Chapter Twenty-Three: The Statue Is Complete!

"Xiaoqing, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

After Butler Mu dragged the corpse of the giant shark away, Yang Ye whispered this question into Long Xiaoqing's ear.

"Yes, yes!" Long Xiaoqing nodded enthusiastically. "I wanted to lure the big shark over so Butler Mu would kill it, and then you could get a beast core of stellar rank. But unfortunately, Butler Mu wouldn’t fall for it!"

Having said this, Long Xiaoqing shook her head, resigned.

Her grandfather had left Butler Mu to guard the Dragon Palace, and assisting her and Yang Ye in slaying star beasts was beyond his responsibilities.

In less than ten minutes, Butler Mu returned.

"Miss, please do not bring sea beasts here again. When my master departed, he instructed me not to assist either you or the young master in such matters. Also, the energy within this old servant is limited. Once it is depleted, I can no longer serve you both."

Butler Mu spoke calmly to Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing after returning.

"Hehe!"

Long Xiaoqing laughed awkwardly. She wasn’t sure if what she’d said to Yang Ye had reached Butler Mu’s ears, or if he’d simply guessed her intent.

Yang Ye nodded, "Rest assured, Butler Mu. Such things won’t happen again."

"As long as you both understand. The meal is getting cold. Please, return to the hall and dine."

With that, Butler Mu gestured for Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing to enter.

Yang Ye walked toward the palace hall, speaking as he went, "Butler Mu, the move you used just now was quite unusual. Could you teach me? That shouldn’t break the rules, right?"

Butler Mu replied, "Young master, that’s simple. Once you’ve finished your current tasks, this old servant will gladly impart what little I know."

"Excellent!"

Yang Ye nodded happily.

…

After the meal, Long Xiaoqing took her newly acquired ruby to the treasury to play, while Yang Ye returned to his room to continue practicing his carving.

When he finished one piece of the fleshwood, he took another from the box.

Days passed.

By the time he was halfway through the second piece, Yang Ye felt his carving skills had matured.

He held in his hands a puppet over a foot tall, and was very pleased with it.

This was, in his opinion, the most successful piece he had made in over a month.

"Husband, is it ready?"

Just then, Long Xiaoqing flew into the room, landing on Yang Ye’s shoulder, peering curiously at the puppet in his hands.

"Xiaoqing, do you like how it looks?" Yang Ye asked her.

However, Long Xiaoqing shook her head. "Husband, it’s too small!"

Yang Ye explained, "This is just a sample. The real statue will be about one point two meters tall, roughly life-sized. The finished piece will look just like this one—and, well, it won’t be clothed."

"The face is cute, I like it. But the chest is too flat, the waist too thick, the hips aren’t round enough, and the legs are too short."

Long Xiaoqing ran through a litany of ‘faults’ in the statue according to her tastes.

Yang Ye was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "You’re still young, and you want an adult’s body? Absolutely not!"

He had considered carving a great beauty, but Long Xiaoqing’s psychological age clearly did not fit an adult’s form.

Long Xiaoqing was stubborn. "A little girl’s appearance is fine! But you have to follow my requirements. Otherwise, I won’t use it! If you don’t agree, you don’t like me!"

She once again placed a large ‘hat’ on Yang Ye’s head.

Yang Ye sighed, "Alright! I’ll do it your way."

"My husband is the best!"

Long Xiaoqing’s expression changed faster than a dog’s; she went from anger to smiling in an instant, stuck out her tongue, and licked Yang Ye’s cheek.

Smack!

Yang Ye scooped up Long Xiaoqing and kissed her firmly on the forehead.

This woman was getting more and more spoiled.

"Husband~"

Long Xiaoqing’s eyes brimmed with satisfaction and shy affection, and she called out sweetly.

Then Yang Ye began preparing to carve the true statue.

Long Xiaoqing did not leave, staying by his side. From now on, she would ‘supervise’ Yang Ye’s work.

"No, one point two meters is too short."

"For a girl of seven or eight, isn’t that just the right height?"

"Make it taller… taller… yes, that’s about right."

After agreeing on the height, Yang Ye cut nearly two meters of fleshwood from a large piece with his short knife and began carving.

With so much practice, Yang Ye no longer needed to sketch out his work.

Within a day, he had carved the figure. All that remained was refining the details.

Seven days passed.

A statue of a slender girl, about one point five meters tall, with flowing river-like hair, was completed in Yang Ye’s hands.

Her appearance was now vastly different from what Yang Ye had originally envisioned.

But she was exceptionally perfect—and incredibly beautiful.

The statue had been revised entirely to Long Xiaoqing’s specifications, and looked like a beautiful girl stepping straight out of an anime world.

The statue was unclothed, modeled entirely after a real person.

Yang Ye used sandpaper provided by Butler Mu to polish the surface until it gleamed.

Looking at the statue, Yang Ye felt a deep sense of accomplishment. He mused that secretly peeking at ***** had its benefits, at least he understood the female anatomy.

Otherwise… he might have carved a statue with the wrong features.

"Xiaoqing, are you satisfied now?"

Yang Ye let out a long breath and asked.

Long Xiaoqing circled the statue once, nodded, and said, "I am very satisfied."

With that, she raised her claw and slashed her own forehead.

A wound appeared, and fresh blood trickled ou