At the head of the procession was a lavishly decorated carriage, its interior lined with soft brocade cushions.
Qian Renxue sat inside in high spirits, holding Chen Qianqiu. Every so often, she lifted the curtain and poked her head out to look around, her little face brimming with excitement, without a trace of nervousness.
Around the carriage, Titled Douluo with terrifying presences traveled in a scattered formation. Qian Xunji rode a tall horse at the very front, with Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo following close behind on either side, as originally planned.
The difference was that three experts from the Worship Hall had also joined them: Demon Subduing Douluo, Qian Jun Douluo, and Light Feather Douluo. Without exaggeration, this small party had enough power to wipe out every faction on the entire continent apart from Spirit Hall.
Qian Xunji gazed toward their distant destination, then glanced at the little face poking out of the carriage behind him every so often, somewhat speechless.
This little girl...
He sighed inwardly.
Early that morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Qian Renxue had run to his bedchamber, holding the little black dragon and pleading to come along to capture the Soul Beast.
Naturally, Qian Xunji had refused. According to Spirit Hall's intelligence, Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect was now openly escorting that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Their objective was to intercept them en route, and a fierce battle was inevitable. How could he bring a child under such circumstances?
But the little girl had stuck to him like sticky candy, refusing to leave, wheedling and promising that she would behave.
Qian Xunji could not win against her, and he could bear even less to see his daughter looking so aggrieved and on the verge of tears. In the end, he could only compromise and agree to bring her.
What he had never expected, however, was that three Titled Douluo from the Worship Hall would suddenly arrive half an hour before their departure.
Demon Subduing Douluo, Qian Jun Douluo, and Light Feather Douluo said they had been ordered by the Great Enshrined to accompany them and protect the young mistress.
Qian Xunji was beginning to question his life. Was this really how his own father saw him?
Although there was some risk to this trip, at the end of the day, it was merely a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that was ill-suited to combat. With a little effort, he could capture it alive. His father, Qian Daoliu, was making far too much of a minor matter. He was a rank-ninety-five Titled Douluo, after all; protecting his own daughter would be effortless.
Am I really that useless in his eyes?
As for Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect?
Qian Xunji paid him no mind whatsoever. He was merely a Soul Douluo. Although he was quite talented and hailed as the Clear Sky Sect's youngest genius, what waves could a Soul Douluo possibly stir up before a rank-ninety-five Titled Douluo like him? It was a joke.
Now, with three more Titled Douluo from the Worship Hall, their lineup was absurdly extravagant-seven whole Titled Douluo!
Never mind capturing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast; they had more than enough strength to storm the Clear Sky Sect's mountain gates directly.
Qian Xunji shook his head. Rather than a capture mission, this operation was more like taking his daughter out to broaden her horizons, with an outing in the countryside along the way.
Except...
Qian Xunji's gaze inadvertently strayed toward the carriage. Through a gap in the curtains, he saw the little black dragon basking lazily in the sun with his belly turned upward.
His eyelid twitched involuntarily.
There was one other small problem: the little beast his daughter kept really could eat far too much.
Before their departure, to express his gratitude for helping his daughter absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Qian Xunji had specifically ordered a batch of precious medicinal ingredients taken from his private stores for the dragon to eat on the journey.
He had originally thought that half a carriage full of medicinal ingredients would surely feed the little fellow for a month or so.
And the result?
In just half a day, that entire carriage load of medicinal ingredients was already visibly nearing the bottom!
Hundred-year Purple Rhyme Ginseng? One root per mouthful, as though he were eating carrots. Top-grade whale rubber? He gnawed it clean in a few bites.
Even medicinal herbs that Soul Masters needed to refine with extreme care before absorbing were chewed casually like snacks in his mouth.
What a wanton squandering of heavenly treasures!
Qian Xunji's heart had ached at the sight. His private stores had never been particularly large; they could not withstand eating like this!
But as the Pope, how could he go back on his word? Besides, he had already promised his daughter that she could keep him. Surely the mighty Pope of Spirit Hall could afford to feed a single Soul Beast.
"Your Holiness, thank you for the food. It's delicious!"
Having eaten his fill with great satisfaction, Chen Qianqiu also poked his head out to offer a polite word.
"Ahem, eat to your heart's content. There will be more later. Naturally, I wouldn't quibble over such things."
"Wonderful! Then I won't hold back. Next time, add more whale rubber, and bring more of this bamboo!"
"..."
Meanwhile, in the direction of the Clear Sky Sect, deep within a secluded valley.
A simple yet cozy wooden cottage stood beside a stream. A few ordinary wildflowers grew outside, swaying gently in the breeze.
Although the cottage's furnishings were simple, its owner's care was evident everywhere, and even the air was suffused with a faint warmth.
Inside the cottage, Tang Hao sat tenderly by the bed, his large, rough hand carefully stroking the woman's slightly swollen belly. His movements were exceedingly gentle, as though afraid of doing something wrong through the slightest carelessness.
"It's all right. I'm not that delicate."
The speaker was a woman of exquisite, pure beauty, entirely different in style from Bibi Dong.
Her skin was as white as snow, and her long, silky silver-blue hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, shimmering with a faint halo in the sunlight.
Her features were as exquisite as the most perfect work of art between heaven and earth. An otherworldly grace lingered about her brows and eyes, and she resembled an immortal maiden untouched by the smoke and fire of the mortal world, too beautiful to belong among mortals.
The Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin.
"Hao, who do you think our child will look like?"
Ah Yin gently took Tang Hao's large, rough hand and pressed it against her belly. Her voice was tender as water, her eyes filled with longing and anticipation for the future.
"You, of course. Beautiful, just like you."
Tang Hao's eyes brimmed with tender affection, and a rare, gentle smile appeared on his fierce-looking face.
"Boy or girl, as long as our child has half your beauty, that will be heaven's greatest gift to me, Tang Hao. Ah Yin, meeting you in this life and becoming your husband is a blessing I earned through three lifetimes of cultivation."
As he spoke, he leaned down and gently rested his forehead against Ah Yin's, his voice low.
"Do you know? The first time I saw you, I knew I would marry no one but you in this lifetime."
"Even if you're a Soul Beast, even if everyone under heaven opposes us, I'll still take you as my wife! You and Little San will be my everything from now on."
Ah Yin's eyes reddened slightly, and she was too moved to speak. She nestled gently into Tang Hao's arms, feeling all the tenderness and love this man gave her.
Only after a long while did she ask softly:
"But after we eloped like this, will your father and elders really accept us and the child in my belly? They must be very angry, right?"