Zhou Qing, after hearing this, finally understood.
"Oh, someone wants to become a Prince Consort, eh? Not bad, senior brother. When you make it big in the royal court, don’t forget to get me a minor post too!"
Zhou Qing raised his eyebrows, a mischievous smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes full of teasing.
Yan Xiaohu immediately chuckled, "I’ll do my best, but right now, it’s not even close. The urgent thing is to get her attention first."
"Of course, but what’s that got to do with whether I show up or not tomorrow?" Zhou Qing asked, his face showing puzzled expression.
Yan Xiaohu suddenly pulled out a bronze mirror from who knows where and held it up in front of them, asking, "What do you see in here?"
Zhou Qing looked carefully and said, "Except for the two of us, there’s nothing else."
"You call that nothing? Obviously, you are just a tad more handsome than me. My round face and these small single-lidded eyes; though I can be dashing, I still feel like I’m a bit lacking when compared to you." Yan Xiaohu muttered indignantly.
Zhou Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Got it, you’re afraid I might overshadow you.
Fine, for the sake of our third senior brother’s happiness, I won’t show up tomorrow.
"But, there are quite a few attractive people in our sect. Like Li Daoxuan and He Han from Divine Peak, and the chief disciples of other peaks. You missing one probably won’t make much difference!" Zhou Qing hesitated before saying.
Yan Xiaohu scratched his head, looking a bit irritated, "You’re right, those shameless guys, who knows how they grew up looking like that. Though the Ninth Princess might prefer my type. Li Daoxuan is good-looking, but doesn’t Lu Yaoyao always look for you to hang out?"
Zhou Qing was speechless.
How did this conversation turn back to me?
"So, give me an idea. Besides dressing up, what else can attract a girl’s attention?" Yan Xiaohu looked at Zhou Qing with a pleading gaze. To him, Zhou Qing had more experience in these matters.
Meeting Yan Xiaohu’s gaze, Zhou Qing pondered and then said, "When she comes to our Taiqing Sect, there will be many people crowding around to catch a glimpse of the royal princess."
"If it were you, with so many watching, you’d get overwhelmed, let alone be remembered by her, unless—"
"Unless what?" Yan Xiaohu asked impatiently.
Zhou Qing said, "Unless you are the first person she meets."
Yan Xiaohu was taken aback but then his eyes lit up, "You mean I should intercept her halfway?"
"Not intercept, but have a coincidental encounter. For example, you help some villagers solve a longstanding problem, and the princess and her entourage just happen to witness it."
"Got it, understood. Old fourth, you’ve got some great ideas!" Before Zhou Qing could finish, Yan Xiaohu excitedly bear-hugged Zhou Qing, twirling him around, laughing heartily as if he already won the beauty’s heart.
"Ahem—" At this moment, a cough echoed.
The two were startled and quickly looked toward the source.
They saw a white-haired old woman standing not far, Yan Xiaohu’s face instantly turned pale.
Zhou Qing also felt extremely awkward and quickly greeted, "Greetings, Supreme Elder!"
Yan Xiaohu, fumbling, followed suit and bowed hastily.
Duanmu Shu said, "Zhou Qing, I have something to discuss with you..."
"Old fourth, the Supreme Elder is looking for you, what are you waiting for?"
Before Duanmu Shu could finish, Yan Xiaohu shoved Zhou Qing forward and said respectfully, "Since the Supreme Elder has business with old fourth, I’ll excuse myself as it’s probably something confidential."
With that, he darted off and disappeared.
Zhou Qing was dumbfounded, even Duanmu Shu couldn’t help but smile wryly.
"Is that really necessary? But judging by his speed, he’s not far from reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, impressive!"
Duanmu Shu finished speaking and then turned to Zhou Qing, with a smile, "Still the same as always, you have more experience after all."
Zhou Qing’s eyes gleamed with a hint of joy.
This is exactly what I needed. Luckily, I had simulated this many times in the Divine Ruins Celestial Palace, and now it’s finally useful.
Seeing Zhou Qing’s expression, Duanmu Shu felt a bit embarrassed too.
After all, squeezing resources from him wasn’t quite fair, but there really was no better option now.
Last time it failed, and she got hurt badly. This time, with full preparation, she still wanted to give it another try.
"I won’t give you any more cultivation techniques; you bite off more than you can chew. Here are five mid-grade Spirit Stones as compensation for this mission."
Duanmu Shu finished and handed over the five Spirit Stones.
Last time, after Zhou Qing came out, he was completely exhausted and discreetly asked her for two mid-grade Spirit Stones.
As for the Silver Dragon Hand and Thunder Sword Skills, just these two techniques were enough for him to practice diligently.
Looking at the Spirit Stones, Zhou Qing felt a bit embarrassed.
"This is what you deserve. The matter of the Wandering Souls inside is really peculiar; we still haven’t figured out where they come from." Duanmu Shu said while handing the Spirit Stones to Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing had no choice but to accept.
Let’s hope you never figure it out. This Pocket World seems to be my meal ticket from now on.
"I will do my best!" Zhou Qing saluted.
Duanmu Shu looked very pleased at his response.
"Then let’s go!" With that, Duanmu Shu led Zhou Qing towards the Pocket World...