Douluo Continent: Gourmet Prisoner

Silence reigned in the Starry Sky Forest tonight. Shi Yu remained silent because he couldn't prove he was human, while Tang Ya imagined a scenario where a "soul beast would silence him," and cowered in a corner, too afraid to utter a sound.

In the midst of this awkward silence, a clear female voice suddenly broke the atmosphere: "Hey, Shi Yu, you're finally back!"

The three-eyed golden lion, like a playful dog, pounced over with its short legs and crashed headfirst into Shi Yu's arms.

"Holy crap! Dog, don't lunge! You're so heavy!" Shi Yu was knocked off balance.

"Who's the dog! I am the noble imperial beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!" The little guy bristled and bared his teeth at Shi Yu.

"Okay, doggy, no problem, doggy." Shi Yu replied in a serious tone.

The three-eyed golden lion was panting heavily, swatting at Shi Yu's arm with its paws: "Stop teasing me! I have serious business with you!"

"What important matter could make our Lord Auspicious Beast so anxious?" Shi Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Go and cook for me! I'm hungry!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said matter-of-factly.

"You're always thinking about food." Shi Yu shook his head helplessly, then remembered something, "Oh right, I've awakened my martial soul."

"I knew it! You were definitely... Wait, what?! You awakened a martial soul?!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes widened. "So you really are human?"

"I was originally human!" Shi Yu rolled his eyes. "Ten thousand years ago, your ancestor Tang San was the child of a human and a soul beast, and he was still human, wasn't he?"

"But he wasn't born from an egg!" the three-eyed golden lion retorted.

"So what if I was born from an egg? I'm really sorry!" Shi Yu said sarcastically.

"Let's not talk about that now!" The three-eyed golden lion's gaze fell on Tang Ya, and it asked curiously, "Who's this next to you? Is he also a transformed soul beast?"

"Oh, her? I picked her up from the human world," Shi Yu said casually.

"What do you mean 'found'? So she's a human?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion instantly raised its voice, letting out a girlish scream, "Di Tian! The Star Dou Great Forest is causing trouble!"

"Stop yelling! It's so noisy!" Shi Yu said, covering her ears.

The three-eyed golden lion immediately fell silent, muttering aggrievedly, "This is the first time I've ever seen a real human..."

"Then what am I?" Shi Yu's face darkened. "The one who's been playing with you for six years, playing with thin air?"

"You call yourself a soul beast!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said matter-of-factly. "How can you expect me to treat you like a human? Would a human be this outrageous? As an infant, you drank a ton of beast milk every day; by four months old, you had all your teeth and could talk, constantly calling out 'meat, meat, meat'; at five months old, you even chewed up a metal milk can; and at six years old, you could instantly kill a thousand-year-old soul beast..."

"Stop talking! Stop talking!" Shi Yu covered her face in despair and rushed over to cover the mouth of the three-eyed golden lion.

Watching this farce unfold, Tang Ya finally mustered her courage and said, forcing a smile, "What do you intend to do with me? Kill me or torture me, it's up to you!"

"Oh, I almost forgot about you." Shi Yu looked up at Tang Ya with an innocent expression.

"So you picked someone up to be your child bride?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion broke free from Shi Yu's hand and asked curiously.

"Where did you read this from? I'll have the Red King burn all your messy books!" Shi Yu said irritably.

"Then why did you bring her back?"

"I took her in out of pity and decided to have her work for me for the rest of her life," Shi Yu said frankly.

"Even I, a soul beast, think you're a beast!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at him with disdain.

"What do you know! She agreed to the conditions I proposed voluntarily!" Shi Yu retorted.

The three-eyed golden lion turned to look at Tang Ya and asked seriously, "Is it really as he said?"

"Yes." Tang Ya nodded. "He said he would make me work for him for the rest of my life, providing room and board and cultivation resources, but no salary."

"Huh? You agreed to such an outrageous request?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked shocked, then asked in confusion, "By the way, what is this salary?"

"But providing room and board and cultivation resources is already very good," Tang Ya explained.

"Then why did you just say you could kill me or torture me as you please?"

"Because I initially thought they were human, but later I found out they were soul beasts," Tang Ya said softly.

"Look, even humans don't acknowledge you as human!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said to Shi Yu with schadenfreude.

"Shut up! You're not allowed to expel me from the human race!" Shi Yu was so angry that he kept panting.

After the explanation from the human and the beast, Tang Ya finally believed that they would not harm her, but she still had doubts about whether Shi Yu was human.

"Hey! What kind of look is that? Don't you believe I'm human?!" Shi Yu said in a frenzy.

The two people and one beast strolled through the Star Dou Great Forest, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

"Shi Yu, give me a name!" The three-eyed golden lion suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"Why do you suddenly want a name?" Shi Yu asked, puzzled.

"Because if I keep calling it the Three-Eyed Golden Lion or the Imperial Auspicious Beast, readers will think the author is padding the word count!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said seriously.

"Oh, I see." Shi Yu suddenly realized.

"Hey! Can you guys stop breaking down the dimensional barrier so calmly?!" Tang Ya sighed, feeling her worldview being shaken.

"Well, seeing that you're all golden, your surname is Jin (金). And since you look like a dog but aren't quite, your name will be Gouzi (狗子). From now on, you'll be called Jin Gouzi!" Shi Yu said in a serious tone.

"Bastard! You're asking for it!" The three-eyed golden lion pounced on Shi Yu and bit his arm.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Shi Yu laughed and dodged away. "How about you take my surname, Shi? Your hair looks like autumn leaves, so how about Shi Qiu'er?"

"That's more like it!" Shi Qiu'er nodded in satisfaction, then asked warily, "You were definitely insulting me when you took the gold dog earlier, right?"

"What did you say? The wind is too strong, I can't hear you!" Shi Yu deliberately turned his head to look elsewhere.

"You bastard! I'll bite you!" Shi Qiu'er chased after Shi Yu and started playing around.

Looking at the scene before her, Tang Ya began to doubt whether she had made the wrong decision.

"Tang Ya, what are your plans for the future?" Shi Yu stopped and asked seriously.

"I'm older than you, call me Sister Xiaoya," Tang Ya corrected. "I want to follow the path of our ancestor Tang San from ten thousand years ago. That's the only way out for Blue Silver Grass, and it's also the faith of our Tang Clan."

"Then let me ask you, what is your innate soul power?"

Level 5.

"Tang San's ancestor possessed innate full soul power," Shi Yu continued, "Were either of your parents soul beasts?"

"no."

"Tang San's ancestor's mother was the Blue Silver Emperor," Shi Yu asked again. "Do you possess twin martial souls?"

"no."

"Tang San's ancestor possessed twin martial souls; his second martial soul was the Clear Sky Hammer." Shi Yu shrugged. "Do you think you can follow in his footsteps?"

What he didn't say was that Tang San also had the support of the Blue Silver King, the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone, and even the backing of the God Realm, all of which Tang Ya did not possess.

"But..." Tang Ya wanted to argue.

"But what? That path suits him, but it might not suit you." Shi Yu interrupted her. "If you want to become stronger, you have to forge your own path."

"Then how should I get there?" Tang Ya asked blankly.

"Isn't that what I'm here for?" Shi Yu patted his chest. "I'll arrange your path. You just need to follow me and work hard."

"Thank you," Tang Ya said softly, but she was still unsure.

As dusk settled, Tang Ya yawned, overcome with sleepiness: "Shi Yu, where are we sleeping tonight?"

"The Starry Sky Forest, with the sky as our blanket and the earth as our bed, how comfortable it is," Shi Yu said casually.

"I know the answer to this question!" Shi Qiu'er raised her hand. "Shi Yu and I have just been lying down anywhere for so many years!"

"So when you said it included food and lodging, you meant staying in the wilderness?" Tang Ya's voice suddenly rose, and she reached out to pinch Shi Yu's soft waist. "Shi Yu, you bastard!"

"Stop pinching me! It hurts!" Shi Yu quickly begged for mercy. "I'll build you a house in a couple of days! I guarantee it will be comfortable and safe!"

"That's more like it." Tang Ya released her grip and said angrily.