Master of Nine Stars

Gao Lingwei’s home wasn’t far from Songbai Soul Martial High School, located in a residential area just a street away.

After Rong Taotao and Yang Chunxi had agreed on a meeting spot, he followed Gao Lingwei to her home first.

Seeing the various fruit and vegetable shops outside the residential building, along with the vendors hawking their wares along the street, he was struck by a vibrant sense of daily life.

Gao Lingwei had a deeply sentimental look on her face. She passed through the bustling alley, entered the residential complex, and stood beneath her building, looking up for a long time.

"What floor do you live on?" Rong Taotao asked curiously, a cat in one arm and a dog in the other.

"The top floor, the 6th floor. Let’s go." Gao Lingwei snapped out of her reverie and pulled open the unit’s main door, which wasn’t even locked.

"Hey, what a coincidence. I live on the top floor too, but it’s the 17th. When I was living alone, I’d go up to the roof to train every day," Rong Taotao said casually, quickly heading up the stairs.

The building was a bit old, but it was kept very clean.

He followed Gao Lingwei to the top floor and saw that the doormat in front of apartment 601 was brand new.

"Does someone live here?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

While fumbling for her keys and opening the door, Gao Lingwei smiled. "A week ago, once we confirmed we were coming back for the New Year, I called the property management downstairs and hired a cleaning service."

*CLICK.* The door opened, and Gao Lingwei gestured inside with a tilt of her head.

"It’s so warm." A wave of heat washed over him, and Rong Taotao couldn’t help but comment.

Due to the unique geographical location of the town, heating was provided to everyone. It was free and mandatory, so even though the apartment had been empty for a long time, there was no issue of the heat being turned off.

It was eighteen degrees below zero outside and twenty-eight degrees inside. Who could stand this...

Rong Taotao slipped on a pair of slippers and entered, looking around. It was a small, 70-square-meter apartment with two bedrooms and one living room.

"Which room is yours?" Rong Taotao asked.

"The one on the north side. Make yourself at home, I’m going to go freshen up," Gao Lingwei said, heading for the bathroom.

Rong Taotao’s heart pounded with excitement as he hurried toward the north-facing room.

’All my life, I’ve never been in a girl’s bedroom before!’

He held the cat in his left arm, placed the Cloud Dog on his head with his right, and then pushed open the door with one hand...

Rong Taotao: !!!

’Holy cow.’ A blade was hanging on the wall directly opposite him, almost making him think he’d walked into a torture chamber.

Looking around, he saw a double bed, a study desk, a bookshelf, a wardrobe, and walls covered in calligraphy and paintings.

’Where’s the slightest hint of a young girl’s bedroom?’

’If it weren’t for the blade on the wall, this would clearly be the bedroom of a retired old cadre, right?’

’Wait, something’s not right. Why is there a double bed!?’

Emmm...

"What are you spacing out for in the doorway?" Gao Lingwei’s voice came from behind him. "What’s wrong? Didn’t see the giant stuffed animals and pink bedspread you were imagining?"

Rong Taotao snapped back to reality and turned to see Gao Lingwei holding a change of clothes. "Ah... you live in this room by yourself?"

"Of course. Why?" Gao Lingwei walked over curiously. Following his gaze, she couldn’t help but let out a cold huff. "I’m a restless sleeper. I toss and turn, so I need a big bed."

"Oh, oh." Rong Taotao gave an awkward laugh, tossed the Snowball Cat and Cloud Dog onto the bed, and looked up at the calligraphy covering the walls.

Tsk tsk...

One was "bristling with anger, I lean on the rail," and another was "armored horses on a frozen river invade my dreams"...

"Seriously, can you even sleep in here?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

Gao Lingwei opened the wardrobe and said while hanging up her clothes, "If you want to learn, I can teach you."

"No thanks." Rong Taotao grimaced. "I have no Talent for calligraphy. Besides, my days are nothing but training, and now I have to practice archery too. Where would I find the time to practice writing?"

Gao Lingwei: "What about with a halberd?"

Rong Taotao: "Huh? With the Heaven-piercing Halberd?"

"Mhm." Gao Lingwei gestured for Rong Taotao to take off his coat. "Using the Heaven-piercing Halberd to write in the snow."

’That sounds interesting,’ Rong Taotao thought, his eyes lighting up.

Gao Lingwei took Rong Taotao’s coat and walked out. "Calligraphy gives back to the person, and it will give back to your Martial Arts. I’ve always firmly believed this.

"Back in high school, when I went out for competitions, no matter how noisy the venue was, as long as I practiced calligraphy in my mind, I could quickly calm my heart."

Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow slightly. He had never been in a competition, let alone been watched by tens of thousands of people. He had no idea if... when the time came, his body would tremble nervously.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~

Hearing the knock, Rong Taotao hurried over.

"WOOF WOOF~"

"WOOF!" The two little ones, who had been roughhousing on the bed, scrambled to follow Rong Taotao when they saw him leave the room.

"Sister-in-law’s here!" Rong Taotao said as he opened the door, only to freeze.

Outside the door, Yang Chunxi stood empty-handed, her face blooming with a smile.

And next to her, surprisingly, stood a tall, handsome man.

"Rong Yangyang?" Rong Taotao blurted out immediately.

Rong Yang, holding two large bags of food and fruit in his hands, gave a rather helpless smile upon hearing this.

Yang Chunxi curled a finger and tapped Rong Taotao’s forehead in mock reproach. "Call him ’big brother’."

"Ah." Rong Taotao subconsciously obeyed the teacher’s command. He looked at Yang Chunxi and blurted out, "Big brother!"

Yang Chunxi: ???

Rong Yang: "..."

"Coach Yang, please, come in!" Gao Lingwei hurried forward to get slippers for Yang Chunxi and Rong Yang. However, her expression was a bit strange, and the way she looked at Rong Yang seemed a little off.

Rong Yang, however, acknowledged her openly. "Gao, we meet again."

’Again?’

Rong Taotao dumbly took two steps back. ’What’s going on?’

Gao Lingwei’s brow was also furrowed in deep thought. After a good while, realization dawned on her. Looking at the area around Rong Yang’s eyes, she said, "You’re... You’re Sheep?"

"That’s me. It was a pleasure working with you in the Snowfield." Rong Yang smiled and nodded.

Gao Lingwei: "Uh... yes."

Rong Taotao took the two large bags from Rong Yang’s hands and asked curiously, "Sheep? What are you talking about?"

Gao Lingwei’s thoughts were a bit complicated. As she and Rong Taotao carried the things to the kitchen, she asked, "Didn’t your brother tell you what unit he’s in?"

"He mentioned it once, said something about hunting Poachers..." Rong Taotao’s voice trailed off. He put the fruit on the table and whispered, "You went to the Third Wall before and went on a mission with their team?"

"Mhm." Gao Lingwei nodded, also lowering her voice. She leaned close to Rong Taotao’s ear and said, "Your brother is terrifyingly strong. If I’m not mistaken, he should be at the Soul School level.

"On your brother’s twelve-man elite squad, the most outstanding member is ’Sheep’."

"Twelve men? You mean their code names within the squad are based on the Twelve Zodiacs?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

Gao Lingwei adjusted her mindset quickly, and a small smile appeared on her lips as she spoke. "Yes, and they all wear balaclavas. If they weren’t in Snow Burning military camouflage, you’d easily mistake them for bank robbers.

"After I got back to school, I thought there was something a little strange about you. Now I finally know why. The area around your eyes is very similar to his."

"Tch, my eyes are way better looking than his," Rong Taotao muttered, turning to look out of the kitchen. He saw his brother and sister-in-law sitting on the sofa. "Why don’t you go entertain them?"

"Right." Only then did Gao Lingwei remember this was her home. She quickly walked out of the kitchen.

"Taotao must be a handful," Rong Yang said with a smile from the sofa.

"No, he’s great. Very hardworking," Gao Lingwei replied as she poured tea.

"Mhm. For a Soul Captain like you to be partnered with a Soul Soldier like him is a bit of a waste of your talents. I saw your performance outside the three walls. Your execution is strong, and your overall strength is worthy of the Soul Captain title," Rong Yang said softly, taking the tea.

Gao Lingwei smiled and shook her head. "No, it’s not a waste. He’ll catch up to me soon. In fact... his Soul Technique level is already about to surpass mine."

Rong Yang raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh?"

"You don’t know?" Gao Lingwei looked at Yang Chunxi in surprise.

Yang Chunxi huffed. "I was afraid he’d worry. I wanted to wait until he saw Taotao in person before telling him what happened in the Snowfield."

Although the Snow Burning military was also the one that rescued Xia Fangran and Rong Taotao, they were from a completely different department than Rong Yang. Their missions were different, and the two groups had no interaction. Therefore, Gao Lingwei didn’t know about the second Lotus petal, and neither did Rong Yang.

Rong Yang was also a bit stunned. "His Soul Technique is catching up to you? Three-star?"

’A Soul Soldier... forced his Soul Technique all the way to three-star?’

’Are you kidding me?’

’How do you even force that? With your life on the line?’

’Forget Rong Taotao, even my mother, Xu Fenghua, wasn’t this fierce when she was a Soul Soldier.’

Well... Rong Yang might not believe it if he heard, but Rong Taotao really did risk his life to get there...

Gao Lingwei: "It’s better if Coach Yang tells you."

Yang Chunxi suddenly said, "Call me ’sister-in-law’. If that’s awkward, you can also just call me ’sister’."

"Chunxi," Gao Lingwei said with a graceful smile and a nod. "Will you two be staying in my parents’ room tonight? Don’t worry, they moved back to our hometown half a year ago and don’t live here anymore."

"As long as you don’t mind." Yang Chunxi nodded lightly, but sensing Rong Yang’s eager and expectant look, she couldn’t help but turn to him and say, "Alright, alright, I’ll tell you. Your brother and Coach Xia were in the Snowfield..."

Just then, Rong Taotao walked out with the dog on his head, the cat on his shoulder, and a chocolate bar in his hand. "Hey, Bro. I’m at the peak of the Soul Soldier rank and the peak of two-star Soul Technique. I’m about to get two more usable Soul Slots and I have to cultivate an elite-level Soul Skill.

"We’ll be able to connect our minds soon. I’m still carrying the Snow Jade Soul Pearl. I’m just waiting for that final push."

Rong Yang stared at Rong Taotao in a daze. "If your Soul Technique is about to reach three-star, I can apply to the squad to get you a different elite-level forehead Soul Pearl. That way, you can give your Snow Jade Soul Pearl to Gao Lingwei."

Hearing this, Gao Lingwei shook her head repeatedly. "No, that’s too precious."

Although the Snow Jade Soul Pearl was only a second-tier, Excellent Level item, it was, after all, a Soul Pearl meant to be embedded in the forehead. Spiritual Type Soul Pearls were all exceptionally precious.

"It would allow you two to communicate silently, preventing opponents from overhearing your plans. It would be very beneficial for you," Rong Yang said with a smile, then turned to Yang Chunxi. "What exactly happened in the Snowfield?"

Yang Chunxi replied with a beaming smile, "Why don’t you ask your little brother yourself?"

Rong Yang immediately looked at Rong Taotao.

"It was nothing~ Coach Xia was protecting me, so what could possibly happen?" Rong Taotao pouted and mumbled under his breath, "I reckon if I wander around the Snowfield a few more times, I’ll be able to go home and open a flower shop."