A Prank from the Little Witch [Please collect]

Chapter 40

"You're taking leave to return to Seven Treasure City, right... Mm, I understand."

Flender approved Ning Rongrong's leave to return home, but no one had expected him to say something quite baffling to her as well.

"If you can return to the academy within two months, then come back as soon as possible. If it takes longer than two months, send someone ahead with a message. The academy will arrange a separate time and place for your return."

Ning Rongrong was thoroughly puzzled. "Dean, I'm only taking leave. Why does it sound like I'm heading to a battlefield? Do I even need to be notified separately of when and where to return to school?"

"Uh... because the third phase of training begins in two months, and the training location will be somewhere else. If you come back late, there won't be anyone left at the academy." Flender coughed lightly.

"Oh~~" Ning Rongrong suddenly understood and nodded. "Don't worry, Dean. It won't take two months. Once I get home and finish my business, I'll come straight back."

"Just keep track of the time yourself. Also, even after returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you must continue cultivating diligently." Flender gave her a meaningful look. "Offer my and Master's apologies to Sect Master Ning, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo."

Ning Rongrong: "..."

Ning Rongrong had only recently confirmed her relationship with Zhang Yang, and they were still deep in the honeymoon phase. She simply could not bear to leave him for too long. If Tang San's Hidden Weapons had not concerned the safety of the clan members, Miss Ning would never have bothered making this trip.

As she left the dean's office, Ning Rongrong thought, It's only four thousand kilometers round trip, isn't it? Watch this young lady get it all done in two weeks.

After spending some time saying goodbye to her classmates, Ning Rongrong packed her luggage and arrived at the academy gates. She casually waved in one direction.

Before long, a squad of Soul Masters dressed in fitted black outfits hurried over from all directions and gathered around Ning Rongrong.

The captain of the Soul Master squad bowed respectfully. "Young Lady."

"We're returning to Seven Treasure City." Ning Rongrong's demeanor changed considerably when facing the family's Soul Masters.

"Yes, Young Lady. I'll have someone prepare a carriage immediately." The squad leader accepted the order and promptly waved for his men to carry it out.

"A carriage? How could two weeks possibly be enough if we take a carriage? I only have two months of leave in total. How can we waste all of it on the road?" Ning Rongrong frowned. "No carriage. We'll travel at full speed and strive to reach Seven Treasure City within a week."

"Young Lady..." The Soul Master squad leader looked somewhat panicked. "It is no less than two thousand kilometers from Suotuo City to Seven Treasure City. Reaching it in seven days would be far too exhausting for you."

Ning Rongrong frowned. "If I were afraid of hardship, why would I be a Soul Master? Enough. We leave now."

As she spoke, Ning Rongrong summoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and gave herself a speed boost before taking the lead and racing toward Suotuo City.

On the evening of the fifth day, the travel-worn Ning Rongrong finally arrived at Seven Treasure City.

There had been no Teachers urging her onward along the way, nor any Soul Masters her age encouraging one another at her side. There had only been the sect's Soul Masters constantly urging Ning Rongrong to rest. Under such circumstances, the fact that she could still travel four hundred kilometers every day was already remarkable.

Sure enough, love was humanity's greatest driving force for progress.

Seven Treasure City had been built around the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. More than thirty percent of the city's population was connected to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, with the vast majority being the families of outsider Soul Masters affiliated with the sect.

They operated all sorts of shops in Seven Treasure City and traded with passing merchant caravans. Not only did they sustain the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's supply needs, they also contributed to Seven Treasure City's prosperity.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect itself was situated in a strategically defensible location within Seven Treasure City.

Once she arrived in Seven Treasure City, Ning Rongrong felt as though she had come home. The exhaustion from her journey eased considerably, and her pace slowed a little. Whenever she came across snacks she liked, she would even stop to buy some, reminiscing about the sweetness of her memories.

And so, stopping and going, stopping and going, by the time Ning Rongrong returned home, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo had already been waiting for quite some time.

The moment Ning Rongrong entered the territory controlled by Seven Treasure City, Ning Fengzhi, far away in Heaven Dou City, had already received word. Though he still had matters to attend to in Heaven Dou City, Ning Fengzhi hurried back regardless.

Only after Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin had raced back from Heaven Dou City did they discover that Ning Rongrong had not even arrived home yet.

Then, Ning Fengzhi set aside a pile of unfinished business and sat in the Council Hall with the two Titled Douluo, drinking tea while waiting for Ning Rongrong. By the time she returned, the three of them had already drunk six or seven pots of tea. Their lungs were practically floating.

"Father! Grandpa Jian! Grandpa Gu!! I'm back!"

The Council Hall doors were pushed open by a servant, and Ning Rongrong's lovely figure appeared even more graceful and radiant beneath the lights.

"Our little princess is back. Come, let Father hold you." Ning Fengzhi, elegant and refined in bearing, rose happily and strode forward to greet her.

"Father, I missed you so much." Ning Rongrong, who had been away from home for five months, was equally emotional. She hurried forward and threw herself into Ning Fengzhi's embrace like a fledgling returning to its nest.

As they watched such a heartwarming scene, the two Titled Douluo seated in the Council Hall felt a complicated mix of emotions.

After a while, father and daughter separated, and Ning Rongrong happily threw herself into Sword Douluo Chen Xin's embrace. "Grandpa Jian, Rongrong missed you so much."

As the first one Ning Rongrong hugged, Sword Douluo Chen Xin said happily, "Rongrong, Grandpa Jian missed you too. When we heard from our people that you had returned, your Father and I immediately rushed back from Heaven Dou City."

As he spoke, Sword Douluo Chen Xin shot his old rival Bone Douluo a smug glance. See that? Rongrong hugged me first. I'm the one she missed most.

The expression on Bone Douluo's terrifying, skeleton-like face grew even darker.

"Then, Grandpa Jian, did you bring Rongrong a gift when you returned from Heaven Dou City?" Ning Rongrong asked cheerfully.

Sword Douluo nodded. "Of course I brought you a gift. Look..."

As he spoke, Sword Douluo took out the gift he had prepared for Ning Rongrong from his Soul Tool and handed it to her.

The gift was exquisitely made and perfectly suited Ning Rongrong's tastes.

Delighted by the gift, Ning Rongrong hugged it as she left Sword Douluo's embrace. She put it into her Soul Tool, then plunged straight into Bone Douluo's arms. "Grandpa Gu, Rongrong missed you so much."

"Our little princess, Grandpa Gu missed you too." Only then did a smile appear on Bone Douluo's gloomy face, which looked like a skeleton covered in skin. His hoarse voice was filled with genuine affection.

As Ning Rongrong hugged Bone Douluo, an idea flashed through her mind. "Then..."

As if by reflex, Bone Douluo hurriedly replied, "Naturally, Grandpa Gu prepared a gift for Rongrong too. Look..."

Bone Douluo also took out a gift from his Soul Tool and handed it to Ning Rongrong. It suited her tastes just as well, and it was quite valuable.

"Thank you, Grandpa Gu." Taking the gift, Ning Rongrong happily wrapped her arms around Bone Douluo's bony, uncomfortable neck. Paying no heed to his terrifying and ugly appearance, she kissed him firmly on the cheek before finally jumping out of his embrace.

Having received Ning Rongrong's fragrant kiss, Bone Douluo smugly raised his eyebrows at Sword Douluo. Even the few sparse strands of white hair atop his head danced excitedly in the air.

So what if she called your name first? So what if she hugged you first? Did she kiss you? Heh heh, it seemed Rongrong liked him best after all.

Sword Douluo found himself thoroughly annoyed by that look from his old rival.

Ning Fengzhi watched everything unfold beside them with a helpless smile, thinking, Even mighty Titled Douluo are wrapped around a little girl's finger, aren't they?

After all the kissing and hugging, Ning Fengzhi smiled and asked, "Rongrong, shall we eat first? Your Father and your two Grandfathers haven't eaten yet because we were waiting for you."

"Father~~" Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips, clearly displeased. "I've been traveling all day. I'm practically filthy! How am I supposed to have the mood to eat without taking a bath first?"

"..."

Ning Fengzhi was speechless. You ate so many snacks in Seven Treasure City, yet you didn't seem to be in a bad mood then.

Sword Douluo nodded from the side. "Mm, our little princess likes to keep clean. Of course she should bathe and change clothes first. Someone, have the kitchen prepare another table of dishes. The previous dishes have been sitting there for two hours and are already cold."

"Yes." A servant outside the room responded.

"Mm, Grandpa Jian is still the most considerate toward Rongrong. Rongrong will go bathe first and be right back." Ning Rongrong hugged Chen Xin once more before happily heading out of the Council Hall.

However, halfway there, Ning Rongrong suddenly stopped. As if she had just remembered something, she ran back and took three strange-looking hand crossbows from her Soul Tool, giving one each to Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.

"Rongrong, what is this?" Ning Fengzhi examined the strange hand crossbow forged from refined iron in his hand, looking puzzled.

"A gift for Father and my two Grandfathers." Ning Rongrong smiled.

"Oh? A gift from Rongrong?" All three were delighted to hear that. The hand crossbows immediately looked far more pleasing to the eye, and they fiddled with them curiously.

"Mm, this is called the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. Rongrong bought it from a classmate as a weapon for self-defense. It is quite powerful, so make sure you never fire it at a person." Ning Rongrong warned them.

Naturally, Ning Rongrong had deliberately handed the Godly Zhuge Crossbows to the three of them this way because she wanted to play a prank on them.

However, since the Godly Zhuge Crossbow was indeed quite powerful, Ning Rongrong was afraid of causing a disaster, so she still gave them that warning.

After saying that, Ning Rongrong ran back to her room as swiftly as the wind.

Only after the three watched Ning Rongrong's figure disappear entirely beyond the Council Hall doors did they withdraw their gazes and turn their attention to studying the Godly Zhuge Crossbows in their hands.

"It seems Shrek Academy's education is quite good. Never mind how much her Soul Power has improved; at the very least, Rongrong now knows to bring us gifts." Bone Douluo sighed.

Sword Douluo nodded. "She's been away from home for five months. It seems Rongrong missed us a great deal too."

Ning Fengzhi smiled helplessly. "Uncle Gu, Uncle Jian, don't let your guard down. This might be another one of Rongrong's pranks."

"Whether it's a prank or not, won't we know if we try it?" As a Titled Douluo, Chen Xin naturally had no fear of a child's prank. Holding the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, he immediately pulled the trigger at a solid wooden pillar nearby.

"Click, click." A succession of crisp mechanical sounds rang out.

The three only saw a blur before a series of soft thuds followed.

The sixteen crossbow bolts exploded forth with such speed that even the two Titled Douluo could not help focusing their attention, let alone Ning Fengzhi.

The three walked over to the pillar and clearly saw two rows of sixteen finger-thick holes in the hard solid wood. Light passed through the holes, allowing them to see clearly to the other side.

All three expressions changed as they looked at one another in alarm.

Following the direction of the holes, the three walked forward and finally found traces of the crossbow bolts in the Council Hall wall.

Sixteen bolts had sunk deep into the wall, arranged neatly in two rows.

Bone Douluo frowned. "What tyrannical power. No wonder Rongrong warned us not to fire it at people. Chen Xin and I would be fine, but if Fengzhi took a hit like that, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Sword Douluo nodded. "With that kind of power, if it struck a vital point while the target had not activated Soul Power, even a Soul King or Soul Emperor might not fare well."

Ning Fengzhi sighed. "What I'm thinking now is why Rongrong gave us such a tyrannical weapon. Was it merely a prank, meant to give us a scare? Or was she suggesting that this weapon could be mass-equipped for our clan members?"

"After seeing the power of this weapon, we have far too many questions. But Rongrong is bathing now, so we can only wait for her to come out. If we have to wait an hour, we wait an hour. If we have to wait two, we wait two."

Chen Xin sighed. "This is probably Rongrong's real prank. Luckily, we didn't ask her about that stinky boy just now. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a matter of merely one or two hours."

"Ah~~~"

The three renowned figures of the Soul Master world all sighed together.

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