Chapter 142: Their Vacation

The summers in Dragon City were beautiful yet fleeting.

After the long and gloomy winter had passed, the bright sunshine, the dazzling snow, the glistening ice sculptures melting away, and the resilient flowers pushing through the snow were all undeniably joyful sights.

Even though the temperature remained low, just looking at the deep blue sky, the vibrantly colored houses, and the smiles on people's faces was enough to make one feel a warmth that came from within—along with a sense of happiness.

It was a kind of beauty unique to the northern frontier—wild, passionate, and welcoming to all travelers with a friendly smile.

A small mound of melting, soft snow slid down from the pointed, navy-blue rooftop. Just as it was about to land on a young boy's head below, he instinctively quickened his pace, dodging it as if he had eyes on top of his head—

Well, almost. A slender, fair-skinned hand suddenly reached out from behind him, grabbed his collar, and gave a gentle tug.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" A miserable scream pierced the sky.

"Meng!!!" The boy hopped around, furiously tugging at his clothes, trying to shake the melting snow out. He turned to glare at the culprit.

"Hee hee." The red-haired girl stuck her tongue out at her brother, grinning mischievously.

Looking at those crescent-moon-shaped, bright blue eyes, Xiao Hongchen deflated like a punctured puffer fish.

Yes, having a younger sister with whom you shared a Martial Soul Fusion ability meant dealing with things like this—she loved playing pranks on him. But she meant no harm, so he was supposed to tolerate her. After all, his little sister was so adorable...

Yeah, right!

Xiao Hongchen lunged at her, grabbed a handful of snow, and smashed it right onto her face.

But Meng Hongchen's expression turned sly. A flash of icy blue light shimmered as she neither dodged nor resisted. Instead, she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down her brother's collar in retaliation—after all, a Zhujing Ice Toad wasn't afraid of the cold!

Before long, their snowball fight escalated into a full-on, dignity- and allowance-related duel. Neither of them had activated their Martial Souls yet, but both were using their soul power. An enraged Xiao Hongchen even reached for his storage soul tool.

That was when a deep, short growl—something like a canine bark, yet heavier—broke through the commotion.

The two high-born prodigies of the Sun-Moon Empire suddenly realized that they weren't alone.

The white wolf statue at the entrance of the building had, at some point, lifted its head.

Its fluffy tail thumped against the ground rhythmically, and its expression was uncannily human-like—serious, almost as if it were silently warning them: "No fighting here."

Xiao Hongchen tensed. It was only when the white wolf stood up that he realized just how massive the quadruped was. Yet, its aura was concealed so well that even he and Meng—both Soul Kings—had mistaken it for a mere stone sculpture.

This white wolf was undoubtedly a powerful soul beast, one adept at hiding itself!

It was common for the Moonshadow Trading Company to keep soul beasts at their entrances, but soul beasts were inherently difficult to tame. If this one suddenly turned violent and attacked them, considering how much influence soul beasts held within the Moonshadow Trading Company… things could get messy.

Mingdetang had a good relationship with the Moonshadow Trading Company. Jing Hongchen had pulled some strings to get them into Dragon City for the competition, hoping they could win the qualification to train in the Ice Spring and gain an edge before the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, where they aimed to defeat Shrek Academy.

Though this wasn't exactly a secret, the Hongchen family had a unique status within the Sun-Moon Empire, and Dragon City was politically complex. Countless eyes were watching them, so they had to keep a low profile.

Jing Hongchen treated this as a trial for his grandchildren. Only their aunt had accompanied them to the border city, but she was now on a secret mission for their grandfather in the Extreme North. That meant that, in Dragon City, they were completely on their own. If they got injured here, it would be for nothing!

The more Xiao Hongchen thought about it, the more uneasy he felt—until he heard Meng Hongchen let out a small gasp.

His little sister was reaching out, utterly captivated, to touch the white wolf's muzzle!

Xiao Hongchen nearly exploded with fury.

That was a wild animal! He gritted his teeth in frustration. Even if it lived among humans, it still had two-inch-long fangs! It could bite Meng's head off in one snap! Just because its white fur was sleek, glossy, and irresistibly fluffy didn't mean she should just reach out and touch it!

What was even worse was that Meng Hongchen, while rubbing the wolf's ears, innocently turned to him and asked if he wanted to pet it too. She had no idea she was making a mistake!

"Ahem, Miss Hongchen, please don't harass our employee."

A young man wearing a crescent moon badge stood at the entrance of the trading company, looking slightly awkward. "Please, come inside." He smiled as he held the door open, subtly trying to urge Meng Hongchen with his gaze.

"Oh, okay." Meng Hongchen reluctantly gave the wolf two more pats before withdrawing her hand—only to receive a glare from her brother.

"If the Moonshadow Trading Company placed one of those fluffy creatures outside the Mingdu branch, I can't even imagine how crowded the store would be," the girl whispered into her brother's ear. "Think about it—maybe they put a multi-eyed tentacled Evil Eye Tyrant inside the store just to control customer flow..."

The interior of the Dragon City branch was far less luxurious than the Mingdu branch they were familiar with. In fact, it was somewhat crude—metal frames were exposed in the ceiling, and there were no service staff or guides to make customers feel welcome. The entire atmosphere screamed, take it or leave it.

Then again, when your backers were strong enough and your products were good enough, you could afford to be this arrogant. If customers didn't like it, they were free to walk away.

Rather than a high-end boutique, the store felt more like a wholesale market or a transit hub. Given its location, that made sense—goods from Star Dou Forest flowed into the Sun-Moon Empire through here, while rare metals from the empire were shipped to Star Dou. Aside from the Moonshadow Trading Company's own caravans, there were also smaller merchant groups dealing in second-hand goods, taking alternate routes that the main caravans didn't cover.

Currently, the store wasn't too crowded. Employees were busy sorting through newly arrived goods—expensive treasures casually piled up on the floor, waiting to be transferred into appropriate soul tool cabinets. The mixture of medicinal herbs and different energy fluctuations filled the air, creating a somewhat chaotic scent.

This was the only privilege granted to VIP customers—the ability to select goods before the official opening.

Whenever goods arrived in bulk, some items were inevitably superior to others. And the rarer treasures were often first come, first served.

"Honored guests of the Hongchen family, this quarter's shipments have just arrived. Before we officially open tomorrow, you may browse at your leisure," their guide said. "You may pay immediately or have the bill sent to Mingdetang."

With that, he silently vanished into the shadows—without the slightest intention of upselling.

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were already accustomed to this kind of service. The Mingdu branch operated similarly. Their reputation was so strong that they didn't need to flatter customers. They simply laid out their wares without concern for theft—no one would dare steal under the watchful eyes of the store's resident 90,000-year-old Evil Eye Tyrant.

Every branch had its own local security measures.

The first things the Hongchen Twins prioritized purchasing were pills that aided in cultivation and rare natural treasures beneficial to the body.

The pills produced by Emerald Pavilion were vastly superior to those from the Sun-Moon Empire, and there were also materials found only in the Soul Beast Forest—no soul engineer could resist these.

There were even quite a few high-quality soul bones available, but their exorbitant prices and the requirement of bartering with rare metals made them impractical. Moreover, they weren't suitable for their family members, so the Hongchen Twins regretfully passed on them.

"The soul tools from the New City?" Xiao Hongchen raised an eyebrow as he looked at a counter.

"What's this?" Meng Hongchen curiously picked up a flashy, small box-like soul tool and injected a bit of soul power into it.

With a crisp "pop," the lid of the small box sprang open, and the formation engraved inside emitted a soft and beautiful glow. A silver bird, constructed from gears and metal plates, sprang out. It had the precise and rigorous beauty unique to soul tool creations, yet it also appeared lively. As it flapped its wings, a cheerful melody played, instantly evoking the image of a bright spring forest.

"A third-generation soul-guided music box," a dark-skinned soul engineer enthusiastically introduced. His lineage evidently included some Sun-Moon Empire ancestry. "It can be used by soul warriors. A single input of soul power allows it to play for a quarter of an hour, and there are three different tunes to choose from."

"I love this!" The young lady was clearly unable to resist such an elaborate contraption. "Do you have other designs?"

"Yes, yes! We have butterfly, rabbit, snowman, and deer designs."

"Give me five of each! I want to give them to my friends." Meng Hongchen waved her hand decisively and pulled out her crystal card, where she kept her pocket money.

"Such a pointless gimmick, no technical content whatsoever," Xiao Hongchen remarked sourly. His own soul tool creations had never received this level of admiration from his sister, so he was a little harsh in his judgment. "The soul engineers from the New City love researching these flashy but useless things. That's why they can't compete with Mingde Hall."

"The New City's soul engineers focus more on civilian applications," the dark-skinned soul engineer replied with a friendly smile. As for what was being researched in the underground laboratories—places only big figures had access to—well, that was beyond his knowledge, he silently added. "Rather than spending all our time making weapons deadlier, shouldn't we also spare some time to create things that bring joy and convenience to people's lives?"

Xiao Hongchen, proud as he was, did not respond. However, a thoughtful glint appeared in Meng Hongchen's eyes.

"Do you have anything else interesting? I'd like to see more," she said eagerly.

Thus, the soul engineer introduced her to a jellyfish-shaped nightlight that played ocean wave sounds. Meng Hongchen became fascinated with figuring out how the jellyfish lamp floated above its base.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen had no intention of wasting time with his sister in this area. He made a beeline for the counter selling Yun Guang amber—a common organic gemstone that also served as an excellent material for engraving core formations in light-attribute soul tools. The ones displayed by the Moonshadow Chamber of Commerce were of higher quality than anything found within the Sun-Moon Empire.

Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, ended up purchasing two jellyfish nightlights, a glowing miniature juicer soul tool, and even a swan-shaped rotating toilet brush before she was finally satisfied and left the "soul tool trinkets" counter.

By then, her brother had disappeared to who-knows-where, but she wasn't in a hurry to look for him. Instead, she continued wandering leisurely through the area selling soul tools.

In a dimly lit corner, she discovered an even more shadowy stall. Behind the display case were several crystal spheres—each adorned with a refrigeration formation and containing an authentic miniature ice sculpture of a dragon. They seemed to be some sort of Dragon City souvenir.

The shop attendant was slumped over the counter, fast asleep, his forehead resting on his arm. Only a tuft of fluffy white hair and a small braid sticking out from between his forehead and arm were visible.

He was sleeping quite soundly, suggesting that this stall didn't get many visitors. Meng Hongchen raised an eyebrow but didn't disturb him. Instead, she simply picked up one of the crystal spheres for a closer look.

Even this slight movement startled the shop attendant awake. He groggily lifted his head, his messy white hair sticking out in all directions like a bird's nest, with a red imprint on his face from where it had been pressed against his arm.

His face was actually quite handsome. Meng Hongchen's eyes lit up as she quickly scored him in her mind—tall and lean, seemingly about the same age as her. Like Xiao, he could earn an eight out of ten, but his features had a different charm. He wasn't as delicate but had a more sunny and rugged look.

She met his golden-brown eyes beneath his pure white lashes. The boy blinked, then broke into a bright smile, revealing sharp, playful canine teeth.

"Oh, beautiful lady, are you my moon goddess?" he asked in a lively and admiring tone.

Meng Hongchen froze for a moment.

She had heard that members of the Moonshadow Chamber of Commerce worshipped the moon. The boy didn't seem hostile at all—his eyes held a pure appreciation. Perhaps this was some kind of compliment about her beauty? Or another form of praise?

In any case, it was likely a well-intentioned remark.

So, as a foreigner from the Sun-Moon Empire, someone only half-familiar with Moonshadow City's customs but always polite, the young lady gracefully smiled and nodded.

Then she watched in bewilderment as the white-haired boy leaped up as if his stool had bitten him. His face turned red, and he hastily shoved something into her hands before dashing away.

What… just happened?

Meng Hongchen stood there, confused, staring at the exquisitely crafted yet somewhat rugged bone flute necklace in her hands.

Was this… a gift?

She pondered for a moment before ultimately storing the bone flute pendant in her soul storage tool. She could return it to him the next time she saw him.

(End of Chapter)