"I know," Xuan Ming said.
"You're not happy?" Yue Guan asked.
"Why should I be happy?" Xuan Ming asked in return.
Yue Guan paused. "Oh, now I remember. You spent less than half a month in Heaven Dou City altogether. You had pretty rotten luck, too."
After all, he had snatched the boy from She Long, so he had instinctively considered him one of Xue Qinghe's people.
But counting it up, ever since his Martial Soul Awakening... the boy had actually spent the most time at the Pope's Palace!
"If you could choose between here and Heaven Dou City, where would you want to stay?" Yue Guan asked curiously.
Because of what had happened to Xuan Ming, Bibi Dong had ordered him to investigate thoroughly whether similar incidents had occurred in the lower branches of Spirit Hall. He had spent these past two months busy with Punishment Hall affairs and really had not paid much attention to things here. Still, judging by the boy's attitude, he had at least softened considerably.
"Either," Xuan Ming said.
"Either?" Yue Guan raised his eyebrows.
"Then between Xue Qinghe and the Pope, whose side would you want to stay by?"
"Either," Xuan Ming said.
"Really, either?" Yue Guan's expression turned peculiar.
Something was off about this boy's mood!
This was not indifference!
Was Bibi Dong that frighteningly efficient? Had she brought this child over to her side in so little time?
"..."
Xuan Ming said nothing. He really did not want to deal with Yue Guan.
But compared with Spirit City, he actually wanted to return to Heaven Dou City more.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well-he was still very interested in the immortal herbs there. Perhaps those things could resolve or improve his Martial Soul's defect.
Bibi Dong had helped him so much that he had considered telling her about it outright. But considering that Qian Daoliu's side might come to seize them, along with the question of how to divide them afterward... he would get the things into his own hands first.
"Do you like flowers and plants?" Xuan Ming asked.
Yue Guan froze. "How did you know?"
"You smell strongly of flowers," Xuan Ming said.
"I smelled that sort of fragrance in Senior Ye Lan's garden in Heaven Dou City. She said those weren't just ordinary flowers and plants, but medicine too."
"Ye Lan?" Yue Guan raised his eyebrows.
"That woman has such a foul temper. How did you get to know her?"
"Foul?" Xuan Ming looked puzzled.
"Does she?"
"Anyone over fifty in the Soul Master World who has dealt with her knows her temper couldn't be worse," Yue Guan said.
"Especially after her son died. Her temper became so bad it defied description."
"Her son? How did her son die?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Do you know the Clear Sky Sect?" Yue Guan asked.
"What does this have to do with the Clear Sky Sect?" Xuan Ming asked, puzzled.
"Ye Lan's son and daughter-in-law used to be Soul Masters of Spirit Hall," Yue Guan said.
"To win over the Nine Heart Begonia lineage, the previous Pope treated Ye Lan's son quite well back then. Though that boy's cultivation wasn't high, thanks to Ye Lan, his standing in Spirit Hall was on par with some Soul Saint bishops."
"A few years ago, when Spirit Hall went to war with the Clear Sky Sect, Ye Lan's son fought too. At the Clear Sky Sect's mountain gate, their sixth elder fought Demon Bear Douluo alone to cover the younger sect members' retreat. Unable to defeat him, he chose to detonate his Clear Sky Hammer. Nearly thirty Spirit Hall Soul Masters, including Ye Lan's son and daughter-in-law, were killed in the explosion on the spot. Even Demon Bear was severely injured."
"After that, Ye Lan moved to Heaven Dou City and withdrew from worldly affairs. She stopped having anything to do with any Spirit Hall Soul Masters. Any Soul Master who came to her after getting injured through brawling and aggression was refused treatment without exception."
Ultimately, Spirit Hall had initiated the conflict with the Clear Sky Sect back then. Everyone in the Soul Master World knew that. Besides, in battles between Soul Masters, there was never really any question of who was right or wrong. Once someone struck, even if they were killed, they deserved their death.
Moreover, Ye Lan's son had not been beaten to death, but killed by someone's self-detonation. A Soul Douluo elder had been forced to detonate his Martial Soul right before his own mountain gate. What more was there to say?
And he had not been the only one to detonate himself. During Spirit Hall's first surprise attack on the Clear Sky Sect's headquarters, the Clear Sky Sect's grand elder had detonated himself against Ghost Leopard Douluo, severely injuring Ghost Leopard outright!
Later, at the Clear Sky Sect's mountain gate, the sixth elder had detonated himself too, leaving everyone in the Elder Hall stunned by the blast!
Seeing Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard's wretched state, everyone feared those hammer-wielders really had abandoned all regard for their lives. No one dared charge forward and fight.
The Clear Sky Sect's sixth elder's explosion at his own mountain gate, in particular, had blasted the Spirit Hall Soul Masters' fighting spirit to pieces!
Though Spirit Hall had held the advantage at the time, if they continued fighting, their losses would have been unimaginably heavy. There was no longer any value in continuing the battle.
"Wait, we've gotten off track. How did you get to know Ye Lan?" Yue Guan asked.
"Dugu Yan introduced me," Xuan Ming said.
"Dugu Yan?" Yue Guan paused.
"Oh, right. Medicine and poison share the same roots. Ye Lan's temper is about on par with Dugu Bo's."
"When you return to Heaven Dou City, whatever you do, don't mention anything about Spirit Hall to her. Better not to mention anything to do with fighting at all!"
"Otherwise, she won't give you a pleasant look."
"Mm." Xuan Ming nodded to show he had taken note.
"Do you have any reference books on flowers and plants?"
Yue Guan stopped and turned back, looking at Xuan Ming strangely. "Don't tell me... you want to cater to her tastes?"
"Or... oh, I remember. Back in Sunset Forest, you seemed to be holding on to that little girl with the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul."
"Could it be... tsk, tsk!"
"You look so cold, boy. Who would've thought~"
The corner of Xuan Ming's eye twitched. "I..."
"All right, no need to explain. I understand." Yue Guan patted Xuan Ming's shoulder.
"Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters do have good temperaments. Even Ye Lan only grew increasingly bad-tempered after losing her husband and then her son."
"If you want to cater to her tastes, I really do have some things."
"And I dare say no one on the entire Douluo Continent understands these exotic flowers and rare plants better than I do!"
"But!"
Yue Guan bent down. "Why should I give them to you?"
"..."
Xuan Ming had no answer. He had only been trying his luck and had not expected to get the reference materials so easily.
"Seriously, boy, is that your attitude when asking someone for a favor?" Yue Guan looked speechless.
"I was just asking. If you don't have any, forget it," Xuan Ming said.
"Oh! Trying to provoke me?" Yue Guan raised his eyebrows.
"Do you really think I've lived all these years for nothing, that a few words from you could get a rise out of me?"
"I wasn't..."
"But if you really want them, it's not out of the question." Yue Guan glanced around and bent down again.
"But you have to tell me. Do you like the Pope more, or Nana?"
"..."
"Do you really like that little girl from the Nine Heart Begonia family?"
"..."
"Don't tell me you like Dugu Yan?"
"..."
"None of them? Could you like Xue Qinghe? He's a man."
Xuan Ming's expression darkened. "I..."
"Oh~ I understand. You like them all, right?" Yue Guan said.
"What a fickle little man. I despise you!"
"..."
Chapter 57: Thinking too much
Two more days passed. Early that morning, Bibi Dong took Xuan Ming out of the Pope's Palace and headed outside Spirit City.
The weather was not good that day. The sky was gloomy, as though rain was coming.
"Knowing you wouldn't know what to say, I didn't tell Nana about this."
"Mm."
"..."
"Don't you have anything to say?" Bibi Dong asked.
"I don't know what to say," Xuan Ming said.
Whether in his previous life or this one, his social interaction had been almost nonexistent.
He did not know how to talk to people or navigate worldly relationships, because he had never encountered such things and had no use for them.
He only needed to silently do what he was supposed to do, then disappear quietly when he could no longer do it.
No one cared whether he was there, and no one cared whether he lived or died. He was used to it, too.
He seemed to be alive, yet also seemed to have died long ago.
"This is for you." Bibi Dong took out a purple bracelet.
"This is a Storage Soul Tool. You should have learned about them during your classes at Spirit Hall Academy. There are some things inside that you should be able to use."
Xuan Ming remained silent and did not take it.
"What's wrong?" Bibi Dong asked.
"Would you like a different color?"
"Why?" Xuan Ming asked.
Bibi Dong stopped walking. "Some things are understood without being said. Saying them aloud leaves everyone looking bad."
"Some things you wouldn't believe even if I told you, so why ask?"
"So we should play dumb?" Xuan Ming said.
"What's wrong with playing dumb? Why get to the bottom of everything?" Bibi Dong said.
"But it's disgusting," Xuan Ming said.
"This world is disgusting to begin with," Bibi Dong said.
"If you don't want to die, endure the disgust and keep living."
"But I can't endure it," Xuan Ming said.
"You endured a life worse than death, but you can't endure this much?" Bibi Dong frowned slightly.
"If you die, those things that disgust you will still exist. That wouldn't be a clean death. You'd just be a coward fleeing the disgust!"
"Only by living can you destroy those disgusting things!"
"And then become just as disgusting as those things?" Xuan Ming said.
"Then did I actually destroy those disgusting things, or was I assimilated by them?"
"I don't want to deceive myself. I know perfectly well that once something has been dirty, it can never be washed clean again."
"..."
Bibi Dong crouched halfway down and cupped Xuan Ming's face in both hands. "Do you want to live?"