Shame

Beneath the blazing sun, Star Dou Great Forest remained as cool and shaded as ever. No one knew how many tens of thousands of years Star Dou Great Forest had existed. What it had nurtured was not merely a vast variety of soul beasts; its trees towered into the clouds, their dense foliage enough to block out the scorching heat of the sunlight.

"Whoosh—"

A sudden whistle of wind cut through the air as a black figure hurriedly darted out. A misstep caused a branch beneath her feet to snap, and the figure fell with it.

The black figure rolled across the ground, using her momentum to dissipate the force and narrowly avoid injury.

Yet she did not get up. Instead, she curled up and hid behind a tree. She was not very tall, appearing only a little over ten years old, but her figure was already quite voluptuous. Any ordinary man who saw her would surely let his imagination run wild.

Zhu Zhuqing panted violently, her pupils filled with terror. Beads of sweat slid down her pale cheeks, and it took her a long while to recover from the lingering fright.

Once she gradually calmed down, a wave of shame surged through her.

She... had run away!

The first time she faced death, she had chosen to retreat.

Under the pressure of those fifteen soul beasts, and the intimidation of the ruthless gaze of that man calling himself "Tang San," she had chosen to flee!

She had once despised the retreating Dai Mubai beyond measure. She had always believed that at worst, one would simply die. What was so terrible about that? Running away was the act of the greatest coward.

Yet now, when she truly faced death, she had chosen to abandon the two men under her father and flee for her life alone.

The more she had once hated Dai Mubai, the more she regretted it now!

It should not have been like this!

She was not this cowardly!

But her still-trembling arms kept telling her that she was not much stronger than an ordinary person.

No matter how cold and detached she usually appeared, no matter how lightly she treated life and death, at this moment, her body's reaction clearly told her that she was still merely an ordinary person who feared death. Her figure proved nothing, and no matter how icy her expression was, it could not conceal the fact that she was only ten years old.

Zhu Zhuqing curled her legs up and buried her head in her knees. The fair flesh before her chest was squeezed out of shape, leaving only a narrow gap through which she could barely breathe.

Her hands kept shaking. They would not stop.

"Stop shaking, stop shaking! Stop shaking already!" Zhu Zhuqing pressed down on her hands and growled hysterically.

"Whoosh—"

The sound of wind breaking came abruptly. Zhu Zhuqing's delicate body trembled as she jerked her head up, her pupils contracting to pinpoints. Impossible! How could he have caught up so quickly?! If he were that fast, he could have escaped long ago!

Before she had time to think, Zhu Zhuqing shot out like a startled bird, as though death itself were chasing close behind her.

"Who's there?!"

Zhu Zhuqing's sudden movement was not subtle. The other person noticed immediately, stopping at once and turning toward the place he had just passed as he shouted angrily.

A figure darted out swiftly, and the man sneered. "Trying to run?"

Whoosh—

The next instant, the man vanished from where he stood and appeared almost simultaneously in the direction the figure was trying to flee, blocking Zhu Zhuqing's path.

Zhu Zhuqing immediately stopped, staggering several hurried steps backward in panic.

"Second Miss?! Why are you here?" the man asked in surprise.

Only then did Zhu Zhuqing have the chance to look closely at his attire. It was the exclusive uniform of the Zhu Family Guard!

Not him!

As long as it was not him...

Zhu Zhuqing's clothes had been soaked through with cold sweat. She let out a breath of relief and panted with lingering fear.

"Second Miss?" Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing had not reacted for a long time, the man asked in confusion.

"Ah?" Zhu Zhuqing trembled again, then belatedly asked, "Why are you here?"

"By the Patriarch's orders, I came to inspect the Dreadclaw Bear's corpse and see whether it had a soul bone," the man answered respectfully. "The Patriarch just spotted a rather suitable soul beast, but there is a Ninety-Thousand-Year Soul Beast beside it, so he intends to wait for an opportunity."

"Don't go!" Remembering those fifteen ferocious dark soul beasts, Zhu Zhuqing immediately said.

"Ah?" The man did not understand.

"I-I mean, take me to Zhu Zhuyun."

The man instinctively sensed that something was wrong. He looked up but did not see the two comrades assigned to escort the Second Miss. He immediately frowned and asked, "Second Miss, where are Zhu Lie and Zhu Lian? Weren't they supposed to escort you? Why are you alone?"

"They..." Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but she could not say it. She only felt that the matter of her "running away" had been magnified infinitely. Though the man's gaze carried no ill intent, it felt like a sharp blade scraping across her face, leaving her unbearably ashamed.

"Zhu Lie is dead. Zhu Lian... I don't know," Zhu Zhuqing said with lowered eyes, her gaze flickering.

"Dead?" The man's eyes narrowed. He immediately guessed something and said, "Second Miss, please follow me. I'll take you to the Patriarch right away."

With that, the man led Zhu Zhuqing through the forest toward the place where Zhu Mo and the others were lying in wait for the soul beast. However, before they arrived, they ran directly into Zhu Mo's group.

Every one of them wore relaxed expressions, while Zhu Zhuyun was especially delighted, her lips curved upward in satisfaction.

"Hm? Why are you back so quickly?" Zhu Mo asked in confusion when he saw the man. Then, when he noticed Zhu Zhuqing behind him, he froze. "Zhuqing?"

"Patriarch, something happened!" The man stepped before Zhu Mo and bowed. "Zhu Lie is most likely already dead, while Zhu Lian's fate is still unknown."

Zhu Mo's gaze instantly sharpened as he demanded, "What happened?!"

"Th-this humble one does not know the details either." As he spoke, he looked toward the Zhu Zhuqing who had already calmed down.

"What did you encounter?" Zhu Mo's voice softened considerably when speaking to his daughter. Though she was not his most beloved child, he did not like to bark orders at Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing hugged her arms and pressed her pale lips together, not knowing where to begin.

Zhu Mo was patient and did not urge her. After a long while, Zhu Zhuqing finally gathered her thoughts and told Zhu Mo everything that had happened.

Zhu Mo remained silent after hearing it, his expression exceptionally grim. He had spent his life hunting wild geese, only to have one peck out his eye in the end. A dignified Soul Douluo had actually been deceived by a child barely over ten years old.

No wonder he had always felt that the boy's words did not add up. He had always sensed something was wrong!

So the brat had been full of lies all along!

"So, before Zhu Lian even died, before you had figured out what his soul skill was, you ran away?" Zhu Zhuyun curled her lip, her face full of disgust and contempt. "What a perfect pair. Even your choices are exactly the same."

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly raised her head. She knew whom Zhu Zhuyun was referring to. Although she herself despised what she had done, for some reason, she could not bear Zhu Zhuyun's mockery.

Her nails dug into her palms as an indescribable fury erupted from within her heart. Zhu Zhuqing's icy gaze seemed to surge with raging anger.

Zhu Zhuyun smiled disdainfully and glanced sideways at Zhu Zhuqing, not caring about her anger in the slightest. "Oh? You want to fight me?"