Master of Nine Stars

Rong Taotao finally got a day off. Well... you could say he earned it himself.

According to the normal training schedule, Rong Taotao was supposed to continue team-fighting with Ye Nanxi, but in reality...

That "Rong’s Big Mute Hammer" had left Ye Nanxi’s head ringing, and she would need some time to recover. In her state, she was clearly unfit for further combat, so Nan Cheng suggested her daughter take a day off.

Coincidentally, Rong Yuanshan had been wanting to take Rong Taotao back to Starlight Town anyway—to get him a shower, a haircut, and most importantly, a big meal. After all, the kid was starving...

The four of them agreed to meet up a day later, and Rong Yuanshan took Rong Taotao back to Starlight Town.

Starlight Town was exceptionally beautiful at night.

It was, after all, an amusement park themed around the "Starfield." Beneath the slowly revolving Vortex, the town twinkled with starlight. Any random photo you took could be used as a desktop wallpaper.

Upon returning to the hotel, the first thing Rong Taotao did was grab his phone. He plugged it in to charge while turning it on, secretly hoping for some messages.

Rong Taotao wasn’t disappointed, but to his surprise, the person who had sent the most messages was... Sun Xingyu?

Curious, Rong Taotao opened their chat and was immediately dumbfounded.

"Taotao! Black and White is so handsome!"

"The young man looks so gentle, and he has stars in his eyes! Ah, I’m dead..."

"Can you take another picture of Black and White for me? Get a shot of his hands. His fingers are so long and pale, I’m so jealous."

"Ugh, so annoying, why aren’t you replying to my messages?"

"Okay, you didn’t reply to Da Wei either, so you must have gone into the Vortex to practice. Poor Da Wei, abandoned just like that. She gets beaten up so badly by Xia Fangran every day. When are you coming back to help her?"

...

Rong Taotao scratched his head, imagining Sun Xingyu’s chattering face. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided not to reply and instead opened his chat with Gao Lingwei.

Just one sentence, as cool as ever: "Train hard, but balance it with rest."

"Sigh..." Rong Taotao flopped onto his back with a pained expression. ’If only Gao Lingwei and Sun Xingyu could trade places. It’s been a whole month, and she’s only said one sentence to me?’

After thinking it over, Rong Taotao summoned his Cloud Dog, grabbed his phone, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Behind him, the amusement town glittered with starlight, bustling with crowds.

"Hold this." Rong Taotao summoned a Star-shaped Lamp and placed it on his head. The small, glowing sphere had a cratered surface like the moon.

"Woof~" The Cloud Dog lay on the Star-shaped Lamp, curiously looking at its own reflection on the phone screen.

"Let me just adjust the angle to get the Ferris wheel in the shot," Rong Taotao said as he snapped a selfie in front of the 17th-floor window.

"Perfect! Hmm... why’s my face a little dirty? Oh..." Rong Taotao slapped his forehead. He hadn’t showered or changed his clothes yet.

’Whatever, I’ll send it anyway.’

Rong Taotao sent the photo to Gao Lingwei, then tossed his phone aside and ran to the bathroom.

A quarter past ten at night wasn’t particularly late, but for the students of the Songjiang Soul Martial Arts Hall, it was already lights-out. After all, they had the tyrant Si Huan Nian to contend with.

In the girls’ dormitory, the students, exhausted from training, were gradually drifting off to sleep while absorbing Soul Power.

But on bed number four, next to Gao Lingwei’s pillow, a phone screen silently lit up.

A Snowball Cat peeked out curiously, extended a little paw, and unlocked the screen with its paw pad. It saw a familiar figure, along with its good friend hugging a small lamp on his head.

The Snowball Cat looked at the Cloud Dog in the photo, a silly grin spreading across its face, and it suddenly let out a soft cry: "Woof~"

In an instant, in the pitch-black dormitory, everyone’s eyes snapped open!

They looked terrified. Some glanced toward Gao Lingwei’s bed, while others looked worriedly at the dormitory door.

Gao Lingwei was startled too and quickly clamped a hand over the Snowball Cat’s mouth.

"Whimper~" The Snowball Cat opened its large, sapphire-like eyes and looked at Gao Lingwei pitifully.

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Ten seconds passed. The tyrant hadn’t come banging on their door, which meant Si Huan Nian hadn’t been woken up.

Gao Lingwei carefully rolled over onto her stomach and picked up her phone.

In that moment, any thought of blaming the cat vanished. Illuminated by the phone’s glow, Rong Taotao’s face was reflected in her beautiful eyes.

Gao Lingwei hugged the Snowball Cat to her chest and studied the photo on her phone intently.

"Whimper~" The Snowball Cat, nestled in the crook of her arms, tilted its head back coquettishly and nuzzled her cheek, but it also saw its owner’s fingers tapping lightly on the screen.

Unfortunately, while it could understand a little human speech, it couldn’t recognize these strange, blocky characters.

"You need a haircut."

Gao Lingwei expected Rong Taotao to reply quickly, but... after several minutes, there was still no message.

’Did he go to practice again?’

Gao Lingwei bit her lip, silently staring at the photo on her phone.

His face was a little dirty and his hair was messy, but his eyes were bright, and his smile was heartwarming.

After waiting for a long time, Gao Lingwei lay her head on her pillow, placed the phone beside it, and locked the screen.

Beneath her, the Snowball Cat struggled to crawl out. Seeing the screen light up again, it couldn’t help but flick Gao Lingwei’s cheek with its tail.

Gao Lingwei frowned slightly and opened her eyes. She gave the Snowball Cat a look of mild annoyance, but her attention was drawn by the light, and she picked up the phone again.

Finally, he had replied.

"Going for a haircut right now. Dad’s taking me out for a big meal to reward me."

Gao Lingwei thought for a moment before tapping the screen: "Okay, go ahead."

"How have you been? I heard Xia Yinyang has been bullying you every day?"

"Coach Xia is very dedicated to my training. My Halberd Technique has improved significantly, and I’ve gained a lot this past month."

"Him? You’ve got to be kidding. Does he even know how to teach? Doesn’t he just rely on his students figuring things out for themselves?"

"He is a top-tier instructor, the best in both theory and practice.

If he lets you figure things out on your own, it’s probably because he thinks you have a good foundation and your style is different from his Heaven-piercing Halberd technique."

"Alright, fine..."

As they chatted, another photo came through. It was from inside a barbershop; Rong Taotao was sitting in the chair, taking a picture of the mirror in front of him.

Rong Taotao: "See the three Tonys behind me?"

"Hm?"

"Next to the three stylists, there’s a handsome, middle-aged uncle in a suit and leather shoes."

"And?"

"That’s our dad."

Gao Lingwei froze for a second, then her cheeks flushed slightly, and she instinctively rolled her eyes at the person holding the phone in the picture.

Unfortunately, this rare, girly reaction of hers occurred in a silent dormitory where no one could see it.

Rong Taotao: "Hehe, I said I wanted to dye my hair, but my dad said if I dared to dye it, he’d dare to chop my head off."

"Keep it black."

"Don’t you think that Tony’s ’grandma gray’ color looks pretty good?"

"Black."

"Oh..."

"I’m going to sleep."

"Good night, then. Hope you dream of me!"

"Hah." A small smile touched Gao Lingwei’s lips. She locked her phone and placed it face down beside her pillow.

Lying on her side, she casually pulled the Snowball Cat into her arms, nuzzled its fur against her cheeks, curled up, and closed her eyes.

’Maybe I will.’

...

Back in Starlight Town, Rong Taotao got his usual haircut. The hair on the sides of his head was cut short, but the natural curls on top remained.

In fact, just as Tony was about to start on the hair on top of Rong Taotao’s head, the Cloud Dog floated out on its own, fiercely protecting its "doghouse." It let out a volley of whimpering barks!

The Tonys clicked their tongues in amazement. In the end, with Rong Taotao’s help, they just trimmed the top a little, ensuring the comfort of the Cloud Dog’s doghouse.

"Let’s go, time for that big meal." Rong Yuanshan put his arm around Rong Taotao’s shoulder as they walked out of the barbershop.

The father and son walked through the starlit town, a broad smile on Rong Yuanshan’s face.

"What’s up? Why are you so happy?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

"I’m quite satisfied with you," Rong Yuanshan said, offering rare, direct praise. "Both with your Martial Arts and the way you handle things."

Rong Taotao asked curiously, "What way of handling things?"

Rong Yuanshan chuckled. "Ye Nanxi is a Soul General’s daughter, after all. You didn’t hold back. Shows you have some backbone."

"Heh," Rong Taotao scoffed, muttering under his breath, "Look who’s talking. As if I’m not a Soul General’s kid, too."

Rong Yuanshan was all smiles. "Only you would dare to be so heavy-handed, and right in front of her mother, no less."

Rong Taotao clicked his tongue. "She’s just spoiled and hasn’t been hit enough.

I was heading down that path myself, but then my Devil Master spanked me for two years straight and beat it right out of me."

Chatting, the father and son walked into a Sichuan restaurant.

Starlight Town was built around the Starfield Vortex. It was bustling 24/7 with tourists and Practitioners coming and going, turning it into a city that never sleeps. Most restaurants stayed open until the early morning.

Fish-fragrant shredded pork, spicy diced chicken, mapo tofu, fish in chili oil, and two big bowls of rice to go with it!

Ah~ I could die happy!

Time to dig in! Let’s gooo!

’Gao Lingwei who? Never heard of her!’

Just as Rong Taotao was devouring his food like a tornado, Rong Yuanshan looked at his phone with a strange expression and said, "Be on your best behavior in a little bit."

Rong Taotao: "Best behavior for what?"

Rong Yuanshan: "Lady Nan Cheng is out with her daughter. I gave her our location."

Rong Taotao froze for a moment. "Aren’t they recuperating in the Vortex?"

"Ye Nanxi is a Soul Captain, after all. Her durability is decent, and she’s mostly recovered now. When Lady Nan Cheng heard you were eating here, she decided to bring her over."

Rong Yuanshan continued, "This is good, too. The atmosphere will be better in a non-combat environment.

You two can have a meal together, build some rapport, so you won’t have conflicting ideas when you’re back on the battlefield."

"Fine, whatever," Rong Taotao mumbled while shoveling rice into his mouth. "Hey, uh, two more bowls of rice over here! Hurry up, the kid’s starving..."

’In the face of braised pork belly, women can wait...’