Ji Ye turned and headed out.
After a few steps, Demon Subduing Douluo called out behind him.
"Kid, be careful."
Ji Ye didn't look back. He waved a hand.
"Got it."
He walked out the doors of the Worship Hall and narrowed his eyes.
Shrek Academy.
Tang San.
Zhu Zhuqing.
Ning Rongrong.
Xiao Wu.
Dai Mubai.
Ma Hongjun.
Oscar.
He would finally get to meet the main cast.
He was actually looking forward to it.
Two days later.
Suotuo City.
A luxurious carriage came to a slow stop.
Ji Ye lifted the curtain and jumped down.
He still wasn't wearing a mask this time.
He'd also changed out of his dark blue Spirit Hall student uniform and into ordinary gray clothes, much like what he'd worn on the day he escaped.
But the same clothes could have completely different effects on different people.
On him, the plain clothes lent him a cool, distant air. The sash at his waist was tied casually, which only made his waist look more trim.
His hair was loose over his shoulders, and the breeze stirred the strands.
The moment Ji Ye's feet touched the ground,
several young women by the roadside stopped in their tracks.
Even a few passing carriages nearby came to a halt.
"My lord..." A young noblewoman in a silk dress leaned out of a carriage, a handkerchief pinched between her fingers.
"Is this your first time in Suotuo City? Would you like me to show you around?"
Ji Ye glanced at her and bowed slightly, a perfectly measured smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Thank you for your kindness, miss, but I know my way around."
The young noblewoman's face flushed scarlet, and she twisted the handkerchief in her hands into a rope.
Another young woman beside her refused to be outdone. She stepped straight down from her carriage, holding a cup of tea.
"You must be tired from your journey, my lord. Have a cup of tea to soothe your throat."
Ji Ye shook his head.
"Sorry for the trouble, miss, but there's no need."
Yet another young woman squeezed her way over, holding a folding fan.
"Oh, my lord, look how hot it is! Let me fan you—"
"Thank you, but there's no need."
"Where are you from, my lord? What brings you to Suotuo City?"
"Where did you have your clothes made, my lord? The fabric's ordinary, but it looks wonderful on you—"
"My lord, my lord, where are you staying tonight? My family runs an inn just up ahead. It's quiet and charming. Why don't we—"
Ji Ye turned them all down, polite in tone and warm in his smile, with not a single flaw to pick at.
But it was precisely his modest, courteous manner that made those young noblewomen even more smitten.
Handsome and polite, too—he was enough to kill a girl.
But Ji Ye wasn't about to give them the chance.
He quickened his pace and sighed inwardly.
Alas.
Being handsome is a sin, too!
After escaping the crowd,
Ji Ye continued along the main street.
The southern part of Suotuo City was much livelier than the north. Stalls lined the roadside, selling food, cloth, and all sorts of odds and ends. Hawkers called out one after another.
He hadn't gone far when a sweet fragrance suddenly reached him.
He turned to see a candied hawthorn stall by the roadside.
The old vendor was holding up a straw rack and calling out loudly.
"Candied hawthorns! Big and sweet! Two Copper Soul Coins a skewer!"
A young woman stood beside the candied hawthorns.
She wore a blue-green dress and had pale gray hair. She looked about twelve.
She held a skewer of candied hawthorns in one hand and was taking big bites.
In the other, she carried a little paper bag filled with freshly roasted chestnuts, steam rising from it.
Ji Ye paused.
Ning Rongrong?
The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
In the original story, Flender had punished her and Oscar by making them run laps. She hadn't even finished two before sneaking off to Suotuo City to eat and have fun.
Looks like it was today.
Ji Ye looked at her for two seconds, then turned his eyes away and kept walking.
Ning Rongrong took a bite of her candied hawthorn and was about to take another when she caught sight of someone out of the corner of her eye.
Gray clothes, black hair loose over his shoulders, a slender, upright figure.
She instinctively looked up.
Ji Ye was passing right in front of her. In the sunlight, his profile was sharply defined, his eyelashes long, his nose straight, and his jawline smooth.
Ning Rongrong froze on the spot.
She'd seen plenty of handsome boys.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was full of good-looking disciples, and the so-called "young talents" her father introduced to her were all decent-looking, too.
But she'd never met anyone who made her lose her head.
Ji Ye ignored her completely. He didn't slow down as he walked past.
By the time Ning Rongrong came to her senses, the gray-clad figure had already gone several steps ahead.
That irritated her.
He hadn't even looked at her.
She was the one who ignored others. No one ignored her.
"You, stop!"
Ji Ye didn't stop.
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened.
Hadn't he heard her?
Impossible. She'd shouted so loudly.
"Stop! I'm talking to you!"
Ji Ye took another two steps.
Ning Rongrong tossed the candied hawthorn aside, gathered up her skirt, and chased after him. With a quick stride, she blocked his path.
"I told you to stop! Didn't you hear me?"
Ji Ye halted and looked down at her.
His gaze was cool, but still polite.
"Miss, may I ask what you need?"
Ning Rongrong opened her mouth, then suddenly realized she had no idea what to say.
She'd told him to stop. Now what?
"I... I called out to you just now. Why didn't you stop?"
Ji Ye replied coolly, "There are so many people here. How was I supposed to know which one of them you were calling?"
Ning Rongrong was taken aback and looked around.
The street was indeed crowded, full of people selling vegetables, buying cloth, carrying goods, and taking a stroll. There must have been dozens of them.
Maybe... he really hadn't heard her?
She felt a little awkward, but quickly puffed out her modest chest again.
"Well, you heard me now."
Ji Ye looked at her but said nothing.
His gaze made Ning Rongrong feel a little uneasy, but she refused to back down.
"Where are you going?"
Ji Ye's brows lifted slightly.
"What does that have to do with you, miss?"
Ning Rongrong was left speechless.
Ahhh!
No one had ever spoken to her like that before.
She was about to lose her temper when Ji Ye spoke again.
"I'm going to Shrek Academy."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.
Shrek Academy?
He was going to Shrek Academy, too?
Wouldn't that mean they'd see each other often from now on?
She tried to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting, putting on the air of a senior student.
"What a coincidence. I'm a student at Shrek Academy. I can show you the way."
Ji Ye glanced at her and nodded.
"Then I'll trouble you."
Ning Rongrong turned and headed down the road, her steps noticeably lighter. Her blue-green dress swayed as she walked.
After a few steps, she glanced back at him, only to find Ji Ye looking elsewhere. She hurriedly turned her head forward again.
"Keep up."
Ji Ye didn't respond. He followed behind her, his gaze not on her.
He was sensing his surroundings.
His spiritual power spread in every direction like ripples on water, covering a radius of several hundred zhang.
Nothing?
There was no trace of Flender's Martial Soul aura.
He knew that feeling of being watched far too well.
PS: Since everyone questioned the battle between Tang Hao and Mighty Lion Douluo, the author has changed it so that both sides were badly wounded. The earlier version was purely the result of being misled by a scene in the animated Elite Spirit Master Tournament.
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