In Douluo Continent, he tricked Xiao Wu into giving him a soul ring.

As he spoke, Lan Si put away the Jinxing Thorn on the ground. Without waiting for Zhu Zhuqing's consent, he picked her up in a princess carry once again, lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaped onto the tree trunk, and disappeared in a few flashes.

.......

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes again, she found herself in a tent.

Looking back suddenly, she realized that she seemed to have been rescued, and then fainted on the way due to excessive blood loss.

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Looking down to examine her injuries, Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face couldn't help but blush. Her blood-soaked leather coat was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a brand-new, heavy black robe. All the wounds, big and small, had been bandaged with gauze, and even the arrow wound on her right shoulder had been treated.

Fortunately, she still had her underwear and bra, and her body didn't feel anything unusual, otherwise she would have been socially dead.

At that moment, the aroma of meat wafted out from outside the tent.

"Gurgle...gurgle..." Zhu Zhuqing's stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything for almost a day in order to avoid assassination attempts.

Stepping out of the tent, I saw a tall, slender young figure grilling meat.

"Oh, you're awake. You must be hungry. The rabbit meat will be ready soon. Have a seat."

Lan Si turned around, slightly lost in thought. He had changed Zhu Zhuqing's black robe. He hadn't paid much attention when Zhu Zhuqing was unconscious, but he realized how beautiful she was when she woke up.

The black robe, which looked thick and heavy on others, accentuated her curvaceous figure perfectly, adding a touch of mystery. With her mysterious steps, a section of her jade-like white leg was faintly visible, quite alluring.

Feeling Lan Si's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing was also startled. Only now did she see the face of the boy who had saved her.

With fair skin, a rather handsome face, a slender figure, and smooth, black, tousled hair, Zhu Zhuqing's cheeks flushed slightly in the firelight, whether from shyness at seeing Lan Si's appearance or from the fact that Lan Si had changed her clothes.

The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere in the room subtly became ambiguous.

“My clothes…” After a long silence, Zhu Zhuqing’s pretty face flushed red. She avoided Lan Si’s gaze and broke the ambiguous atmosphere first.

"Ah...oh." Hearing Zhu Zhuqing's words, Lan Si finally reacted, put down the rabbit meat in his hand, stood up and pointed to the clothes on the wooden rack opposite the campfire, and said, "Your coat is covered in blood. I took it to wash it for you and applied some wound medicine that I made myself. After dawn, I will take you to a nearby city to find a support-type Soul Master to treat you. It shouldn't leave any scars."

The wound medicine was prepared by Lan Si in her previous life based on a secret recipe from the Tongwen Hall, and it has a remarkable effect on external injuries.

"Hmm." Zhu Zhuqing slowly sat down next to Lan Si, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

She didn't press Lan Si to ask if he had helped her change her clothes. It was true that she was chaste, but she wasn't the kind of person who would gouge out her eyes and die if someone saw her skin. Besides, the latter was very sensible; he only bandaged the wound and didn't do anything else.

Silence fell again. Amid the crackling of the campfire, the faint sounds of their heartbeats and slightly rapid breathing could be heard.

After a while, Lan Si tore off a roasted rabbit leg and handed it to Zhu Zhuqing. "It's ready. Try it. This is the meat of a ten-year-old soul beast, the Soft Bone Rabbit. It tastes extremely delicious."

"Thank you... thank you." Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment before taking the rabbit leg, then stopped herself from saying anything.

"What, are you afraid I'll poison you? I'll eat it first and show you." As she spoke, Lan Si tore off another rabbit leg and began to devour it.

Seeing Lan Si, who had previously appeared so refined, eating with his mouth full of oil, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She shook her head and smiled, "If you wanted to harm me, you wouldn't have waited until now. You had plenty of opportunities while I was unconscious. Thank you, Tang San."

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Chapter Twenty-One: Ami and the Kitten

Tang San!

"Uh..." Upon hearing these two words, Lan Si's lips twitched. Was this a case of shooting herself in the foot? Then Zhu Zhuqing said, "I heard you say that you were a student of Shrek Academy, so you should know my identity by now. Is it really as my sister said, that Dai Mubai sent you to pick me up?"

As soon as she said those words, Zhu Zhuqing regretted them.

To say that she has feelings for Dai Mubai is simply unrealistic. The two of them grew up in the shadows of their childhoods, rarely met, and had almost no communication. In fact, even if she stood in front of Dai Mubai now, the latter probably wouldn't recognize her.

The only connection they had was that ironic and ridiculous, suffocatingly oppressive marriage contract.

Three years ago, Dai Mubai abandoned her and went to a distant place alone.

Zhu Zhuqing was once on the verge of despair as her sister's behavior became increasingly bold and reckless. Faced with Zhu Zhuyun's relentless assassination attempts, she didn't know if she could survive until tomorrow.

Therefore, she has been working hard to cultivate her skills, hoping to defeat her sister when she turns twenty-four and gain the right to survive.

But as she got older, she knew that it was almost impossible.

My sister's talent is no less than mine, and she is five or six years older than me. That means she has five or six more years of training time than me. This gap cannot be bridged by hard work alone.

Later, by chance, she learned about Dai Mubai, who was at a strange academy called Shrek.

What angered her was that after leaving, instead of working hard to improve himself, he indulged in promiscuity and degenerates, even giving up his own hope of survival.

Despite her anger, she knew that this was her only hope. Only by joining forces could they have a chance to defeat her sister Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Mubai's brother Davis.

Therefore, she resolutely set off for Shrek Academy.

On the way from the Star Luo Empire to Shrek Academy.

Unsurprisingly, she was once again pursued by Zhu Zhuyun.

In her desperate situation, she encountered this young man who called himself Tang San, and so she casually asked him a question she would later regret.

At this moment, she was torn. She hoped that Dai Mubai would change his ways and help her through this difficult time. Yet, she also inexplicably hoped that this young man had nothing to do with Dai Mubai. She hoped that he was simply acting out of a sense of justice.

With these conflicting emotions, Zhu Zhuqing watched Lan Si with trepidation, waiting for his reply.

Lan Si had no idea that Zhu Zhuqing had been having a mental battle going on in such a short time, and that she was showing an attitude of understanding based on her age. She pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Um, what is your identity? And who is Dai Mubai? I only heard that the woman in black call you 'little sister,' and that's all I know."

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Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief, but asked in confusion, "Tang San, aren't you a student of Shrek Academy?"

"I'm not a student of Shrek Academy, nor am I named Tang San. When you're out and about, especially when facing this kind of江湖恩怨杀 (jianghu enyuan, a term referring to the grudges and feuds within the martial arts world), only someone who's tired of living would expose their own family."

Lan Si shook his head, then began to grumble to himself.

"Besides, who would join a fraudulent academy like Shrek Academy? The admission requirements are so strict, requiring applicants to be under thirteen years old and have a soul power level of twenty or even twenty-five or higher. You can't find another academy like that in the entire Douluo Continent."

"The problem is that educational resources are inadequate. There's no simulated training environment, and there aren't enough teachers. The living conditions and food are a complete mess. We recruit a group of the continent's top geniuses and let them fend for themselves. If they succeed, it's the academy's credit; if they don't, it's their own fault."

"The graduation requirement is that one's soul power must reach level 40 before the age of 20."

"Since its founding, Shrek Academy has admitted a total of 62 students. Without exception, they are all top geniuses in the Douluo Continent. Those who meet the admission requirements have an innate soul power of at least level seven or eight, but only 14 of them have graduated. Where did the other 48 go? They just faded into obscurity because they did not receive a good education."

"What's most disgusting is that they are not ashamed of this at all, but proud of it. While belittling the remaining forty-eight people for making a fool of themselves, they boast about the fourteen graduates, saying that the most powerful one has become the youngest elder of the Spirit Hall, with authority second only to the Pope. I really don't know where he gets his confidence from."

"To become an elder of the Spirit Hall, one's cultivation level must be at least that of a Title Douluo. Shrek Academy has only been established for twenty years. Even the first batch of students are at most in their thirties. Do you believe a Title Douluo in his thirties?"

By the end, Lan Si was parched. He took out a water bottle from his soul tool, took a big gulp, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Looking at Zhu Zhuqing, she was already dumbfounded as she listened to Lan Si's series of stories, her mouth agape and unable to utter a word.

After a while, Zhu Zhuqing, who was usually serious, couldn't help but laugh and said with a smile, "No wonder you chose to introduce yourself as a member of Shrek Academy. It seems you have quite a bit of resentment towards Shrek Academy."

Lan Si shook his head and said, "No, no... Rather than having a grudge against Shrek Academy, I would say I have a grudge against a hypocrite who is both self-deprecating and arrogant, who only knows how to boast about his theories all day long and recommends Shrek Academy to me all the time."

"Then what about Tang San? You didn't just make that up, did you?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, puzzled.

“No, that’s not it.” Lan Si took a bite of rabbit meat and replied, “It’s that hypocrite’s apprentice, the kind of guy who eats his food and then curses his master, who’s all talk and no action. He’s been completely fooled by that hypocrite. I reckon he’ll be joining Shrek Academy in about a month. Oh, by the way, if you go to Shrek Academy, remember to watch out for that rabbit next to him, it bites.”

"You really have a twisted sense of humor." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head with a smile, tore off a small piece of rabbit meat, blew on it, and then very elegantly put it into her mouth.

She probably didn't even realize that this was the day she smiled the most in her entire life.

"After all this talk, I still don't know your name? My name is Lan Si, Lan as in blue, and Si as in the hour of Si (9-11 AM). People who know me well call me A Si." Lan Si took out two cups from his soul tool and poured a cup of water for Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing took the water glass, thought for a moment, and finally decided not to lie. She said, "Zhuqing, my name is Zhu Zhuqing."

After saying this, Zhu Zhuqing paid special attention to Lan Si's expression. When she found that the latter did not have any obvious reaction, she unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Lan Si said "Oh" and then said, "Zhu Qing, Zhu Zhu Qing, that's a nice name. From now on, we'll be friends, Zhu Qing."

As she spoke, Lan Si extended her right hand.

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Chapter Twenty-Two: Heartbeats and Separation

Looking at Lan Si's delicate, fair hands, Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, because from childhood to adulthood, apart from her father, she had never had any physical contact with any man.

At the same time, because of the disgusting engagement and her hot body, she would often be subjected to strange looks, which made her hate men very much.

But surprisingly, she didn't dislike the young man in front of her, even though it was their first meeting.

"I'm sorry, I was rash." Seeing this, Lan Si's face showed an embarrassed expression. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he saw Zhu Zhuqing blush and extend her slender and graceful hand.

Lan Si smiled gently and took Zhu Zhuqing's slender hand in hers.

A strong wind blew by, the dark clouds dispersed, and moonlight spilled onto the ground, illuminating the beautiful faces of Lan Si and Zhu Zhuqing.

Unconsciously, an ambiguous atmosphere permeated the entire world.

Silent all night.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the eastern sky began to lighten with the first hint of white.

When the first ray of sunlight shone on Lan Si's cheek, he slowly opened his eyes and exited his cultivation state.

Looking into the tent, Zhu Zhuqing had already woken up and was changing her clothes. Under the sunlight, her shapely figure was highlighted.

Lan Si immediately covered her eyes, peeking through her fingers to admire the scene while murmuring, "Don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't look at what you shouldn't see, form is emptiness, emptiness is form..."

"What are you muttering about so early in the morning!" Zhu Zhuqing walked out of the tent carrying folded clothes. She had changed into the black leather jacket she had worn before.

"N-nothing...it's nothing." Lan Si shook her head somewhat guiltily, skipping over the previous topic: "How's your injury?"

"I feel much better after using your medicine. Once I find a support-type Soul Master to treat me, I believe I will recover in just a few days." The bodies of Soul Masters are different from those of ordinary people. What is a serious injury in the eyes of ordinary people can be recovered several times, or even ten times, faster than ordinary people, as long as Soul Masters have the assistance of Soul Power.

"That's good. I'll take you to a nearby town later. This place is adjacent to the Star Dou Great Forest, so there should be many places that treat Soul Masters injured while hunting Soul Beasts." Lan Si got up, walked to the tent, and said while tidying up.

"Mmm." Zhu Zhuqing responded softly, her slender white fingers tightly gripping the clothes in her hands.

"What's wrong, Zhu Qing? Is something the matter?" Noticing that Zhu Zhu Qing's mood was a bit off, Lan Si asked casually.

"Ah Si, your clothes have my blood on them... I..."

"Hey, I thought it was nothing serious. It's just a piece of clothing, so I'll give it to you. If you really feel bad about it, you can return it to me next time we meet after it's washed."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded, put the clothes into her soul tool, and asked seriously, "Where are you planning to go? How can I find you next time?"

"Since we're near the Star Dou Great Forest, we should go there to hunt for spirit rings. As for how to find me..." Lan Si smiled calmly, walked up to Zhu Zhuqing, and took her left hand.