Chapter 40: You Can't Not Know, Right? [Bonus Chapter]

...

"Hey, Xiao Zhu, wait a moment," Zeng Yi called out urgently as he saw Zhuzhuqing turning around to leave.

Xiao Zhu?

As soon as she heard this nickname, Zhuzhuqing's temples throbbed with anger. The way he called her had always irritated her. She felt like he was deliberately provoking her. Xiao Zhu? Wasn't it similar to calling someone a little pig?

Meanwhile, Zeng Yi thought it was more polite to address her directly as Zhuzhuqing. Calling her Xiao Zhu felt more familiar. Alternatively, he could have called her Xiao Zhu which had a similar pronunciation to Xiao Zhu, but it didn't make sense since Xiaqing was a snake's name and she was a person. This way of address was inappropriate.

This issue was one of the reasons why Zhuzhuqing couldn't stand Zeng Yi. Since he found out her name, he had been calling her Xiao Zhu, making her extremely annoyed. She constantly felt like this person was deliberately picking on her. This whole situation made her feel humiliated, accompanying this despicable person to Souto City.

Zhuzhuqing stopped in her tracks, turned around, crossed her arms, and stared coldly at the despicable man in front of her. She said in a cold voice, "Don't call me that."

"Okay, okay, I won't call you that," Zeng Yi said with a light laugh.

But you still responded, right? You're just being dramatic.

Zeng Yi thought to himself that teasing her like this, seeing her getting frustrated with no way to retaliate, was quite amusing.

"If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, I'll leave," Zhuzhuqing impatiently stared at Zeng Yi, urging him with a cold voice.

Seeing her like this, Zeng Yi shrugged helplessly and said, "Um... you can leave, but can you leave Xiao Ju with me?"

As he saw Xiao Ju still perched on Zhuzhuqing's shoulder, Zeng Yi felt annoyed. Everyone else was leaving, and he didn't know if he would see her again. Did she want to leave with Xiao Ju? But he had taken care of Xiao Ju like his own child. He even fed Xiao Ju all the meat and couldn't bear to eat a bite himself. He didn't expect Xiao Ju to be such a cat. He had raised this unworthy cat for so many years, and now it seemed like she wanted to take Xiao Ju away during this chaos.

And Xiao Zhu, did you do this intentionally? Trying to take away my Xiao Ju in the chaos? I have saved you, even if you like it so much, you can't do this! It's a matter of personal reputation. I thought you were always a well-behaved good girl, but this really breaks my heart!

Fine! Zeng Yi was now performing a soliloquy in his mind.

As Zhuzhuqing thought about it, she also realized this problem and felt a little embarrassed.

She gently took Xiao Ju down from her shoulder and looked at it with a soft gaze.

"Meow~"

"Yumi, thank you for keeping me company these past few days." Zhuzhuqing gently stroked Xiao Ju's head and said softly.

Hearing her words, Zeng Yi was speechless. It's called Xiao Ju! Xiao Ju! This isn't your cat, why did you give it another name so naturally in front of its real owner? Damn it, Yumi!

"Meow~"

Xiao Ju seemed to sense that Zhuzhuqing was about to leave and meowed, showing a reluctant expression.

"Heh, don't worry, we'll meet again in the future." Seeing Xiao Ju's appearance, Zhuzhuqing laughed lightly and comforted it.

Oh my, oh my! This ice-cold face actually smiled!

Zeng Yi witnessed this scene and his heart surged with countless emotions. It felt like ten thousand grass mud horses were galloping in his mind.

Xiao Ju, what kind of magic power do you possess to make this ice-cold face smile!

"Hmph~" 

Then Zhuzhuqing looked at Zeng Yi and, seeing his stunned expression, couldn't help but coldly snort. She always felt like this person was thinking something unfavorable about her.

Zhuzhuqing held Xiao Ju and walked in front of Zeng Yi, handing Xiao Ju over to him.

"Please take care of Yumi." Zhuzhuqing stared at Zeng Yi with a cold gaze and said in a plain tone.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of it. By the way, its name is Xiao Ju." Zeng Yi reminded her quite seriously of the cat's actual name.

I mean, Xiao Zhu, didn't you see how I treated Xiao Ju on the way here? I'm even closer to it than to my own mother!

Oh, right! I don't have a mother anymore.

"Hope so," Zhuzhuqing said lightly and turned around, leaving Zeng Yi with a cold back.

"She's such a strange woman, don't you think so, Xiao Ju?" Zeng Yi looked at Zhuzhuqing's departing figure, scratched his head, and asked Xiao Ju.

"Meow?"

Meanwhile, as Zhuzhuqing was walking, her steps paused for a moment, and her mouth twitched.

I haven't gone far yet! I can hear you, you bastard!

Zhuzhuqing roared in her heart, feeling a strong urge to punch this despicable man.

"By the way, Xiao Zhu, wait." Zeng Yi remembered something and called out to Zhuzhuqing again.

Xiao Zhu! Xiao Zhu! What the hell is wrong with you?

Once again, hearing this nickname, Zhuzhuqing's temples throbbed with anger, her breathing became rapid, her chest rose and fell continuously, her teeth clenched, and her hands tightened into fists. It seemed like she was struggling to control her emotions.

But relying on her strong will, she managed to calm down, took a deep breath to regain composure, turned around, and asked in a cold voice, "What now?"

"Well... um... can you lend me some money?" Zeng Yi said somewhat embarrassedly. He really had no money at the moment. Although he knew Card Sister and the others were in this city, he didn't know their exact location. Zhuzhuqing was the only person he was familiar with at the moment, so he had to borrow from her, hoping she would be generous enough to help him. Otherwise, he would end up sleeping on the streets.

Upon hearing his request, Zhuzhuqing was stunned. How could a Soul Master not have any money? Moreover, how could a man have the audacity to borrow money from a woman, especially someone he had only known for a few days?

"Don't worry, I don't need much, just a few gold soul coins. You can give me an address, and I'll return it to you soon." Seeing her not saying anything, Zeng Yi quickly added, afraid that she wouldn't lend him the money. Although a few gold soul coins meant a lot to Zeng Yi, it was probably a small matter for Zhuzhuqing. He remembered that she seemed to be from a noble family.

He didn't have money now, but he had many valuable items in his spatial bracelet. However, they were quite large, making it inconvenient to give them to her. Once he sold those items, he would have a handful of gold coins and could easily pay her back tenfold.

"As a Soul Master, how could you not have any money?" Zhuzhuqing said plainly.

"Who said Soul Masters must always have money?" Zeng Yi retorted.

"Then how did you survive?"

"I've been living in the wilderness all this time!"

Well, Zeng Yi's response left Zhuzhuqing speechless. Based on what she knew about him, what he said might be true. Unbelievable, there could still be people like this in the world.

"Don't you know? If you register at the Martial Soul Hall, you can receive a monthly allowance," Zhuzhuqing said calmly.

[T/N: Spirit Hall is also called "Martial Soul Hall" in later books. So both names will be used interchangeably in future chapters.]

"An allowance? There's such a thing?"

"Yes."

Now it was Zeng Yi's turn to be dumbfounded.

With Zhuzhuqing's reminder, Zeng Yi also remembered that in Douluo, Soul Masters could indeed receive money from the Martial Soul Hall every month, in the form of gold soul coins.

How many years have I been a Soul Master? Seven years?

"F***! I didn't know about this. How much money have I wasted over the years?!" Zeng Yi clutched his head in frustration.

Stupid, truly stupid. I've been so stupid. All that money, just slipping through my fingers.

Zeng Yi had been poor for over ten years, and the largest denomination he had encountered was silver soul coins. Now, he was being told that Soul Masters could receive money every month at the Martial Soul Hall, even in gold soul coins. How could he accept this reality?

Zeng Yi's lament shocked the people on the street. They looked at him as if he were a fool.

Zhuzhuqing was also shocked. She never expected him to be so clueless. It was unbelievable that there could be someone so foolish in this world, and he turned out to be that person. It felt gratifying.

But she should still help him out, poor guy.

Zhuzhuqing took out a small bag from her body and walked over.

"Here, there are fifty gold soul coins inside." Zhuzhuqing handed the money bag to him, saying plainly.

Fifty gold soul coins?