Something Is Definitely Fishy Here!

Right now.

Ning Rongrong looked up at Zhou Qing and noticed that his eyes had become incredibly bright, no longer as deep as the night Starry Sky, but like the stars in the night sky, shining brightly.

From that moment on, it was as if every word he said could be believed.

"Are you... alright?" Ning Rongrong asked tentatively.

"Something's happened, and it's big." Zhou Qing looked at Ning Rongrong with gratitude. "You've made me realize what I really want."

"Baffling."

Ning Rongrong pouted, but also took the opportunity to say, "Anyway, I helped you, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how will you thank me? How about giving me the Bug Egg of the Light Goddess Butterfly as a token of your gratitude?"

"That's wishful thinking."

Zhou Qing chuckled, "How about I repay you with my body? You can give me the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a dowry?"

"I'll return your words in full: You wish." Ning Rongrong pouted and smiled happily—no one in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had ever dared to speak to her like that.

After leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, everyone she encountered along the way treated her with utmost respect after seeing the carriage she was riding in and examining the fabric of her clothes.

When "Qing Zhou" was in the hotel, he treated me very respectfully, but now that I think about it, how could that be called respect? He was clearly joking with me!

Zhou Qing squatted down in front of Ning Rongrong and said, "Come on up, consider it a return gift."

"Hmph, you're smart to know what's good for you!"

Ning Rongrong leaped up and straddled Zhou Qing's shoulders and neck.

"Hey, I didn't say you could ride on my head." Zhou Qing stumbled and almost fell, muttering to himself, but still helped Ning Rongrong up slowly and walked onto the bustling street.

Along the way, Zhou Qing bought whatever Ning Rongrong wanted to eat, but he ignored Gold Soul Coin Ning Rongrong no matter how much she complained.

"You're so stingy," Ning Rongrong complained while munching on a rice cake.

"You're not in charge of the household, so you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt are."

"Hmph, didn't I tell you to use my Soul Card?"

"Come on, do you think any of these street vendors have Soul Coin Machine that accept Soul Card? Do you think this is a big city like Heaven Dou City?" Zhou Qing rolled his eyes and started arguing with Ning Rongrong, no longer being careful with his words.

He realized that the more respect he showed Ning Rongrong, the more she would take it for granted, and she would even instinctively put on airs like a spoiled young lady.

If you don't treat her politely, she will treat you as an equal.

Similar to Stockholm Syndrome, but not as severe, Zhou Qing was certain that if anyone dared to persecute or threaten Ning Rongrong, she would definitely fight back fiercely.

Therefore, he had to find a balance to avoid going too far and causing the Little Witch to really lose her temper, which would be impossible to appease with just a few words.

[ε=(ο`*))) Sigh, I've realized that every single one of the Shrek Seven Devils in the original story is mentally and psychologically extraordinary!]

"How come this mischievous Little Witch gets along so well with a stranger?"

Those who were secretly protecting Ning Rongrong were all astonished.

"That kid has some skills."

Some people were amazed by Zhou Qing's ability to coax children.

"It's definitely an act! With Rongrong's temper, how could she be so close to him? That kid's companion was incredibly rude before!"

Some people didn't believe that Ning Rongrong would be so obedient.

"I think Princess Rongrong might want to get that white, jade-like thing from that boy, so she's trying to get close to him."

Some people have guessed the truth.

But no matter how much these people speculated, they couldn't hide one thing: Ning Rongrong, riding on Zhou Qing's back, was smiling very happily...

Meanwhile, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Romantina, who were acting separately, had no idea that Zhou Qing was actually "neglecting his duties" and was diligently investigating the terrifying legends within Falling Star City and the events that had occurred over the past six years in their own ways.

As for hunting down the Soul Ancestor—

What's more important than finding out the truth for Zhou Qing?

Naturally, they postponed it.

Moreover, there's a high probability that the Soul Ancestor who fled to Falling Star City to hide is secretly in contact with Dales:

Over the past six years, many people have gone missing in and around Falling Star City. However, those who have disappeared are all minor figures with no relatives or friends, and the places where they lived are scattered.

Although from the perspective of the entire Douluo Continent, a large number of people must have gone missing or died every day due to various accidents, ordinary people would at most say something like "bad luck" about those who went missing or died. How could that form a "terrifying legend"?

Especially in small cities like Falling Star City, although there are large areas of mountains and plains on the outskirts that have not yet been truly cultivated, Soul Beast are already rare and rarely cause harm to people.

In other words, apart from dying of old age, illness, or accidentally "colliding" with Soul Master or nobleman, any other death or disappearance must be the work of someone.

In particular, the residents inside and outside Falling Star City have been missing for six years, and the city lord and officials seem to have never seen it, treating it as a "terrifying legend".

Either Dales is a lazy bum who only cares about his own profit and disregards the safety of the city's inhabitants.

Either he knows the inside story, or this matter is related to him, so he doesn't want to get involved, or he might even be secretly using this matter to gain greater benefits.

If Dales is indeed the murderer of Zhou Qing's parents, and he is also connected to the Soul Ancestor, and is also related to the disappearances of people in the city over the past six years, then perhaps he can kill three birds with one stone!

Tang San's investigation method was very direct. He first went to another deserted alley, then took out a set of black night clothes from the Moon Shines Brightly in the Twelve Towers, quickly changed into them, left the bustling night market street, and sneaked into the city's darkened areas. With his superhuman vision brought by the Purple Demon Eye, he quickly moved through these areas under the moonlight, like a ghost, and soon arrived at a relatively open area.

Looking ahead, there was only a tall and spacious mansion about twenty meters away, with an area no smaller than that of the Xiao Manor in Nuoding City.

As the saying goes: to catch the thief, first catch the king.

Instead of going to the city to ask people for information, Tang San felt it was better to be more direct and sneak into the Dales' Mansion to find intelligence—a method he was very familiar with.

In a small city like Falling Star City, the guards are at most One-Ring Soul Master, or even someone who isn't a Soul Master at all, so there's no need to worry.

The only trouble might be Dales himself, whose Martial Soul is the Tusked Boar, and who has only recently obtained his Third Spirit Ring, reaching level thirty-one in Soul Power.

However, in Tang San's view, someone as stout and powerful as Dales, at the Soul Elder level, would be lucky to unleash six or seven tenths of his strength.

After a moment's thought, Tang San leaped up, scaled the wall, and moved quickly along the corner of the wall to a courtyard.

After quickly walking along the wall for a while, Tang San saw five servants carrying seven or eight food boxes and more than twenty dishes walking by in the corridor not far away. He had no choice but to hide behind a nearby artificial hill.

He glanced at the high-hanging moon with a puzzled look and thought to himself, "In the homes of officials and nobles like these, no matter what unspeakable hobbies they may have in private, they always pay the most attention to etiquette in public. If they are hungry after mealtime, they will at most eat some snacks. Why would they need five servants?"

"If this were a banquet for guests, the mansion wouldn't be so quiet."

There must be something fishy about this—