Qian Renxue: I Got Touched?

Tang San nodded and took the opportunity to dangle an even bigger piece of bait:

"The Silent Sleeve Arrow was just a crude little thing I casually made from ordinary pig iron. Its power and range are both limited.

The Hidden Weapons I've researched go far beyond this one kind. Hand-thrown types, mechanism types-there are no fewer than several dozen altogether.

The greatest advantage of Hidden Weapons is that they require neither Soul Power nor physical strength.

Even a support-type Soul Master could pull the trigger and instantly shoot a high-ranking Soul Master dead!"

As his words fell, the air seemed to freeze.

Chen Xin and Gu Rong, who had looked indifferent before, both abruptly widened their eyes.

Ning Fengzhi's breathing suddenly quickened, and a brilliant gleam burst from his gentle eyes!

The morning sunlight slanted into the room.

Xu Fan had only been awake for a short while when someone pushed the door open.

Qian Renxue walked in, followed by She Long in plain gray clothes.

"Brother, you're here! Elder She, you came too. Please, sit!"

Qian Renxue sat on the edge of the bed and said gently:

"Little brother, you know Elder She. He examined your legs before."

At this point, she paused and brought out the explanation she had prepared:

"The palace has suddenly assigned me a task. I need to leave the city and will be away for a while.

I'm worried about leaving you alone in the courtyard, so I've asked Elder She to look after you during this time."

In truth, there was no assignment at all.

After hearing Xu Fan mention the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Immortal Herbs yesterday, she had set her mind on taking them for herself.

Immortal Herbs had strange forms, and someone without the necessary knowledge would not recognize them.

She planned to return to Spirit City herself and consult the ancient Immortal Herb illustrations on the top floor of the library.

The round trip would take at least a month.

Xu Fan was the person at the heart of her greatest secret. Nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

She had simply decided to leave Snake Lance Douluo behind to stand guard over the little courtyard.

The moment Xu Fan heard that his brother was going on a long journey, he grew worried:

"Brother, it's dangerous out there. There are Soul Beasts in the wilderness, and you might even run into unreasonable bully Soul Masters.

You're an ordinary person without any Soul Power. Won't it be dangerous for you to go along?"

Listening to his rambling concern, Qian Renxue felt a trace of warmth rise in her heart and reassured him softly:

"Don't worry.

An important person from the palace is leading this trip, and there are plenty of powerful Soul Masters among the accompanying guards.

I'll just be helping out. Nothing will happen."

"That's good, then."

As Xu Fan spoke, he looked at his brother right beside him, and a surge of brotherly feeling at their parting welled up in his heart.

He grinned and lightly thumped his own chest twice with his right fist.

Then he extended his arm and lightly thumped Qian Renxue square in the chest:

"My dear brother, take care on the road!"

Thump.

There was little force behind it. It could even be called extremely gentle.

Yet Qian Renxue instantly went as stiff as a stone statue!

Although she used the disguise Soul Skill of the Angel Soul Bone Set to maintain Xue Qinghe's male appearance in the eyes of others,

a disguise was ultimately only a disguise. Beneath it, she was still a genuine young woman!

That punch had come without warning. She had not been guarding against this little brother on the bed at all and had actually forgotten to dodge.

She distinctly felt Xu Fan's fist touch her chest!

Even through two layers of clothing,

that strange, unfamiliar sensation still exploded in her mind like a thunderclap.

In an instant, hot blood rushed straight to her head.

Her fair face burned scarlet, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.

Beside them, She Long caught the scene out of the corner of his eye and nearly had his soul scared out of him.

He kept his head firmly lowered, not daring to breathe loudly.

"Brother? Why is your face so red? Is it too stuffy in here?"

"N-no!"

Qian Renxue abruptly came to her senses and took a large step back as though electrocuted, her voice even changing pitch.

She dared not look into Xu Fan's clear, innocent eyes again. Her hand unconsciously gathered her collar together, and with her flushed face held stern, she tossed out:

"I have to go. Stay home and listen to Elder She!"

Before her words had even finished, this young master, who could remain composed with Mount Tai collapsing before her, hurried out of the room almost as though fleeing in panic, not even daring to turn her head.

Only when she reached a secluded alley and a cool breeze blew against her did the burning heat in her face fade a little.

She lowered her head to glance at her chest. Her heart was still beating abnormally fast, and she secretly clenched her pearly teeth.

That little rascal...

He was clearly an invalid who couldn't even get out of bed. How did he always manage to do things that caught people completely off guard!

Taking two deep breaths, Qian Renxue suppressed the embarrassment, irritation, and awkwardness in her heart and regained her usual cold, dignified demeanor.

Just then, a shadow shifted in the corner of the alley, and Porcupinefish Douluo appeared:

"Young master, everything is ready. We can leave at any time."

Qian Renxue nodded lightly and looked back one last time at the courtyard's wooden gate.

"Let's go."

Their figures disappeared at the far end of the long street.

Meanwhile, inside the room in the little courtyard.

Only Xu Fan and She Long remained, staring at each other in silence for a moment.

She Long stood beside the bed with his hands behind his back, his square face filled with stiffness and awkwardness.

That was hardly surprising.

He was a distinguished elder of Spirit Hall, a rank ninety-two Power Attack System Titled Douluo.

His usual duties were important matters such as keeping an entire region in check and protecting the young master. When had he ever waited on an ordinary person?

Seeing how awkward the atmosphere was, Xu Fan took the initiative to speak:

"Um... Elder She, don't keep standing there. Please, sit down."

She Long nodded stiffly, pulled over an old wooden stool, and sat down with his legs planted wide, saying in a low voice:

"It's fine. Just focus on recovering."

"Elder She." Xu Fan curiously studied this middle-aged man with an extraordinary bearing and casually struck up a conversation:

"I heard my brother say you're a Soul Master. We've known each other for quite a while now, but I still don't know what rank you've cultivated to."

Hearing Xu Fan ask his rank, She Long's eyelid twitched sharply.

He looked at Xu Fan's harmless appearance and curiosity-filled face.

The exact words this boy had delivered with spittle flying that day echoed through his mind again:

"A distinguished Titled Douluo actually lost to Yang Wudi.

Yang Wudi was only a Soul Douluo, and he still managed to lose.

All you can say is that not every Titled Douluo is reliable."

Those few sentences circled through his mind even in his dreams. They were simply the greatest humiliation of his life!

With a dark face, She Long mocked himself irritably:

"My talent is poor. I'm just scraping out a living. At any rate, I can't beat a Soul Douluo."

Unexpectedly, Xu Fan not only failed to catch the sarcasm but instead sucked in a breath, his eyes instantly lighting up:

"You can't beat a Soul Douluo?!"

Xu Fan was so excited that he nearly pushed himself up from the bed.

What ordinary low-ranking Soul Master would use a Soul Douluo as a point of comparison!

The moment Elder She opened his mouth, he was comparing himself against Soul Douluos above rank eighty.

That meant he should at least be at the Soul Saint level.

"Elder She, I never imagined you were so powerful!"

At this point, Xu Fan's admiration knew no bounds. Slapping his thigh, he exclaimed:

"No wonder you could spot the problem with the meridians in my legs at a glance!

My brother is just an ordinary employee, yet he actually managed to make friends with a Soul Saint like you?

My brother's connections are far too extensive!"

The corner of She Long's mouth twitched violently, and his entire old face nearly lost its composure.

A Soul Saint?

I'm a Titled Douluo! A rank ninety-two Titled Douluo!

He had meant to make a couple of barbed remarks to vent his frustration. Who could have imagined that this boy's mind worked in such peculiar ways that he would climb straight up the offered pole and slap the label of Soul Saint on him with a face full of admiration!

A mouthful of old blood lodged in his throat.

Looking into those admiring eyes, She Long felt so stifled that he was almost suffering internal injuries. He could only squeeze a single word through his teeth:

"...Mm."