Traveling Together, Kind Help

It was easy to tell from the girl's clothes that she was a student of Shrek Academy.

Combined with her earlier cries for her teachers and the fact that they had been hunted by soul beasts, they had most likely entered the Star Dou Great Forest as a group.

They had simply been unlucky enough to encounter an attack by three Ten-Thousand-Year Hell Demon Dogs, leaving only the girl alive.

With casualties like this, Shrek Academy would surely take the matter seriously and might investigate it.

To deal with Shrek Academy's investigation, the story he had fabricated needed to be more rigorous.

"Didn't you save me?" the girl said instinctively. As soon as the words left her mouth, she shook her head with a laugh. What was she even saying?

He was younger than she was. How could he possibly have had the ability to save her from a Hell Demon Dog?

"If you mean saving you from the Hell Demon Dog, that wasn't me." Jing Chen shook his head.

"Then who saved me?" The girl frowned slightly and tried hard to think of possible candidates.

If it had been a powerful expert from Shrek Academy, they could not possibly have saved her without showing themselves.

If it was not an academy expert, then it could only have been some unfamiliar powerful soul master. There was no way for her to guess who it might have been.

Seeing the girl standing there in a daze, Jing Chen did not wait for her to figure it out and simply turned to leave.

Only after he had walked several dozen meters did the girl come to her senses. She hurriedly called out and limped after him.

"Thank you for taking me along this way. My name is Jiang Nannan. What's your name, little brother?" After catching up to Jing Chen, Jiang Nannan took the initiative to greet him.

She was actually rather reserved by nature, but toward someone who had helped her, she still showed her warm side.

"Jiang Nannan?" The name made Jing Chen pause, and he studied the girl with a meaningful look.

He had to admit that the girl before him truly possessed beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. At thirteen or fourteen, her figure was well-proportioned, her skin whiter than snow, and her long golden hair fell in waves behind her shoulders.

"Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul, breathtaking beauty..." Jing Chen recalled some of Jiang Nannan's characteristics and found that they indeed matched the girl before him.

Jiang Nannan did not feel uncomfortable under Jing Chen's gaze. There was no improper intent in his eyes.

"Do you know me?" Jiang Nannan asked tentatively. His reaction made him seem as though he knew her.

"No. I just think your name sounds nice." Jing Chen denied it with a shake of his head and looked away.

"Thank you." It was the first time Jiang Nannan had been praised for having a nice-sounding name, and she thanked him politely.

Jing Chen continued walking, while Jiang Nannan walked beside him and asked for his name again.

It was only a name, so Jing Chen did not hide it and told Jiang Nannan.

After exchanging names, Jiang Nannan asked whether Jing Chen was heading to Shrek City. When he gave an affirmative answer, she took the initiative to suggest traveling together.

Jing Chen did not object. They were indeed headed in the same direction, and there was no issue with walking this stretch together.

After agreeing to travel together, the two fell silent. There were no other topics to discuss.

Jiang Nannan was not much of a talker either. Unable to think of a topic for the moment, she walked quietly.

Seeing how awkward the atmosphere had become, Jing Chen casually found a topic and asked why Jiang Nannan had ended up in such a state.

At the mention of that, Jiang Nannan, who had been in fairly good spirits, reddened around the eyes. Thinking of what had just happened filled her with sorrow.

She calmed herself before slowly telling Jing Chen about what had happened earlier.

It turned out that she had come to the Star Dou Great Forest with several third-year classmates and two teachers for a five-day survival assessment.

This was an assessment they had to undergo in order to advance from the third year to the fourth year, mainly to help them overcome their fear of soul beasts.

Shrek Academy raised soul beasts, but they had ultimately been domesticated and lacked some of their wildness.

Only in a true soul beast forest could they better experience the threat posed by soul beasts.

Both teachers were Soul Emperors, and their strength was formidable. Under normal circumstances, they would have been more than capable of keeping everyone safe in the Outer Zone.

But who could have expected them to encounter three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Outer Zone?

Faced with the combined attacks of three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, those students and the two teachers had all been killed.

Because she possessed a teleportation skill, she had barely managed to survive until the end, but she had still nearly died in the jaws of the soul beasts.

"Fortunately, I was lucky enough to encounter a mysterious expert who saved me. Otherwise, I might have too..."

Jiang Nannan's voice choked up. What had just happened was undoubtedly a nightmare to her.

Jing Chen's expression turned slightly unnatural, and he did not look at the tearful Jiang Nannan.

In a sense, he bore some responsibility for this matter, because the appearance of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Outer Zone was related to Yi Yi.

If not for him and Yi Yi, Jiang Nannan and the others would not have been in mortal danger.

At the very least, in the original story, they had not encountered such danger. That much could be seen from the fact that Jiang Nannan survived until later.

"Third year... In the original story, after Huo Yuhao entered Shrek Academy, Jiang Nannan seemed to be in the fifth year."

"Two years. That means I'm actually around the same age as Huo Yuhao," Jing Chen analyzed silently.

Jiang Nannan's mention of her year had provided him with some information, allowing him to determine the age gap between himself and Huo Yuhao.

"By the way, why are you near the Star Dou Great Forest?" Jiang Nannan suddenly asked.

Jing Chen shook his head, with no intention of answering that question.

Seeing that Jing Chen was unwilling to say more, Jiang Nannan tactfully did not press him. As they walked, she occasionally turned her head to glance at him.

Why does his soul power fluctuation feel even stronger than mine? Jiang Nannan wondered.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Nannan finally curiously asked Jing Chen about his Soul Power Level.

Jing Chen did not answer that question either, making Jiang Nannan even more curious.

Someone several years younger than her possibly had stronger soul power fluctuations than she did. How could that not make her curious?

After walking for over two hours, the two of them finally caught sight of Shrek City. They were not far from their destination now.

"I'll be leaving first." Jing Chen had no intention of continuing on with Jiang Nannan. After saying that simply, he ran toward the south city gate.

"Hey..." Jiang Nannan was stunned for a moment when she saw him leave so decisively, then opened her mouth to call after him.

The moment she spoke, Jing Chen stopped on his own. He turned around, hesitated briefly, then said, "Since fate brought us together, if you run into any difficulties, you can consider coming to me. Of course, only financial ones."

"The Reincarnation Shop in the southern part of the city belongs to my family. If you need money, go there and ask the owner for it."

After saying that, Jing Chen ignored Jiang Nannan's reaction and turned to run off into the distance.

Jiang Nannan could be considered a filial daughter. In order to treat her mother's illness, she had actually been willing to sell herself.

For the sake of that filial devotion, he did not mind spending a little money to help her out.

Second chapter of the day. The new book is setting sail—please bookmark it and vote with recommendation tickets.