Shui Bing'er, Three Days From Adulthood!

"Sister Bing'er," Ning Xiaochun suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of languor and contentment. "Time flies so fast... In three days, won't you be turning eighteen?"

Shui Bing'er's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and a faint, rosy flush instantly bloomed across her fair cheeks. She did not answer, merely letting out a soft "mm," her voice as thin as a mosquito's hum.

Sensing the subtle change in her body, a cunning smile tugged at the corners of Ning Xiaochun's mouth.

He opened his eyes, tilted his head slightly to look at Shui Bing'er's beautiful, flushed face, and deliberately drew out his words: "That means... according to the agreement from back then, someone is soon going to..."

"Shut up!" Shui Bing'er interrupted him in shy annoyance, reaching out to pinch his shoulder lightly, though the force was no more than a tickle. "You're not allowed to say it!"

Ning Xiaochun chuckled, unbothered, and closed his eyes once more to enjoy this rare moment of peace and warmth.

Six years was enough to change many things.

The blue-haired girl who had been forced to come to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect due to a marriage contract, full of resistance and coldness, had now completely integrated into life here.

She and Ning Xiaochun spent their days together, researching Soul Guidance Devices, cultivating, and enduring countless trials and adventures, both large and small.

That frozen maiden's heart had long since been quietly melted by this boy who seemed unreliable but was, in truth, more dependable than anyone else.

Between them, there was no longer any need for superfluous words. A single glance or gesture was enough to understand each other's intentions.

Although Shui Bing'er insisted on waiting until she was officially an adult and formally married to Ning Xiaochun before fully confirming their relationship, the thin layer of window paper between them had long since become a mere formality.

Ning Xiaochun was in no rush. He had waited six years; what were three more days?

He was just savoring this rare, tender moment when a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, shattering the tranquility.

"Young Sect Master! Young Sect Master!" A middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a research institute manager ran in, panting, holding a thick ledger in his hands.

Ning Xiaochun frowned almost imperceptibly. He slowly sat up from Shui Bing'er's lap, straightened his robes, and the lazy expression on his face vanished in an instant.

It was replaced by a serious look that said, I am busy, I am grave, and I am handling important official business. He cleared his throat and asked in a deep voice, "What is the cause for such alarm?"

The manager bowed hurriedly and reported respectfully, "Reporting to the Young Sect Master, this is the summary of the research institute's production and development progress for the past month. Please, take a look."

Ning Xiaochun took the ledger, flipped it open, and scanned the contents. Shui Bing'er also leaned in slightly to look at the figures.

The ledger was densely packed with the production numbers and models of various Soul Guidance Devices:

"Level 4 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs": 180 units; Level 5 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs: 150 units; Level 6... 30 units; Level 7... 5 units; Level 8, Level 9... None yet.

"Level 6 Soul Power Baby Bottle": 20 units; various quantities of Level 5 and below.

"Red Dust Protection" defensive Soul Guidance Device: Can withstand ten attacks below the Soul Douluo level...

"Sun-Moon Divine Needle" long-range attack Soul Guidance Device: Effective range of 3,000 meters, capable of piercing defenses up to the Soul Douluo level...

Looking at the data in the ledger, a look of satisfaction appeared on Ning Xiaochun's face.

In six years, growing from a lone commander to a scale that now possessed hundreds of skilled craftsmen and soul masters capable of batch-producing mid-to-high-level Soul Guidance Devices—this speed had far exceeded his initial expectations.

Although limited by the materials and craftsmanship of this era, as well as the lack of a theoretical system for Soul Guidance, he could not fully replicate the top-tier devices from ten thousand years later, but the current results were enough to make him proud.

A Level 7 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonball was equivalent to the full-strength strike of a peak eight-ring Soul Douluo! Although the cost was high and the manufacturing cycle long, it was more than sufficient as a strategic deterrent weapon.

"Not bad." Ning Xiaochun closed the ledger and nodded.

"Tell everyone to keep up the hard work. Especially the manufacturing process for the Level 7 cannonballs; continue to optimize it, strive to reduce costs, and increase production. Additionally, the preliminary research for the Level 8 cannonballs should also be put on the agenda."

"Yes! Young Sect Master!" The manager replied respectfully, then hesitated before adding, "Young Sect Master, there is one more thing..."

"Speak."

"It is regarding... the Young Miss." The manager's expression was somewhat subtle. "We just received news from the sect. The Young Miss... left a letter and ran away from home."

The composure on Ning Xiaochun's face vanished instantly, and he stood up abruptly: "What?! Rongrong ran away from home?!"

The manager quickly handed over a letter: "This is the letter the Young Miss left behind. She said... she is going to a place called 'Shrek Academy'."

Ning Xiaochun took the letter and scanned it quickly, his expression becoming quite colorful.

Shrek Academy?

Ning Xiaochun held Ning Rongrong's "runaway letter," his expression a mix of emotions.

The handwriting on the letter was crooked and contained several smudged ink blots, clearly written in a great hurry, but the content was concise.

"Brother, Dad, I'm leaving. Home is too boring. You're busy every day tinkering with your scrap metal, and Dad is busy with sect affairs; no one plays with me. I heard there's a place called Shrek Academy that's quite fun, 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 angry and amused. He rubbed his temples and turned to the sect manager who had brought the news: "When did she leave? Is anyone following her?"

"Replying to the Young Sect Master, the Young Miss slipped out before dawn this morning. By the time we discovered it, she was already far away. We have already dispatched secret guards to follow and protect her, but we have not yet received any precise location information." The manager answered cautiously.

Ning Xiaochun nodded, though he wasn't overly worried. Ning Rongrong was mischievous, but she wasn't someone who lacked a sense of proportion, and with the secret guards following, her safety should be assured.

He was merely struck by the irony; he hadn't expected that, after all this, Rongrong would still end up on the path of the original work, joining that Shrek Academy.

"Shrek Academy..." Ning Xiaochun murmured the name, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

As for the so-called "Shrek Seven Devils" from the original work, he actually didn't have any fondness for them.

That group of people—to put it nicely, they were the protagonist's team; to put it bluntly, they were a bunch of hypocrites.

They operated under the banner of justice while engaging in double standards, being tolerant and magnanimous to their own while being harsh and ruthless to outsiders. Especially that Tang San; on the surface, he valued loyalty and righteousness, but in reality, he was more calculating than a sieve.

He certainly didn't want his precious little sister to get mixed up with that crowd. What if she learned their bad habits?

"I must find a way to pull Rongrong back," Ning Xiaochun calculated secretly in his heart, "but not right now..."

He raised his head and turned his gaze toward the window. Outside, the sunlight was perfect, the breeze was gentle, and the distant mountains traced elegant silhouettes against the blue sky and white clouds.

Three more days.

Three days from now would be the day he and Shui Bing'er were officially wed.

He had waited six years for this marriage. From the moment he first saw that cold, frost-like blue-haired girl when he was six, he knew that she was the one he wanted.

Six years of being together day and night, six years of mutual understanding and companionship—the feelings between them had long since surpassed that cold, initial marriage contract.

He had promised her that he would give her a formal status on the day she came of age.

Therefore, the matter of Rongrong could be put aside for now. The most urgent priority was to marry his wife first!