After leaving Yu Xiaogang's office, Wang Dong'er went to the office of Director Su at the academy to complete her graduation procedures.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the teachers, she left the teaching building.
As she headed toward the academy's gates along the path, more than a dozen junior students blocked her way.
She recognized most of them. They were all regular students at Notting Academy, and their families were fairly well-off. One of them was even the youngest daughter of Notting City's lord.
"Senior Wang Dong'er, congratulations on graduating! The academy's closing for vacation this afternoon. Could I invite you to go shopping with me?"
"Senior Wang Dong'er, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time..."
"Senior Wang Dong'er, can we walk home together after school?"
Surrounded by the girls and unable to move forward or back, Wang Dong'er broke out in beads of sweat and was at a complete loss.
She truly regretted it. If only she'd known, she wouldn't have disguised herself as a boy. How had she managed to rack up so many romantic entanglements, all coming to collect during graduation season?
"Junior students, I appreciate your feelings, but these are the best years of our lives. We should work hard to cultivate and strive to become excellent Soul Masters, to build our home, the Douluo Continent, rather than limit our thoughts to love and romance, wine and moonlight..."
Wang Dong'er said earnestly.
The peace of the Douluo Continent depended on little blossoms like them in the Soul Master World. How could they waste their precious time on things like this?
"Senior is absolutely right, but... there are some things that, if you don't say them now, you may never get another chance."
Liu Ruyan, the daughter of Notting City's lord, smiled faintly. She was stunningly beautiful, with a perfect figure, and was one of the most famous people at Notting Academy.
Wang Dong'er felt a shiver run down her spine under her ardent gaze...
"Senior Wang Dong'er, even a Soul Master with the greatest talent needs cultivation resources to go far. There's no need to explain my family's means. If you're willing, I can be the woman behind you!"
Wang Dong'er gave Liu Ruyan an awkward but polite smile.
At that moment, she had the urge to kidnap Liu Ruyan and demand a ransom from Notting City's lord.
Did Wang Dong'er look like someone who lived off a woman?
The Douluo Continent might as well hurry up and end. Why were all these barely grown kids so precocious?
"Senior Wang Dong'er, I can support you too!"
"I can too! My father's no slouch either. He works for Spirit Hall!"
After a tremendous struggle, Wang Dong'er finally escaped the girls' encirclement.
She didn't want to stay at Notting Academy a moment longer. She didn't even pack her belongings before climbing into a carriage and leaving Notting City.
The moon hung like a silver plate, and stars filled the sky.
The gentle spring breeze silently nourished the entire Star Dou Great Forest.
Wang Dong'er had changed into women's clothes and was sitting beside a small river.
The carriage driver from Notting City could take her no farther than here. To reach Heaven Dou City, she'd have to set out again early the next morning.
She took off her shoes. In the moonlight, the fine blue veins on her pale jade feet showed clearly, and beads of sweat glistened on her skin.
Splash!
Seeing no one around, Wang Dong'er dipped her feet into the river.
The chilly water prickled the nerves in her feet, and her soles instantly flushed pink.
Just as she began to relax, a powerful suction tugged at her big toe.
Wang Dong'er's beautiful eyes widened. Instinctively, she yanked her legs back with all her might.
Splatter!
Water fell like raindrops. Coming up with her jade feet was a beautiful young woman...
The girl wore a white dress and had a lovely figure. Her long golden hair was soaked through and plastered to her face.
Her features were pure and beautiful, her skin deathly pale and her lips bloodless. Her breathing was faint, and she was on the brink of death. Yet her mouth remained clamped tightly around Wang Dong'er's toe.
Like a little fish that had bitten down on bait...
Even Wang Dong'er, who had seen plenty of extraordinary things, froze on the spot. Quick-witted as she was, she soon thought of one possibility.
"What's going on!?"
"Did I... just use my athlete's foot to kill an innocent young female Soul Master!?"
"What a sin!"
"But this makes no sense. Why weren't the fish in the river affected?"
Once Wang Dong'er was sure the girl's "death" had nothing to do with her, she calmed down.
She pulled her jade foot from the girl's mouth, then bent down and knelt beside her to administer first aid.
She pressed down hard on the girl's chest, again and again.
Pfft!
After spitting out a mouthful of river water, the girl was finally out of danger.
Wang Dong'er looked the girl over. Her body was covered in countless long, thin wounds.
Fortunately, none of the injuries had struck a vital point. Otherwise, even a god couldn't have saved her.
Wang Dong'er took some healing herbs from her Storage Soul Tool, ground them up with a tool, then gently applied them to the girl's wounds.
When she was done, Wang Dong'er sat off to the side and started roasting fish.
The girl slowly regained consciousness. When she spotted Wang Dong'er nearby, she warily took up a fighting stance.
The movement pulled at her wounds, making her suck in a sharp breath. Her delicate features scrunched up in pain.
"Don't move. If you reopen your wounds, I won't save you a second time."
Wang Dong'er glanced at the girl.
At her words, the girl looked down to examine herself. Seeing the herbs covering her wounds, she finally let down her guard.
Fragments of hazy memories surfaced in her mind.
She remembered.
Her name was Qian Renxue. While hunting for her fifth Soul Ring, she'd been ambushed by a seventy-thousand-year-old Death Spider Emperor. With Pufferfish Douluo covering her, she'd fled with grave injuries. After running out of Soul Power, she'd lost her footing and fallen into the river...
"Th-thank you."
Qian Renxue was cold by nature. Even though Wang Dong'er had saved her life, her voice held not a trace of emotion. She sounded like a machine.
"I'll remember this kindness. If there's anything you need, just ask."
"Saving you was no trouble. If you really want to repay me, then... give me some Gold Soul Coins."
"Uh..." Qian Renxue froze for a moment.
Wang Dong'er's bearing and looks were so flawless that Qian Renxue had assumed she was the young lady of some major clan, someone who wouldn't care for something as vulgar as money. She hadn't expected... appearances could be deceiving.
"How much do you want?"
Wang Dong'er propped her chin on her right hand and thought for a moment.
"Would a thousand Gold Soul Coins be okay? If that's too much, five hundred would do..."
Without the slightest hesitation, Qian Renxue took a Gold Soul Coin card from her Soul Tool and tossed it to Wang Dong'er.
"There are about two thousand Gold Soul Coins on this card. You can keep the extra as payment for your grilled fish."
Wang Dong'er caught it with one hand. Gold Soul Coin cards on the Douluo Continent worked much like the bank cards from her previous life.
The Gold Soul Coin card Qian Renxue had given her was purple-gold. At a bank, auction house, or Soul Fighting Arena, it could be exchanged for up to three thousand Gold Soul Coins.
This was an unexpected windfall. She could finally afford to buy Whale Rubber.