Chapter 37: Xue Wuyin, Can’t You Eat a Little More?

“Xue Wuyin!”

The beautiful atmosphere was shattered by a roar. The two of them looked up.

A young man in a lavish purple robe stood at the door, a cluster of fox fur on his shoulder. He bore a three-parts resemblance to Xue Chen.

“I hear someone is protecting you.”

The newcomer sneered, his eyes sizing up Ning Shengsheng, his gaze sticky and uncomfortable.

“You are that crazy woman with all the treasures?”

“Who are you?” she asked with a frown.

“Hilarious! Who doesn’t know this Crown Prince!”

His two eyes were fixed on Ning Shengsheng’s face.

Xue Chen’s eyes were filled with an undisguised disgust. He stood up and shielded Ning Shengsheng behind him. “Xue Heng, what are you doing here?”

“Doing what? You’re hiding a strange woman in your palace. This Crown Prince is, of course, here to arrest the suspect.”

He raised his hand, and a giant demonic beast appeared behind him. The demonic beast resembled a cheetah, its claws made of black iron bone spurs. If one were to be scratched, it would surely be a bloody mess.

“Good leopard, seize her…”

“Roar—”

The cheetah leaped up, a cold light flashing from its claws.

“Older Brother, do you really think I have no power to fight back?” Xue Chen’s dark pupils were like a cold pond, terrifyingly cold.

“Hahahaha, you’re a sixteen-year-old who has yet to open your apertures, and you haven’t even contracted a demonic beast. All you do all day is hug rabbits and cats, these good-for-nothings.”

“What are you going to fight me with?”

That’s right. In the past, to hide his strength and prevent himself from being harmed, he had always endured. But now, it was just an illusion.

He—

—was not going to endure it anymore.

A long sword appeared in his hand, the dark red demonic energy on it boiling.

Xue Heng’s pupils constricted. “You really have inherited half of the demon’s power! We should have just killed you back then!”

“How can the child of a beast be any good?”

“Crimson Flame Leopard, burn him to death!”

The demonic beast opened its mouth and spat out a ball of fire.

Just as Xue Chen was about to block it with his sword energy, he was suddenly enveloped in a blue water ball. The raging fire was silently extinguished.

Ugh.

Xue Heng: ?

And Xue Chen’s sword-wielding hand paused slightly.

Ning Shengsheng’s right hand pressed down on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Didn’t we agree that I would protect you?!”

“This princess always keeps her word!”

The young man’s inadvertently raised spikes were silently retracted. He glanced at the girl beside him. She still had that smiling expression. It seemed she was rarely sad. She always had a smile on her face for everyone.

“Azure Sea Spirit Pearl? This is a spirit-grade treasure!” Xue Heng’s eyes revealed a greedy look. His nostrils flared, and he shouted excitedly, “Flame Leopard, no matter what you do, kill them both and bring me their storage pouches!”

The demonic beast had already contracted with him. Hearing the command, it attacked the spirit pearl recklessly.

Under the ferocious beast’s relentless assault, the Azure Sea Spirit Pearl’s protective barrier gradually weakened.

Xue Chen: “Your Highness, don’t force it. Let me handle it.”

“No.”

Ning Shengsheng turned her storage pouch upside down. “I said I would protect you, and I will.”

Xue Chen was stunned, his right hand frozen in mid-air. A sour feeling that he couldn’t put into words rose in his heart.

“Damn it, I didn’t ask Older Brother for more spirit-grade treasures. It seems I can only use this move.”

The girl’s expression was resolute.

He watched as she threw away her storage pouch, her hands forming a seal in front of her chest, the speed of her hand seals surprisingly fast. His eyes flashed with amazement. Isn’t she without any talent for cultivation?

Ning Shengsheng closed her eyes, raised her arm, and brought two fingers together, wiping them past her brow. She opened her eyes and shouted, “With soul as vine, bind!”

In an instant, a stream of soul power flew out from between her brows. The soul power split into two strands, intertwining with each other, and shot into Xue Heng’s sea of consciousness at an extremely fast speed.

Xue Heng clutched his forehead and cried out in pain, “So painful! You crazy woman, what kind of heretical technique are you cultivating?”

“Whether it’s heretical or not is not for you to say. I see that your heart is ugly and your person even uglier, even worse than an evil thing. Ptooey!” Ning Shengsheng knew that her soul technique was still at a low level and probably couldn’t control him for long. After cursing him, she grabbed Xue Chen and ran.

Perhaps it was the illusion, but the sky was dark and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Xue Chen looked down. She was holding his hand without a second thought. He looked up. The girl’s black hair fell like a cascade of silk, and the soft strands brushed against the back of his hand. It was very itchy.

Xue Chen’s lips moved, and he suppressed the drumming in his chest, shifting his gaze elsewhere.

Suddenly, her fair neck entered his vision. Even though there was no moon, her skin glowed with a lustrous sheen, like a pearl.

Why is it that no matter where I look, it’s not right?

Xue Chen finally averted his gaze and fixed his eyes on the ground.

She didn’t know how long they had been running. Ning Shengsheng was panting heavily. She let go of his hand and leaned against a tree to rest.

“We should be safe from them now.”

“Mm.”

Xue Chen looked at his empty palm, a sense of loss in his heart.

“That Xue Heng is the Crown Prince of Heavenly Phoenix, right? With someone like him inheriting the throne, your Heavenly Phoenix will be finished sooner or later.”

“The princess is right.”

It’s better if it’s finished. What he wants is the destruction of Heavenly Phoenix.

Xue Chen turned his back, hiding the hatred in his eyes. When he turned back, his face held a gentle smile.

“Princess, you know soul techniques?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Ning Shengsheng pressed her lips together and guiltily averted her gaze. After a long wait, she didn’t hear Xue Chen question her. She, on the other hand, was the first to feel confused and turned to ask, “Why don’t you ask me why I know soul techniques?”

The young man was leaning against the tree, his whole body hidden in the shadows. Ning Shengsheng could only see his general movements. Perhaps from running too hard, she heard him tear off a piece of his sleeve and bandage a wound on his shoulder.

“Every cultivator has their own secrets.”

“If the princess is unwilling to say, why should I ask?”

Ning Shengsheng nodded. She thought that it was too dark for him to see her, so she said, “Hey, I agree with what you said!”

Although Xue Chen couldn’t see her expression, he could imagine the smug look in her round almond eyes when she said this.

“Your Highness, follow me.”

He handed the torn strip of cloth to Ning Shengsheng, letting her hold it while he held the other end.

He was so thoughtful. Ning Shengsheng’s expression was touched, and she obediently followed behind him.

The young man’s figure was thin and slender, and the sharp bones hidden under his sleeves were faintly visible. The hand holding the cloth strip also showed protruding bones.

So thin. After all that feeding, why is he still so thin!

Ning Shengsheng couldn’t help but say, “Xue Wuyin, can’t you eat a little more?”

Xue Chen suddenly stopped.

“What did the princess call me?”

He didn’t turn around, and Ning Shengsheng couldn’t see his expression, so she thought he didn’t like being called that.

“Sorry, I heard Xue Heng call you that and thought it was a nice name. If you don’t like it, I’ll still call you Xue Chen in the future.”

After a long silence, Xue Chen shook his head.

“No, you can call me that if you want.”

“After all, Xue Chen is not a good name either.”

The young man continued to walk forward, his voice as bitter as if it had been ground by sand.

“No, Xue Chen is a nice name too!”

The person in front of them did not speak again.

Ning Shengsheng empathized with his sadness and silently shut her mouth, quietly following behind him.

She made up her mind to find out the origin of the name “Xue Chen” when she returned to the palace.

What could make him so sad?