Teasing

Zhao Linchuan walked over to Xiao Wu, crouched down, and reached out a hand toward her, his tone laced with a hint of mockery. "How about it, my little maid? No need to be afraid now, right? That person just now was on our side."

Xiao Wu looked up, still shaken, and timidly placed her cold little hand into Zhao Linchuan's warm palm, using his strength to pull herself up.

She looked at Zhao Linchuan, her large eyes filled with shock and fear. "You... you knew my identity all along, didn't you?"

"That's right." Zhao Linchuan admitted it frankly, brushing the dust off her clothes before switching to a slightly more serious tone. "Not only do I know, but I also know that Nuoding City is going to be very unstable lately."

"For certain reasons, there might be several, perhaps even a dozen, Title Douluo-level powerhouses gathering here."

He paused deliberately, watching as Xiao Wu's face turned deathly pale. "If you want to run now, I won't stop you."

"However, the outside world is a mixed bag right now, crawling with spies and experts. If a stray transformed spirit beast like you runs out there... tsk tsk, I wouldn't be able to help you with the consequences."

"A... a dozen Title Douluo?!" Xiao Wu was so terrified she nearly collapsed again, her face bloodless and her lips trembling.

To her, this number was nothing short of a catastrophe!

She had originally been thinking of finding a chance to slip back to the Star Dou Great Forest, but now... going out there would be walking straight into a trap!

She looked up at Zhao Linchuan's calm face, a battle raging within her heart.

Stay here?

This mysterious youth seemed truly capable of shielding her; even that terrifying woman from earlier had been so respectful to him... but was it really safe to stay?

Would he not...

After hesitating for a moment, her fear of the Title Douluo ultimately outweighed everything else.

She bit her lip and asked cautiously, "Then... if I become your maid, can... can you protect me?"

"Without letting others discover me, and without letting others hurt me?"

"Of course."

Zhao Linchuan gripped her hand, pulling her slightly closer with a gentle tug, a reassuring smile on his face.

"Since I agreed to take you as my maid, you are mine."

"Follow me, be a good little follower, and I guarantee that no one will be able to harm a single hair on your head."

His tone was firm, his eyes calm and confident, giving off an intangible sense of reliability.

Xiao Wu looked at him, and the panic in her heart miraculously began to recede.

She nodded gently and whispered, "Mm... I, I believe you. I will be a good maid..."

"That's more like it." Zhao Linchuan ruffled her hair, his smile widening. "Come, let me show you your new room, and I'll get you some carrots to help you calm down."

Xiao Wu followed closely behind him, her small hand held in his, her heart in a state of utter chaos...

Outside Dorm Seven, Zhao Linchuan pushed the door open and cast his gaze toward Tang San's empty bed.

The quilt was folded neatly, exactly as it had been when he left.

It's already been seven days... How have Tang San and Yu Xiaogang still not returned?

They were just two Goblins, surely they couldn't have... A rather ominous thought emerged. ...Could they have really capsized in the gutter and died in the Hunting Soul Forest?

But he immediately shook his head, silently dismissing the idea. Unlikely. Tang San is, after all, the Child of Destiny personally "arranged" by the Asura God. It's impossible, and he wouldn't let him die so prematurely.

If he died so easily, where would I find such a suitable long-term "experience pack" and "plot trigger"?

Still... I can't be entirely at ease. Zhao Linchuan tapped his fingertips against the bed frame. To be safe, I should go check the Hunting Soul Forest later.

It won't do to have the leeks eaten by bugs before they've even grown.

Almost at the same moment Zhao Linchuan was thinking of him, deep within the Hunting Soul Forest, inside a hidden, damp cave.

"Hah... hah..."

Heavy, stifled gasps echoed in the darkness.

Tang San's face was covered in dried blood and grime, his hair matted against his forehead, his eyes bloodshot and filled with lingering, haunting terror.

He used his shoulder to support the unconscious and weak-breathing Yu Xiaogang, his legs trembling as he moved forward in a strange, bow-legged gait, stumbling and nearly falling several times.

A mere seven days, yet it felt as though he had cycled through hell several times over.

Those two green humanoid creatures that had suddenly appeared were the most bizarre, difficult, and... utterly disgusting nightmares he had encountered in his two lifetimes!

Had he not been someone who had already died once, with a will far tougher than his peers, and had he not seized a single moment when the creatures seemed to slack off while toying with them to kill them with his Silent Sleeve Arrow and Mysterious Jade Hand, he likely would have been played to death in this godforsaken place.

Even so, he had paid a heavy price; his internal soul power was in chaos, he had multiple external injuries, and more importantly, a thick shadow had been cast over his mind.

He supported Yu Xiaogang, glanced back at the deep, predatory mouth of the cave, shivered, and quickened his pace, stumbling into the dappled shadows of the trees outside, desperate only to leave this nightmarish forest as soon as possible.

In the afternoon, at the mansion in the west of the city.

As soon as the returning Zhao Linchuan stepped through the main gate, Yan Fei blocked his path, carrying an air of suppressed anger.

Dang Mingyan's eyes burned with raging fury as he glared at Yue Shen, who stood to the side.

"Young Master!" Yan Fei's voice trembled with indignation. She first bowed to Zhao Linchuan, then pointed a shaking finger at Yue Shen. "Yue Shen... she has gone too far!"

"A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated! I implore the Young Master to uphold justice for me!"

Zhao Linchuan was taken aback and turned to look at Yue Shen beside him.

Yue Shen, however, appeared calm and indifferent. Her hands were folded elegantly in front of her, and a faint, elusive smile played on her lips, as if Yan Fei's accusations had nothing to do with her.

"What is going on?" Zhao Linchuan's gaze swept back and forth between the two, finally landing on Yue Shen's face. "Yue Shen, what did you do to her?"

Only then did Yue Shen bow slightly, her tone calm and ripple-free, even carrying a hint of innocence. "Reporting to the Young Master, this matter truly has nothing to do with this subordinate."

"It is just that when Sister Yan Fei woke up this morning, she discovered that she... well, appeared somewhat unseemly, as her bedding was soaked."

"Perhaps it was a slight mishap in her cultivation, or caused by a nightmare. Yet, Sister Yan Fei insists that I played some trick on her while she was meditating. I am truly wronged."

"She... wet the bed?"

Zhao Linchuan's expression turned extremely bizarre in an instant. He shifted his gaze to Yan Fei, whose face was red enough to drip blood, and struggled to maintain a serious tone.

"Yan Fei, how... how old are you? With your level of cultivation and control, how could you possibly..."

"Young Master!" Yan Fei stomped her feet in desperation, her eyes rimmed with red—a sign of extreme shame and anger. "That is absolutely not it! How could I possibly... It must be that Yue Shen used some underhanded method!"

"I will not accept such slander, even if it costs me my life! I implore the Young Master to investigate clearly!"

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