On the other side of the forest, Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong were racing through the trees.
They were incredibly lucky—the energy of the Holy King Ruins had teleported them to the same place.
"Big Sister Nana, will Brother Ye Xuan be all right by himself?"
Although Ning Rongrong was deeply dissatisfied with Hu Liena, the other girl was the only person she could rely on right now.
"Don't worry. Junior Brother is very strong. He'll be fine."
The two of them had already discovered that the seeds Ah Yin had given them no longer worked as locators.
As a Soul Master with a spiritual martial soul, Hu Liena could sense that the closer they got to the center of the forest, the stronger the spiritual energy surrounding them became.
She believed Ye Xuan would notice this strange phenomenon, too. When he did, the three of them would be able to meet up again.
"Mm!"
Inside an unremarkable cave, the girl Ye Xuan had rescued from the tiger's jaws lay on a stone covered with tiger hide.
Her tattered black leather outfit had long since been removed, and Ye Xuan had used the Blue Silver Life Tree's power to heal her various wounds.
A stream outside the cave murmured softly. Her hair was damp, and it was clear that after healing her injuries, Ye Xuan had also cleaned the blood from her body.
"This leather outfit is pretty good quality. Shame it has a huge tear in it. She can't wear it anymore."
Ye Xuan had lived in Spirit Hall for more than six years. He knew that only noble scions could afford clothes made from this kind of material.
"Damn, though, I have to admit, she's got a delicate doll-like face, but her figure is absolutely incredible. She's even more well-endowed than Senior Sister. Compared to her, Ning Rongrong's like a flat shoe next to a high heel..."
While he was still letting his imagination run wild, the crackle of flames roasting meat woke the girl.
The first thing she did upon waking was check her wounds. Only after seeing that they had all completely healed did she breathe a sigh of relief.
But soon, she realized something was wrong...
"M-my clothes?!"
Then she saw Ye Xuan sitting nearby, roasting meat while drying her damaged leather outfit.
At the sound of her voice, Ye Xuan snapped back to attention and answered without a second thought.
"I'm physically drying them. But your leather outfit is badly damaged. I wouldn't recommend wearing it again."
A short while later.
Wrapped in the hide of the century-old Nether Tiger, the girl sat across from Ye Xuan by the fire, her cheeks flushed all the way to her ears.
Ye Xuan, meanwhile, stared at her in speechless dismay, a red handprint on his cheek.
"I-I'm sorry. I just acted on instinct..."
She tried to apologize, but Ye Xuan cut her off.
"If saying you're sorry were enough, why would the empire still recruit troops to defend against foreign enemies?"
"We're both adults. Don't give me that empty talk. If you want to apologize, make it up to me with something real."
Having already seen the girl's extremely mature figure, Ye Xuan didn't treat her like a little kid like Ning Rongrong.
"I... I'm sorry. I've already left my family, and all I have left is fifty Gold Soul Coins for travel expenses..."
Hearing her explanation, Ye Xuan—who had lived two lives—didn't believe a single word of it.
"No compensation? Then..."
Ye Xuan turned around and looked the girl up and down, the corner of his mouth curling into a satisfied smile.
"N-no, you can't. I'm already engaged, and I have no control over my own fate. If you touch me, you'll be hunted down just like I am."
At the sight of Ye Xuan's expression, the girl panicked.
Didn't the storybooks say that heroes never asked for anything in return after saving a princess?
But this young man, who looked so much like a "hero," was...
"Hmm? Engaged? Hunted down?"
Ye Xuan was a little confused. Could he really have run into one of those fantasy-webnovel tropes in Douluo Continent?
But he quickly came up with a bold guess, and his gaze at the girl took on a peculiar cast.
"Your name—and your family?"
At his question, the girl's eyes darted away.
In the end, she hesitantly answered.
"My surname is Zhu. My given name is Zhuqing. I'm from a collateral branch of the Star Luo Zhu Clan."
Zhu... Zhuqing?
Zhu Zhuqing?
What was she doing here!?
Thanks to his familiarity with the original story, he had more or less confirmed that this girl, whose figure was even more incredible than his senior sister's, was Zhu Zhuqing, one of the original story's main characters.
"What did you do? Why are you being hunted?"
"I... My fiancé stole something from the royal family, but he escaped before the crime came to light. The royal family was furious, so they blamed me for it..."
Listening to Zhu Zhuqing make up nonsense on the spot, Ye Xuan—who had already guessed her true identity—didn't expose her.
"Honestly, I really like your figure and your looks. Would you be interested in coming to work for me as an assistant?"
Although Zhu Zhuqing's choices in the original story were truly... well, downright baffling.
But if he put himself in her shoes, he could see that she had no choice. Her only way to survive was to rely on Tang San's help, bind herself to Dai Mubai through Martial Soul Fusion, and fight her older sister and Dai Weisi.
Ye Xuan was certain that if Zhu Zhuqing had had any other path to choose, she wouldn't have gotten together with Dai Mubai, who had given up on himself and spent years frequenting brothels.
As soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, Zhu Zhuqing froze in place.
Good grief.
This man was far too blunt.
That was the only thought in Zhu Zhuqing's mind.
"Aren't you afraid of retaliation from the Star Luo royal family?"
"Afraid? Why should I be?"
Ye Xuan simply pointed to the token hanging at his waist: the Pope's Order.
The Pope's Order was the highest-ranking token in Spirit Hall. It was also known as the Heaven Dou Six Imperial Token or the Elder Token.
There were only six in the entire continent: three belonging to Spirit Hall and three to the Upper Three Sects. The token carried the authority of the Pope, and its holder enjoyed the honors of an elder.
Bibi Dong had given him this Pope's Order when he became the Holy Son.
After all, she was the Pope herself, so the Pope's Order was no use to her. The other two of Spirit Hall's three tokens were with Qian Daoliu.
The token bore six emblems: a sword, a hammer, a dragon, a chrysanthemum, a ghostly shadow, and a crown.
"See this? It's Spirit Hall's Pope's Order. Seeing it is like seeing the Pope. Even the old Star Luo emperor would have to show me some respect."
Zhu Zhuqing was stunned when she saw the token hanging at Ye Xuan's waist.
The Pope's Order?
There were only six of those tokens in the entire continent. How could this young man have one?
"You... You're from Spirit Hall?"
"Of course. The genuine article."
"Your position in Spirit Hall... is very high?"
"It's all right. Of the people who came here for the Holy King Ruins, one is Holy Maiden Hu Liena, and the other is me."
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