Jiang Nannan Ambushed

Morning.

Outside Shrek City, in front of a small grove.

"You are a quarter of an hour late."

Zhang Lexuan wore a light-colored dress, the hem fluttering gently in the breeze. A few strands of dark hair were blown against her smooth forehead, and she tucked them behind her ear with a casual motion, a faint smile lingering on her face.

Lu Ran pressed his palms together, looking apologetic:

"My apologies, Sister Lexuan."

"There was an unexpected situation."

He had intended to set off today and would not have been late, but Ma Xiaotao had been training diligently lately, leading to frequent bouts of Evil Fire.

She had sought out Lu Ran at the last minute to vent the heat.

This was nothing; it just needed to be resolved. But when she learned that Lu Ran was in a rush to meet Zhang Lexuan, she—always being straightforward—became difficult. She intentionally slowed down the release of the Evil Fire, and by the time the agreed-upon hour arrived, it still wasn't fully resolved.

Lu Ran thought that since he would be back in a couple of days, they could continue then, as a day or two didn't matter.

Ma Xiaotao had said, "Fine, go quickly, I can't let me delay you." Though she said that, before Lu Ran had even stepped out the door, she was lying on her chair looking miserable, eyes half-closed, a faint flush rising over her body, appearing as if the Evil Fire was about to spiral out of control.

Helpless, he had to turn back, wasting a quarter of an hour.

"Xiaotao has been training hard lately and asked me to help her resolve her Evil Fire."

He said, full of regret.

Zhang Lexuan's pretty face remained smiling, "It's fine,"

"Let's go. After all, I did promise you."

I kept my promise to you,

but you didn't keep yours to me. You're late for our first time going out alone; I dare not imagine what you'll be capable of in the future.

Lu Ran caught the implication in her words, thinking, How could that be? He immediately waved his small fist and tapped it against Zhang Lexuan's shoulder: "Sister Lexuan must be tired from waiting so long, right? Let me massage your shoulders to help you relax..."

The corners of Zhang Lexuan's mouth curled up, and she turned around, her voice filled with amusement:

"Let's go."

Seeing this, Lu Ran put away his playful expression and took out a green map. Made from Millennium Green Vine, it felt soft and smooth to the touch.

This map was flexible, durable, could be folded repeatedly, was waterproof, and could even withstand brief exposure to fire, making it perfectly suited for the environment of the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was just a tiny bit expensive; an ordinary soul master might not be able to afford it.

He spread it out, revealing the shape of the Star Dou Great Forest printed upon it, scattered with various markings.

Lu Ran pointed to one of the marks and said: "Sister Lexuan, let's head here first. There are suitable Mango Tree Soul Beasts there."

Zhang Lexuan leaned over to look at the map and nodded gently: "Alright, I'll follow your lead."

Lu Ran immediately put away the map and pointed in a direction:

"Let's go!"

Although they were entering the Star Dou Great Forest, having Zhang Lexuan was enough. Simply searching for some fruit tree soul beasts to transplant was manageable enough to handle the risks.

As for what to do if they encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Lu Ran had his Small World; if they ran into one, he could go inside to hide, or he could teleport the Rock Crystal Dragon and the others out into the world, trap the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast inside, transport it all the way back to Shrek, and then release it

to conduct a righteous group beatdown.

Stepping into the Star Dou Great Forest, a humid scent rushed toward them. The dense canopy was layered and overlapping, blocking out the sun. The ground was covered in rotting fallen leaves, riddled with roots and vines. From time to time, one could see the figures of crawling centipedes, woodlice, and other small creatures.

It was no wonder the Star Dou Great Forest was called a forbidden zone for soul masters; one would almost be scared off before even encountering a soul beast.

However, this had little impact on Lu Ran and Zhang Lexuan. Not to mention that he had made a living picking herbs since he was very young and was extremely familiar with this environment, the two of them moved through the branches with ease, completely unaffected.

They traveled quickly.

Lu Ran was searching for a foothold when, suddenly, a wolf howl erupted in the distance, the sound sharp and piercing, shattering the silence.

Zhang Lexuan's brows furrowed slightly, her beautiful eyes looking toward the direction of the howl: "Something is happening."

Lu Ran said, "Alright."

The two immediately changed direction, heading toward the sound.

After crossing several miles of dense forest, Lu Ran saw a pack of Nether Wolf King wolves chasing a young girl.

The girl had wavy golden hair and a well-proportioned figure, though she looked utterly disheveled; her snow-white skin and simple clothes were marked with several bloody gashes and stained with grass clippings and mud.

Most striking were the pair of pinkish-white rabbit ears atop her head, which bobbed with her light yet stumbling movements.

"..."

The more Lu Ran looked, the more familiar she seemed.

Could it be?

"Haa... haa... haa!"

Jiang Nannan fled with all her might, the taste of copper and sweetness filling her mouth. Her chest heaved violently, her vision began to flicker with momentary lapses, and her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, so heavy she could barely lift them.

Even though she was exhausted and had long since lost her sense of direction, she dared not stop.

Because her mother was still waiting for her at home.

She could not die here.

Her mother needed medicine!

Jiang Nannan, eleven years old this year, lost her father early and had relied on her ailing mother since childhood; their family was impoverished, and life was a struggle.

But at the age of six, she awakened the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul and possessed an Innate Soul Power of level eight.

In the midst of despair, her life had suddenly taken a turn.

She saw hope, so she cultivated diligently, worked while studying, and took advantage of gaps in her training to gather herbs, selling them around Shrek Academy where the prices were higher.

She never spent a cent on food or clothing for herself.

Every coin she earned was used to treat her mother.

She had thought everything would slowly get better, but fate played a cruel joke; her mother's already frail body suddenly took a turn for the worse, becoming even more emaciated than before.

Jiang Nannan took out all her accumulated savings to hire doctors and buy expensive medicinal ingredients, but it was far from enough; her mother's illness could not be cured, only delayed.

To this end, she exhausted her energy searching for medicine, and just as things had finally begun to improve, the illness worsened again in recent days.

With no other choice, she had to head into the more dangerous outer regions to search for rarer herbs, never expecting to be targeted by a pack of Nether Wolf King wolves.

The wolf king was extremely cunning; it did not choose to swarm her and tear her to pieces.

Instead, it chased and surrounded her, but never completely blocked her path, intentionally leaving a gap to let her see a glimmer of hope for escape, prompting her to struggle to break through.

Once she escaped, she would be chased and surrounded again, with another gap left open just the same.

This ensured she held onto a shred of hope and would not fight to the death, minimizing casualties for the wolf pack.

As it turned out, this was highly effective.

Jiang Nannan knew the pack's intentions, but fighting on the spot meant certain death, while breaking through offered a sliver of survival.

She had no choice.

Through repeated breakouts and encirclements, her stamina gradually depleted, and her body was covered in more bloody gashes and claw marks; she was at the end of her rope.

Now, the pack was closing in again.

There was not a sound as they followed relentlessly, their eerie, greenish pupils flickering through the woods, terrifying to behold.

The massive Nether Wolf King, standing over two meters at the shoulder, had deep purple fur and an icy aura, followed by dozens of Nether Wolf King wolves of varying sizes, with more green than cyan, and more ten-year-old beasts than hundred-year-old ones.

The massive Nether Wolf King's body surged with a rich purple light, its speed exploding as it opened its blood-red maw and transformed into a blur, lunging toward Jiang Nannan.

It swore to pierce right through her!

The sharp fangs in Jiang Nannan's pupils rapidly enlarged, accompanied by the approach of death, and she could already smell the scent of her own blood.

In an instant, time seemed to stand still, the wind fell silent.

Scenes from her past flashed through her mind: washing clothes for the first time as a child... crying in grievance when bullied... shedding tears upon her awakening...

And finally, her mother's smile...

Knowing she was doomed, Jiang Nannan felt a crystalline tear slide from the corner of her eye, and she closed her eyes in despair...

Goodbye... Mom...

"..."