Skipping over some unimportant details, Su Mo turned to Froggy's journal.
[Froggy arrived at a village and found quite a few people gathered at the entrance. Most were boys and girls around eleven or twelve, and some of the children had their fathers or mothers standing behind them...]
"Huh? What were they doing?"
Su Mo couldn't help growing curious.
"Don't hog it all for yourself! Share it with me!"
Tian Meng's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, startling Su Mo.
"Share what?"
"My froggy nephew's diary, of course!"
Froggy nephew?
What kind of ridiculous nickname was that?
Su Mo grumbled inwardly and instinctively replied, "How do I share it? Froggy's travel journal doesn't seem to have that feature."
He had tried before. Only he could see the travel journal.
Tian Meng rolled his eyes. "Did you forget about my Soul Bone Skill, Spiritual Sharing?"
Su Mo: "..."
Good grief. Was that really what this ability was for?
In the end, Su Mo shared his hotspot and continued reading the journal.
[Froggy saw a table set up at the village entrance. Behind it sat a middle-aged man wearing square-framed glasses. A wooden arch stood behind him, with a battered sign hanging from it-Shrek Academy...]
Huh?
Su Mo and Tian Meng both froze. Froggy had actually wandered off to Shrek?
[Froggy watched curiously as a boy approached the table and paid. The bespectacled man reached for the boy's arm with a lecherous look, gave it a creepy squeeze, then shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Next..."]
Su Mo: "..."
Why did this description feel so strange?
It was supposed to be a perfectly normal enrollment process. Why did it sound like he was choosing concubines?
[Froggy could barely stand watching, but the bespectacled man went even further. The boy's father forced a smile and begged him to accept his child, only for the man to tell them both to get lost without even refunding their money. Froggy cursed him as a "crooked merchant" and decided to uphold justice...]
What, were you going to fight him?
Su Mo was speechless. With that tiny body of yours, after one round, your opponent would probably be kneeling in front of you, begging you not to die.
"Go, nephew! Destroy that crooked merchant!"
Tian Meng, however, grew excited and became Froggy's cheerleader.
Su Mo: "..."
[Froggy kept watching the bespectacled man and discovered that he left not long afterward, heading to Suotuo City. He stopped in front of a shop, unlocked the door, went inside, and settled into a recliner to mind the store...]
"A shop... a man with glasses..."
Su Mo had a vague idea who this man was.
[Froggy waited until evening, when the bespectacled man finally left. Then he sneaked into the shop and picked through the shelves, eventually choosing a crystal...]
You were calling it a day after taking one lousy crystal?
You should have cleared the whole place out!
What a waste of your first soul skill...
Su Mo practically wished he could go in himself.
Tian Meng also found it a terrible shame. "My nephew's just too honest..."
[Froggy hid outside the shop. The next day, he watched the bespectacled man arrive, but the man didn't notice the missing crystal at all. Frustrated, Froggy stole a bag of Gold Soul Coins that night...]
"Hey! Now that's good!" Su Mo's eyes lit up.
He had been worrying about having no money to spend in Nuoding City, and Froggy had delivered a generous gift.
It really was like having a pillow appear just as he started feeling sleepy.
[Froggy continued staking out the shop on the third day. This time, the bespectacled man noticed something was missing and spent the whole day feeling miserable. Froggy felt much better, but he still had no intention of letting the man off...]
Oh, he'd really locked horns with Flender!
Su Mo was delighted.
[Froggy kept watch for several days and discovered that the shop had landed a major deal. A young man urgently needed to sell a batch of medicinal ingredients. The bespectacled man drove the price down relentlessly and finally bought them for next to nothing. The young man cursed him as a "crooked merchant" before storming off...]
Su Mo muttered inwardly, He sold them even though he knew that crooked merchant was squeezing the price down. Could they have been stolen goods?
[Froggy sneaked into the shop again after nightfall and found the batch of medicinal ingredients. They were labeled "whale rubber." His dad had told him about it before, so he knew it was good stuff. Just as he was about to put it away, the shop's lights came on, and he heard the bespectacled man's voice. "Caught you..."]
Huh? Whale rubber?
Su Mo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the journal really did say whale rubber.
"Oh! Froggy, you really are my lucky star!"
Su Mo wished he could scoop Froggy up and give him a kiss right away.
But worry quickly followed. Had Froggy been caught?
Although he had his travel aura, it only worked if Froggy didn't provoke the other party first. Otherwise, even the travel aura would be useless.
"Tsk, tsk. Reading a diary has me on pins and needles."
Tian Meng snapped, "Su Mo, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and turn the page!"
Su Mo: "..."
Good grief, Tian Meng. You'd actually learned to demand updates?
[Froggy proved one step ahead. Hiding on the other side of the package of whale rubber, he used Froggy's Home and teleported home, whale rubber and all. He faintly heard the bespectacled man's furious voice. "A spatial soul skill? Damn it! Just don't let me catch you..."]
"Hahaha... well played! That deserves a reward!" Tian Meng was beside himself with delight.
Su Mo was just as happy. That was the whale rubber he had been looking forward to for so long!
He extended his spiritual power into Froggy's Home and found a package of medicinal ingredients in the corner of the little house, along with a bag of Gold Soul Coins and a crystal.
"Huh?"
Su Mo suddenly noticed something unusual. He probed the crystal again with his spiritual power and found many things inside that looked like golden threads.
"Could this be the plate crystal Tang San bought from Flender's shop in the original story?"
He hadn't expected this extra windfall.
Su Mo absolutely adored Froggy.
Unfortunately, Froggy was nowhere to be seen in the separate space. He had probably gone out to play again.
Seeing that they were nearing Nuoding City, Su Mo put away the travel journal, intending to read more later. Tian Meng, meanwhile, still seemed reluctant to stop. He had clearly become hooked on this pastime.
Holy Soul Village wasn't far from Nuoding City, and the group arrived after walking for less than half a day.
The city walls were now visible in the distance.
As a border town, Nuoding City had thick, sturdy walls. Old Jack and his group of four underwent inspection like the other travelers and entered the city without trouble.
"Little Jerry, Little San, Xiao Wu, you must help one another at the academy, listen to your teachers, and get along with your classmates..."
"When the term ends, Grandpa will come back to pick you up..."
Along the way, Old Jack gave the three children his final reminders, his words carrying a hint of reluctance to part. The three little ones listened in silence.
Before long, they arrived at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy on the western side of the city.
From a distance, they could see a tall arch built from solid stone, with two dark iron gates beneath it.
Through the iron bars, they could see winding paths leading into quiet, secluded corners of the academy. A broad avenue stretched deep inside, lined on both sides with towering trees.
At the center of the arch were four large characters-
Nuoding Academy.
Old Jack and the three children approached the entrance, only to be stopped by the gatekeeper.
"What do you think you're doing? Is this any place for country bumpkins like you?"