Entangled by the Little Demoness

The appearance of Li Hao plunged this blood-soaked forest clearing into an eerie, deathly silence.

Whether it was the few black-clad Soul Master figures preparing to watch the show, or the three Shadow Demon Wolf beasts closing in step by step, their movements stalled for an instant.

Ning Rongrong was also stunned.

She lifted her small face, stained with tear tracks and mud, and stared blankly at the man who had suddenly descended from the sky to stand before her.

He wore the most ordinary cloth garments, his features were plain and unremarkable, and in his hand, he held a... Fishing Rod?

What kind of strange combination was this?

Yet, for some reason, looking at his not-so-broad back, a faint ray of light pierced through the abyss of despair and fear that had filled Ning Rongrong's heart.

An inexplicable, groundless sense of security quietly sprouted.

"Little girl, are you alright?"

The calm question broke the stalemate.

"Roar!"

Driven by hunger, the Shadow Demon Wolf pack finally snapped out of their bewilderment.

In their simple minds, this bipedal creature that had suddenly popped up was just another meal delivered to their door.

The lead wolf let out a roar, transforming into a black afterimage that carried a foul stench as it lunged straight for Ning Rongrong behind the rock!

Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted sharply; the hope that had just risen was on the verge of being torn to shreds by that gaping, blood-stained maw.

However, the man standing before her did not move an inch.

He simply, unhurriedly, gave his wrist a light flick.

Hum!

The tip of that seemingly ordinary Fishing Rod trembled slightly.

In Li Hao's mind, the bond with Zhu Zhuqing quietly connected.

[Ability Shared: Hell Stab]

In an instant, the entire world seemed to have been pressed into slow motion within his perception.

The lightning-fast pounce of the Shadow Demon Wolf became riddled with openings.

He couldn't even be bothered to shift his feet.

He merely thrust the Fishing Rod in his hand forward, casually.

Snap!

A crisp, light sound rang out.

That seemingly fragile rod struck with pinpoint precision against the tip of the charging wolf's nose.

The force was not great.

One could even call it gentle.

But the cold, sharp Hell Stab energy transmitted through the rod made the Shadow Demon Wolf's entire body stiffen. It let out a painful howl, lost its balance in mid-air, and crashed heavily to the side.

Seeing this, the other two wolves were not afraid; instead, their ferocity flared, and they attacked simultaneously from the left and right!

Li Hao remained standing where he was.

He flicked his left hand, and the invisible fishing line, as if possessing a life of its own, traced an eerie arc through the air and precisely coiled around the hind leg of one wolf.

With a light tug, that wolf stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt.

At the same time, he whipped the rod in his right hand backward; the butt of the rod whistled through the air and struck the waist of the final wolf, dead on.

"Awoo!"

Three arrogant thousand-year Soul Master level beasts had all been floored in less than three breaths.

There were no earth-shattering soul skills.

There were no flashy, dazzling light effects.

The entire process was as effortless as shooing away a few annoying flies.

The three Shadow Demon Wolves struggled to their feet, and the look in their eyes as they gazed at Li Hao shifted from greed to bone-chilling fear.

Whimpering with their tails tucked between their legs, they dared not linger any longer and scrambled into the depths of the dense forest, vanishing from sight.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Ning Rongrong's mouth hung open, completely dumbfounded.

Those were three thousand-year Soul Master level beasts!

The same ferocious beasts that had forced the Soul King guards sent by her sect into a bitter struggle had just been... driven off by a Fishing Rod?

Not far away, the cruel smiles on the faces of those black-clad Soul Master figures froze completely.

They exchanged a look of sheer terror.

Who was this person?

He hadn't released his Martial Soul, nor had a single soul ring lit up!

Just then.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from the other side of the woods.

A dozen Soul Masters clad in pale cyan tunics, the emblem of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda embroidered on their chests, finally arrived.

Leading them was a middle-aged Soul Master with the cultivation of a Soul Emperor. His eyes instantly fell upon the corpses on the ground and the unharmed Ning Rongrong. He let out a sigh of relief, but immediately locked his gaze onto the only stranger in the clearing—Li Hao.

"Young Miss!"

With a flash, he stepped in front of Ning Rongrong, staring at Li Hao with intense vigilance.

"Who are you?"

The danger had passed.

The heart that had been lodged in Ning Rongrong's throat finally settled back into place.

She pushed aside the guard standing before her and ran a few steps toward Li Hao. Looking up with a face still streaked with tear stains, her large eyes were filled with curiosity so intense it was practically overflowing.

"You... how did you do that just now? That was amazing!"

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Li Hao looked at the overly familiar young girl, his social anxiety radar beginning to buzz.

He had only wanted to save someone and then slip away.

How had this devolved into being surrounded and gawked at?

"Just passing through."

He was concise, his words sparing.

"Came here to fish."

With that, he turned around, preparing to activate a spatial jump and vanish from this social hell immediately.

"Wait!"

Ning Rongrong grabbed his sleeve.

"Fishing? You're lying! There isn't even a stream here, what could you possibly be fishing for?"

She questioned him righteously. At the same time, the special perception inherent to her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul allowed her to keenly sense that something was off about Li Hao.

The fluctuations of his soul power felt... not very strong.

At most, he seemed to be around level thirty.

But the moves he had pulled off earlier were absolutely not something a Soul Elder could achieve!

Furthermore, there was a strange aura about him, a mixture of the fragrance of grass and trees and a type of pure energy that made her feel incredibly comfortable.

This person was a walking mystery!

Ning Rongrong's girlish curiosity was thoroughly ignited.

She felt as though she had discovered a treasure far more interesting than going to Shrek Academy!

Deep in the shadows of the dense forest.

Medusa watched through the gaps in the foliage as the girl in the pink dress refused to let go of Li Hao's sleeve. A cold glint flashed through her emerald snake-like pupils.

Another one?

And a human at that?

Truly courting death.

Beside her, Zhu Zhuqing remained equally silent.

Her golden vertical pupils were also fixed unblinkingly on Ning Rongrong's hand, which was clutching Li Hao.

The slight sympathy she had felt for this girl earlier had vanished into thin air.

In its place was an instinctive rejection, as if her territory had been encroached upon.

In the clearing.

The Soul Emperor guard felt a massive headache coming on as he watched Ning Rongrong's actions.

He stepped forward and bowed to Li Hao.

"Many thanks for your assistance, Excellency. I am the captain of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect guards, a disciple under the tutelage of Sword Douluo, Gu Rong. Our sect will certainly reward you handsomely for this kindness."

As he spoke, he subtly emphasized his background, attempting to make Li Hao retreat in the face of difficulties.

"Young Miss, this place is not safe for long. We must return to the sect immediately!"

"I'm not going back!"

Ning Rongrong refused without a second thought, her small hand gripping even tighter.

"Uncle Gu, you all go back first! I'm very interested in his fishing!"

She turned her head and announced to Li Hao in the willful, imperious tone unique to a young lady who brooks no refusal.

"Hey! You fisherman! I've decided!"

"From now on, I'm following you! Until I learn how you use a fishing rod to beat back soul beasts!"

Li Hao: "..."

His mind went completely blank.

What on earth was this?

He saved someone only to end up with a burden?

He could clearly feel two cold, hostile gazes cast from the dense forest not far away.

One was overbearing, the other sharp.

The alarm of his social anxiety, mixed with the warning of a fire in his backyard, rang out in his mind like a piercing roar.

He felt his head begin to throb with pain.

This ability to attract trouble was simply innate!

Li Hao looked at the spoiled little princess in front of him who looked like she had the final say, then felt the two murderous auras behind him that were nearly becoming tangible.

He opened his mouth, intending to reject this absurd proposal with the firmest attitude possible.

However, Ning Rongrong seemed to see right through his thoughts; she gripped his sleeve even harder, a cunning, determined smile spreading across her face.