When Xuanyuan Sheng and the others saw Zhou Yi again,
all they saw was an old woman with a bruised and swollen face.
But after Xuanyuan Sheng and Ma Xiaotao talked things over, the others all pretended nothing had happened and looked out the window.
They kept doing so until Zhou Yi came over to them.
Xiao Xiao asked curiously, "Teacher Zhou, where did you go? How did you end up covered in injuries?"
Zhou Yi waved her hand.
She had already seen the others trying to hold back their laughter, and she wasn't in the mood to explain. They had definitely seen the whole thing.
She had also come to understand something: among this group, she was just a tagalong, and there was no way she could fit in.
If she wanted to take Xuanyuan Sheng as her disciple, she would have to find someone to help. Fortunately, she had planned ahead and called Fan Yu.
The truth was that she couldn't use Fixed-Stationary Soul Tools. After all, she was only a lowly Soul Emperor. If a Soul Tool of that level went off, it would only blow her up.
She sighed and continued, "Thank you for bringing this old woman here. My disciple will accompany me for the rest of the journey, so you don't need to worry about me anymore."
Huh?
She was leaving already? How long had his automatic cultivation power bank stayed with them?
Xuanyuan Sheng had lost interest, too.
Go on, then. Good riddance.
When Zhou Yi saw that none of them tried to stop her—especially Xuanyuan Sheng, who wasn't even looking at her—she couldn't help but snort.
Hmph. She knew it.
She turned and walked away, her back hunched.
But in Xuanyuan Sheng's eyes, the Humanity's Luck around Zhou Yi was like a loose thread caught on something, connected to him.
And the farther she went, the less luck she seemed to have.
When Zhou Yi had been close to him, her luck would replenish as soon as it was used up. After all, being near humanity itself shouldn't make someone lose luck.
But now, it looked like she would keep supplying him with luck.
If someone's Humanity's Luck dropped to a particularly low level, surely their luck wouldn't be too bad, right?
Xuanyuan Sheng thought silently.
Up ahead, Zhou Yi's experience was just as he'd imagined.
She had only just reached the entrance of the restaurant when a waiter stumbled over with a bowl of hot soup and completely soaked the hem of her clothes.
Zhou Yi was angry, but remembering that Fan Yu had already been waiting outside for a long time, she could only take a dry towel from her Soul Tool and press it against the wet fabric.
Ignoring the trembling waiter behind her, she bent over and headed for the door.
But after only a few steps, she twisted her ankle and slammed into a stone pillar, pitching forward and smashing her forehead.
Xuanyuan Sheng lowered his head, acting as if it had nothing to do with him, and picked food from the bowl of Xiao Xiao, the little girl beside him.
It wasn't his fault. Zhou Yi was simply unlucky.
"Sister Lexuan, she's having an awful run of bad luck, isn't she?"
Ma Xiaotao exclaimed in amazement. She had never seen anyone so unlucky. As soon as Zhou Yi went outside, a huge pit had appeared in the ground.
Xiao Xiao hid behind her hand and peeked at her.
"Yeah. It's lucky to stay by Xiao Sheng's side."
Zhang Lexuan smiled but said nothing. Zhou Yi's bad luck had nothing to do with her.
She had only wanted to fulfill her responsibility: bring Zhou Yi here, then make sure she got back safely.
But her younger brother seemed to have a particularly strong grudge against this Outer Courtyard teacher, though she couldn't recall seeing the two of them interact.
"Phew. It's fine. Now I can focus on taking you two around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."
With her current strength, escorting them around the outskirts wouldn't put any pressure on her at all. Still, given her personality, she couldn't help considering every possible complication.
With one less person to worry about, Zhang Lexuan could devote more attention to her younger brother.
Most importantly, she hadn't taken Xuanyuan Sheng out to have fun in ages.
That had always bothered her a little.
"Don't worry, Sister Lexuan. I'll take good care of Xiao Sheng—when you're not around, of course." Ma Xiaotao thought back to the Love System's introduction and couldn't have been more thrilled.
So this was what it felt like when the sweet older sister next door entrusted you with looking after her little brother. It was pretty interesting.
"Thank you, Xiaotao." Zhang Lexuan smiled warmly.
That little girl Xiao Xiao had been completely captivated by Xiao Sheng's looks. She could barely focus on anything else, let alone anything serious.
At least Ma Xiaotao was somewhat reliable. She was just a little weak, which wasn't much of a flaw.
Xiao Xiao, who was being completely underestimated, was not happy at all.
What? Just because her chest was a little bigger than Xiao Xiao's, she dared to boast and talk nonsense?
Her Violent Gauntlets were nothing to scoff at.
Xuanyuan Sheng grabbed Xiao Xiao by her cheek and led her out of the restaurant.
She wasn't even as tall as the other girl's chest, yet she kept trying to get closer.
He felt that if he didn't pull Xiao Xiao away, she'd soon be pressing up against Ma Xiaotao's chest.
And judging by Ma Xiaotao's provocative look, she'd probably cup her own chest and ask Xiao Xiao if she wanted to find her mother for some milk.
To keep that scene from happening,
Xuanyuan Sheng simply dragged Xiao Xiao along with him.
Before Xiao Xiao could react, an unfeeling black hand grabbed her little face and carried her away.
Sure enough, compared to that stranger, Xiao Sheng was more willing to look after her.
Walking ahead with Xuanyuan Sheng, Xiao Xiao felt a little giddy.
They walked along as a gentle breeze brushed past her hair, their sleeves occasionally brushing against each other.
Xiao Xiao discreetly looked around.
Beside her, Xuanyuan Sheng focused on the road, his eyes fixed on the ground.
Behind them,
Ma Xiaotao seemed to be saying something to Sister Lexuan that made her cover her mouth and laugh.
Everything was normal. Nothing strange was happening.
But precisely because everything was normal, Xiao Xiao felt that something was wrong.
"Love System, where's my romantic luck? You've had it running for ages. Why hasn't anything changed?"
If she could have grabbed the Love System by the collar, Xiao Xiao would have copied the tall girl, clutching it one-handed and pointing at it with a finger as she demanded an answer.
Where was the handout for this little love-struck girl?
Had it swallowed the whole thing?
The Love System was just as helpless and asked in return:
[Tell me, what reward do you get for successfully taking someone as your master? Take a good look at the quest first.]
Xiao Xiao looked again. "A wisp of romantic luck. What's the problem?"
[You do know it's only a wisp of romantic luck, right? Getting close enough to touch him is already the limit. What else are you expecting to happen?]
[Should I send him to your bed to keep it warm?]
Xiao Xiao bashfully covered her face.
She was only saying it for fun. There was no need to take things that far... that quickly.
She'd be perfectly happy just stealing a kiss.
When she heard no reply from the system, Xiao Xiao happily continued daydreaming, unconsciously edging a little closer to Xuanyuan Sheng.
They crossed the green ocean—the ocean that was everywhere on this continent.
At last, they reached the Star Dou Great Forest, where the towering trees blocked out much of the sunlight.
Before you continue