Ming Zhao understood.
He had too much time on his hands, so much that he wanted to try anything entertaining.
When he had gone to the Ice Sea to hunt down Li Ya, he had wanted to watch the ants struggle painfully to survive, to see them glare at him with resentment and rage, unwilling to accept that they could do nothing to avenge themselves.
It was all a game either way. Toying with a young girl's feelings was a game too!
It wasn't the clean, exhilarating pleasure of cutting through a tangled knot with a sharp blade, as fighting and killing were. But watching an innocent girl like Meng Hongchen believe she had found love, give her heart and everything she had, only to discover in the end that everything she had faced was a lie, and turn dark like Bibi Dong, becoming a great witch who would destroy the world-that scenario was very interesting too!
The melodramatic plots of women's fiction felt terribly out of place in men's fiction, but used on an innocent girl like Meng Hongchen, they could be devastating.
Toy with Meng Hongchen until she became an Evil Soul Master?
"Low-level scumbag behavior, fit for a beast," Ming Zhao remarked.
But it sounded interesting.
Back when Shrek was hunting him down and his mind was set on growing stronger, he would have scoffed at such a thing. It was too petty and too worthless; destroying the world alone had been his ultimate goal.
But now that he was invincible under the heavens and so bored he could fart, it suited him perfectly. It was like how elementary schoolers thought Ultraman was too childish to watch, while it was just right for college students.
Fun.
Watching Meng Hongchen still searching for him in the sea of people below, Ming Zhao smiled faintly, raised a hand, and summoned a paper figure to possess him.
At once, six Soul Rings appeared around Ming Zhao, and a long, fierce-looking sword appeared in his hand. It was three feet and three inches long, black as the depths throughout, with vivid red runes engraved along its spine.
Two yellow, two purple, two black.
Martial Soul: Soul Chasing Sword. Chen Zifeng template.
Paired with his current cold, white-haired look, he was the spitting image of Ji Juechen, unit two.
"The Red and White Colliding Calamities Martial Soul is just too convenient!"
Meng Hongchen walked back beneath a cloud of gloom, her eyes vacant, as though she could no longer take anything in. Her heart was filled entirely by that cold, proud figure who had captivated her for the rest of her life.
"My white-haired prince, my true destined man, where are you...?" The corners of Meng Hongchen's mouth drooped, and she looked aggrieved and dejected.
The dark cloud above her was still raining. The rain seemed magical, washing the color from her until she looked faded all over, her entire body turning grayish white.
But just then, the corner of her eye caught that unforgettable silver figure with unerring precision.
"Found you!" Meng Hongchen's eyes lit up, and the dark cloud over her head immediately scattered, turning into a little sun brimming with vitality.
The rain had given way to clear skies!
This time, I won't miss my chance again!
Afraid of missing Ming Zhao again, she hurriedly lifted her long legs and ran toward him, her quick little steps carrying a young girl's shyness and excitement.
Ming Zhao had come out specifically to wait for her, so naturally he did not use the power of space to leave again. Pretending he hadn't noticed her, he stood with his back to her in front of a stall, silently waiting for his food.
As that presence drew closer, a cute little silver-haired head peeked out from Ming Zhao's side, its delicate, gentle face full of happiness.
"Hello!"
It was a very awkward greeting. Evidently, this young lady had never done anything like this before; she had always been the one others fawned over.
She was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, waiting for Ming Zhao to stain her black.
"Hello." Ming Zhao nodded lightly, his cold, hard face showing no change in expression.
Judging by how Meng Hongchen had grown even more excited when he showed his disgust just now, this little girl was so used to being praised that, deep down, she had some masochistic desire to be conquered and controlled by others.
If Ming Zhao wanted to stain her black, he couldn't be like her simps at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, indulging her in everything. Instead, he had to control her actions and erase her autonomy and will, turning her completely into an accessory of his.
As it happened, Ming Zhao had never been in the habit of pleasing others. It had always been others who pleased him, and those who didn't were already dead.
This was what he did best.
Meng Hongchen was indeed just as he had thought. Seeing that Ming Zhao's attitude had not changed in the slightest because of her beauty, that he had not become one of those utterly obedient but utterly dull simps, she immediately liked him even more.
Not only was she unangered by Ming Zhao's cold, distant manner, but the sweet smile on her face grew even brighter.
After greeting her, Ming Zhao closed his mouth and said nothing more.
According to the persona he had created for himself, he would not take the initiative to chat with Meng Hongchen. He would only let her pursue him, curry his favor, puzzle out his preferences, and then take the initiative to show him the side of herself he liked.
Meng Hongchen, too, fell silent after the greeting, having never taken the initiative to speak to a boy before.
She wanted very much to talk with Ming Zhao, but even after racking her brains, she couldn't think of anything they could talk about. Her smile slowly grew awkward, and she lowered her head to look at the tips of her shoes. No one knew what she was thinking.
"Sir, your charcoal-grilled five-colored chicken is ready! That'll be one Silver Soul Coin!"
While the two were silent, the vendor had finished preparing the food Ming Zhao had ordered. Beaming, he held out a bag wrapped securely in oilcloth.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of meat.
Ming Zhao took the oilcloth package and was about to take money from his Soul Tool to pay when, unexpectedly, Meng Hongchen reached out as if by reflex and dropped a Silver Soul Coin into the vendor's hand.
The vendor looked at the Silver Soul Coin in his hand, hesitation in his eyes. He glanced at Meng Hongchen, then at Ming Zhao, unsure whether he should accept it.
He could tell that the handsome man and beautiful woman in front of his stall had clearly just met, rather than being old friends. For the moment, he really didn't dare take the money.
Ming Zhao fell silent too.
Meng Hongchen's way of doing things was far too blunt. Who paid someone else's bill after meeting them only once?
She had clearly realized what a foolish thing she had done, too. An enticing blush rose on her fair, pretty face, and she didn't know where to direct her flustered gaze.
"I... don't get the wrong idea. I just..."
A fragrant chicken leg stopped her stammering. She looked up to see that Ming Zhao still wore the same cold, expressionless face, but he had opened the oilcloth package, torn off a plump chicken leg with an enticing color and aroma, and held it out in front of her.
"Eat." The single word was as calm as if spoken by an NPC.
Yet it made the awkwardness in Meng Hongchen's heart vanish without a trace. A sweet smile reappeared on her face, and she nodded lightly.
"Mm!"
With the vendor and his stall in the background.
She reached out and grasped the chicken leg in Ming Zhao's hand, her fair, soft palm covering his hand.