Yue Shen glanced at her in the mirror, picked up a simple white jade hairpin, and used it to secure her bun. After removing the jade comb from her mouth, she ordered in a hoarse voice:
"Xiao Wu, I'm feeling a little... unwell today. Go out with Linchuan and take in the sights of Suotuo City."
Unwell? Xiao Wu grew even more puzzled.
With Yue Shen's unfathomably profound cultivation, she should have long since become immune to both heat and cold, free of all illness. How could she be feeling unwell?
And... what had she just called the young master?
Linchuan?
She wasn't calling him "young master" anymore?
That change to such an intimate form of address made Xiao Wu keenly sense that something was out of the ordinary.
Though her mind was full of questions, Xiao Wu still lowered her head respectfully and replied, "Yes, Lord Yue Shen."
"Go on. I've already spoken with Linchuan." Yue Shen studied her reflection in the mirror, examining her cheeks, which were far too flushed, and her slightly swollen lips. The corners of her mouth unconsciously curved in a smug smile.
She paused, as if remembering something, then added, "Remember, Linchuan... might be tired from yesterday, too. Keep an eye on him."
"If he feels unwell anywhere, remember to... take good care of him."
Xiao Wu was even more bewildered.
The young master was feeling unwell?
What a joke!
In her mind, Zhao Linchuan was sturdier and stronger than those thick-skinned Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest!
He could get tired? Feel unwell?
But under Yue Shen's seemingly calm gaze, which carried an invisible pressure, Xiao Wu ultimately swallowed her questions and gave another vague reply. "Yes, Lord Yue Shen."
Only after watching Xiao Wu leave the room with a head full of questions did Yue Shen rise gracefully to her feet.
Yet as soon as she straightened, a sharp, burning ache flared between her legs. She sucked in a breath, the corners of her mouth twitching involuntarily.
Hiss... Damn that little man! Bracing herself against the vanity, she waited for the pain to ease, cursing him in her heart with a mixture of sweetness and exasperation. I really... underestimated you before!
She closed her eyes and focused, letting her Soul Power flow to ease the discomfort.
A moment later, with a single thought, transparent ripples silently spread through the space before her.
She stepped into them, and vanished from the room in an instant.
In the next moment, the space in Yan Fei's room rippled, and Yue Shen's figure quietly appeared.
Yan Fei was sitting by the window, carefully studying a pill formula Zhao Linchuan had given her. At the disturbance, she looked up and saw Yue Shen appear out of nowhere. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Especially when her gaze swept over Yue Shen's radiant face, her spring-bright eyes, and even her slightly unusual gait, an inexplicable discomfort rose in her heart.
Yue Shen acted as if she hadn't noticed Yan Fei's furrowed brow. She walked gracefully to a spot not far from her and stood, her hands resting loosely together before her abdomen.
"Heh."
She gave a soft laugh and lifted her chin slightly, the smile curling at her lips that of a victor. In her now-hoarse voice, she drawled,
"Yan Fei, you've been the 'older sister' for so long... Isn't it my turn today to have you call me 'older sister'?"
She paused, her smile growing brighter. "Come on, call me 'older sister.' Let me hear it."
Yan Fei: "...???"
Her fingers tightened slightly around the pill formula.
The air in the room seemed to freeze in that instant.
Outside Suotuo City, the country lane was fresh with clean air, wildflowers dotting the green grass.
Zhao Linchuan held Xiao Wu's hand as they strolled at an unhurried pace, enjoying the scenery of the fields.
Xiao Wu still seemed caught up in her confusion from that morning, and was somewhat distracted.
After walking for about half an incense stick, Xiao Wu suddenly blinked her big eyes, sensing something amiss.
She turned her head slightly and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Young master, it seems... someone's following us."
Zhao Linchuan's expression didn't change. He kept his gaze on the winding path ahead and replied casually, "It's fine. Let her follow."
He had noticed that sneaky presence long ago, though she thought she'd hidden herself well.
A sweep of his mental power let him "see" the nervous, twitchy girl peeking out from behind a weathered boulder a hundred meters away.
"Phew... They haven't noticed me, have they?" Behind the boulder, Ning Rongrong patted her ample chest, her little face alight with the excitement of a thief and a hint of apprehension.
She cautiously poked half her head out again. Seeing the man and woman ahead still walking at an unhurried pace, apparently unaware of anything, she finally relaxed and muttered to herself:
"Thank goodness. This young lady's stealth is second to none. They could never have spotted me!"
After psyching herself up, she crept after them again, convinced she'd left no trace.
Her clumsy yet adorable stalking, along with her self-congratulatory muttering, was heard in its entirety by another observer farther behind, hidden in the shadow of a large tree.
And so, Zhao Linchuan and Xiao Wu leisurely "strolled" in front, Ning Rongrong "tailed" them with self-assured cunning, and Zhu Zhuqing watched coldly from the rear—a strange little tableau.
After a long trek, a shabby-looking little village came into view.
Quite a crowd had gathered at the village entrance, mostly parents with children in their early teens. They were lined up in a somewhat crooked queue. At the end stood a battered wooden table, with an old man seated behind it.
A crooked wooden sign hung above the table, with five barely legible words carved into it: Shrek Academy.
"Xiao Wu, this is the Shrek Academy I just mentioned..." Zhao Linchuan led her to the end of the queue without drawing attention to them.
Before long, complaints came from farther up the line.
A neatly dressed woman muttered discontentedly to her husband,
"Are you kidding me? This is the so-called Soul Master Academy? The one supposedly known for graduating students who become imperial barons?"
The middle-aged man beside her sounded uncertain, too. "That's what the people from Spirit Hall said. They ought to know. But this..."
"..."
Hearing this, Zhao Linchuan merely smiled faintly.
Xiao Wu couldn't help covering her mouth with a smile. She leaned toward the couple and explained in a clear voice,
"Uncle, Auntie, the laws of the Heaven Dou Empire do stipulate that a Soul Master's noble rank is tied to their Soul Power Level."
"Generally speaking, reaching level forty—that is, the Soul Ancestor level—is enough to automatically earn the title of baron."
"And as far as I know, the basic graduation requirement of this Soul Master Academy is about the same level."
"So... by the rules, this academy isn't exactly lying."
Before you continue