"Help me? Does she have some ulterior motive, or..."
Long Qianming was immediately puzzled. Bibi Dong was, after all, the disciple of Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, and its future Holy Maiden.
Although she was traveling the continent to experience the suffering of its people and had done him a kindness, wasn't this choice far too casual?
But he could not spell those things out. Long Qianming asked bluntly,
"Why are you so eager to help at the clinic? If you can't give me a proper reason, I absolutely won't let you join. I never take in anyone suspicious, even..."
"Even someone who helped me before."
Bibi Dong could not immediately give a precise answer to this fundamental question. She did not know what was going on herself.
Ever since learning that Long Qianming was the boy from back then, she had developed an extremely strong desire to protect him. At the same time, she very much wanted to learn what he had experienced over the past nine years.
"I'll have to go back soon. You're the first friend I've made."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong faltered slightly, hesitating over what she wanted to say.
"We count as friends, don't we? As friends, we ought to help each other. Besides, you're hiring an eight- or nine-year-old child to work for you. That's taking advantage of him a bit too much."
Looking at the worried expression on Bibi Dong's face, Long Qianming immediately explained,
"You mean Si Kai! He and I know each other. How can you say I'm taking advantage of him?"
"That's good, then. I thought you'd changed from the person you were back then!"
At his words, a weight on Bibi Dong's heart seemed to vanish into thin air. Fortunately, the person she had helped years ago was not a wolf in sheep's clothing. Otherwise, she could only have acted in the name of righteousness.
"Actually, my real purpose is to see all the extraordinary people and strange things on the continent. You're a physician, and someone I once helped, so I trust you."
Bibi Dong casually offered a relatively reasonable explanation. Over these nine years, although her teacher had treated her extremely well and vast resources within Spirit Hall had been directed toward her, she had been unable to make a single good friend.
Every day, she was either studying court etiquette and important affairs of governance or diligently cultivating her Martial Soul. Today, she had finally encountered an old acquaintance, who was even a divine physician with a modest reputation. It made her very happy.
Gengxin City was the final stop on her travels. Helping at the clinic would not only let her learn about Long Qianming, but also allow her to observe Gengxin City better.
After all, Gengxin City's many blacksmiths were a particular focus of Spirit Hall's attention, especially Lou Gao, one of only two divine blacksmiths on the continent.
At this moment, Long Qianming was deeply torn. If he let her stay, the risk of his secrets being exposed might increase somewhat. If he forced her to leave, he would be abandoning their bond.
Thinking further, he would inevitably offend Bibi Dong. When the time came, she would only need to fan the flames before some Soul Master, and his little life would be forfeit.
After pondering for a long time, a gleam flashed through Long Qianming's eyes. He extended his right hand in friendship and looked kindly at Bibi Dong.
"For someone who once helped me, I'll also do everything I can to help her. Let's get along well for the time we'll be spending together!"
"All right. I'll do everything I can to help you too. We're friends. We were before, we are now, and we will be in the future."
Bibi Dong deeply treasured this friendship brought about by such an extraordinary twist of fate. Smiling, she took Long Qianming's right hand as a gesture of friendship.
Soon, as darkness fell, the final dish was brought to the dining table. Bibi Dong had long since been drawn in by the aroma and was growing impatient. She looked at Long Qianming with feigned disdain.
"You're so slow! If it weren't for you, I'd have started eating ages ago."
"Who told you to wait for me? Hurry up and eat. I'll give you a few things afterward. If you're going to help, you can't do it without some skills."
Long Qianming paid little mind to any of that. He immediately scooped out three spoonfuls of medicinal food and began eating it with rice, sweeping through it like a wind scattering clouds.
Bibi Dong shot Long Qianming a look. He was clearly looking down on her. Displeased, she picked up some of the medicinal food he had scooped from and put it into her mouth. Her expression abruptly jolted.
In that instant, the flavor the food released was several times richer than the medicinal food at the Si Family Hotel. In particular, after she ate it, the Soul Power within her actually began circulating of its own accord.
"What kind of food is this? Why does it make me feel as though my Soul Power is about to break through?"
Bibi Dong asked in utter shock. She was extremely curious about what combination of ingredients could produce such a marvelous effect.
Just one mouthful left her mouth filled with fragrance, and the speed of her Soul Power cultivation increased by at least around ten percent.
Long Qianming merely smiled at Bibi Dong.
"Even medicinal food this delicious can't stop your mouth. The ingredients are actually just some Soul Beast meat."
Long Qianming did not give her a more detailed explanation. Whether it was him or Bibi Dong, their Martial Souls shared the same attribute: darkness.
And all the meat ingredients used in the meal he had prepared today came from the two lesser dragon Soul Beasts he had brought back from Soul Hunting.
When their attributes matched, eating medicinal food made from lesser dragon Soul Beasts of the corresponding attribute helped promote Soul Power cultivation.
In addition, Long Qianming had deliberately added some medicinal herbs, further enhancing the food's medicinal value. As such, his medicinal food was naturally somewhat better than what was available elsewhere.
"Is that all? You definitely added some special medicinal ingredients, didn't you?"
Bibi Dong wanted to keep questioning him, but Long Qianming was eating and had no time to pay her any attention.
After they finished their meal, Long Qianming took her to a guest room that was normally unused but regularly cleaned, and said somewhat reluctantly,
"Although the conditions here are a little basic, there's no problem with staying here. If you aren't used to it, you can pay to go-"
"No, this place is wonderful. I really like it. How did you know I liked purple things?"
Before Long Qianming could finish, Bibi Dong abruptly flopped onto the soft purple bed. Perhaps because this was a clinic, a faint medicinal fragrance filled the entire room, further aiding cultivation and sleep.
"Uh..."
"Isn't it obvious?"
Long Qianming pointed at Bibi Dong's clothes and accessories. Aside from large swaths of purple, there was nothing but gold.
"Oh, right! All right, thank you, Brother Long. You can leave now. I need to rest."
As Long Qianming left, he placed a chart of the human body's acupuncture points and an illustrated guide to identifying some dried medicinal herbs on the dressing table.
"You'd best finish these two most basic medical books within the next two days. I'll arrange some work for you tomorrow. Rest well. See you tomorrow."
Long Qianming left the guest room and returned to his own room, carefully considering his subsequent plans.
Now that I'll be spending time with Bibi Dong, I must not reveal my Martial Soul unless absolutely necessary, to ensure my safety. I'll also have to make corresponding adjustments to my subsequent nighttime Soul Hunting Plan, lest the Titled Douluo in the shadows notice any clues.
But on second thought, although it was somewhat troublesome, it was not entirely bad. Without Xiao Tian's help, his spear techniques would surely improve further during Soul Hunting battles.
His comprehension of spear intent could also reach a whole new height. Moreover, he could use the Dragon Pattern Spear to hoodwink others, passing it off as his Martial Soul.