Master of Nine Stars

The streets of Songbai Town were crowded and bustling, with vendors loudly hawking their wares.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei walked side by side. As he looked at the packed pedestrian street, something seemed to occur to him, and he turned to look at her.

"What is it?" Gao Lingwei felt his gaze and turned to him, her expression curious.

"Are you scared?" Rong Taotao teased with a smile. "Worried you’ll start talking to a vendor and get pulled into another Illusion Technique?"

"Ha." Gao Lingwei gave an unconcerned laugh. She looked effortlessly cool. Watching the people come and go, letting them brush past her shoulders, she said softly, "If I were scared, I wouldn’t be out on the street with you."

Rong Taotao nodded in approval. ’That’s my girl. So impressive!’

Had it been anyone else, being dragged into an Illusion Technique and enduring such agonizing mental torment would have surely left a deep psychological scar.

Gao Lingwei stared into Rong Taotao’s eyes and said seriously, enunciating each word, "That was just a small interlude in my life, wasn’t it?"

’Whoa now. Why are you looking at me while talking about a "small interlude in your life"?’

’She’s not implying what I think she’s implying, is she?’

Rong Taotao’s mind raced, spinning wild theories. He seized her cool, soft hand.

Gao Lingwei arched an eyebrow but didn’t pull away, letting him hold her hand. Her graceful composure actually made Rong Taotao feel a bit ashamed of himself.

’Ah... I guess I was the one with the dirty mind.’

’Well, what can you do? I learned from Xia Fangran, after all. That Yin Yang Master says one thing, and you’re supposed to find eight different meanings in it. I’m just used to overthinking things...’

"Over here!" A familiar voice called out from the crowd up ahead.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei looked up to see Lu Mang in front of the mall entrance. He was standing next to the giant mascot they’d agreed to meet at, holding a few cups of juice in one hand and waving frantically at them with the other.

"Happy New Year, Mango!" In high spirits, Rong Taotao pulled Gao Lingwei along as he walked over, greeting his friend with a teasing grin.

But to his surprise, Lu Mang completely ignored him, instead nodding to Gao Lingwei. "Hello, Gao Lingwei."

"Hello." Gao Lingwei gave a slight nod, uttering a single word. She then noticed Lu Mang’s gaze drift downward and fixate on their clasped hands.

"I bought these for you two." Lu Mang retracted his gaze. When he looked back at Rong Taotao, his expression was serious. "I heard this morning... did something happen on Central Night Market Street on New Year’s Eve?"

Rong Taotao, however, dodged the question. He took the two cups of peach juice and pursed his lips. "Man, just because I didn’t answer your WeChat right away, you’re out for my blood?"

*POP.* The straw pierced the thin plastic film. Gao Lingwei held her peach juice, put the straw in her mouth, and took a loud sip. *SLUUURP...*

Rong Taotao: "..."

Lu Mang pressed on, "My neighbor described it to me. Some outlaws were chasing a young man and woman, and the guy fought back with a Tang Saber and a Heaven-piercing Halberd."

"It’s a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, a Han Dynasty saber," Rong Taotao huffed, finally admitting it with a nod. "Yeah, those thugs were after us. Sigh... I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Lu Mang’s expression changed. Suppressing the turmoil he felt, he said, "The bad news."

Rong Taotao shrugged. "I trashed a noodle shop. Smashed their soy sauce, vinegar, and chili bowls all over the floor. There was also a huge pot of noodles, just about ready to be served...

...and I ended up picking up that big iron wok, broth and all, and dumped the entire thing on those thugs. Um, had to pay the owner a hefty sum for the damages."

Lu Mang: ???

’This is what you call bad news?’

’I’m talking about a life-or-death situation, and you’re telling me about dumping a pot of hot noodle soup?’

Lu Mang gritted his teeth and asked, "And the good news?"

Rong Taotao grinned. "Soul Police Chief Ju covered all of it. I didn’t have to pay a dime."

Lu Mang: "I..."

"Hee hee~" Gao Lingwei couldn’t hold back any longer and let out a light laugh, covering her mouth. Her cool, goddess-like demeanor vanished completely.

Seeing Lu Mang’s face turn shades of red and purple, she couldn’t help but shoot Rong Taotao a look. "Be serious," she said. "He’s worried about you."

Rong Taotao dropped the joking attitude. He clapped a hand on Lu Mang’s shoulder reassuringly. "It’s okay, don’t worry. Those outlaws only managed to sneak into Songbai Town because they’re relatively weak. They were at the Soul Warrior Stage, at most.

If they were at the Soul Captain Stage, I doubt they could’ve even passed the screening. They’d have had their family history checked back three generations at the checkpoint."

Lu Mang frowned slightly. "Are you saying a Soul Warrior is nothing to you now?"

"I’d still have to take a Soul Warrior who advanced through proper training seriously. But ones who took shortcuts..." Rong Taotao pursed his lips in disdain. "They were in their forties or fifties and only just scraped by to become Soul Warriors. How strong do you think they could possibly be? Anyway, how’s your training coming along?"

Lu Mang looked a little embarrassed. "Peak of the Soul Soldier stage. My Soul Technique is at the peak of one-star. If I hadn’t come home a week early, if I were still at the Martial Arts Hall, I probably could’ve progressed further."

"I was going to ask, why were you in such a rush to come back?" Rong Taotao asked curiously as they started walking toward the mall.

"To see my family. I’ll take you to meet my father in a little while," Lu Mang said with a smile.

Truth be told, Lu Mang wasn’t a talkative person. Around Rong Taotao, he was already far less reserved than usual.

But even so, there was one more thing Lu Mang left unsaid: ’The only reason I was able to get into Songjiang Soul Martial University was because I met you.’

Lu Mang’s thoughts were simple and pure. The Lu Family’s circumstances could finally change. His father would no longer have to work himself to the bone from dawn till dusk just to support them. It was all because he, Lu Mang, had gotten into Songjiang Soul Martial University.