Jiang Nannan

In the Dou I timeline, Dai Mubai remained unconscious for three days. It was only through the exhaustive efforts of Teacher Shaoxing and a healing-type Soul King summoned from Suotuo City that he finally woke from his coma.

"Is my hand really beyond saving?!"

Dai Mubai's face was a mask of resentment and panic. His only remaining hand gripped the edge of the bed so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Teacher Shaoxing patted him on the shoulder.

"It was already too late by the time we arrived. Furthermore, the severed edge of your palm was coated in an incredibly stubborn soul power. Even if a master of the Nine Heart Begonia martial soul were here in person, reattachment would be impossible."

"Try to look on the bright side!"

After another pat on the shoulder, the teacher had no choice but to exit the room.

Only Zhao Wuji remained behind.

"Speak! Tell your teacher who did this! I will go teach him a lesson for you!"

"Damn it, to think someone would dare bully our Shrek Academy!"

Looking at Teacher Zhao, who was so concerned for his well-being, Dai Mubai's eyes reddened. But it had been three days; the culprit was likely long gone.

Dai Mubai had no choice but to recount the events of that night to Zhao Wuji, though he deliberately omitted the fact that he had provoked the conflict first. Instead, he claimed that Ye Guchen had relied on his own strength to forcibly seize the twin sisters by his side.

He upheld the school motto that a soul master who doesn't cause trouble isn't a good soul master, and argued that since the other party had instigated the conflict, he had been forced to retaliate, only to lose due to a slight gap in strength.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji felt his chest swell with rage and slammed a palm onto the table.

"Damn it! You focus on healing; I'm going to Suotuo City to hunt him down!"

With that, he turned and rushed toward Suotuo City without a backward glance.

"Old Zhao!"

At that moment, Flender appeared and stopped the fury-blinded Zhao Wuji.

"I went there earlier and asked around about that kid, but he has already left!"

"Damn!"

At these words, Zhao Wuji shattered the nearby table into splinters.

Inside the room, Dai Mubai's intelligence seemed to return to its peak after the trauma, and he finally recalled the woman's identity.

"Zhu Zhuqing! No wonder she looked familiar, and no wonder she could trigger a reaction from my martial soul."

"I never imagined that a bitch like you would actually escape by clinging to a man!"

Meanwhile, on Ye Guchen's side, the two had successfully arrived at Heaven Dou City.

"Relying on others is ultimately a poor strategy. I should establish my own chamber of commerce to deal with them on my own terms!"

The moment he stepped into Heaven Dou City, Ye Guchen abandoned the idea of seeking refuge with Qian Renxue.

"Zhuqing, rather than wandering aimlessly like this, I want to establish a chamber of commerce that belongs to us!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Guchen in surprise. She did not understand why someone with Ye Guchen's talent would choose this path; cultivation was the proper way forward, and once his strength was formidable, wouldn't money be easy to come by? Why bother with such exhausting work?

However, since it was Ye Guchen's idea, Zhu Zhuqing naturally gave her full support.

She tightened her grip on Ye Guchen's arm. "Alright! I support you, but what do you plan to call this chamber of commerce?"

"Hundred Treasure Pavilion!"

Naturally, since the Dou I timeline had decided to open a chamber of commerce, the Dou II timeline could not remain idle. Ye Guchen planned to begin preparations for this business venture that would span both timelines as soon as he returned.

The bulk of Ye Guchen's business would, of course, continue to be the arbitrage between the two timelines.

Seeing Ye Guchen suddenly lost in thought, Gongyang Mo waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey, we're talking here! Are you thinking about that girl from the outer courtyard?"

Ye Guchen snapped back to reality and pushed away Gongyang Mo, who had leaned in close.

"Get lost, get lost, what are you talking about? Nannan and I are just ordinary friends; I only helped her because I saw she was in trouble."

"It just so happens that my pet beast needs meat, so I hired her to manage the storefront I opened for purchasing soul beast meat."

Chen Zifeng understood the situation and nudged Ye Guchen's shoulder.

"And you say you aren't interested in her? Just be honest, kid. If you were really just helping her, hiring her to watch the shop would have been enough—what's the meaning of leaving the Geng Metal White Tiger with her?"

He then glanced at Ma Xiaotao, who was currently absorbing a soul ring, and leaned in close to Ye Guchen's ear, whispering cautiously.

"Sister Xiaotao is already fiery enough; that's already a handful for you. You still dare to look for others? Besides, I've noticed the way Sister Ling Luochen looks at you isn't right either—she's definitely interested in you. Honestly, brother, I truly admire you!"

After saying this, he didn't forget to give Ye Guchen a thumbs-up.

However, everyone present was at least a Soul Ancestor, so every word was heard with perfect clarity.

The first one to lose her composure was the subject of the conversation, Ling Luochen.

"Chen Zifeng, are you looking for death! I was... I was merely appreciating that Ultimate Ice!"

Yet, the more Ling Luochen argued, the less the others believed her. Coupled with her somewhat flustered expression, it was clearly the typical reaction of someone whose secret had been exposed.

Everyone knew the truth, secretly lamenting that Ye Guchen hadn't left even a drop of soup for anyone else.

Seeing that the group seemed to believe her, Ling Luochen hurriedly steered the conversation back to Jiang Nannan.

"Tell us about you and that girl!"

Seeing everyone looking at him in unison, wearing expressions that screamed they were ready for some gossip, Ye Guchen shook his head helplessly.

"Actually, there's nothing to tell."

"When I first enrolled, I happened to be in the same class as her, and by a stroke of luck, we became friends."

Yao Haoxuan, who hadn't spoken until now, leaned in closer.

"Oh~! A stroke of luck?"

Some people only need a single interjection to convey their entire meaning; clearly, Yao Haoxuan believed the motives for this friendship were impure.

"Are you still listening or not!"

Ye Guchen didn't explain, because at this point, any attempt would only make things look worse.

"Back then, there was a guy named Xu Sanshi who was pursuing her, but Nannan wouldn't agree. What was infuriating was that to pursue her, Xu Sanshi actually tried to exploit her sick mother. Fortunately, Nannan trusted me enough to tell me about her mother's situation."

Ye Guchen tactically rubbed his nose.

"Luckily, I had a bit of money, so I found a Soul Saint-level healing Soul Master to cure her mother."

The group looked at him with black lines on their foreheads. "You call that 'a bit' of money? 'A mountain' of money would be more like it!"

"Afterward, fearing that Xu Sanshi might do something extreme, I had her bring her mother to live in Shrek City, gave her money for rent, and hired her to look after my shop."

"You did the right thing! With Shrek Academy watching, that Xu Sanshi wouldn't dare pull anything out of line."

Xi Xi looked indignant, as if she were fighting for justice on Jiang Nannan's behalf.

"Oh, I get it! You placed the Geng Metal White Tiger pet by her side—nominally to protect your property, but in reality, to protect that girl, right!"

Chen Zifeng slapped his forehead, looking as if he had figured it all out.

"Aren't you just the clever one!"

Ling Luochen listened quietly. A hero saving a damsel in distress? If it were me...

She only said half the sentence, the rest swallowed behind her pursed lips.

In her mind, however, a scene was already playing out: she was in danger, and at the most critical moment, Ye Guchen descended from the sky...

While Ye Guchen and his group were discussing Jiang Nannan, inside a shop in Shrek City located near the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest:

A beautiful woman with rabbit ears, a stunning figure, and fair skin was busy evaluating the meat brought in by a group of Soul Masters who had just returned from hunting.

"This is only a hundred-year Soul Beast, and it's not very large. It's only worth eighty Gold Soul Coins."

The man, seeing that Jiang Nannan was merely a delicate woman, was about to step forward to haggle, but was pushed back by a pair of icy eyes.

Looking closely, he realized that crouching behind Jiang Nannan was a Geng Metal White Tiger that was roughly twenty thousand years old!

Xiao Bai merely stared calmly at this Soul Elder, and the man was already scared out of his wits.

"Fine... just... just eighty Gold Soul Coins!"

Jiang Nannan skillfully stored the Soul Beast carcass into a specialized storage Soul Tool filled with Ultimate Ice, then took out eighty Gold Soul Coins and handed them to the Soul Elder.

Her expression remained completely calm throughout; clearly, this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.

After working for two hours, Jiang Nannan finally finished her shift—in truth, she only worked for two hours a day.

Jiang Nannan stretched her slender waist and pulled the shop door shut.

"Let's go, Xiao Bai!"

The Geng Metal White Tiger, nearly four meters long, instantly shrank to the size of a kitten and leaped into Jiang Nannan's arms.

Jiang Nannan skillfully rested her hand on its back, smoothing out its fur.

At a glance, it really looked like she was holding a kitten.

She cast her gaze toward the direction of the Shrek Academy Inner Court, her eyes filled with gentleness.