Scouting Out the Soul Master World

"Sister Yun'er, thank you for putting up with my antics. Let's find a restaurant in Nuoding City and have dinner before we go back, so you won't have to busy yourself..."

Ye Qiu stroked the back of Su Yun'er's hand as she sat beside him and spoke softly.

"Mm~ whatever you say, husband."

Su Yun'er lowered her head and spoke in a tender voice, her face flushed. A pink light shimmered in her bashful eyes, and even her ears felt hot.

Ye Qiu smiled faintly and slipped an arm around Su Yun'er's fragrant shoulders. "Sister Yun'er, don't keep your head down all the time~ won't you lift it up? You're a Soul Master now... who would dare speak ill of you?"

Su Yun'er pressed close to Ye Qiu and lightly touched her cheeks with both hands.

"W-wait a moment~ I'm still a little hot..."

Of course Su Yun'er knew what Ye Qiu meant.

With Ye Qiu by her side, she wasn't afraid of anything. What did anyone else have to do with her? She lived only for Xiao Qiu... as long as Xiao Qiu didn't mind her strange eyes, that was enough.

Everyone else... had nothing to do with her.

It was just that Su Yun'er rarely went out, and was even less often this intimate with Ye Qiu in public.

On top of that, she had been startled while riding that afternoon,

which made her even shyer.

That's right,

this time, Ye Qiu hadn't taken Su Yun'er beneath the peach tree to water and fertilize it, nor had he taken her onto the roof to admire the scenery.

Instead, he had given her the reins,

letting Su Yun'er take charge and gallop to her heart's content, enjoying the thrill of riding.

"..."

Seeing how adorable Su Yun'er looked, Ye Qiu felt his appetite stir again.

Unfortunately, they were out on the street,

and besides, he didn't want to wear his Sister Yun'er out too much.

There was plenty of time ahead of them, anyway.

"Then stay close to me, Sister Yun'er. There are a few things you need to keep in mind..."

"Mm..."

With his arm around Su Yun'er, Ye Qiu strolled toward the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City, walking along streets bathed in the golden glow of dusk.

At the same time,

Ye Qiu began giving Su Yun'er instructions.

"Sister Yun'er, don't take off your mask when you get there, and whatever you do, don't reveal anything about Peach Blossom Village. Don't tell them anything beyond your name, Martial Soul, and Soul Rings. Also... don't feel inferior because of those beautiful eyes of yours."

"In the Soul Master World, eyes like yours would be considered unusual at most, Sister Yun'er. They're certainly not strange, much less a defect."

"If someone extends an invitation to you..."

"Just tell them you want to go to Spirit City to cultivate..."

"..."

Before long,

Su Yun'er had committed everything Ye Qiu said to memory.

Ye Qiu personally escorted her to the entrance of the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City.

He watched her go inside alone.

It was Su Yun'er's first time dealing with people on her own, so she couldn't help feeling nervous.

But when she saw no trace of surprise in the eyes of Soul Masters like Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao, she gradually relaxed.

She experienced firsthand

just how right Xiao Qiu had been!

Her eyes were nothing more than an ordinary inborn trait in the Soul Master World...

For the first time,

Su Yun'er truly came to like being a Soul Master, and she felt a little more longing for Spirit City.

Everything went just as Ye Qiu had expected. When a Soul Grandmaster like Ma Xiunuo saw Su Yun'er's two Thousand-Year Soul Rings, he was immediately astonished, as though he had seen a heavenly being... it shattered most of what he had believed for more than half his life.

In the original story, Ma Xiunuo had been one of the few people who held Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's theories in high regard!

It was easy to imagine

how great a shock Su Yun'er's Soul Ring Configuration was to him.

Ma Xiunuo immediately began questioning Su Yun'er about her background. When he learned that she was just a commoner Soul Master, he promptly extended an olive branch on behalf of Spirit Hall...

Su Yun'er calmly accepted, of course, and, as Ye Qiu had instructed, made going to Spirit City to cultivate her condition.

For someone with such a Soul Ring Configuration to make such a reasonable request...

How could Ma Xiunuo refuse?

Ma Xiunuo even said outright that the headquarters in Spirit City would surely welcome Su Yun'er...

It was just that, for a matter like this,

he needed to report it to headquarters for approval.

Ye Qiu had anticipated this. Following his instructions, Su Yun'er arranged with Ma Xiunuo to return on the same day next month.

Ma Xiunuo agreed to everything!

In the end, he even respectfully saw Su Yun'er out through the doors of the Spirit Hall Branch.

Su Yun'er said goodbye to Ma Xiunuo and looked at Ye Qiu waiting by the roadside, her eyes full of delight. Clever as she was, she naturally understood that this was not the time to walk alongside her Xiao Qiu.

Ye Qiu smiled and quickly disappeared around a corner into a small alley...

Su Yun'er immediately understood and followed him with quick, light steps. The moment she turned into the alley, Ye Qiu pulled her into his arms.

"Ah... Xiao Qiu!"

"Haha, Sister Yun'er, how did it go?"

Ye Qiu picked Su Yun'er up and spun her around, then pinned her against the wall.

"I've registered!"

Su Yun'er blushed and beamed.

A little proud of herself, she held up a small money pouch and shook it in front of Ye Qiu.

The Gold Soul Coins inside jingled.

"It was just as you said, Xiao Qiu. This is my ten Gold Soul Coin allowance for this month~ next month, we can go to Spirit City!"

Su Yun'er spoke happily.

"Mm-hmm~ let's go home now."

Ye Qiu nodded in satisfaction and took Su Yun'er's delicate hand.

"We still have a month. I'm going to look around the Soul Master World... and take you to see the scenery outside while I'm at it, Sister Yun'er."

"Mm~ whatever you say~"

Su Yun'er smiled sweetly.

As her voice faded,

the Mangekyō Sharingan in Ye Qiu's eyes slowly began to turn.

The two of them vanished from where they stood...

That night,

an urgent secret report was sent from the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City, reaching the headquarters in Spirit City directly without needing to be reported to the main hall above it!

Such urgent secret reports were extremely rare.

Branches like the one in Nuoding City, at the edge of the empire, had it a little better; they could occasionally use them when tensions on the border led to fighting.

As for branches in other small places,

someone could spend a lifetime as a branch master and never get to use one.

Su Yun'er, with her two Thousand-Year Soul Rings,

was worth Ma Xiunuo exercising one of his few privileges as branch master.

"..."

In the blink of an eye,

half a month had passed.

Ye Qiu had long since begun traveling through the Soul Master World. Though he called it traveling, he was really scouting locations... visiting important major cities and noting their spatial coordinates.

Whenever night fell, or he grew bored,

Ye Qiu would pause his journey and fetch Su Yun'er from Peach Blossom Village. They stayed overnight in various cities, making beautiful memories of their love on the grass, in inns, or in carriages that had traveled all day...

And so, another evening came.

On the roof, Ye Qiu held Su Yun'er up as they gazed at the distant night sky, until she was utterly exhausted. After coaxing her to sleep and settling her in, he left Peach Blossom Village alone under cover of night.

His next stop was where Shrek Academy was located,

in the heart of the Lima Plain, the most fertile land in the Balak Kingdom: Suotuo City, known as Barak's granary!