The Moonless Night and High Winds (Seeking Votes, Thank You Esteemed Readers)

Xu Yanli soon relaxed, his demeanor turning easygoing. A faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth as he led the others to a restaurant near Shrek Academy for a meal.

"Alright, let's not talk about these things tonight. Just relax. We have five more matches tomorrow, and I suspect that senior will continue to kite us, perhaps even equipped with better Soul Tools. We need to be careful." Xu Yanli ordered a table full of dishes and spoke with a smile while they waited for the food.

"Boss, don't you worry. My strength might not be great, but I will definitely listen to you. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. I absolutely won't hold us back," Tang Ling said, patting his chest.

Xu Yanli smiled without responding, but Xiao Xiao, sitting to the side, laughed and said, "Tang Ling, you really need to improve your physical fitness."

Tang Ling scratched his head honestly and said, "My Martial Soul is a Tool Martial Soul, and it's an Agility-Attack type. I can't improve my physical fitness in such a short time."

"Just say that. You should just exercise more often," Xu Yanli said with some helplessness. When it came to physical fitness, they weren't his own people; he certainly wouldn't give his own resources to others.

Even something relatively inexpensive like Whale Rubber, he wouldn't give away to someone who wasn't his own, even if they seemed like friends for now.

After a while, the dishes were served. Naturally, the food wasn't cheap; Xu Yanli would never skimp on his own appetite.

Xu Yanli smiled and greeted the two, urging them to eat their fill.

Of the three, everyone except Xu Yanli left the restaurant leaning against the walls, their bellies bulging.

"You two head back to the dormitory first. I'm going back to Xiaoyao Pavilion; I won't be staying there tonight. See you at the canteen tomorrow morning," Xu Yanli said with a smile at the restaurant entrance.

Xu Yanli yawned and returned to Xiaoyao Pavilion. After greeting Long Xiaoyao, who was drinking tea in the courtyard, he returned to his room to find Electrolux.

"From now on, I will formally teach you certain Necromancy. Necromancy is less about playing with death and more about playing with life," Electrolux said sonorously.

After Electrolux demonstrated the magic, he signaled for Xu Yanli to imitate him.

Xu Yanli nodded and used his spiritual power to slowly outline the magic array. It was quite draining on his mental energy, he had to admit, but as long as he drew it once, he would remember it.

Xu Yanli only studied until midnight today, then withdrew to meditate, seeking to restore his spiritual power. After all, with five matches tomorrow, he couldn't afford to look exhausted.

Otherwise, what if people thought he was weak?

The next day's sun rose slowly. Xu Yanli yawned, quickly changed his clothes, and headed toward the competition stage.

Today's matches were relatively easy—at least for their team. Many teams that encountered them chose to forfeit voluntarily.

After all, why get injured for one match only to lose the next? Matching up against them was a guaranteed loss anyway.

Because of this, Xu Yanli spent most of his time on stage leisurely waving his fan, listening to the opponents announce their surrender as soon as they stepped up.

Xu Yanli rolled his eyes in boredom a few times, and eventually, he sat cross-legged on the competition stage to meditate.

Once five teams had forfeited, he stepped off the stage casually, greeted Wang Yan, and turned to leave.

Mu Jin was cheering excitedly for Xu Yanli from the sidelines, while Zhou Yi rolled her eyes nearby, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her gaze.

Although Xu Yanli sensed it, he didn't take it to heart and turned to leave. After all, with Long Xiaoyao still in Shrek City, how could anything happen to him?

Besides, who would be so rampant as to attempt an assassination within Shrek Academy? Unless it was the Duke of White Tiger Mansion, but he hadn't offended them...

However, he was truly mistaken.

At this moment, the lights in Xiaoyao Pavilion had been extinguished, and outside, the night was dark and windy.

Xu Yanli's stomach let out a growl. Although he had boxed meals in his storage Soul Tool, he didn't want to eat those; he wanted something hot. He crawled out of bed, threw on a coat, and snuck outside.

After leaving Xiaoyao Pavilion, Xu Yanli headed toward the snack street. Although the street was a bit deserted at this hour, many small vendors hadn't closed yet.

Xu Yanli followed the aroma toward the corner of the street, where a noodle shop stood, the fire on the stove still burning, steam rising into the air.

Xu Yanli smiled and walked up to the owner, saying, "Grandpa, give me a bowl of noodles, add meat, add an egg."

"Coming right up! How much meat?" the owner asked with a smile, showing no sign of annoyance at being interrupted while closing up.

Xu Yanli smiled and took out a Gold Soul Coin, saying, "Boss, give me as much as you have. Is this Gold Soul Coin enough? Actually, let me give you another one."

"Enough, enough, that's too much. I can't take this much," the owner pushed the Gold Soul Coin back toward Xu Yanli, his face showing a hint of heartache, but he remained firm about returning it.

Xu Yanli smiled: "Boss, I don't have any small change today. How about this: I'll keep coming to eat here, and you can just keep track of when one Gold Soul Coin is spent, then I'll pay you the next one. How about that?"

"You... alright then." The owner sighed and began to prepare the noodles.

In no time at all, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of Xu Yanli.

Xu Yanli sat hunched over the small table, wolfing down the food. At this moment, he looked exactly like the teenager from his past life who loved late-night snacks, rather than the Prince Xiaoyao who calculated everything in this world.

Relaxed and content.

However, he clearly didn't stay content for long. After finishing the last drop of soup, he set the bowl aside and stood up to leave.

As Xu Yanli walked, he felt more and more that something was wrong. He felt as if countless eyes were watching him from behind, and those eyes seemed to contain murderous intent.

Xu Yanli took a jade fan from his storage Soul Tool and slowly opened it. In the flickering light, he finally caught a glimpse of a black shadow from the side of the fan's handle.

Found the little mouse.

Xu Yanli slowly closed the fan. Far from being nervous, he appeared even more leisurely, even humming a little tune.

Ahead was a corner, and behind him was a dead-end alley.

Xu Yanli turned the corner, took two steps, and pressed himself against the wall, hiding his entire body in the shadows nearby.

Sure enough, within a few seconds, a flurry of hurried footsteps followed.

"Where is he?" The voice was very soft, but to Xu Yanli, who was currently in the shadows, it was perfectly clear.