The next morning, the three of them got up early and headed toward Nuoding City.
That afternoon, at the gates of Nuoding City.
"I'll see you two off here." Flender looked at the two little ones, his voice full of emotion.
"Principal, are you leaving already? Aren't you going to tell Grandmaster?" Du Hao asked.
"No. We'll meet again someday."
If he went to see Yu Xiaogang again, it would probably delay him for a long while, so he decided it was better not to.
There was still a whole school full of students waiting to be fed. He couldn't just abandon them.
They would definitely meet again someday.
Besides, Yu Xiaogang's disciple and these two Little Monsters were all going to Shrek Academy in the end. His old friend couldn't possibly go anywhere else, could he?
After exchanging a few words with Du Hao and Zhu Zhuqing, Flender spread his wings and flew into the sky.
"Be sure to come to my academy someday..." His voice faded into the distance, and Flender's figure disappeared from the sky.
Lowering his waving hand, Du Hao turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "Let's go. We should head back and share the good news with Xiao Wu."
"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing remained as cool as ever, as if she hadn't been the one who'd clung to Du Hao and slept beside him last night.
When they returned to the dormitory, the first thing they saw was a pink figure sprawled on his bed, munching on a carrot.
"Xiao Wu, you're eating carrots on my bed again." Du Hao grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
"Hehe, I was wrong, but I'll do it again..." She stuck out her tongue, looking like she knew she was wrong but had no intention of changing.
"You little rascal..."
Seeing that Du Hao was about to say more, Xiao Wu took advantage of his momentary distraction, wriggled free of his grasp, and darted behind Zhu Zhuqing.
Then she poked out her rabbit head and stuck out her tongue. "Nya nya nya! Sister Xiao Wu is the strongest!"
"Okay, stop fooling around." Feeling the two little hands at her waist constantly misbehaving, Zhu Zhuqing gently tapped the rabbit head tucked beneath her arm.
"Okay~" When even Zhu Zhuqing, her only shield, had spoken, Xiao Wu could only admit defeat.
She'd been so busy running away that she'd almost forgotten Zhu Zhuqing was this rascal's accomplice.
Careless...
"Come on, don't pout with those little rabbit lips." Du Hao conjured an Emerald Garlic and handed it over, then stuffed it straight into Xiao Wu's mouth.
"Mmm! It's so sweet!"
Xiao Wu, who'd been about to complain, immediately fell silent. Her eyes sparkled as she gnawed on the Green Onion in her mouth.
It didn't have any of the usual taste of a green onion, only a crisp crunch and a refreshing flavor! It was even tastier than the green onions he'd given her before!
While they were still feeding the little rabbit in their room, footsteps suddenly sounded outside!
The next moment, Tang San rushed in, bracing one hand against the doorframe as he panted and spoke to everyone inside.
"Something's wrong, Brother Hao!"
"Nuoding City is in an uproar! All the One-Ring Soul Masters and those below that rank whom we beat are rebelling in the city!" Tang San's eyes betrayed his fear.
"What happened? Take it slow. Don't panic." Du Hao stepped forward and steadied Tang San by one arm, telling him not to rush.
After catching his breath, Tang San swallowed.
He looked at Du Hao in a panic, his mouth trembling as he said, "Today, all the One-Ring Soul Masters and those below that rank whom we beat in Nuoding City started rioting!"
That didn't make sense. Hadn't those people all been put under hypnosis by his Hypnosis Phone? And there was nothing wrong with the hypnotic commands he'd given them, either.
At most, he'd raised their moral standards a little. How could things possibly have reached this point?
"Do you know what caused it?" Du Hao asked in confusion.
He needed to understand what had happened. If some unexpected disturbance had occurred, that would be bad!
After all, this hadn't happened in the original story. It could well be that the butterfly's wings had flapped again.
Tang San, sitting on the bed, took a sip of water and finally caught his breath.
"I actually know what caused it!" As he spoke, Tang San's thoughts returned to what he'd just witnessed.
"I was borrowing the forge at the blacksmith's to work iron..."
Tang San was working the iron when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the blacksmith's.
The noise was much louder than the usual shouting in the street! The shouts were so loud that they could even be heard inside the blacksmith's!
"This young master's interest in your daughter is a favor to you. Don't be ungrateful!"
Tang San, who'd been working the iron, heard those words and immediately grew curious.
He stopped working the fine iron in his hands and headed outside to see what was going on.
Over the years, while spending time with Du Hao,
Tang San had picked up a good habit: whenever there was a commotion, he liked to go over and take a look. In short, he loved gossip.
Whether it was children squabbling in the village or some shrew shouting abuse in the street—and once, it had even been Tang San himself who'd stirred things up—
This time was no different...
By the time Tang San reached the blacksmith's entrance, the other blacksmiths had already gathered there. They had nothing to do just then, either.
All of them were staring toward a spot farther down the street.
There, a middle-aged man dressed in noble's clothes was viciously kicking a young vegetable seller in gray, who lay on the ground.
"You lowlife, you think you deserve a favor?" As he spoke, he kicked the young man in gray again and again.
His voice was vicious. "You dare fight back? Do you really not know how to spell death?"
Nearby, a young girl dressed in white knelt on the ground, clutching his other leg. "Sir, sir, please stop hitting him! Please don't beat my father! I'll go with you!"
The trembling in her voice and the despair in her tone were impossible to hide.
The scene drew a chorus of disapproving clicks and sighs from the onlookers, but not a single person dared step forward to intervene.
After all, everyone knew the arrogant young noble. He was one of Nuoding City's nobles, and bullying people and abducting women were nothing unusual for him.
Usually, though, he did it discreetly. He'd never brazenly snatched a girl in broad daylight like he was doing today.
As if he'd sensed the crowd's gaze, the young man planted one foot on the man beneath him and raised his head to look around at everyone.
With an arrogant grin, he said, "You ignorant lowlifes! I became a One-Ring Soul Master today. From now on, I can do whatever I want!"
Before he'd become a Soul Master, he'd had to do these things discreetly.
But now he'd successfully absorbed a Ten-Year Soul Ring and become a Soul Master. If he still had to hide his actions, what was the point of being one?
Even if the master of the Spirit Hall Branch came, he'd probably only scold him a little. There was no way he'd offend a noble Soul Master for a bunch of lowlifes.
Faced with the young noble's arrogant words, the crowd fell silent.
That was simply how this world worked: the strong preyed on the weak. It was an iron law that had remained unchanged since ancient times.
"Tch, what a bunch of cowards." Seeing that the crowd had bored him, the young man bent down and grabbed the girl.
"Don't... Don't take my daughter!" The man pinned beneath his foot suddenly found a burst of strength from somewhere and grabbed the young noble's leg.
"Do you have a choice?" The young noble gave a contemptuous sneer and looked down at the man in amusement. "Just stay there and watch..."
Before the young noble could finish speaking, angry shouts suddenly rang out all around them!
"You bastard! He does have a choice!!!"
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