Su Chen had been carefully observing the expressions of the two women. Noticing no signs of hostility, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
After all, he had already spoken with Hu Liena, and had been completely honest with Ye Lingling as well, so there was no real "Shura field" situation brewing. Even if the two were initially uncomfortable with things, that tension had mostly passed.
Su Chen said to Hu Liena,
"Nana, this is the heir of the Nine-Heart Begonia Clan—Ye Lingling. From now on, she's your little sister."
Then he turned to Ye Lingling,
"Lingling, this is the person I mentioned earlier from Spirit Hall—Hu Liena."
Ye Lingling was the first to speak, giving a respectful bow and softly saying,
"Greetings, sister."
Hu Liena also visibly relaxed and stepped forward to take Ye Lingling's hand,
"No need to be so polite, little sister. I'll call you Lingling, and you can call me Nana. We're about the same age anyway—no need for formalities."
Ye Lingling had made her stance clear from the start—gentle and sensible—so naturally, Hu Liena wouldn't make things difficult for her.
The two of them quickly warmed up to each other and entered the room with Su Chen.
Inside the room—
Su Chen took a sip of tea and spoke,
"Nana, Lingling's family used to be based in Heaven Dou City. I plan to have them relocated to Spirit City next. I'm leaving this matter to you."
"Ask Elder Chrysanthemum and Elder Ghost Douluo to make the arrangements. Now that the Nine-Heart Begonia has evolved, future generations can also inherit it. This will be a huge credit for you in Spirit Hall. Of course, since she's family now, take good care of her."
Hu Liena looked shocked.
"Evolved? The Nine-Heart Begonia can now appear in every generation? Lingling! You might become the top auxiliary-type martial soul in the future!"
Ye Lingling softly replied,
"It's all thanks to the immortal herbs Su Chen gave me. That's how my martial soul evolved. My Nine-Heart Begonia even gained a resurrection soul skill."
Hu Liena nodded seriously and promised,
"Don't worry, Lingling. Su Chen has no family, and neither do I. From now on, your family is my family."
Su Chen gave each of them a gentle glance, feeling a bit emotional inside. Honestly! Having two wives wasn't bad—it at least reduced the chance of conflict.
But if he really wanted to marry ten in the future, he'd need someone smart, magnanimous, steady, capable, and authoritative to serve as the queen of the harem. Otherwise, with ten women? Drama was inevitable.
He'd end up living a real-life Legend of Zhen Huan.
Su Chen thought for a while, realizing he couldn't figure out who would fit as harem queen. That frustrated him. Conquering the world would have to wait.
He turned to Hu Liena again,
"One more thing. Tomorrow morning, I'm going with Lingling to visit her family. At night, I need you to arrange a meeting."
Hu Liena looked puzzled,
"A meeting?"
"Who do you need to meet that you need me to arrange it?"
"Qian Renxue."
"What?!"
Hu Liena froze.
Su Chen somehow figured out she had just met Xue'er today? That accurate?
No, that couldn't be right.
If Su Chen could even predict that, wouldn't he have already realized she had a diary duplicate? Judging by his attitude, Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan probably hadn't told him either.
"How do you know about Qian Renxue?"
Hu Liena asked, feigning ignorance.
Su Chen chuckled,
"How do I know? I know way more than you. I even know everything about her mother. You think I wouldn't know?"
Ye Lingling stayed silent, sitting quietly on the side.
Hu Liena kept up the act and said seriously,
"So what else do you know?"
Su Chen thought for a moment and said,
"I know when she started infiltrating Xue Qinghe's identity, I know the grudge between her and Bibi Dong, and I know she's going to fail in the future."
"I want you to meet her just to give her a heads-up, maybe tell her a few important details to increase her odds."
"She's just too soft—leaving Xue Beng alive. That guy's been pretending to be a fool all along. Backed by Xue Xing, he already suspects her. My rating for her?—Not as good as Bibi Dong."
Hu Liena sighed in her heart. As expected! Xue'er ultimately failed. The two of them had just analyzed Su Chen's old diary earlier…
But they didn't know how she'd lose.
Two kings. Four twos.
Ye Lingling was momentarily stunned.
Too much info.
Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong…
No wonder!
Earlier today, Grandpa Dugu asked Su Chen for help, and not only did he refuse, he even advised the man to leave the royal court. Clearly, things were way deeper than they appeared. Grandpa Dugu wouldn't be able to handle it.
Hu Liena thought deeply and asked Su Chen seriously,
"Then… could you stay and help her?"
Su Chen shook his head, sipped his tea, and replied blandly,
"I don't like trouble. It interferes with my enjoyment of life."
"Also, regarding you and Lingling, I'll personally intervene—because you're my wives. But with Qian Renxue, giving her a warning is already a big favor."
Hu Liena nodded firmly,
"I understand."
"Understand what?" Su Chen was a bit speechless. He'd been talking so seriously, and now she was acting like she was in some enlightenment cult.
Hu Liena stood up and smiled,
"Nothing really. It's getting late. Let's get some rest!"
She turned to Ye Lingling,
"Lingling, tonight Su Chen is staying with me. Tomorrow night, he's all yours. That okay?"
Ye Lingling: ???
She was dumbfounded.
Sister, what are you even talking about? I feel like I understood none of that!
"Everything's up to you, sister."
Hu Liena grinned and pulled Su Chen away.
In her heart, Ye Lingling actually felt a bit envious—and a bit motivated! A hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone… Looks like tonight, Hu Liena was not planning to let go.
Sure enough.
Su Chen was pulled into the room next door by Hu Liena. He felt his blood boiling and swallowed hard,
"Nana, you'd better be sure about this."
"Don't get me all fired up and then back out with some excuse. I'll seriously be mad. I'm in my prime here, I'm not some—mmph!"
Before Su Chen could finish, Hu Liena shut him up with physical action.
Moments later—
Hu Liena gazed at Su Chen with deep affection,
"I've made up my mind. Tonight—it's happening!"
"If you don't marry me in the future… if you leave me… I'll hate you for life!"
Su Chen pulled Hu Liena tightly into his arms. His hands had already started wandering, laying the groundwork for their own little round of "Fight the Landlord."
"Nana, you were the first person I cared about in this world. My first friend. My first wife."
"Now let's begin studying our Martial Soul Fusion Technique."
Hu Liena pointed her finger and breathily ordered,
"Lights off."
"No!"
Su Chen flatly refused.
"My martial soul is Kunpeng. Yours is the Demon Fox. If we turn the lights off, they won't even recognize each other. What if it gets lost?"
"Also, I like looking at you. Helps my martial soul be more creative."
Hu Liena gasped softly,
"Wait!"
"Last time I saw your martial soul… after its mutation, it was huge. Will my martial soul even be able to handle it?"
"Will it hurt?"
(End of chapter)