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Crown Prince's Mansion.
Qian Renxue, currently using the alias Xue Qinghe, stood before a large mirror, her brow furrowed in concentration. She held two dressesâone a deep purple, the other a pristine whiteâcomparing them.
Which one would be better to wear for her meeting with Su Yan? She felt a touch of annoyance. Over the years, her undercover role as the Crown Prince had forced her to suppress her natural feminine desire for beauty.
Now, she found herself struggling to even pick out a decent outfit.
She had constantly called Su Yan a 'scumbag' in the group chat, but she couldn't deny that if she truly felt nothing for him, his supposed moral character wouldn't bother her so much.
Suddenly, her jade mirror vibrated with a private message.
Su Yan: I'm here.
"Hm?" Qian Renxue's face immediately flushed with panic. She quickly shoved the two dresses into her spirit tool and frantically scanned the room for any sign of an intruder.
I Am an Orphan: Where are you?
Outside the window, perched on a tree branch, Su Yan watched the 'Little Golden Retriever'âhis nickname for Qian Renxueâawkwardly searching for him. He found her panic quite amusing.
Su Yan: I see you. If you give me permission to appear, I'll come out.
I Am an Orphan: ???
A series of question marks flooded Qian Renxue's mind. She triple-checked that her room was empty, then looked out the window, carefully inspecting the left and right, yet saw no one.
"That's impossible!" she muttered to herself. "Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo guard the backyard in shifts. How could this scoundrel get in without making a sound?"
I Am an Orphan: Stop lying to me. Just tell me where you are, and I'll arrange for a servant to bring you in.
Su Yan: See? You're scolding me again. Why can't I appear silently?
I Am an Orphan: ???
I Am an Orphan: Wait, you can actually hear me talking? You... are you... your jade mirror doesn't have a hidden surveillance function, does it?
A cold dread washed over Qian Renxue. Oh, gods! If the jade mirror had a camera, wouldn't Su Yan know everything she had done over the past few days? Would he know that she watched the videos Ning Rongrong sent her every night?
The thought alone sent a scorching blush across Qian Renxue's face.
"Damn him!" she cursed under her breath. "Shameless! Scoundrel! Hooligan!"
Su Yan: No?
Su Yan: Why are you cursing me again? What jade mirror has a surveillance function? And why are you blushing?
Qian Renxue was utterly alarmed. He even knows I'm blushing?
Damn it! This scoundrel's jade mirror really does have a surveillance function, and he can even see her! What about when I was changing clothes at night?!
I Am an Orphan: Su Yan, how could you be so utterly shameless!
Su Yan: I'm truly speechless. I don't even know what you're talking about. Look, I can see you. I'm on the tree right outside your window. Can you see me?
Qian Renxue saw his message and whipped her head around to look. She only saw two small birds perched on the tree.
???
Qian Renxue wanted to scream in frustration. What bird am I supposed to be looking at!
I Am an Orphan: Just tell me where you are, quickly!
Su Yan: I'm on the tree!
I Am an Orphan: Why don't you just say you're floating in the sky?
Su Yan saw her response and immediately flew up into the air.
Su Yan: I'm in the sky now.
Qian Renxue watched the bird soaring outside her window and almost burst out laughing from pure anger.
I Am an Orphan: Don't tell me you're actually just that bird?
Su Yan: Little Angel, you're so clever. You actually guessed it.
Qian Renxue was now genuinely laughing, but with a furious edge. "Alright, alright, alright!" she challenged. "If you claim you're that bird, then fly over here and let me see."
The moment she finished speaking, the small bird flew straight toward her, landing gently on Qian Renxue's shoulder. Su Yan was about to reply to the message, but he glanced down and nearly got a nosebleed.
It was a staggering sight. Standing on her shoulder, with her dressed in an elegant palace gown, felt like standing on the shoulder of a giantâit was a truly overwhelming visual feast.
"Hm?" Qian Renxue's eyes widened in disbelief. This bird actually flew over?
"How did you do that? You can control birds? You said you could see me and hear meâwas it all through this little bird?"
"Cough, cough."
Su Yan's faint cough came right from Qian Renxue's ear. She was startled even further. Just as she was about to demand an explanation, the little bird hopped off her shoulder, fluttered to the floor, and, with a brilliant flash of light, transformed into a handsome, dashing young man.
"Su Yan?"
Qian Renxue was completely dumbfounded, her eyes wide with shock. She pointed a trembling finger at him, then at the tree branch outside, struggling to form a coherent sentence.
"You... I..."
Su Yan gave a somewhat awkward reply. "I just felt that appearing like this was less presumptuous, but if I hadn't revealed myself, you'd probably start having all sorts of crazy thoughts again."
He extended his hand toward her. "Hello, Qian Renxue. I'm Su Yan."
At that very moment, his companion, the 'Little Monkey,' also flew down from the tree and transformed back into its human form.
Qian Renxue's expression froze as she stared blankly from Su Yan to the other man.
"Young Lord?"
Porcupinefish Douluo suddenly materialized, instantly adopting a wary stance as he focused on Little Monkey. He felt an intense sense of danger radiating from the newcomer.
Qian Renxue quickly interjected, "Grandpa Porcupinefish, relax. These are my friends. There's no need to worry."
"Very well, Young Lord. Just call for me if you require anything," Porcupinefish Douluo replied before withdrawing, his presence vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
"Hello..."
Qian Renxue stiffly extended her hand and shook Su Yan's. She quickly glanced at Little Monkey standing outside, then looked seriously at Su Yan.
Wait, what?
She could also transform her appearanceâit was part of her divine Spirit Hall technique. But to be able to transform into other species? Wasn't that a bit of an unfair advantage?
Su Yan looked at the dazed 'Little Golden Retriever' and couldn't help but find her reaction amusing.
However, he mused, Little Angel is truly beautiful. She looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, with skin as flawless as snow, a perfectly straight nose, and slightly slender Phoenix eyes. Her stunning face held a natural hint of majesty. She was also quite tall, at least $1.8$ meters, and her figure was incredibly full.
Truly amazing!
Qian Renxue snapped out of her daze and realized Su Yan had been staring at her. She said, a bit crossly, "Have you seen enough?"
Su Yan offered an awkward smile. "Look, I told you before I didn't want to meet, but you insisted I come. Now that your beauty has left me completely captivated, you're going to scold me for looking?"
Qian Renxue sat down and gestured for Su Yan to take a seat as well. "No wonder you're not afraid of Bibi Dong anymore," she commented. "With methods like that, no one can really do anything to you."
Su Yan sat down casually. "It's nothing much," he replied. "Just a small transformation technique."
Qian Renxue looked at his nonchalant answer, speechless. Go ahead and show off! she thought. Your so-called 'small transformation technique' is already beyond the comprehension of most Spirit Masters.
"Yesterday, I asked you to come find me, and you said you went to do something important. You just went to find that girl, Dugu Yan. You and her..." she trailed off, then changed the subject. "You said you brought good news?"
Qian Renxue had originally wanted to scold him: What kind of serious business is it for you two to be playing in the water like a pair of lovebirds? Is chasing girls a serious business now? But she held back; she wanted to question him, yet she knew she had no right to object to his personal affairs.
Su Yan nodded, his face turning serious. "It was indeed serious business. I went to Dugu Bo's herb garden and intercepted all the Immortal Herbs that Tang San was supposed to get. I used them myself. That's why, as you can see, my strength has increased this much."
He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "In a few days, I might become a Titled Douluo. By then, fighting Bibi Dong with one hand shouldn't be a problem at all!"
Qian Renxue's expression changed dramatically. She looked at Su Yan with utter disbelief.
"Are you sure about that?" she pressed. "What is your spirit power level right now? Bibi Dong is a twin-spirit user, a Level ninety-nine Super Douluo, and she is also the Legacy of the Rakshasa God. It's not that I don't believe you, I just can't understand how your spirit power could have increased so quickly."