"Who's following us?"
As soon as the carriage curtains fell, Xiao Wu moved beside Su Hang, her hand already reaching for the talisman at her waist.
Outside, the wheels rolled over the stone road. The Seven Treasures Pattern on the curtains blocked out the commotion at the academy gates.
Su Hang spread out an old map and tapped the route from Notting City to Suotuo City.
"Stick on the Breath Concealment Talisman. Don't probe outside."
Xiao Wu immediately tucked the talisman inside her collar, then pulled the curtains shut tight.
"Is it Tang Hao?"
Su Hang didn't look up. He only folded one corner of the map.
"There are plenty of people who could make you run around. There are very few who'd make me take a second look."
Xiao Wu understood and edged closer.
"Then I won't leave the carriage."
Across from them, Ning Rongrong hugged her little bag, looking unable to sit still.
"Can you two stop speaking in riddles? This young lady is in the carriage too, you know."
Xiao Wu immediately shot back, "Knowing too much might make you run around."
Ning Rongrong set the Seven Treasures Token on her lap.
"This young lady has already run away from home once. I've got plenty of experience."
Su Hang pushed the map toward her.
"Enough experience that Sect Master Ning sent people after you all the way to Notting?"
Ning Rongrong was stumped for a moment. She took the map and changed the subject.
"So who else is in Shrek?"
Xiao Wu looked at him too.
"Brother Su Hang, you wrote down so many names last night: Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing."
Ning Rongrong immediately seized on the important part.
"Forget the sausage seller for now. Who's Zhu Zhuqing?"
Leaning against the carriage wall, Su Hang tapped his fingers on the table.
"She's from the Star Luo Zhu Family."
Ning Rongrong's interest was piqued.
"The Zhu Family? The one that's allied to the Star Luo Imperial Family through marriage?"
Su Hang nodded.
"She's betrothed to Dai Mubai."
At the mention of a betrothal, Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose, then quickly stifled the reaction.
"Where's Dai Mubai, then?"
Su Hang flipped the map over. It showed the post stations near Suotuo City.
"Suotuo City."
Ning Rongrong lifted her chin.
"Is he waiting for his fiancée in Suotuo City?"
Su Hang put away the map and gave her a flat reply.
"He's been having quite a time in Suotuo City."
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Xiao Wu spoke first.
"What does 'having quite a time' mean?"
Ning Rongrong had already caught on. Her expression darkened on the spot.
"A Star Luo prince with a betrothal, fooling around with other women? That's just shameless."
Su Hang didn't elaborate.
"Read the diary tonight. You'll see for yourself."
Ning Rongrong hugged her bag tighter.
"Fine, I'll read it tonight. I have to get the whole story on this spectacular fall from grace."
Xiao Wu poked her.
"Don't gloat. Zhu Zhuqing sounds like she's having a rough time."
Ning Rongrong didn't argue. She only slipped the Seven Treasures Token back into her waistband.
"I know. I'm cursing Dai Mubai."
The caravan headed west, and the Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce's Travel Permits proved effective.
Before dusk, the carriage stopped outside a post station. When the innkeeper saw the Seven Treasures Mark, he hurriedly cleared out the back courtyard.
Xiao Wu hopped down first and turned to block the carriage door.
"Brother Su Hang gets out first."
Ning Rongrong lifted the curtain from the other side.
"You keep expanding your defensive perimeter."
Xiao Wu replied matter-of-factly, "You have to be more careful when you're away from home."
Ning Rongrong got out with her bag and looked up at the courtyard.
"Where am I sleeping tonight?"
Xiao Wu immediately answered, "The room farthest from Brother Su Hang."
Ning Rongrong snorted.
"Fine. I'll be busy reading the diary tonight. I don't have time to fight you for him."
After dinner, the lights in the back courtyard were dimmed.
Ning Chuan and his people stood guard around the outer perimeter. The Seven Treasures Guard didn't approach the main house.
Su Hang sat by the window and opened the diary.
Xiao Wu sat beside him, holding a cup of hot tea, but she hadn't taken a sip.
"Brother Su Hang, who are you figuring out this time?"
Su Hang's pen paused.
"Someone I haven't met yet."
Xiao Wu set her cup on the table.
"Zhu Zhuqing?"
Su Hang didn't deny it.
"She was supposed to go to Shrek."
Xiao Wu propped her chin on her hand.
"Then go easy on her. Don't scare her away."
Su Hang glanced at her.
"I'm writing the truth."
Xiao Wu muttered softly, "The truth can hurt even more."
The pen touched the page, and ink quickly spread across it.
[We've left Notting. The Shrek storyline has officially begun.]
[Ning Rongrong is already asking about Zhu Zhuqing. That name really does deserve to be written down.]
[The betrothal between the Star Luo Zhu Family and the Dai Family sounds glorious, but in reality, it pushes two young people into a fight to the death.]
[Dai Mubai ran away. He fled to Suotuo City and joined Shrek.]
[I can understand him wanting to escape the pressure in Star Luo. But after getting away, he went chasing pleasure. That's a stain he can't wash off.]
[Zhu Zhuqing stayed with the Zhu Family, facing Zhu Zhuyun's oppression while also having to bear the pressure from Dai Weisi's side.]
[Her older sister wanted to win, and the prince wanted to secure his position. Caught between the betrothal and the rules of elimination, she could only train desperately.]
[One chased pleasure outside. The other was forced to grow up in her family.]
[If they're settling accounts over this betrothal, Dai Mubai owes her first.]
In the room next door, Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on her bed. The moment her diary copy lit up, she opened it.
When she saw the words "chasing pleasure," she slapped the table with a bang.
"Dai Mubai's shameless!"
The guard outside the door paused.
"Miss?"
Ning Rongrong pressed the diary against the table.
"It's nothing. I just saw a Star Luo prince fall from grace."
She kept reading, growing angrier with every line.
"Zhu Zhuqing's being hounded and pressured at home, while Dai Mubai's living it up in Suotuo City?"
Xiao Wu heard the noise through the wall and couldn't help opening her door to ask, "Why are you banging on the table?"
Ning Rongrong grabbed her copy and, keeping her temper in check, spoke through the door.
"I'm cursing Dai Mubai. Don't stop me."
Xiao Wu immediately straightened up.
"Then carry on."
In the main house, Su Hang's pen kept moving.
[Originally, Zhu Zhuqing would have gone all the way to Shrek and seen Dai Mubai's true colors with her own eyes.]
[She was cold and tough, swallowing every grievance she had.]
[But if she followed the same path again, she'd hand her dignity to someone who ran away first.]
[Dai Mubai can try to pull himself together.]
[But Zhu Zhuqing has no obligation to forgive him first.]
Heaven Dou East Palace.
After reading the diary copy, Qian Renxue wrote the names "Dai Mubai" and "Zhu Zhuqing" on a separate sheet of paper.
Snake Lance stood in the shadows, waiting for her orders.
Qian Renxue folded the paper.
"The infighting in the Star Luo Imperial Family is even worse than I thought."
Snake Lance lowered his voice.
"Does Your Highness intend to make a move against the Zhu Family?"
Qian Renxue slipped the paper into a hidden compartment.
"Investigate Zhu Zhuqing first, then find out what Dai Mubai has been doing in Suotuo City."
Spirit City, Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong finished reading the diary, her fingers stopping beside the lines about the Dai Family and the Zhu Family.
Chrysanthemum Douluo stood below her, his robes neatly arranged.
"Your Holiness the Pope, should we send people to Star Luo as well?"
Bibi Dong closed the diary copy.
"Send an agent to Suotuo City. Add another line of investigation on Shrek."
Chrysanthemum Douluo nodded.
"Investigate both Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing?"
Bibi Dong raised a hand.
"Focus on Dai Mubai."
Star Luo Empire, a side courtyard of the Zhu Family.
The night wind swept over the courtyard walls, and the room was dimly lit.
Zhu Zhuqing stood by the table, the diary copy spread open in front of her.
At first, she'd assumed it was another ploy by Zhu Zhuyun.
But the page described how Zhu Zhuyun forced her to train, how pressure came from Dai Weisi's side, and how the Zhu Family elders forced her to accept the rules of the betrothal.
Every sentence struck at the life she'd lived these past few years.
She didn't call for anyone, nor did she close the diary.
A long while later, she reached the final line.
[If she followed the same path again, she'd hand her dignity to someone who ran away first.]
The flame in the lamp flickered.
Zhu Zhuqing walked to the cabinet and took out a long, narrow wooden box.
Inside lay the token of the betrothal.
She picked it up, her fingertips pressing until they turned white.
"Dai Mubai, what gave you the right to run away first?"
Before you continue