Cat Girl Zhu Zhuqing! Huo Wu Comes to the Imperial Fighting Team to Challenge Them

The door pushed open.

Ye Qing walked in carrying a tray, upon which sat several plates of hot food, two bowls of white rice, and a pot of warm water.

The aroma permeated the room like some kind of invisible lure.

Sitting in the corner of the bed, Zhu Zhuqing's cat ears twitched involuntarily.

Her amber cat eyes stared fixedly at the food on the tray, and her throat bobbed once.

The sound was so faint it was almost inaudible, but Ye Qing caught it nonetheless.

"Don't hold back."

Ye Qing placed the tray on the table.

He pulled out a chair, sat down, and casually served himself a bowl of rice.

"The growl your stomach just made could be heard in the next room."

Zhu Zhuqing's cat ears instantly flattened against her head.

She glared at Ye Qing, attempting to express some sort of shamed, indignant threat with her gaze.

But that look, paired with her ten-year-old face and those amber cat eyes, had a lethality rating of approximately zero.

Ye Qing didn't change his expression as he picked up a piece of braised pork and popped it into his mouth. "Eat while it's hot; it gets greasy once it cools."

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a full three seconds.

Then, she made a very wise decision.

Eat until full first, worry about the rest later!

She rolled off the bed.

Her movements still carried the instability of someone recovering from a serious illness, but her steps toward the table were steady.

She sat down opposite Ye Qing.

She picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and put it into her mouth.

Chew.

Swallow.

A flash of light ignited in those amber cat eyes.

Although she maintained that cold, indifferent expression on her face, the speed at which she picked up food clearly accelerated.

Ye Qing watched, silently labeling this cat-girl in his mind: tough talk, soft stomach.

After a few rounds of eating, the atmosphere had clearly softened quite a bit.

Although Zhu Zhuqing still didn't speak, she at least stopped hissing at him.

The vigilance in those cat eyes had been downgraded to "suspected good person, continue observation."

Ye Qing set down his chopsticks, feeling the timing was about right.

"My name is Ye Qing, as you already know."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

"And you? What is your name?"

Zhu Zhuqing's chopsticks paused.

She looked down at the half-bowl of rice remaining in her bowl.

Just as Ye Qing thought she was going to revert to her cat-like silence, "Zhu Zhuqing."

The voice was very soft, as light as a feather landing on the surface of a pond.

Ye Qing's teacup nearly slipped from his hand.

Zhu Zhuqing?

He whipped his head around to stare at the black-haired cat-girl before him.

The thoughts in his mind exploded like fireworks.

Zhu Zhuqing?

The Zhu Zhuqing from the Shrek Seven Devils?

Holy crap.

The cat-girl he had casually picked up from the Star Dou Great Forest was actually a member of the main cast?

Wait, wait, wait—he needed to sort out the timeline.

In the original story, Zhu Zhuqing fled the Star Luo Empire to find Dai Mubai because she couldn't stand the targeting from others.

So, she had just escaped the Star Luo Empire not long ago?

"Do you know me?"

Zhu Zhuqing's voice turned abruptly cold.

She had set down her bowl and chopsticks at some point, her amber cat-like eyes sharpening once more.

The cat ears and tail from her Martial Soul Possession popped out again.

Arching her back, she returned to the state of a black cat ready to hiss at any moment.

Such vigilance; she truly lived up to being a cat.

Ye Qing snapped back to reality and shook his head faintly.

"I don't know you."

His tone was calm, neither deliberately explaining nor flusteredly covering up.

"I just thought your name sounded nice."

Zhu Zhuqing's cat ears twitched slightly.

She stared at Ye Qing for several breaths, seemingly judging the truth of his words.

In the end, she slowly retracted her Martial Soul.

She picked up her chopsticks to resume eating, but the vigilance in those cat-like eyes did not fully dissipate.

"Are you done asking?"

She lowered her head to shovel rice into her mouth, her tone returning to its previous coldness.

"I have a few more questions."

Ye Qing did not stand on ceremony.

"You're only a Soul Grand Master, so why did you collapse in a place like the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Any random soul beast pulled from there could treat you like a snack."

"..."

Zhu Zhuqing's fingers tightened slightly around her chopsticks.

"If you don't want to say, then forget it."

Ye Qing didn't press the matter, shifting the topic instead: "Then what are your plans for later? Do you have anywhere to go?"

Zhu Zhuqing was silent for a moment before shaking her head. "I have no destination, but I plan to go to Suotuo City."

As expected.

Ye Qing sighed inwardly.

This girl was still determined to go to Suotuo City to find Dai Mubai.

But to be honest, he had no fondness for Dai Mubai, that early-game scumbag.

Leaving his fiancée behind in the Star Luo Empire to run away, only to embrace twins in Suotuo City.

He only put on a facade of deep affection once Zhu Zhuqing showed up at his doorstep.

Disgusting.

But this was Zhu Zhuqing's own choice.

As an outsider, he had neither the qualification nor the standing to interfere.

"Suotuo City, huh."

Ye Qing set down his teacup and stood up.

"Alright, then take care on your journey."

"Since you are no longer in danger, it is time for me to leave."

He walked to the door, paused, and looked back at the black cat still shoveling rice.

"If you truly have nowhere else to go, you can come to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to find me; just give them my name."

Zhu Zhuqing looked up.

A grain of rice was still stuck to the corner of her mouth, and a flash of complex emotion crossed her amber eyes.

"Thank you."

Only two words were offered in response, but the tone was more sincere than all their previous dialogue combined.

Ye Qing smiled and pushed the door open to step outside.

The door closed softly.

Zhu Zhuqing stood where she was, her cat tail unconsciously wrapping around her own ankle.

She stared at the tightly shut door for a long time.

On the way back to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Ye Qing's mood was even more complicated than when he had first transmigrated and discovered he was a good-for-nothing.

Zhu Zhuqing.

She was one of the Shrek Seven Devils.

This was the second member of the original protagonist group he had encountered, following Ning Rongrong.

Had the butterfly effect already begun?

Just how much of an impact would his appearance have on the plot of this world?

Would the Shrek Seven Devils even be able to assemble?

He could no longer see the future of this world clearly.

Forget it, I'll just take things one step at a time.

Ye Qing rubbed his temples.

Thinking about these things only gave him a headache; he might as well go back and find Yanzi.

At least when Yanzi was angry, she only rolled her eyes at him, which didn't make his brain ache.

Besides, he could also enjoy the comfort of Yanzi's company.

However, the moment Ye Qing stepped through the gates of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, his intuition told him that something big had happened!

Almost everyone in the entire academy was gathered in the direction of the training grounds.

Looking from afar, it was a sea of black heads.

"What's going on?"

As soon as Ye Qing reached the entrance of the training grounds, a crisp exclamation came from the spectator stands.

"Ye Qing! You're finally back!"

Ning Rongrong jumped up from her seat, her short pink hair tracing an arc in the air.

Sitting next to her were Yu Feng, Osler, and the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo.

Each of their expressions looked as if they had been constipated for three days and had finally found a laxative.

"What's the situation?"

Ye Qing walked up to them and glanced at the center of the training grounds.

"Why such a big spectacle today?"

He looked at the group, who looked as if they were mourning the dead, and raised an eyebrow: "Did you guys get challenged?"

"How did you know it was a challenge?" Yu Feng's eyes widened.

"Don't be ridiculous, your faces are practically written with 'we got rubbed into the ground,' and I'm not blind."

Ye Qing said irritably: "Tell me, what exactly is going on?"

Yu Feng and Osler exchanged a glance, both of their expressions looking very grim.

"It's people from another academy."

Yu Feng gritted his teeth, his voice filled with unwillingness.

"They suddenly showed up today, saying they wanted to 'exchange pointers'."

"Teacher Qin Ming couldn't refuse, so he accepted."

"And then?"

"And then..."

Yu Feng lowered his head: "I lost."

Osler added with a blank expression: "I lost too."

Ye Qing's eyebrows arched.

Yu Feng and Osler were Soul Elders, after all, and could be considered skilled fighters at their level.

For both of them to be defeated in succession, their opponents certainly had some real talent.

"The captain should have gone up originally."

Shi Mo spoke in a muffled voice: "But the captain hasn't been back since that day."

"And you weren't here either," Shi Mo added.

"So Teacher Qin Ming asked Sister Yanzi to step out."

Yu Feng pointed toward the center of the training grounds: "She's about to go on now."

Ye Qing's gaze shifted to the center of the training grounds.

The two of them stepped out from opposite sides.

One was Dugu Yan.

She was wearing the Imperial Fighting Team uniform today, her emerald-green hair fluttering gently in the breeze.

On the other side was a red-haired girl.

Her fiery red hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall, and her flame-colored dress snapped loudly in the wind.

Her figure was tall and curvaceous, with lines that would make ninety percent of women question their own existence.

A calm, composed smile hung upon her exquisite and beautiful face.

"Who is that girl?" Ye Qing asked, puzzled.

In the original work, the number of powerful young talents during this period could be counted on one's fingers.

Ning Rongrong replied, "She is from the Blazing Fire Academy team, her name is Huo Wu."