Seeing Xuan Ming's brows gradually furrow, Hu Liena mistakenly thought he was angry and hurried to explain.
"Did your mother teach you?"
Xuan Ming did not respond.
He had only been five when his mother died and had never had the chance to learn to read.
"I didn't mean to bring up something painful."
Seeing that Xuan Ming did not respond, seemingly saddened by the matter of his mother, Hu Liena thought she had guessed correctly. At the same time, a little guilt rose in her heart.
"I'm not sad," Xuan Ming said.
Because his father had left, his mother had given birth to him prematurely, leaving her with a lingering illness that had led to her early death.
He was indeed very grateful to his mother in this life, but ultimately, there had not been much affection between them. He had even found it difficult to adjust to their relationship.
Perhaps he had already grown used to living alone. He could not feel any of that so-called familial warmth.
Because he had never experienced it, he did not know what it was, either.
Perhaps he was sad. Perhaps he was simply someone with a heart of stone.
"Mm." Hu Liena gently wrapped her arms around him and opened the book, regardless of his reaction.
"You must have learned some of it, but not all. I'll teach you."
"Repeat after me: big sister."
"..."
"Say it."
"I know that character."
"These are two characters."
"..."
Chapter 43: Certain death
"Teacher!"
"Teacher! Something's happened!"
Inside the Pope's Palace, Hu Liena came running anxiously. Yue Guan was reporting to Bibi Dong about what had happened in Heaven Dou City.
"What is it? Why all the shouting?" Yue Guan asked in confusion.
"Grandpa Chrysanthemum, someone took Xuan Ming away!" Hu Liena said anxiously.
"Took him away?" Yue Guan froze.
"Who?"
"Elder Golden Crocodile," Hu Liena said.
"The Second Worship?" Yue Guan's expression changed, and he turned to Bibi Dong.
"Your Holiness, this..."
He had considered that Qian Daoliu's side might not be able to resist setting their sights on Xuan Ming. After all, his talent was as exceptional as Bibi Dong's.
Even if Bibi Dong was at odds with the Worships led by Qian Daoliu, Xuan Ming was already a member of Spirit Hall now. Surely Golden Crocodile would not go this far?
"How did he take him away?" Bibi Dong asked.
"Did he simply tie him up?"
"There weren't any classes today. I was teaching Xuan Ming to read when the dean suddenly brought Elder Golden Crocodile to my place. He immediately told Xuan Ming to leave with him," Hu Liena said.
"I asked what he wanted to do, and he..."
"Nana, what happened to your face?" Bibi Dong asked.
"Nothing. I accidentally fell." Hu Liena nervously lowered her head.
Yue Guan crouched down and examined Hu Liena's slightly swollen cheek. "Did the Second Worship hit you?"
Hu Liena kept her head lowered, not daring to answer.
Bibi Dong rose, walked down, and crouched in front of Hu Liena. She spoke softly. "Nana, don't be afraid. Tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave out a single word."
"Mm..." With reddened eyes, Hu Liena began explaining what had happened earlier to Bibi Dong.
"I was teaching Xuan Ming to read when the dean brought Elder Golden Crocodile to my dormitory. The moment he spoke, he demanded that Xuan Ming leave with him."
"Xuan Ming ignored him, so I just asked whether something had happened and whether we should tell Teacher. Then..."
"Elder Golden Crocodile said I had no place to speak and slapped me."
"When I woke up, the dean had taken me to the treatment room, and Xuan Ming was already gone."
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes. "He knocked you unconscious?"
"Mm..." Hu Liena lowered her head in fear.
Bibi Dong examined Hu Liena's body. Only after confirming that no hidden injuries remained did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"Yue Guan, take Nana to a healing Soul Master and have her thoroughly treated. Don't let any marks remain on her face." Bibi Dong rose and walked toward the doors.
"Your Holiness, are you..." Yue Guan was somewhat worried.
Those Worships on the mountain were all Peak Douluo above rank ninety-five, and they were absolutely loyal to Qian Daoliu!
If Bibi Dong went up there to demand an explanation, she would likely get nowhere.
"I endured them snatching him away. But him coming here to slap me in the face is another matter." Bibi Dong left the hall without looking back.
Golden Crocodile Douluo had always been the Qian Family's loyal hound. He had opposed her becoming Pope from the beginning. Only because they could not find a suitable candidate at the time had they reluctantly pushed her into the position.
But over the years, she had gradually taken all the Pope's Palace's authority into her hands. She had also won over most of Spirit Hall, and more than half of the Elder Hall had sided with her.
That old bastard Golden Crocodile had long wanted to trip her up.
Today, Golden Crocodile had not struck Hu Liena. He had slapped her in the face!
If she showed no reaction at all, then she truly would be weak and easy to bully!
"Xiao Xue, why have you come back?"
Inside the Angel Temple at the summit of the central mountain.
Qian Daoliu looked with some surprise at Qian Renxue, who had rushed back from Heaven Dou City without a word.
The third prince had only just died. As the eldest brother, Xue Qinghe was still in mourning. How could he leave so readily?
"To bring him back, of course," Qian Renxue said.
Qian Daoliu sighed. "Whatever you do, don't tell me you intend to reveal your identity to that child."
"I didn't intend to before, but now I do," Qian Renxue said.
"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"If anything goes wrong with him, your entire infiltration plan will come to nothing."
"I'm not going to expose my identity as Xue Qinghe," Qian Renxue said.
"Qian Renxue and Xue Qinghe are two different people. Xue Qinghe has merely thrown his lot in with Qian Renxue."
"An imperial prince supported by Spirit Hall-even if that really were exposed, it wouldn't mean all our efforts had come to nothing."
"Besides, once he gets to Heaven Dou City, he'll be under my control. Nothing will go wrong."
"Is it worth taking such a risk?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Xue Qinghe has finally cleared away the obstacles, and the position of crown prince is within reach. All that remains is to consolidate his foundation as crown prince and wait to inherit the throne."
"Every additional person who knows about this adds another measure of risk."
"Grandfather, didn't you read what I described in my letter?" Qian Renxue said.
"I did." Qian Daoliu rose and walked down.
"Twin Martial Souls, a special Innate Domain, and an eight-hundred-year First Soul Ring. It is indeed somewhat incredible, but that is all."
For worldly Soul Masters, a Soul Ring's age was indeed very important, because the older a Soul Ring was, the more significantly attributes such as a Soul Skill's base power, area of effect, and duration would increase. But to their Six-Winged Angel family, this was not important.
Once Qian Renxue reached the appropriate age and began the God's Trial, every one of her Soul Rings could be raised to over ten thousand years.
This small gap now would not be worth mentioning in the future.
And the level of the God's Trial depended on a Soul Master's talent and temperament.
He believed in Qian Renxue's talent. What this child lacked was the tempering of her temperament.
The God's Trial was extremely dangerous. It was common for the Qian Family's ancestors to die during the trials. Even he had escaped death by a hair back then.
That was why he had not stopped this infiltration plan in the Heaven Dou Empire, instead allowing Qian Renxue to experience things and grow on her own.
But now, he could see that Qian Renxue was indeed very interested in this genius whose talent matched Bibi Dong's. Yet the greater reason was that Bibi Dong had intervened in this matter!
If Bibi Dong had not ordered Yue Guan to snatch him away, Qian Renxue would still have been interested in that child, but she would never have gone this far!
"If, after careful consideration, you feel that child truly matters to you, or is even indispensable, then I will naturally help you resolve this," Qian Daoliu said.
"But from the way you abandoned matters in Heaven Dou City and impulsively ran back to Spirit City, I can see that the child is not what you care about most in this matter."
"I..." Qian Renxue felt somewhat guilty.
"Xiao Xue, I told you that I support you growing independently," Qian Daoliu said.
"But now, this impulsiveness you have shown tells me that, after all these years in Heaven Dou City, perhaps you understand more and more, and your schemes and methods have become increasingly formidable, but your state of mind has hardly changed."
"Shallow, arrogant, and impatient. You're still the child you used to be."
"If you begin the God's Trial in your present state, you will face certain death!"
"..."
"Grandfather, I know I was wrong."
Faced with Qian Daoliu's stern attitude, Qian Renxue lowered her head in shame.
"If you know, you must change. What good is merely knowing?" Qian Daoliu sighed and turned away.
"That arrogant, impatient temperament of yours still needs tempering."
"Grandfather, I was indeed impulsive in this matter, but my position will not change," Qian Renxue said.
"I must have that child!"
"Why?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Give me a reason."
"His talent makes it worth doing," Qian Renxue said earnestly.
"Talent? His Twin Martial Souls? Or his eight-hundred-year First Soul Ring?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Both," Qian Renxue said.
"But what concerns me most is that special Innate Domain of his."
"How special?" Qian Daoliu was somewhat puzzled.
"Could it be even more powerful than the Angel Domain?"
Innate Domains were indeed very rare and could give Soul Masters greater dominance over others of the same rank.
They certainly were formidable. At least to those Soul Masters outside, a Soul Master with an Innate Domain could almost be called a nightmare.
But there were differences even among Innate Domains!
The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul was inherited from the Angel God, and its domain was a lesser form of a God Domain!
Even Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor Domain was absolutely inferior to the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul's Angel Domain!
The only domain in this world qualified to contend with the Angel Domain was the Divine Slaughter's Domain, which was likewise connected to a god!
"Perhaps it isn't as powerful as the Angel Domain right now, but it's very special," Qian Renxue said.