ng Hongchen also lowered her head, feeling a little embarrassed. However, there was a stubborn look in her eyes. As she had said before, she couldn't tolerate the soul bone that Su Yu had given her ending up in the hands of another woman. Just the thought felt worse than death.
Seeing the expressions of the two girls, Su Yu smiled faintly. As expected, if he didn't provoke them a little, these two would still be exchanging pleasantries with him.
"Take good care of them. Find so ti to absorb them; they should be of great help to you both," Su Yu said, waving his hand.
These two soul bones were of top quality. In so ways, they weren't much different from ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul bones, especially since they were perfectly suited to the two of them. That made them even more rare. Only for them would Su Yu give these bones away. If it were soone else, he'd rather let the bones gather dust in his storage ring than give them out. Just because he had many soul bones didn't an he would give them away carelessly.
"Got it," ng Hongchen replied quietly, her beautiful ice-blue eyes stealing a glance at Su Yu. Her face flushed slightly, a soft smile on her lips.
Wang Dong'er, on the other hand, responded in her usual haughty manner, "Since you've already taken them out, this young master can't refuse to give you so face. I'll reluctantly accept it. Don't worry, I'll give you an even better gift in the future."
Her words, as always, carried her tsundere style, which matched her personality. As the heir of the Clear Sky Sect, her family's wealth was incredibly extensive, so her statent wasn't entirely baseless. However, Su Yu didn't take it to heart. Compared to the Clear Sky Sect, he was far wealthier. With access to the vast resources of the Star Dou Forest, if he wanted sothing, it was his for the taking. Su Yu didn't believe that Di Tian hadn't prepared soul bones for him. True dragon soul bones might be scarce for others, but not for him. He simply hadn't asked for them yet.
"Alright, it's getting late. How about we all go out for a al? My treat!"
Su Yu said, standing up.
"Sure! Let's go to that barbecue place from last ti. Their roast at is delicious," Wang Dong'er was the first to agree, eager to have barbecue again. Just thinking about that succulent roast lamb made her mouth water.
Su Yu frowned. His last experience at that barbecue place hadn't left a great impression—not because of the food, but because of the people. The evil soul masters and the later appearance of Long Xiaoyao, both had put enormous pressure on Su Yu. But now that he had Hai Bodong, a powerful ally, by his side, his earlier apprehensions dissipated.
Long Xiaoyao? How many ice dragons could he handle? With Elder Hai as his protector, what was there to fear?
"Alright, let's go for a barbecue. Sister ng, why don't you ask your brother to join us?"
Su Yu looked at ng Hongchen.
ng Hongchen was montarily taken aback, then smiled sweetly. "Okay!"
Soon, ng Hongchen called Xiao Hongchen to join them. The four young people gathered again, heading out for a barbecue. They returned to Wu's Barbecue Restaurant, ordering a whole roast lamb, so vegetables, and fruits. This ti, they didn't order grilled fish but opted for so marinated seafood dishes instead.
The group of four took the sa private room by the window as before, chatting and laughing as they waited for their food. Su Yu sat by the window, able to see the scenery on the street outside. ng Hongchen and Wang Dong'er sat on either side of him, while Xiao Hongchen sat across from him. Wang Dong'er, bored, rested her hand on Su Yu's shoulder and lazily gazed out the window. Su Yu, anwhile, sipped on the complintary wheat juice. It was slightly bitter at first, but left a sweet aftertaste, clearly made from pure wheat.
Xiao Hongchen crossed his arms, looking at Su Yu with an ill-intentioned smirk, clearly enjoying Su Yu's misfortune.
"Su Yu, did you know that your monthly stipend of one hundred thousand gold soul coins has been canceled?"
"You sure have guts, skipping class for so long. Now you're getting your couppance, huh?"
Xiao Hongchen viewed Su Yu as a rival, and seeing him in trouble made him grin from ear to ear.
"Brother, Su Yu didn't skip class on purpose. Why do you always say such unpleasant things? If you keep this up, I won't bring you along next ti," ng Hongchen couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up before Su Yu could even respond.
Su Yu was such a good person, even giving her such a high-quality soul bone. Yet her brother was still kicking him while he was down. ng Hongchen found it a bit too much.
Xiao Hongchen was speechless. Sure, you like this guy, but do you have to be so biased? You haven't even gotten together with him yet, and you're already scolding your brother?
Angry and frustrated, Xiao Hongchen found himself disliking Su Yu even more.
Su Yu put his cup down and smiled faintly.
"Senior Xiao, your information is outdated. The Hall Master has already reinstated my monthly stipend of one hundred thousand gold soul coins. How could you not know?"
"No way! You, the young master of Illustrious Virtue Hall, don't even know sothing like this?"
Su Yu's words were sharp, laced with sarcasm. When it ca to verbal sparring, he feared no one.
"That's impossible! You've been absent for so long without permission. It's already lenient enough that they didn't punish you further. How could they possibly lift the punishnt?"
Xiao Hongchen was in disbelief. If this were true, wouldn't he be the laughingstock? And wouldn't that an he'd been backstabbed by his grandfather?
"If you don't believe , how about we make a bet?"
Su Yu asked with a smile.
"What kind of bet?"
Xiao Hongchen asked.
"Simple. If what I said is true, you owe a level-five Soul Barriers. If it's not true, I'll give you a soul bone," Su Yu said with a light chuckle.
"Are you serious?"
Xiao Hongchen was shocked. Betting with a soul bone? Wasn't that a bit much?
"Of course, unless you think I'm lying," Su Yu responded.
"No bet!"
Xiao Hongchen thought about it carefully and realized sothing was off. Betting a soul bone implied Su Yu was very confident. And losing would also an giving away a Soul Barrier. It seed too risky. Xiao Hongchen wasn't about to do sothing so reckless.
"Oh? Are you afraid?"
Su Yu said calmly, but his words made the veins on Xiao Hongchen's forehead throb. As an arrogant young man, Xiao Hongchen hated being looked down upon.
Su Yu's words hit a nerve. Xiao Hongchen imdiately got heated.
"It's just a level-five Soul Barrier. I'll take the bet. But I have one condition: the soul bone you offer can't be less than ten thousand years old."
A ten-thousand-year soul bone versus a level-five Soul Barrier—which was more valuable? Obviously, the soul bone. While the shield was precious, it wasn't as valuable as a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone. Moreover, the Illustrious Virtue Hall team in the original story could afford to equip everyone with level-five Soul Barriers, showing just how wealthy they were. Soul engineers had money to burn.
"Brother, that's too much! You're asking for too much," ng Hongchen protested. A ten-thousand-year soul bone was worth at least a million gold soul coins. A level-five Soul Barrier, no matter how precious, was only worth around ten thousand gold soul coins at most, and they could even make their own. To ng Hongchen, her brother's demand was just greedy.
"It's not like I'm forcing him to bet. He can always refuse," Xiao Hongchen said, shrugging.
"It's fine. A ten-thousand-year soul bone? If I lose, I'll give you one," Su Yu said, waving his hand dismissively. To him, it was no big deal. After all, he wasn't going to lose. How could he lose when he already knew the outco? So the bet didn't matter—he was about to win a free Soul Barrier.
"Good, then it's settled. Whoever goes back on their word is a coward," Xiao Hongchen quickly agreed, not giving Su Yu a chance to back out. He wasn't about to let an opportunity to get a soul bone slip through his fingers.
ng Hongchen wanted to say sothing, but the bet was already sealed. She could only glare at Xiao Hongchen, filled with frustration. Her stare could almost kill.
Xiao Hongchen avoided her gaze, pretending not to notice. He whistled and looked around, trying not to et her eyes.
Wang Dong'er, on the other hand, was secretly impressed by Xiao Hongchen's courage. To dare bet against Su Yu... wasn't he afraid of losing everything? Wang Dong'er knew Su Yu never did anything without confidence. If Su Yu was betting, it ant he had full assurance. Looks like Xiao Hongchen was going to lose a lot.
"The roast lamb is here!"
At that mont, the freshly cooked, fragrant roast lamb was brought in. Wang Dong'er's eyes lit up imdiately. Xiao Hongchen also rubbed his hands together in anticipation—these two foodies!
As soon as the lamb was served, Xiao Hongchen wasted no ti tearing off a leg. Wang Dong'er followed suit, grabbing another leg.
"Su Yu, have so," ng Hongchen, like a dutiful wife, tore off a large piece of at and handed it to Su Yu.
"Thanks!"
Su Yu thanked her, then suddenly rembered sothing. He quickly took out a small figure from his storage pouch—(Xue Di)Snow Empress. The tiny Snow Empress looked up at Su Yu, her face full of grievance. She was unhappy. How could Su Yu leave her in that dark place for so long?!
"What's this?"
"Wow, such a cute little child!"
ng Hongchen's eyes lit up upon seeing the delicate and adorable Snow Empress.
Wang Dong'er, too, was so stunned that she forgot to chew the at in her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as he swallowed and asked, "Su Yu, whose child is this? Where did you get her?"
Su Yu smiled and replied, "Of course, she's from my family."
"Your family? You have a child already?"
Smack!
Su Yu flicked Wang Dong'er on the forehead, making tears well up in Wang Dong'er's eyes from the pain.
"Ow! Why did you hit again?"
Wang Dong'er complained, feeling both aggrieved and indignant.
"Because you never think before you speak. I'm not that old. How could I have a child? Does that even make sense?"
Su Yu retorted, exasperated by Wang Dong'er's wild imagination.
"Well, you said she's from your family. How could I not misunderstand?" Wang Dong'er muttered, still feeling wronged.
"This is my little sister, Xue'er. Isn't she cute?"
Su Yu smiled as he rubbed the little Snow Empress's cheek.
"So cute, too cute!"
ng Hongchen's eyes sparkled with maternal affection, utterly chard. Seeing Xue'er for the first ti, her heart lted.
Wang Dong'er also couldn't resist, even forgetting the pain from Su Yu's flick.
"Su Yu, can I hold her? She's just too adorable."
ng Hongchen didn't say anything, but her eyes were filled with the sa desire. It was clear she also wanted to hold the little Snow Empress.
Su Yu shook his head, gently refusing.
"It's not that I don't want to let you hold her, but this little one is very picky about people. She only lets hold her; she won't let anyone else touch her."
Su Yu didn't even need to ask. He knew the Snow Empress wouldn't allow it. Ever since she had co out, her gaze had been fixed solely on him, completely ignoring everyone else. After all, this was the Snow Empress, the forr ruler of the Extre North. Although she had shrunk in size, her mind hadn't changed. There was no way she would let any humans other than Su Yu hold her. The others weren't even on her radar.
"Really?"
Both ng Hongchen and Wang Dong'er looked visibly disappointed. Such an adorable little girl, yet they couldn't hold her—what a pity.
"By the way, Su Yu, where do you keep her? Your soul tool can't store living things, right?"
Wang Dong'er, having lived with Su Yu for over eight months, knew quite a bit about his possessions.
"I have another soul tool that can store living creatures," Su Yu explained casually.
"Oh," Wang Dong replied, understanding, and didn't ask further.
"By the way, does little Xue'er want to eat? She's so young, and it's been so long since she's eaten. She must be starving by now, right? Can she eat roast at?"
Wang Dong'er suddenly had a strange idea and wanted to feed Xue'er so roast at.
Su Yu: "..."
Silence.
Who feeds a one-year-old roast at? What kind of brain does it take to co up with that?
Wang Dong'er, feeling embarrassed, lowered her head, seeing that Su Yu's expression had said it all.
"This little one has her food. You don't need to worry about it," Su Yu said, rolling his eyes at Wang Dong'er. He then took out a bottle, which contained honey water mixed with ice marrow. The honey was from Bear Lord, and the ice marrow was perfect for feeding Xue'er. Of course, it was just ordinary ice marrow, not the ten-thousand-year variety. If Su Yu had that, he would have used it himself.
Xue'er held the bottle with both hands and drank contentedly. As for the others staring at her, it didn't bother her at all. To her, they simply didn't exist.
"This scent... sweet, with a hint of ice energy. Is that mixed with ice marrow? And you're feeding that to a child?"
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened. Feeding a one-year-old child ice marrow? Did Su Yu have a mine at ho or sothing? How could he afford to feed her like this!?
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