Brazen

The soul-powered vehicle traveled smoothly down Mingdu's broad avenue, scenery flying past the window.

Bao Liang leaned back in his seat, propping his chin on one small hand, but doubts were stirring in his mind.

Was Innate Full Soul Power that impressive?

It was, but in the Douluo II era, Innate Full Soul Power really wasn't all that rare.

But what sort of place was the Hongchen residence?

It was the home of Jing Hongchen, master of Mingde Hall. He himself was one of the Sun Moon Empire's few Titled Douluo and a Level 9 Soul Engineer, a renowned figure whose doorstep was high enough to pierce the heavens.

Even if he had Innate Full Soul Power, he was just a six-year-old brat who had only just awakened his Martial Soul. Why would someone like that personally send for him?

The more Bao Liang thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

Although Bao Liang had the body of a six-year-old, inside it was the soul of a transmigrator.

At three, he had sold steamed buns outside the orphanage. At four, he had learned all the prices on Food Street. By five, he could already haggle with the old vendors on the corner.

He knew it all too well-there was no kindness in this world without a reason, and certainly no meat pies falling from the sky.

Either someone had the discerning eye to recognize a hidden gem, or someone had an ulterior motive.

Then the man in the dark blue uniform, as if he had seen through Bao Liang's thoughts, suddenly spoke. "Kid, do you know why we came to pick you up?"

Bao Liang shook his head.

"Because someone asked to see you by name." The man grinned. "The news has been passed up level by level since your awakening this morning.

"Normally, a kid who'd just awakened like you would be registered at most, then wait until next year to take the Soul Engineer academy entrance exam.

"But someone's been keeping an eye on you. When they heard you'd awakened today, they made the decision on the spot and told us to make sure we brought you over."

"Who?"

"You'll know when we get there."

Bao Liang blinked, feeling that something was strange.

"Keeping an eye on me?" Bao Liang muttered. "I'm just a little brat. What's there to watch..."

"Heh, you're no ordinary little brat." The man glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You blew up an entire awakening room on the day you awakened. Word's spread all over Mingdu.

"Everyone out there calls you 'Little Firecracker' now."

Bao Liang: "..."

Bao Liang had never imagined that the second nickname of his life would come about like this.

The soul-powered vehicle rounded the final bend, and in the distance he saw two figures, one tall and one short, standing before the imposing gates of the Hongchen residence.

On the Douluo Continent, Soul Masters experienced an additional growth spurt after absorbing a Soul Ring, which also caused people on the continent to mature very early.

Though the two before him looked like children in their teens, they were probably only around eight or nine.

The taller boy wore fine clothes, and an innate pride showed in his features.

The shorter one was a little girl, as delicate as a carved doll, standing on tiptoe and looking this way.

Seeing the two with such distinctive features, Bao Liang's pupils contracted sharply.

Memories surged up like a flood through a burst dam-when he was three, Food Street, the Little Baozi shop...

That year, Hope Orphanage had been dirt poor.

Although the empire provided subsidies every year, there were too many children and too many expenses. They didn't get a taste of meat even once a month.

As the quickest thinker in the orphanage, Bao Liang had an idea and suggested it to Granny: since they had nothing better to do anyway, why not make some food and sell it on the street corner to bring in money for the orphanage?

At first, Granny, the orphanage director, refused.

But Bao Liang had a silver tongue, and he painted such a glowing picture of "earning enough for an extra meat meal" that she finally made up her mind. She took out the private savings she had put aside over several years, set up a small stall on Food Street, and started selling steamed buns.

The bun shop, like Bao Liang's nickname, was called "Little Baozi."

There weren't many children at the orphanage, and they split into two groups: the sweet-talking ones who could call out to customers carried straw poles bristling with candied hawthorns and hawked them along the street; the other group followed Bao Liang, gathering in the Little Baozi shop to knead dough, roll wrappers, and stuff buns.

Bao Liang had been only three at the time, not even as tall as the worktable, so he stood on a little stool and directed the whole operation like he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Candied hawthorn team, shout louder! Remember to sweet-talk the customers. Call young ladies 'big sister,' middle-aged men 'handsome,' and old men 'uncle.' You'll be sure to sell more!"

"Bun team, roll the wrappers thin and fill them generously. We don't cheat young or old!"

The three-year-old tots scurried around under his direction, and it really did look like they knew what they were doing.

Granny watched from the doorway, torn between annoyance and amusement. Shaking her head, she turned and went to knead dough.

Business was neither good nor bad.

Then, one evening, a little girl as delicate as a carved doll stood timidly in front of his stall.

Her hair was a little messy, her clothes were smudged with dust, and her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.

She stared at the plump white meat buns in the steamer basket and swallowed, then raised her head and looked at Bao Liang with big, watery eyes.

Bao Liang's scalp went numb.

As a child who had grown up under the red flag, Bao Liang really had no resistance at all to a hungry child with no money.

At last, Bao Liang took a deep breath and very reluctantly picked a big meat bun out of the steamer basket and held it out to her. "...Here, eat this."

The little girl took the bun, and before she had even wiped away her tears, she went "nom" and bit into it. Her cheeks bulged as she ate, and her eyes instantly lit up like stars.

"It's so good!" she said indistinctly. "I want more!"

Bao Liang watched in anguish as she ate two in a row, his heart twitching.

Money! Every bite she takes is money!

Then an even bigger problem arrived.

A richly dressed boy of about five came charging over, panting-a head of shoulder-length white-blue hair, mismatched eyes, blue on the left and green on the right, and features as delicate as a porcelain doll's. Yet he had put on a fiercely menacing expression.

He spotted Bao Liang standing beside his younger sister at once.

He didn't see the half-eaten bun still clutched in her hand. All he saw were her red eyes, and he blew up on the spot.

"You! You dare bully my sister?!" The boy rolled up his sleeves and moved to attack.

Bao Liang: "Huh?"

"Come on, man, are you blind?!"

Before Bao Liang could explain, the boy had already thrown a punch at him.

Bao Liang dodged to the side, snatched up a rolling pin, and struck back, shouting, "Chovy! Brothers, someone's here to smash up our business!"

Bao Liang raised his arm and called out, and seven or eight three-year-old tots charged out of the bun shop.

Some clung to the boy's legs, some tugged at his arms, and one chubby kid seized his chance and sat right down on his face.

Pinned to the ground, the boy was shocked and furious. He struggled to get up, but the bunch of tots pressed him down so he couldn't move.

"Let me go! Do you know who I am?!"

"How the heck should I care who you are?!" Bao Liang held up his rolling pin and looked down at him. "You smashed up my stall and ruined my business, so you have to pay for it!"

In the end, it was only after the little girl explained with words and gestures that the boy realized he had misunderstood.

His face turned red, and he awkwardly apologized. Then he sat down and, together with his sister, ate twenty of Bao Liang's big meat buns in one sitting.

At first, Bao Liang was quite happy-better to settle a feud than let it fester. They had eaten the buns, so let it be; they were all kids anyway.

Then he discovered that this brother and sister really could eat.

After another twenty big meat buns went down their stomachs, the boy patted his belly and let out a satisfied burp. He stood up, perfectly content, and took his sister's hand. "Let's go, Meng."

"Hey, wait!" Bao Liang chased after him. "You haven't paid yet!"

"Paid for what?" The boy looked bewildered. "Weren't you treating us?"

"I was treating your sister! Not you!"

"But she ate too. It's all the same."

"It's not the same! I treated her, but you have to pay for yours!"

"...I don't have any money."

"Your mother-!"

The boy took his sister's hand and ran off like a puff of smoke, shouting as he went, "I really didn't bring any money today! I'll pay you back another day!"

And then there was no then.

They ate, wiped their mouths, and left.

Without paying!

Bao Liang stood in front of the empty steamer baskets, his little face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Damn it! He came here to dine and dash?!"

He remembered that debt for a full three years.

When Granny heard he had given away twenty big meat buns, she slapped her thigh in anger. "You little spendthrift! Twenty meat buns would have fed our orphanage for a whole day!"

Bao Liang gritted his teeth and said nothing, but in his heart, he put a hefty mark against that white-haired boy's name.

And now-the soul-powered vehicle stopped outside the Hongchen residence. Bao Liang looked at the two figures by the gate, watching the boy narrow his eyes.

Those mismatched blue and green eyes were still striking, and he was trying hard to put on an inscrutable air. Bao Liang then looked at the little girl, who was running toward him with a spring in her step.

Bao Liang's face grew even darker.

Well, look at that. He still hasn't paid his debt, and he dares to come walking toward me?!

Brazen!