When Lin Feng casually sent the Nether Poison Wolf flying with a single strike, standing before Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo with overwhelming power, both women finally broke down in tears.
Exhaustion, weakness, strained nerves, the fear of becoming food at any moment, and the despair of being helpless and alone—all of it erupted at once.
"It's alright. You're safe now."
Lin Feng walked over, gently rubbed their heads, and softly comforted them. Then, the two of them began crying in his arms.
Feeling the dampness against his chest, Lin Feng said nothing.
Lin Feng was not a good person, but he was not that bad either. Whether he would become like Gu Yue Fangyuan in the future, he did not know, but at least for now, he could still be considered decent. Especially when the people he had saved on a whim were beauties—faced with their tears, Lin Feng did not push them away.
Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo cried louder than the other, as though they wanted to vent every grievance they had suffered during this time. Once their emotions had been released, their minds and bodies utterly exhausted, they fell asleep in Lin Feng's arms. By the time they opened their eyes again, it was already the following evening.
When Zhang Lexuan opened her eyes again, she saw Han Ruoruo sitting beside Lin Feng. A campfire burned before them, with the meat of some unknown soul beast roasting over it.
"Lexuan, you're awake."
Seeing Zhang Lexuan awaken, Han Ruoruo hurried over to help her up.
As Han Ruoruo helped Zhang Lexuan sit up, she immediately noticed the bandages wrapped around her body. Her memories from before returned at once, and she recalled both her wounds and the Nether Poison Wolf's venom. Her injuries still ached faintly, but the wolf venom appeared to have already been dealt with.
"Sister Ruoruo, I didn't expect that, in the end, I'd still have to rely on you to take care of me."
At that, Han Ruoruo's face reddened.
"Um, Lexuan, I actually cried until I passed out too, so I didn't have time to deal with your wounds. Even my own wounds were..."
Han Ruoruo did not finish her sentence, but seeing how red her face had become, Zhang Lexuan could already guess what had happened.
"So, Sister Ruoruo, the wolf venom in your body and mine..."
"Mhm. Most of the venom was sucked out first, then antidote was applied."
At once, Zhang Lexuan buried her face in her lap. Thinking of where she had been poisoned, the flush on her face was no less intense than Han Ruoruo's.
Only after a long while did Zhang Lexuan recover. Once she barely managed to suppress her emotions, the redness on her face finally faded somewhat.
"Regardless, thank you, Senior." Zhang Lexuan walked over to the campfire and bowed to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng looked at Zhang Lexuan, who was much like Han Ruoruo had been when she first woke up, and slowly said, "I'm only seventeen. I'm not that old."
"Huh?" Zhang Lexuan's mind went blank. If she remembered correctly, when Lin Feng had saved her, he had practically beaten that Nether Poison Wolf away as though it were some stray dog by the roadside.
Seventeen, with that kind of strength? Even among seventy-year-old Titled Douluo, few could accomplish that!
Such strength had never existed even in Shrek's records. After all, anyone who could beat a sixty-thousand-year Nether Poison Wolf around like a stray dog had to be at least a Titled Douluo. Yet even Tang San from ten thousand years ago had not become a Titled Douluo at seventeen.
"A seventeen-year-old Titled Douluo? This..."
Zhang Lexuan looked toward Han Ruoruo, hoping to learn from her whether there were any records of a powerhouse at that level in this world.
After cutting apart a piece of roasted meat, Lin Feng casually handed it to Zhang Lexuan. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not a Titled Douluo. I can only fight Titled Douluo because of certain special reasons."
"Oh." Zhang Lexuan accepted the roasted meat Lin Feng handed her, then felt that something was off.
Seventeen years old, not a Titled Douluo, yet capable of fighting a Titled Douluo.
She recognized every single word, but why did they become so incomprehensible when put together?
They had thought their own talents were already unparalleled, yet someone even more terrifying than her had appeared. Which reclusive clan's young master was he?
Though she was suspicious of Lin Feng's origins, Zhang Lexuan did not ask. Some things were better left unasked when others did not wish to speak of them.
Taking a bite of the roasted meat Lin Feng had given her, Zhang Lexuan's eyes lit up. "Delicious! How did you roast this meat?"
"You just need to control the heat properly. Forget that for now. Are you two still going back to Shrek afterward?"
Zhang Lexuan nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Shrek is my home. Of course I have to return to Shrek."
Lin Feng was not surprised. After all, Zhang Lexuan's loyalty to Shrek in the original story was obvious to all. Not to mention earning the achievements needed to become a Supreme Elder—even after becoming one and being forced to kneel and apologize to Xuan Zi, Zhang Lexuan still remained at Shrek. At least on the surface, she had shown no dissatisfaction with Shrek. So, her answer was well within Lin Feng's expectations.
Except...
"Are you sure you still want to return to Shrek? If you go back now, you'll probably have to kneel and apologize to that teacher who led your team. And..."
"Are you sure that the teacher leading you to hunt your ninth soul ring next time won't be the same person who nearly got you killed?"
Lin Feng's tone was calm, but Zhang Lexuan's expression had already darkened. She fell completely silent.
There was no other reason. Zhang Lexuan knew that what Lin Feng said was very likely true.
First was the matter of returning and kneeling to apologize to Xuan Zi. Given Shrek's current state of high-level combat power, Shrek could not possibly afford to lose Xuan Zi. By contrast, while Shrek did not lack talents like her, compared to Xuan Zi, she was someone they could afford to lose.
After all, Zhang Lexuan understood that her potential might not even reach Xuan Zi's level. Unless she gained Twin Martial Souls, grew rapidly, and displayed the potential of a Limit Douluo, then even if this matter had been Xuan Zi's fault, she would likely be the one forced to take the blame in the end.
And she would even have to beg Xuan Zi to let her take the blame.
If things became even worse, and she said that she still trusted Xuan Zi or something similar, Xuan Zi might get carried away and offer to help her hunt her ninth soul ring in the future. If that happened, she might truly have no chance of survival.
But when she thought of Mu En's kindness toward her, Zhang Lexuan hesitated again.
Just as Zhang Lexuan was hesitating, Han Ruoruo, who had reached the same conclusion about how Shrek would handle this matter, was already shaking her head frantically.
"I'm not going back. I barely survived this soul beast hunt. If Xuan Zi wants to help me hunt soul beasts again, I'm afraid I won't even know how I die! Once a person dies, there's nothing left!"
Listening to Han Ruoruo's words, Zhang Lexuan fell silent.
That was right! Once a person died, there was nothing left. If Lin Feng had not saved her this time, she would probably already be a corpse.
No! Considering that the other party had been a soul beast, there probably would not even have been a corpse left.
With that thought, Zhang Lexuan suddenly no longer felt like returning to Shrek.
PS: Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo aren't going back, so who should kneel instead?
Before you continue