Two days later, with the sun setting behind them, two tall figures appeared outside Suotuo City.
Oscar hadn't stopped with Zhu Zhuqing in any of the border towns outside Star Dou Great Forest. They had headed straight for Suotuo City, so both of them looked dusty and tired from the journey.
"Because Suotuo City has the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena, plenty of Soul Masters and spectators come here for competitions, and there are quite a few inns.
"The most famous is the Rose Hotel, but it's basically fully booked. There are also the inns outside the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena. They're reasonably clean, but all sorts of people stay there, so trouble can crop up easily.
"There's a decent inn in the south of the city. It's not well-known, but it's clean, the food is good, and it's fairly quiet."
Oscar spoke to Zhu Zhuqing as if reciting from memory. He hadn't stayed at any hotels in Suotuo City, but the city was the heart of the Sky Net, and he knew everything about it.
"Let's go to the one in the south. Sorry for all the trouble."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was gentle, but full of apology.
They had traveled together this whole way. At some point, she'd noticed Oscar speeding up, as if he had something urgent to do. She didn't want to trouble him any further now.
"It's no trouble. You've only just arrived and don't know your way around. As your senior, I should look out for you."
Hearing Oscar say that, Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together slightly. Though considerate, he had never overstepped during their journey, and he didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.
She understood that everything that had happened before was an accident. The man before her owed her nothing, and the way he'd treated her was already more than kind.
But when she saw how earnest Oscar looked, she somehow agreed.
By the time Oscar had helped Zhu Zhuqing check in and book a room at the inn in the south of the city, night had fallen completely.
Zhu Zhuqing had wanted him to stay, but some powerful Soul Fighter seemed to have arrived in Suotuo City recently, and every room was full. There were no vacancies.
In the end, Oscar reassured her that Shrek Academy wasn't far away, and she finally put her mind at ease.
"Don't walk me any farther. Go back. It's less safe for a girl like you at night than it is for me."
Oscar turned to Zhu Zhuqing, who had walked him out of the inn, and said with a smile. Then he left under her gaze.
The reason he'd been in such a hurry all the way here was that Zhou Chang had sent him a letter. Li Jianqiu had gathered some important information, and Zhou Chang had told him to come back at once.
Before long, Oscar arrived at Old Qing's blacksmith shop again.
When Old Qing saw Oscar arrive, he rolled up his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his brow before saying:
"Old Li's waiting for you inside. There's not much I can do to help, but I hope you won't push yourselves too hard."
"I know, Old Qing. Things should settle down after a while."
Oscar answered, then turned and walked into the courtyard.
Li Jianqiu was sitting by the tea table, sorting through some files. He raised his head slightly at the sound, and when he saw Oscar enter, his eyes lit up with a smile.
"You finally made it back. Zhou Chang said you picked up a pretty young girl in Star Dou Great Forest?"
Seeing Li Jianqiu tease him, Oscar realized at once that even though he'd been summoned urgently, it probably wasn't bad news.
Had something new happened with the Sky Net?
But that alone wouldn't have made Li Jianqiu so anxious to see him. Could there be news about the Blue Silver King and Blue Silver Emperor?
Once Oscar figured it out, the corners of his mouth lifted. He casually sat down in a chair, poured himself some tea, and took a sip before narrowing his eyes and saying:
"That's right. Dai Mubai's fiancée crossed Star Dou Great Forest and made it all the way to Suotuo City.
"Uncle Li, since when have you been interested in that sort of thing? Want me to set you up with Sister Wen Hua?"
"His fiancée... A fiancée is nice. A Hell Spirit Cat, too... Forget it. I knew I couldn't keep you guessing. Don't go setting me up with anyone. Just think about how much older I am than Wen Hua."
As he spoke, Li Jianqiu took a coded letter from inside his clothes and tossed it to Oscar.
It was small, about the size of the kind of letter that could be carried by a homing pigeon in a bamboo tube, so it contained very little information.
It basically said that they had spotted Clear Sky Douluo frequently entering a mountain. Since they were local villagers, they had pretended to be gathering herbs and followed him inside.
They had searched the mountain for a long time before finally running into Clear Sky Douluo beneath a waterfall. He was dressed as an ordinary man, and he drove them away.
The letter described a mountain where Soul Beasts were scarce and almost never lived. It was impossible for a Soul Beast of the Blue Silver King's rank to be there.
It was easy to guess why Clear Sky Douluo kept going there: the Blue Silver Emperor was there!
At that thought, Oscar raised his eyebrows slightly and said softly:
"Looks like the Blue Silver Emperor is in even worse shape than we thought."
"Don't just think about the Blue Silver Emperor. It's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, so it must have produced a Spirit Ring and a Spirit Bone. The Spirit Ring must have gone to Clear Sky Douluo.
"But even though it's a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the Blue Silver Grass's attributes—even after evolving into the Blue Silver Emperor—wouldn't suit a Battle Soul Master who uses the Clear Sky Hammer. My guess is Clear Sky Douluo will save that Soul Bone for their child.
"And since he has to conceal his identity, he can't carry the Soul Bone around with him. There's a good chance he's hidden it there, too!"
Li Jianqiu held a cup of tea and spoke as he blew on it.
Oscar's thoughts stirred at this. He tapped a finger lightly on the tea table, pondered for a long while, then raised his head and looked at Li Jianqiu.
"Uncle Li, how are Tang San and Yu Xiaogang doing?"
"Thanks to you, Yu Xiaogang no longer seems like a teacher to Tang San, but he's still doing everything he can to recommend that Tang San attend Shrek Academy. He'll probably be here before long.
"Yu Xiaogang really did a number on you back then. Clear Sky Douluo probably hadn't taken it seriously. He must have thought that, for all his faults, Yu Xiaogang was a theoretical master who could give Tang San a stable childhood.
"After you told him, Clear Sky Douluo must have gone to check Tang San's Soul Power.
"His first Soul Skill turned out to be Blue Silver Entanglement, and it even had snake venom. Tsk, tsk... I wonder how he explained that to Clear Sky Douluo. Our people saw him turn up at the junior Soul Master Academy with a bruised and swollen face."
Li Jianqiu spoke with a chuckle. If he hadn't learned Oscar's theories, he wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with what Yu Xiaogang had done.
Unfortunately, theories like Taiji's yin and yang giving rise to each other, along with the Daoist concept of following the natural way, were like a crushing advantage in this world. They had completely demolished Yu Xiaogang, a purely theoretical master who could only make deductions from Spirit Hall records and information about the Thunder Tyrant Dragon.
"He brought it on himself. Once Tang San leaves the junior Soul Master Academy, I'll go take a look. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
Oscar set down his tea and spoke softly to Li Jianqiu. He knew the Sky Net was at its busiest, and Li Jianqiu often stayed up until late at night handling secret reports from all over.
"Go on, then. Your Sister Wen Hua will be back from the Star Luo Empire in a while. Remember to prepare a gift for me, too."
"Got it."
Oscar turned and walked out of the courtyard, waving over his shoulder without looking back.
Li Jianqiu watched Oscar's retreating figure and shook his head, wondering to himself:
"What's he in such a hurry to do? Could it be because of that young girl he brought back from Star Dou Great Forest?"
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