Leaving the City, Returning to the Forest to Bestow Bones

Several days later, Tiantou City, Crown Prince's Residence, afternoon.

Xue Qinghe set down the memorial and glanced at Chen Jieqi.

"Everything at Shrek Academy is as usual; Flender and Liu Erlong have already settled in."

Chen Jieqi nodded, not asking further.

After a moment of silence, he set down his teacup and stood up.

"Your Highness, I need to leave for a few days."

Xue Qinghe raised her eyes and looked at him.

"I am going to the Sunset Forest; there are some matters that need to be handled."

She gave an "en" sound and lowered her head to continue reading the memorial, as if she had only heard of an insignificant trifle.

Chen Jieqi walked to the door, and just as he was about to push it open, her voice came from behind him.

"When will you return?"

He was slightly stunned; she had never asked such a question before.

"Three to five days, or perhaps half a month."

"En."

Her voice was very soft, as if she were responding to him, or perhaps talking to herself.

Chen Jieqi turned back to look at her.

She was still looking down, the memorial in her hands had not been turned, and her brush was set aside, the ink already dried.

He did not ask more and pushed the door open to leave.

The moment the door closed, Xue Qinghe set down the memorial and stared at the doorway, stunned for a moment.

She looked down at the brush in her hand; the ink had dried, and she had forgotten to dip it.

What was she thinking about?

When he returned, what did that have to do with her?

She shook her head, picked up the brush again, and dipped it in ink.

The tip of the brush hovered over the paper, but it remained there, unable to fall.

Outside Tiantou City, the main road.

Chen Jieqi walked at a leisurely pace, heading south after leaving the city.

The Sunset Forest was to the southeast of Tiantou City, reachable in half a day of flight, but he was in no rush, waiting until he reached an uninhabited area to spread his wings.

His thoughts drifted back to a month ago.

That was when he had just returned from Suotuo City, remembering that the Blue Silver Emperor leg bone and the seedling were still hidden in a secret cave behind the mountain in Holy Soul Village.

This was after he had finally confirmed Tang Hao's whereabouts, and before the Shrek group had set off for Tiantou City.

He remembered that night, relying on the descriptions from his memory of the original work, he found the cave behind the mountain waterfall.

That was the first time he had seen the Blue Silver Emperor seedling and the spirit bone hidden in the secret compartment.

The spirit bone was warm and smooth, soft, as if it were alive, and extremely complete.

Holding it in his hand, he could feel a surging vitality pulsing within it.

He did not hesitate, cleared his aura, and rushed to Tiantou City overnight.

Chen Jieqi pulled back his thoughts, having already turned into a forest path where the trees on both sides grew increasingly dense.

He remembered the fear he felt when he first arrived as an infant; it was that eccentric old man who had adopted him.

An infant waiting to die deep in the Sunset Forest, picked up by a pair of withered hands and brought home.

Without Dugu Bo, there would be no Chen Jieqi today.

Sunset Forest, deep within.

Chen Jieqi's Wings of Light gradually dissipated, and he returned to the small hut beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Dugu Bo had arrived early after receiving the message and was currently resting with his eyes closed.

Hearing the sound, he opened one eye and let out a huff.

"Xiao Qi, you've finally come?"

Chen Jieqi walked forward with a playful smile.

"Grandfather."

Dugu Bo looked him up and down. "Has your spirit power improved again?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." Dugu Bo nodded, not offering much praise, as if he were already used to it.

After a moment of silence.

Dugu Bo suddenly asked, "You suddenly called me here, is there something you need?"

Chen Jieqi took a Soul Bone box from his Soul Tool and handed it over.

Dugu Bo glanced at it without opening it, "What is the meaning of this?"

Chen Jieqi opened the box, and a blue-gold light instantly illuminated the mist of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"Hundred Thousand Year, Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone."

Dugu Bo stared at the Soul Bone for a long time, then looked up at Chen Jieqi.

In the depths of his eyes were shock, complexity, and a trace of an indescribable emotion.

"Where did you get this?"

"Found it."

Dugu Bo glared at him, not pressing for an answer, and stared at the Soul Bone again for a long time.

"You brat,"

His voice was a bit hoarse, "Do you think I'm old and can no longer fight?"

Chen Jieqi shook his head, "I just want you to be stronger, strong enough that no one can hurt me or Yanyan."

Dugu Bo was stunned.

He looked into Chen Jieqi's eyes; there was no calculation in those eyes, no fawning, Only something very pure and unadorned.

He suddenly remembered twelve years ago, the swaddled infant he had picked up in the Sunset Forest, whose eyes held the same thing.

Later, when Chen Jieqi awakened his martial soul, he said to Dugu Yan and him, "Grandpa, Yanyan, I will become strong, strong enough to protect you."

At the time, he just thought the child had some talent and was talking big, so he didn't take it to heart.

Now, this child stood before him, handed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone into his hands, and said, "I just want you to be stronger."

Dugu Bo turned his head away, his voice muffled, "Fine, then I won't stand on ceremony."

He closed the box and carefully put it away.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "This thing, you could use it yourself."

"The attributes don't match," Chen Jieqi said.

Dugu Bo snorted, "Bullshit! A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone can be forcibly fused even if the attributes don't match, You're just giving it to me on purpose."

Chen Jieqi did not deny it.

Dugu Bo was silent for a moment, reached out, and patted his shoulder with heavy force.

"Alright, Grandpa will remember this."

Tiantou City, Shrek Academy.

Xiao Wu and Rongrong were returning from the training grounds, and as they passed a window, Xiao Wu's footsteps suddenly slowed.

Outside the window, in the direction of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the outlines of some tall buildings could be vaguely seen.

Rongrong noticed her gaze, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

Xiao Wu withdrew her gaze and continued walking forward.

Rongrong caught up, looking at her thoughtfully, "I heard that Chen Jieqi left the city, heading south."

Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat. "Oh."

"I wonder what he went to do."

Xiao Wu did not reply. She lowered her head, pretending to adjust her sleeves to hide the expression on her face.

As they neared the dormitory entrance, Ning Rongrong suddenly asked, "What kind of person do you think Chen Jieqi really is?"

Xiao Wu was startled.

She recalled that dream, the words that person had spoken in it, and the way he had looked at her—calm, profound, devoid of greed or covetousness.

"I don't know," she said.

Ning Rongrong glanced at her but did not press the matter.

Not far away, Tang San stood at the entrance of the training grounds, watching their retreating figures.

He could not hear what they were saying, but he saw that Xiao Wu was distracted.

He saw her pace falter for a split second, and he saw her lower her head to hide her expression.

His clenched fist loosened, and he did not walk over, simply standing in place as he watched them enter the dormitory.

That night, he lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

That hollow feeling returned; it was not anger, nor was it jealousy, but something much deeper.

It was as if something that should have belonged to him was drifting further and further away, bit by bit.

It felt as though a sense connected to his very bloodline had been forcibly severed by a single thread.

The night deepened at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Moonlight spilled across the surface of the springs; the cold spring shimmered with silver light, while the Hot Spring steamed with mist.

Dugu Bo had already returned to his room to study the leg bone, leaving Chen Jieqi sitting alone by the spring, looking up at the starry sky.

He recalled the expression on Xue Qinghe's face when she asked him "when will you return."

She had lowered her head, her voice very soft, the memorial in her hands left unturned.

The corners of his mouth curled upward.

He thought again of the way Ning Rongrong had looked at him in Suotuo City, and the way Xiao Wu had taken the initiative to approach him at the entrance of the Spirit Arena.

Tiantou City, Crown Prince's Residence.

The night was late, yet Xue Qinghe still sat in the study, having turned a few pages of the memorial without reading a single word.

She set the memorial down and walked to the window.

Outside, the Sunset Forest lay in that direction, far away and out of sight.

She stood there for a long time.

"Three days, five days... or half a month?"

She whispered, her voice so soft that even she could barely hear it.

Then she shook her head and turned back to the desk.

What was she thinking about? What did it matter to her when he returned?

She picked up the memorial again, and this time, she actually read it.

Only the tip of her brush paused on the paper for a fleeting moment, leaving a tiny ink blot.

Shrek Academy, girls' dormitory.

Ning Rongrong lay on her bed, her eyes vacant, thinking once more of the words Chen Jieqi had said:

"Because you are Ning Rongrong, not because your surname is Ning."

Why had she never taken it to heart when her father said it so many times, yet remembered it after he said it just once?

She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.

On the bed next to her, Xiao Wu was not asleep either.

She kept her eyes closed, her mind filled with that dream—the bamboo forest, the scent of tea, and the words that person had spoken.

"Tiantou City has another body of water."

She did not know what that meant.

But she knew that she wanted to go and see it.