"Bing'er," Ning Xiaochun suddenly said, his voice lazy and content. "Time really flies... In three days, you'll be eighteen, won't you?"
Shui Bing'er's body stiffened ever so slightly. A faint blush instantly bloomed across her fair cheeks. She didn't answer, only murmured a soft "Mm," so quiet it was barely audible.
Ning Xiaochun felt the subtle change in her and let a sly smile curl his lips.
He opened his eyes and tipped his head back a little, gazing at Shui Bing'er's stunning face, rosy with blush. Deliberately drawing out his words, he said, "So that means... according to the promise we made back then, someone's about to..."
"Shut up!" Shui Bing'er cut him off, flustered and embarrassed. She reached out and gave his shoulder a light pinch, though it was so gentle it felt like a tickle. "You're not allowed to say it!"
Ning Xiaochun chuckled, unbothered, then closed his eyes again to enjoy this rare moment of peace and warmth.
Six years was enough to change many things.
The blue-haired girl who had once been forced to come to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect because of a marriage contract, her heart full of resistance and coldness, had now completely settled into life here.
She and Ning Xiaochun had spent their days together, researching Soul Tools, cultivating, and facing countless trials and adventures, big and small.
The ice-sealed heart of that girl had long since melted, little by little, without her even realizing it, because of this boy who seemed unreliable but was more dependable than anyone.
They no longer needed words between them. A glance, a gesture, and they understood each other's feelings.
Though Shui Bing'er had always insisted on waiting until she was formally an adult and officially married Ning Xiaochun before fully committing to him, the thin sheet of paper between them had long since become little more than a formality.
Ning Xiaochun wasn't in a hurry, either. He'd waited six years already. What were three more days?
He was savoring this rare moment of tenderness when a sudden flurry of footsteps drew near, shattering the peace.
"Young Sect Master! Young Sect Master!" A middle-aged man in the uniform of a research institute manager came running in, panting, a thick ledger in his hands.
Ning Xiaochun's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He slowly sat up from Shui Bing'er's lap and straightened his collar, the lazy look on his face vanishing at once.
In its place was a solemn expression that said, "I'm very busy, very serious, and handling important affairs." He cleared his throat and asked gravely, "What's the commotion?"
The manager hurriedly bowed and respectfully reported, "Young Sect Master, this is last month's summary of the institute's Soul Tool production and research progress. Please have a look."
Ning Xiaochun took the ledger and casually flipped it open, scanning the pages. Shui Bing'er also shifted slightly to look at its contents.
The ledger was densely packed with records of Soul Tool output and models:
"Level 4 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs": 180 in total. "Level 5 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs": 150 in total. "Level 6..." 30 in total. "Level 7..." 5 in total. "Level 8 and Level 9..." none yet.
"Level 6 Soul Power Baby Bottles": 20 in total, with a number of Level 5 and lower.
"Red Dust Protection" Defensive Soul Tool: could withstand ten attacks below the Soul Douluo level...
"Sun-Moon Divine Needle" long-range attack Soul Tool: effective range of 3,000 meters, could pierce defenses at the Soul Douluo level...
Ning Xiaochun looked over the figures in the ledger, a satisfied expression on his face.
In six years, they had grown from a one-man operation into an enterprise with hundreds of skilled craftsmen and Soul Masters, capable of producing mid- and high-level Soul Tools in batches. That pace had far exceeded his original expectations.
Though the materials and craftsmanship of this era were limiting, and the theoretical foundation for Soul Tools was incomplete, preventing him from fully recreating the top-tier Soul Tools of ten thousand years later, the results so far were more than enough to make him proud.
A Level 7 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonball could unleash a full-force strike equivalent to that of an eight-ring peak Soul Douluo! It was expensive and took a long time to make, but it was more than sufficient as a strategic deterrent.
"Not bad." Ning Xiaochun closed the ledger and nodded.
"Tell everyone to keep up the good work. In particular, we need to keep optimizing the production process for Level 7 Soul Tool Cannonballs, so we can cut costs and increase output. Also, we should put preliminary research on Level 8 cannonballs on the agenda."
"Yes, Young Sect Master!" The manager answered respectfully. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he added, "Young Sect Master, there's one more thing..."
"Go on."
"It's about... the young lady." The manager's expression turned somewhat awkward. "We just received word from the sect. The young lady... left a letter and ran away from home."
The composure vanished from Ning Xiaochun's face. He shot to his feet. "What?! Rongrong ran away from home?!"
The manager hurriedly handed him a letter. "This is the letter the young lady left. She said she was going to a place called 'Shrek Academy.'"
Ning Xiaochun took the letter and quickly skimmed it. His expression turned wonderfully complicated.
Shrek Academy?
Holding Ning Rongrong's "runaway letter," Ning Xiaochun wore an expression that was hard to describe.
The handwriting was crooked, with several ink blots where she'd crossed things out. Clearly, she'd written it in a hurry, but the message was short and to the point.
"Brother, Dad, I'm leaving. It's so boring at home. You're always busy messing around with those stupid metal contraptions, and Dad's busy with sect affairs. Neither of you ever plays with me. I heard there's a fun place called Shrek Academy, so I'm going to check it out. Don't worry about me. I'll come back when I've had enough fun. —Rongrong"
After reading the letter, Ning Xiaochun was both exasperated and amused. He rubbed his brow and turned to the sect manager who had brought the news. "When did she leave? Is anyone following her?"
"Reporting to the Young Sect Master, the young lady slipped out before dawn this morning. By the time we noticed, she was already far away. We've sent shadow guards to follow and protect her, but we haven't received any definite information about her location yet," the manager replied cautiously.
Ning Xiaochun nodded, not too worried. Ning Rongrong could be mischievous, but she wasn't careless. And with shadow guards following her, she should be safe.
He was just a little taken aback. He hadn't expected that, after all the twists and turns, Rongrong would still follow the original story and join Shrek Academy.
"Shrek Academy..." Ning Xiaochun murmured, a complicated glint flashing in his eyes.
He didn't think much of the so-called Shrek Seven Monsters from the original story.
To put it nicely, they were the protagonist's group. To put it bluntly, they were a bunch of hypocrites with double standards.
They wore the banner of justice while acting hypocritically, generous and forgiving toward their own people but harsh and ruthless toward outsiders. And Tang San in particular appeared loyal and devoted, but in reality, his mind was full of more twists and turns than a sieve had holes.
He didn't want his precious little sister mixing with that crowd. What if she picked up their bad habits?
"I have to find a way to bring Rongrong back," Ning Xiaochun thought. "But not right now..."
He lifted his head and looked out the window. The sunlight was lovely, the breeze was gentle, and the distant mountains traced graceful outlines beneath the blue sky and white clouds.
Three days left.
Three days from now, he and Shui Bing'er would officially be married.
He'd waited six years for this marriage. From the first time he'd seen that cool, frostlike blue-haired girl at the age of six, he'd known he wanted her.
Six years spent side by side, six years of understanding and standing by each other—their feelings had long since surpassed the cold marriage contract that had brought them together.
He'd promised her that on the day she came of age, he'd give her the status she deserved.
So Rongrong's situation could wait. The priority was to get his wife!
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