"Brother Arthur! Open the door, quickly!"
Outside the door was Na'er's crisp voice, tinged with a hint of coquettishness; the knocking was continuous, showing her determination not to give up until she succeeded.
Arthur sighed and could only get up to open the door.
As soon as the door opened a crack, Na'er slipped inside like a nimble kitten. She carried the faint, fresh scent of a bath, her silver hair damp and loose—clearly, she had just finished bathing.
"Na'er, it's so late..." Before Arthur could finish, Na'er had already leaned in close to him, her purple eyes shining remarkably bright under the dim bedside lamp.
"I can't sleep." Na'er pouted and naturally reached out to take Arthur's hand, leading him toward the bed. "Brother Arthur, your body is so warm."
Arthur felt a bit helpless at her actions, but he was used to Na'er's intimacy.
Na'er pulled Arthur to sit on the edge of the bed and pressed herself close to him, almost sticking to his side. She tilted her head, and a few drops of water from her silver hair brushed against Arthur's neck, feeling cool.
"Brother Arthur," Na'er's voice suddenly dropped, carrying a hint of curiosity and a certain instinctive exploration. "The scent on you smells really good."
"Hmm?" Arthur was taken aback.
Wait, this sequence of moves from Na'er looked a bit familiar to him.
Na'er had already leaned in closer, her small nose almost touching the side of Arthur's neck as she sniffed lightly like a small animal.
"By the way, do you really not mind my true identity?" Na'er's voice grew even lower, filled with apprehension. "Na'er didn't mean to hide it from you."
Arthur looked down at Na'er, who was right in front of him. Those purple eyes shimmered with a moist luster in the dim light; nervousness, anticipation, and a trace of cautious vulnerability were clearly visible.
He understood instantly. Na'er was just feeling insecure right now, afraid that exposing her identity would affect their relationship.
Sighing softly, Arthur stroked her head, his voice calm. "Do you think I'd stop talking to you just because you're the Golden Dragon King? Or do you think I'd be afraid of you?"
Na'er was slightly stunned by his action. Her purple eyes blinked as she gripped his sleeve tighter, her voice muffled. "But, I hid it from you for so long. And, the Golden Dragon King is very fierce."
"Fierce?" Arthur shook his head. "I don't feel it."
He paused, his tone becoming serious. "As for hiding it from me, I can understand. Your identities are special and involve too much; it's only right to be cautious. Besides, you haven't harmed me, have you? On the contrary, you've helped me a lot and trusted me."
"You guys?"
Na'er frowned. She had come on her own behalf; Gu Yue and the rest could just go die.
The two leaned against each other quietly for a while until Na'er fell asleep, then Arthur got up and left.
He prepared to go find Gu Yue.
Don't misunderstand, it was for official business.
He still hadn't settled on a Spirit Soul, so he was going to ask Gu Yue if she had anything good.
Gu Yue's room wasn't locked. When Arthur pushed the door open and entered, he saw her leaning by the window. Her silver hair gave off a cold white glow in the night. She was twirling a strand of flowing silver element between her fingers, as if playing with it or perhaps deep in thought.
"To think you'd come looking for me on your own." Gu Yue didn't even turn her head, her voice cold. "Can't help but want it?"
Arthur couldn't be bothered with her antics. He walked straight to the sofa, sat down, and got straight to the point. "Let's talk business. I haven't finalized my Spirit Soul yet. The Dragon Kings in Dragon Valley gave me plenty of benefits, but a Spirit Soul is still missing. Do you have anything suitable on your end?"
Only then did Gu Yue turn around, her silver eyes landing on him with a half-smile. "You certainly know how to take advantage of a situation. You just gave me an idea, and now you're here asking for benefits."
"You promised me before." Arthur shrugged, his tone frank. "You're the Silver Dragon King; you must have top-tier Spirit Souls in your hands. I don't want much—it should at least be at the hundred-thousand-year level to start with, right?"
Gu Yue walked slowly to the opposite side and sat down, resting her chin on one hand. "Those Dragon Kings didn't give you a Spirit Soul? I doubt that."
"Did they?"
Arthur reminisced carefully.
He had considered Yue, but eventually gave up on the idea.
"Eh?"
"That's right, where's Yue?"
He seemed to have forgotten him on the mountain at the exit of Dragon Valley.
Seeing his pensive look, a trace of a smile flickered in Gu Yue's silver eyes. She raised her hand and made a grasping motion; a streak of seven-colored light flew from her hand and hovered above the coffee table.
The flowing light spun, emitting an irresistible suction force.
The Light Dragon Seal on Arthur's right hand flashed wildly, and a final remnant soul was pulled out.
Holy Dragon King, Guang.
Guang's dragon tail scratched his head. He looked at Gu Yue, then at Arthur, and gave an awkward greeting: "Good evening?"
Arthur looked at the remnant soul of the Holy Dragon King hovering over the coffee table, his mouth twitching violently. "Aren't you dead?"
"Pah!" Guang said, speechless. "When did I ever say I was dead?"
Thinking about it carefully, he really hadn't said that.
"Old man, you spoke so grandiosely back then that I thought you were dying. Turns out you were hiding in my hand peeping?" Arthur reached out and poked Guang's remnant soul. The Light Dragon Seal in his palm lit up as if struck by electricity, and a familiar, warm Soul Power instantly wrapped around it.
Guang's dragon head dodged to the side, and he huffed while flicking his tail. "It was all to protect you. I've bet everything on you; you can't have anything happen to you before the Dragon Clan's revival."
"Besides, I don't want to die before I see the future of the Dragon Clan with my own eyes."
Then, Guang looked at Gu Yue and slightly lowered his dragon head. "Lord."
So far, he was the only one among the Nine Great Dragon Kings willing to call Gu Yue "Lord."
Unfortunately, Gu Yue didn't plan on giving him the treatment he deserved.
Gu Yue sat upright opposite him, nonchalantly twirling a strand of silver element in her palm. She said indifferently, "I only just discovered you as well."
"You heard everything from the conversation during the day until just now?"
"I didn't do it on purpose." Guang's eyes darted around guiltily.
"In that case." Silver light flickered in Gu Yue's eyes. "You heard it just now; Arthur is currently lacking a Spirit Soul."
"No problem!" Guang's Dragon Claw thumped his chest. "I'll definitely find one that satisfies him. Come on, let's go back to Dragon Valley. You can pick whichever one you want."
After saying that, Guang turned to leave, but then stopped because he noticed neither of them had moved.
They were just staring at him quietly.
The air fell silent instantly. Guang's Dragon Claw froze mid-air as he looked at their unmoving gazes.
Realizing something belatedly, his dragon tail curled up unconsciously, and his voice dropped an octave. "W-what's wrong? There are plenty of hundred-thousand-year-old Spirit Souls in Dragon Valley. The descendants of the Emerald Dragon King, the Golden Dragon Lion... take your pick."
Gu Yue ignored him and said something to Arthur that made Guang's skin crawl: "The Holy Dragon King would make a perfect Spirit Soul for you."
"Using him to integrate that set of Dragon King Spirit Bones you have will allow you to exert their full power."
"Good idea." Arthur thought so too.
A full set of Dragon King Spirit Bones was still too over the top. With the Holy Dragon King's help to integrate them, he would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
On the other side, Guang fell silent.
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