Meng Wuqu also sat cross-legged. His black fox cloak settled, stirring a gust of cold air that blew Sushang's soft silver hair upward. She resisted the urge to scoot aside and forced herself to remain calm.
Sushang, you can't chicken out!
You're representing Master's dignity right now!
You can't be afraid of this icy big black bear!
The little girl cheered herself on.
She perked up.
Meng Wuqu suddenly said, "Are you worried?"
His gaze fell on the little girl, who kept drawing circles.
Sushang lifted her chin and said stiffly, "No. Bored!"
"Little girl, how old are you?"
"Little girl, what's your name?"
"Little girl..."
"Hmph. Are you taking a census?"
Sushang crossed her little arms over her chest and turned her round, apple-like face aside as she spoke.
Meng Wuqu shrugged.
Suddenly, he murmured, "That cultivation at that age... not bad, girl."
Sushang looked up, her brows scrunching into caterpillars. A trace of displeasure showed in her clear almond-shaped eyes. "Hey, who asked you to judge me?"
"Is that your master?"
"My teacher? No, he's my master."
"He's your master, so you're his pet! Right, plenty of people in the human world keep cats and dogs."
"..."
The little girl nearly fainted with anger. She hurriedly pinched the spot above her upper lip, valiantly rescued herself, and decided never to speak to him again.
"A cup of tea's worth of time has already passed.
"Hey, how good is your master at chess?
"What a petty little girl. You're ignoring me already."
Meng Wuqu's narrow eyes shifted slightly. Looking at Sushang's puffed-up face, he actually smiled.
What a hateful smile!
Sushang gritted her teeth and glared at him angrily.
"Ah, I misspoke."
He sighed softly, loosely curled his hands over his knees, and closed his eyes without another word. At that moment, Meng Wuqu resumed his utterly icy, unfathomable demeanor!
He did not know why, either, but seeing this little girl had inexplicably thawed a little of the heart that had been lonely for nine hundred and ninety thousand years.
Perhaps he really was too lonely...
Or perhaps, over those long years, he had encountered countless crafty old monsters and grown weary of contests of wits and strength. Suddenly meeting such an innocent girl had instead left him feeling completely at ease.
There was no need for defenses, no need for pretense, no bloodshed, no lies.
Because this girl posed no threat...
If he were dealing with the man in blue behind her, that Xie Feng, whose strength could not be underestimated, every muscle in his body would have to tense!
Sushang tilted her head and looked straight at Meng Wuqu. Deep coldness and loneliness lay in his eyes. She suddenly asked, "Are you very lonely?"
Meng Wuqu snorted coldly. "I have friends. How could I be lonely?"
"You can have friends and still be very lonely."
"Are you lonely?"
"I have Master. Of course I'm not lonely!"
"You can have a master and still be very lonely."
"You're copying me!"
Sushang's little face flushed with anger.
Meng Wuqu smiled, then lowered his eyes coolly. "The strong are always lonely, for the heights are too cold to bear! Ah, little girl, it's too early to tell you these things. You'll understand when you reach that realm."
Sushang grew thoughtful.
That realm? What realm was that?
An immortal?
A sage?
When that time came, would she be lonely even by Master's side?
Or...
Would she leave Master?
Although Master was stern at times, he gave her a place to stay, did his utmost to teach her cultivation techniques, and took her out for delicious food. He had never ordered her around like a maid, either, but treated her like a little sister instead!
How could she leave him?
Sushang's heart was instantly thrown into turmoil!
Ugh, that rotten black bear! Saying something that stabbed her right in the heart-he was going too far!
Her brows knitted tightly, and her little hands clutched the Radiant Sun Sword, her heart tangled like hemp.
"Xiao Shang!"
At that very moment!
Xie Feng and Ye Yuan emerged from the domain.
"Master!"
Without stopping to compose herself, Sushang sprang up and hurried over, secretly inspecting Xie Feng for any dust left from a fight.
Thank goodness, thank goodness~
The Supreme Dream Robe remained spotless.
There were no traces of battle on Master's handsome face, either.
That meant they hadn't fought!
Of course, it was also possible that Master had won a one-sided victory...
Sushang pressed a hand over her heart, relieved.
Meng Wuqu slowly rose, but did not move from his spot, merely casting an icy gaze their way.
Ye Yuan, on the other hand, looked radiant. Starlight glittered in his eyes, and he seemed refreshed, unlike his usual self.
"I've enjoyed this trip to Eternal Night. Making a new friend was nice, too. Xiao Yezi, come visit the Xuanji Sect when you have time. Farewell!
"Xiao Shang, let's go."
Xie Feng smiled and patted Ye Yuan's shoulder.
Sushang answered, waved goodbye to Meng Wuqu, and left with Xie Feng in high spirits. Their figures soon vanished into Eternal Night.
"He called you... Xiao Yezi?!"
Meng Wuqu was stunned.
This was the Holy Venerable of the Azure Cloud Holy Land!
Across the three thousand worlds, even someone as proud as him was restrained in how he addressed Ye Yuan!
That was practically like calling a kitten or puppy!
After Xie Feng left, Ye Yuan, who had been all smiles, instantly wilted. He lowered his head, his face pale, looking as though he had suffered a tremendous blow.
Meng Wuqu sensed something amiss. "What happened inside the domain?"
Ye Yuan's Double Pupils dimmed, and bitterness filled his mouth. "That game just now... I lost utterly! Xie Feng, he... he actually gave me a three-stone handicap, but... I still couldn't turn the tide..."
Once the game began, within one incense stick's worth of time, he was hard-pressed on every side, struggling to hold on. By two incense sticks' worth of time, he had utterly lost his composure. Even with Xie Feng deliberately giving him a three-stone handicap, his defeat had still been too horrible to behold!
He, who could be called a grandmaster of chess, had only ever given handicaps to others. Today, someone had actually given him one!
It was a tremendous humiliation!
"I prided myself on having chess skills unrivaled beneath heaven, and that was indeed the case. Ever since I learned to play, I had never lost. I made chess my art and cultivated the Dao of Chess to the Supreme Realm!
"Until today, when I met him, and all those years of pride were shattered! I finally saw what the perfected Dao of Chess was, and what it meant to suffer an utter rout!"
Ye Yuan's lips trembled. He did not even want to recall what he had just experienced.
It was unbearable to look back on!
The chessboard was like a battlefield.
Ordering heaven and earth, maneuvering freely across the board!
He believed that, whether in mental prowess or strength, he could stand evenly matched with Xie Feng. Yet in the Dao of Chess, his greatest specialty, he had lost completely!
"Xie Feng, before you... I, Ye Yuan, bow in admiration!
"As the saying goes, courage follows the knowledge of shame. My attainment is still insufficient. I must keep cultivating!"
Ye Yuan gazed into the boundless Eternal Night and murmured bitterly. The blow had left him unable to lift his head.
"You said I should take the initiative to befriend him. I don't think I'm worthy... wait, before he left, he seemed to say... making a new friend? He considers me his friend?!"
Ye Yuan realized it at last.
Black lines fell across Meng Wuqu's face. Damn, that reaction took long enough...