Chapter 16 — Meeting Tang Wulin Again, and Na'er Secretly Eating Under the Table
Na'er turned her head to glance at Jiang Chen, who was sleeping like a dead pig, and carefully wriggled her hand free from his.
She pulled the blanket over her head, dimmed her phone's screen to its lowest brightness, and cautiously checked the message Tang Wulin had sent.
Ten minutes earlier:
Tang Wulin: "Na'er? Where did you go?"
Na'er thought to herself that if she told him Jiang Chen had taken her away, he would definitely come looking for her.
Na'er: "My family came to pick me up."
Tang Wulin: "Where is your home? Are they treating you well? Did they force you to go with them?!"
Na'er eyed the snoring Jiang Chen beside her. Half-forced, she thought.
Na'er: "I'll tell you later."
An eight-hundred-year dragon-type spirit wasn't just valuable—it was priceless.
If a hundred-year soul spirit cost a million, then an eight-hundred-year one was at least fifty million. And at "ten thousand per night," she'd need five thousand nights—nearly 140 years—to pay it off.
If she never awakened her martial soul and remained a powerless human, would she be warming his bed for life?
The thought made her despair.
Downstairs, Huo Yuner kept hammering away in the basement, pouring her bitterness into forging.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen had taken Na'er to stroll through the shopping district.
"Do you do this 'shopping' thing every day?" Na'er asked flatly, irritated. Tang Wulin worked hard at the forge every day, training and earning money nonstop, while her so-called creditor did absolutely nothing.
Na'er had already gotten used to sleeping on soft bedding—since, despite everything, he hadn't actually done anything inappropriate.
Probably because he didn't want to be executed. Or worse.
"How do you talk to your brother like that?"
She sighed. "Brother, do you always live this leisurely?"
Calling him "brother" didn't cost her anything, she thought bitterly.
But the injustice boiled inside her. Why was Tang Wulin so hardworking yet so poor, while this lazy man could throw money around?
It wasn't fair!
Her face, however, remained a polite mask of sunshine—much to Jiang Chen's confusion.
What a perfectly fake smile that was, he thought. Purely professional, the kind that made him feel like she was humoring him.
He just didn't understand.
What was so great about Tang Wulin anyway?
Was it just because he was "the main character"?
He wasn't even the villain! Not yet, at least!
Was it possible… he just wasn't being nice enough to her?
No, that couldn't be right.
He glanced at the mountain of clothing in his hands. Dresses of all colors. Too many already.
"Don't buy me more," Na'er sighed.
"What? You planning to wear that same outfit forever?"
"Oh, I get it—you're worried about debt." Jiang Chen smiled. "Don't be. These are free."
Na'er stared blankly. She had no words left.
"Fine," she muttered, "I'm hungry."
Better to eat than to shop endlessly with this lunatic. At least eating meant time would pass faster—and she could go home sooner.
Except… home wasn't exactly heaven either. With him around, no place could ever be heaven.
When they reached the restaurant, Na'er nearly fainted at the price of Jiang Chen's order.
Thirty thousand federation credits.
That was three full days of "bed-warming" work!
Damn rich people.
Grinding her teeth, she grabbed a piece of cake and started eating quietly, pretending to be delicate while secretly plotting to eat him bankrupt.
At least take some revenge on his wallet.
Her small mouth nibbled at the creamy dessert, a dab of white frosting at the corner of her lips making her look irresistibly cute.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen was deep in thought when suddenly someone called out nearby:
"Oh! Isn't that Wulin? Long time no see—you're in Eastsea too?"
"And this? Your girlfriend? Hah, early romance, huh? Naughty boy!"
Na'er froze. The two who entered were a girl and a boy.
She didn't recognize the girl—but the boy? Of course she did.
Tang Wulin.
When he turned at the sound of his name, his eyes lit up instantly at the sight of Jiang Chen.
Though he and Na'er chatted every night, she had never once told him where she lived.
Tang Wulin always suspected her home life wasn't good. After all, she couldn't awaken a martial soul.
He knew too well how cruel that felt—his own Blue Silver Grass was mocked daily as trash.
Still, he trained relentlessly, determined to surpass his limits through sheer effort, to one day lift Na'er from whatever misery her family had cast her into.
More than once, he'd cursed his luck.
Why did he have to awaken such garbage?
Even after contracting the dragon-blooded Golden Night Dragon, his bloodline clashed with Blue Silver Grass so badly that his first skill—intended to be a mighty dragon technique—had degraded into Blue Silver Bind.
The same basic skill his father had once mocked for being pointless.
Didn't matter if it was ten years or a hundred years—the first skill was always Blue Silver Bind!
Sometimes he wondered if even with million-year soul rings, that cursed vine would still wrap around him.
(Somewhere far away, Tang San sneezed.)
"No, no, she's not my girlfriend!" Tang Wulin stammered, embarrassed. "This is Senior Sister Mu Xi!"
The girl beside him, fair and confident, smiled warmly and introduced herself.
Mu Xi—daughter of Seven-Star Saint Smith Mu Chen, and already a first-rank blacksmith herself.
"Hello, Jiang Chen," she said politely. "I'm Mu Xi, Wulin's senior sister."
She knew of him—her father had warned her about the man in Eastsea City who should never be provoked.
Since awakening his Dark Demon Evil God Tiger martial soul, Jiang Chen had shaken the Federation's upper circles. The emergence of another Huo Clan-style bloodline—a potential god-tier inheritance.
So, yes… not someone to cross.
Tang Wulin pulled Mu Xi to sit down eagerly.
"Senior Jiang Chen, do you know where Na'er's family is?" he asked anxiously.
Jiang Chen blinked. "Na'er didn't tell you?"
He had noticed Na'er sneaking under her blankets to message someone nightly but hadn't paid attention until now. Apparently, she'd never once told Tang Wulin where she was.
Of course she hadn't—otherwise, the boy would've come charging to his doorstep already.
Tang Wulin's eyes dimmed. "She never told me. But I don't think her family treats her well."
"I'm weak now," he said quietly, "but one day, I'll become strong enough to save her."
His voice grew firm with conviction. "Until then, Senior, since you seem to know her family, please… look after her for me."
Jiang Chen's expression froze halfway between amused and speechless.
The two of them… were exactly the same.
And he? He really did sound like a villain now.
He was about to answer when he noticed something odd.
Na'er—who'd been sitting beside him a moment ago—had vanished.
Looking down, he saw her crouched under the table, hugging her knees and hiding her tiny frame between his legs like a scared kitten.
When she looked up, cream still marked her lip, eyes shining like amethysts filled with pleading.
Jiang Chen reached down and patted her head softly.
"Yes," he said, smiling faintly. "Na'er's family is from the Spirit Transmission Tower. You can't reach them right now."
(END CHAPTER)
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