I Said We'd Definitely Meet Again

"We came here through an introduction, with the aim of friendly exchange," Qian Yun explained.

"Friendly exchange?" Dai Mubai was completely baffled.

Hu Liena added, "Qin Ming!"

Dai Mubai immediately understood. He laughed, and his tone grew warmer. "Oh, I see. Got it. Come with me."

Qian Yun nodded to Hu Liena and followed Dai Mubai. Hu Liena followed behind Qian Yun, with Oscar beside her.

Oscar's peach-blossom eyes glanced discreetly at Hu Liena. Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was pounding. Ever since he'd discovered the charms of women, he had never seen a girl so outstanding in both looks and temperament.

Compared with Ning Rongrong's pure, adorable charm, Hu Liena had a more captivating, fiery allure. Compared with Zhu Zhuqing, whose figure was exceptional, Hu Liena was purer in a way that seemed to come from within.

Though these were two entirely different qualities, Hu Liena embodied both to perfection. It was hard not to be captivated by her.

"Hello, I'm Oscar." A smile spread across Oscar's face, handsome enough to rival a woman's.

It had to be said: his pretty-boy appearance was indeed highly effective at beguiling naive young girls. Even when he entertained some rather vulgar thoughts, nothing showed on the outside. His peach-blossom eyes were captivating.

But who was Hu Liena? She wasn't some naive young girl. She was a Spirit Master who had weathered trials of blood and fire.

And she was a Spirit Master with powerful mental strength, skilled at beguiling others!

Even though Oscar hid it extremely well, Hu Liena still sensed the murky aura about him and caught the vulgarity that flickered through his eyes.

"My name is Hu Liena. Senior, you don't need to hit on me. I already have a boyfriend." Hu Liena smiled politely and lifted her snow-white chin slightly toward Qian Yun's back.

"Uh... haha, you've got the wrong idea." After she'd called him out, Oscar felt awkward and hurried to explain himself.

Even so, he quietly moved a little farther away from Hu Liena.

Hu Liena inwardly scoffed, but was happy to have the space. From their conversation just now, she could already guess what sort of people these two seemingly upstanding fellows were behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Dai Mubai was chatting with Qian Yun. Although he'd already resolved to mend his ways, as the saying went, old habits died hard.

He was still young, but already an old hand at romance. So he didn't rush in like Oscar, because he could tell at a glance that Hu Liena and Qian Yun were close.

If he wanted to get closer to Hu Liena, he first had to figure out who this guy was and choose the right approach.

"Brother, are you from Imperial Fighting Academy? What brings you all the way out to this backwater?" Dai Mubai asked as he led the way.

Qian Yun shook his head. "No, we're from Martial Soul Academy. We know Teacher Qin Ming fairly well, and he strongly recommended that I come take a look at Shrek Academy. He guaranteed we wouldn't be disappointed."

"Oh, I see. Then you might actually be disappointed. Our academy may be called an academy, but it's really just a small village. We're lucky that this year's new students are decent; otherwise, we'd really be going under.

"Even so, counting me and Xiao Ao, there are only seven students in the whole academy. We might be the only academy with more teachers than students." Dai Mubai gave a rueful, self-mocking laugh.

Qian Yun nodded. It seemed the situation was just as he'd expected.

"You shouldn't put it that way. I've heard that Shrek has a tradition of only accepting monsters, not ordinary people. If you're still attracting students who meet your standards this year, then I'd say the academy must be full of hidden talent, right?"

Dai Mubai seemed to find that hilarious. "Hahaha, brother, you're laying it on so thick, I'm blushing on behalf of the dean."

He pointed to a wooden board standing up ahead. "There. I told you it'd disappoint you, didn't I? This is the academy."

"This..." The smile froze on Qian Yun's face. He knew Shrek Academy was run-down, but he hadn't expected it to be this poor. They'd stuck a wooden board in the ground and called it the academy gate?

There was no need to mention the view inside. Everywhere he looked, it was poverty—so much so that a single stroke on paper could have drawn the whole place.

Hu Liena was dumbfounded too. How was this an academy? It was clearly the poorest kind of village!

Dai Mubai saw their astonished expressions and felt secretly pleased. He slung an arm over Qian Yun's shoulder and laughed. "Come on, want me to show you around?"

Qian Yun glanced back. Qian Yun nodded, while Hu Liena shook her head.

"All right. Please take us to meet the dean so we can explain why we're here." Since Qian Yun had come all this way, there was no reason to turn back now.

"Sure." Dai Mubai didn't waste time. He motioned for them to follow.

Hu Liena sighed and rolled her eyes, but followed along too.

They didn't see any idle people along the way. It seemed Dai Mubai was right: this really was Shrek Academy.

The academy wasn't large. After crossing an open patch of ground, Qian Yun and Hu Liena followed Dai Mubai to an ordinary wooden house.

Standing before the utterly unremarkable house, the usually carefree Dai Mubai became unusually reserved. He gently knocked on the door.

"Dean, people from Martial Soul Academy are here to see you."

After a brief silence, the door finally creaked open. A tall man, around fifty years old, squeezed through the doorway. A pair of crystal glasses rested on his distinctive hooked nose, and his face looked gloomy beneath his graying hair.

This was Shrek Academy's dean, Flender.

As soon as Flender stepped outside, his sharp gaze fixed on Qian Yun. His drooping eyelids lifted slightly, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Qian Yun frowned. Flender's gaze hadn't lingered for long, but he still had the unsettling feeling that he'd been seen through.

"I'm Flender, dean of Shrek Academy. Do you two have some business with me?" Flender introduced himself first. As he spoke, he barely raised his lips, and his words came out somewhat indistinctly, with a slight lisp.

Qian Yun stepped forward and offered him an envelope with both hands. "Hello, Dean Flender. My name is Qian Yun, and this is Hu Liena. Teacher Qin Ming introduced us, and we're here for an exchange. Here's his letter of introduction. Please take a look."

Hearing a familiar name he hadn't heard in a long time, Flender opened the envelope in surprise.

He held his glasses as he read the letter in the bright sunlight, nodding repeatedly. "Not bad. This is definitely Qin Ming's handwriting. There's no faking it."

Flender put the letter away and looked at Qian Yun and Hu Liena again. His stiff features twitched slightly, forming something like a smile. "All right, I understand why you've come. On behalf of Shrek Academy, I welcome you."

"We're honored," Qian Yun replied.

"Mm... Xiao Ao." Flender looked past the others toward Oscar. "Go fetch Zhao Wuji, Hongjun, and Tang San."

"Oh, okay." Oscar nodded, initially unsure what was going on, then hurriedly dashed off.

Dai Mubai stepped forward. "Dean, what's going on?"

Flender simply raised a hand to cut him off, without explaining. Instead, he gestured to Qian Yun. "Please come with me. Mubai, you come along too."

With that, he walked off ahead without waiting for anyone to respond.

Qian Yun gave Dai Mubai an inquiring look. Dai Mubai shook his head. "Let's just follow him for now."

Qian Yun followed Flender back to the open ground they'd passed earlier. Only then did Flender finally explain his intentions.

"Students Qian Yun and Hu Liena, as you can see, Shrek isn't a large academy. The only thing we can really boast about is our proud teaching philosophy. I believe that merely reading about it won't give you the full picture, so I sincerely invite you to take part in a Spirit Fighting Friendly Match with our students. That way, we can learn from one another. What do you think?"

Hu Liena and Qian Yun exchanged a glance. Shrek Academy certainly had a bold way of doing things. They were ready to fight just like that!

But since Flender, the dean, had invited them in person, how could they back down?

"We'd be delighted!"

By then, Oscar, who'd been gone for a while, finally came running back, panting. "Dean... huff, huff." He pointed behind him. "I brought them."

At the sound of his voice, Qian Yun and Hu Liena looked over. The first person they saw was a burly man built like a bear, his shoulders broad as a wall. His feet kicked up clouds of dust as he ran, and the ground seemed to tremble beneath him, even from a distance.

"Hey, Flender! What's so urgent it couldn't wait?" Zhao Wuji slapped Flender on the shoulder, his broad palm covering the man's entire shoulder.

Flender irritably pushed his glasses back up from the tip of his nose. If he hadn't needed to maintain appearances in front of guests, he'd have kicked Zhao Wuji already.

"People from Martial Soul Academy want a friendly exchange with us. Qin Ming introduced them. Here, this is the letter he wrote himself." Flender handed the envelope to Zhao Wuji.

"Whoa! A letter from Qin Ming! Written by a cultured fellow! I'd better take a good look." Zhao Wuji carefully opened the sheet of paper, then put it back in the envelope.

His face lit up with excitement, and he let out a strange cry. "Not bad! Hey, I heard that kid Qin Ming is really something now. He's even become the head of Imperial Fighting Academy! That's my Old Zhao's handiwork, all right—what a little beast... I mean, Little Monster."

Flender's brow twitched. Sometimes, he really wanted to tear that uneducated bear apart.

"Seriously, though, we're having a friendly match with Martial Soul Academy later. You'll be the referee!"

"Huh? Referee?" Zhao Wuji turned to Qian Yun and Hu Liena. "This came out of nowhere. Why are we suddenly having a match?"

Still, he stepped forward and introduced himself. "My name's Zhao Wuji. Just call me Old Zhao."

Qian Yun introduced himself and Hu Liena as well.

At that moment, Qian Yun finally noticed three more figures. His heart stirred. The important ones are here!

The boy in blue wore plain clothes. Even as he ran, he wasn't in much of a hurry, giving people the impression that he was always unflustered. He looked about twelve or thirteen, and a string of white jade beads hung around his neck. His looks were ordinary, but he had an approachable air about him.

This was Tang San! Qian Yun had been in this world for so many years, and now he was finally meeting him!

Behind Tang San were two graceful girls: a pink-clad girl with rabbit-ear ornaments on her head, and a girl with fair, snow-white skin, wearing a water-blue dress and a serene expression.

As for the red-haired, chubby fellow shuffling along at the rear... Qian Yun and Hu Liena's attention, regrettably, wasn't on him.

Qian Yun narrowed his eyes slightly, looking past Tang San at Xiao Wu. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

Xiao Wu, I told you we'd definitely meet again!

As they came closer, Xiao Wu finally recognized the familiar-looking boy she'd spotted from afar, especially when her eyes met his distinctive golden eyes.

Master... no, boss! What's he doing here?!

Xiao Wu's long, straight legs abruptly stopped. Ning Rongrong nearly stumbled when Xiao Wu pulled her along. Once she'd steadied herself, she tucked her bangs behind her ear. "Xiao Wu, what's wrong? You stopped all of a sudden and scared me half to death."

Xiao Wu was speechless. Her mind was completely blank, and she turned around almost mechanically.

"Xiao Wu?" Ning Rongrong found it strange and waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Xiao Wu?"

Xiao Wu remained unresponsive. She turned and started pulling Ning Rongrong away.

"Huh?" Ning Rongrong was taken aback. She truly couldn't understand why Xiao Wu, who'd been perfectly fine just a moment ago, had suddenly become like this. But she knew one way that would definitely snap Xiao Wu out of it.

Ning Rongrong's gaze traveled down from Xiao Wu's slender waist and stopped at her pert backside. She grinned mischievously, raised her hand, and swung it toward her.

Confident in its springiness, Ning Rongrong showed no mercy with that slap, unconcerned about hitting any hard bones.

"Smack!!"

The sharp sound rang in Ning Rongrong's ears, lingering for a long time.

"Ah! Rongrong, what are you doing? That hurts!!" Xiao Wu came to her senses and rubbed her bottom. The pain kept her from even thinking about hitting Ning Rongrong back.

"Hehe." Ning Rongrong proudly waved her hand. "Hurts, doesn't it? Just get your Third Brother to rub it for you and it'll stop hurting."

Xiao Wu's face turned a little red. "Hmph, I don't want to."

Ning Rongrong stepped forward and linked arms with her. "What happened just now? You looked completely out of it."

"I..." Xiao Wu opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to tell her best friend about the fear in her heart. But she just didn't have the nerve. Instead, she pouted unhappily.

"No, it's nothing."

Seeing that Xiao Wu had returned to normal, Ning Rongrong didn't press her. She took Xiao Wu's hand and led her forward. "Then let's hurry. If we're late, we'll miss all the excitement."