Douluo was merely the floor tile of fantasy worlds. In other fantasy worlds, the ability to manipulate space alone would keep Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm from harming them in the slightest...
Zhao Ling handed Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm straight to Ah Yin and said with a smile.
"This is yours. I'll buy you a Storage Soul Tool another day, so you can carry this with you at all times and use it whenever you encounter danger."
Ah Yin held Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm and examined it for a while before rising onto her toes and kissing Zhao Ling on the lips. "Thank you, honey..."
Before you continue