Mi... Hap...py...

"Who killed my Man Faced Demon Spider?"

The newcomers were Serpent Granny Chao Tianxiang, Meng Yiran, and a tall, thin old man.

The old man held a gleaming silver dragon-headed cane. Eight Soul Rings pulsed around him. He was none other than Dragon Duke Meng Shu.

Meng Yiran's eyes were red-rimmed. "We chased it for an entire day!"

"It was me."

Tang San pushed himself upright against a tree. "It appeared out of nowhere. I was only defending myself."

Meng Shu said gravely, "Man Faced Demon Spiders are extremely rare, even more precious than Cockscomb Serpents. I'll give you two choices. Either join my family, and I'll let this matter go. I'll even help you absorb the Soul Ring. Or leave one arm behind, and you can go."

[I Am Not Yanzi: Damn! This family's back again?]

[Fire-Breathing Dragon: Is that Dragon Duke?]

[6G Sky Wing: He wasn't there last time, but he is this time. How are Tang San and the others going to keep this Soul Ring?]

In the video, Tang San raised the Black Box. "If you want a fight, I'm ready."

Just then, Zhao Wuji arrived with Dai Mubai and the others. Seeing Meng Shu's eight Soul Rings, Zhao Wuji cursed inwardly. He had just used his Martial Soul Avatar, and had only half his strength left.

"Senior Dragon Duke, I'm Zhao Wuji."

Zhao Wuji cupped his hands and stepped closer, lowering his voice.

"Tang San's father is that Clear Sky Douluo. I ask you to spare us for his sake."

Meng Shu's expression changed at once.

So he was that man's son.

"Hmph. Since you're all youngsters, I'll let you off this time."

"Grandpa, you can't just let this go!"

Meng Yiran protested.

"I want to challenge him again! We'll compete at throwing knives to pierce leaves. Eighteen Soul-Breaking Blades each. Whoever hits more leaves and leaves the blades stuck in the trunk wins. If you lose, you can't absorb the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring. If you win, the Soul Ring is yours."

Oscar stepped forward. "That's not fair. Tang San killed the Man Faced Demon Spider. If you lose, you should pay some kind of price. How about kissing him?"

To everyone's surprise, Meng Shu agreed with a laugh. "All right, it's a deal."

[Begonia Blossoms: Pfft! What kind of wager is that? Dragon Duke's so casual about it!]

In the video, Meng Shu flicked her dragon-headed cane toward a tree twenty meters away. Leaves rained down.

With a sharp cry, she moved both hands, sending eighteen Soul-Breaking Blades flying one after another. Every blade struck a leaf with pinpoint accuracy, and some even pierced two leaves.

But when she turned around, she saw Tang San standing with his back to the tree. As she made her move, he had flicked open the pouch in his hand, sending eighteen streaks of light flying along curved trajectories.

After the leaves fell to the ground, Meng Yiran rushed over to inspect the results. Her eighteen flying knives were lined up in a small patch of the tree trunk, each with a leaf hanging from it. Tang San's eighteen knives, however, had blue ribbons attached and were arranged in three neat rows to form the character "三." Each knife had pierced ten leaves, and all the blades had sunk to the same depth.

"He had his back to the tree. He never even looked!" Meng Shu's voice rang out. "Such skill is nothing short of miraculous."

Meng Yiran returned in a daze, but Tang San stepped forward, picked up the fallen Soul-Breaking Blades, and handed them to her. "Miss Meng, your knives."

He even began explaining the techniques behind Hidden Weapons. "Your throwing knives are a little too large. Needles would work better. I'll give you a set of Hidden Weapon training methods. Listening for sounds and pinpointing their source is the basic skill..."

Meng Yiran's initial resentment gradually gave way to rapt attention. At last, she gave Tang San a long look, stepped close, and kissed him on the cheek. "You little rascal. That settles the wager. If you cause trouble again, I won't let you off so easily."

Dragon Duke and Serpent Granny then took her and turned to leave.

[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Time for my ultimate review!]

[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Dragon Duke Meng Shu, a shameless old bully who picks on the weak and fawns on the strong. He's better at reading the room than anyone! Meng Yiran lost and refused to accept it, then demanded another match. She brought it on herself. As for Tang San, he's officially a hypocritical master! He crushed her with his Hidden Weapon skills, then put on a show of generosity and taught her. In the end, he accepted her kiss without a qualm. He wants to have it both ways. Disgusting!]

(Emotion Points from the disdain of all female group members +1000)

The video ended there, and the chat's condemnation of Tang San and the others reached its peak.

Watching the Emotion Points skyrocket, Ye Qiong grinned so widely his mouth nearly split.

He was making a killing.

[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: All right, that's the end of the story. The related commission task has been posted to the group's task board. @First Cute Bunny @Pagoda Suppresses River Demon @No Petting Cats, please check it.]

[Beep! The group task board has been updated!]

[Task Name: A Special "Invitation" from the Star Dou Forest]

[Task Details: After entering the Star Dou Forest tomorrow, you must take the initiative to go with Xiao Wu and be "carried off" by the Titan Giant Ape. There's no need to resist. Complete the main objective of being carried off to receive a reward of 3,200 Stellar Jade.]

[Task Restriction: Only @First Cute Bunny (Xiao Wu), @Pagoda Suppresses River Demon (Ning Rongrong), and @No Petting Cats (Zhu Zhuqing) can accept. The task will be triggered automatically and cannot be refused.]

As soon as the group message appeared, three messages popped up in quick succession in Ye Qiong's private messages.

[First Cute Bunny (Xiao Wu): Big Brother Group Owner, this task is so strange! Actually... I know the Titan Giant Ape. His name is Er Ming, and he's my little brother. I'm not worried about being carried off by him, but why do Rongrong and Zhuqing have to come too? They don't even know Er Ming. It's too dangerous!]

[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon (Ning Rongrong): Group Owner! It's one thing for Xiao Wu to know him, but Zhuqing and I are just ordinary students. There's no reason for us to get carried off too, is there? What's this task really about?]

[No Petting Cats (Zhu Zhuqing): It says the task is triggered automatically and can't be refused, but doesn't explain why we have to be carried off too. And according to the plot you revealed, only Xiao Wu was originally taken. Why change it so that all three of us go together?]

Looking at the three puzzled messages, Ye Qiong's lips curved into a smile.

Only by having all three beauties carried off together could he completely throw Shrek's plans into disarray—and give himself a chance to leave this secret realm and go out into the world.

He didn't reply right away. Instead, he closed the private message interface.

Aedes Elysiae.

Ye Qiong closed the Chat Group and looked at the final number frozen on the system panel. He laughed out loud.

[After the threefold Emotion Point multiplier, a total of 31,500 Emotion Points were earned this time.]

"We're rich, we're rich! Mimi, we finally have a chance to leave this hellhole!"

Ye Qiong excitedly scooped up the pink Little Dumpling in his arms and kissed her fluffy little head.

"Mimi! Mimi-mimi!"

Mimi seemed to feel Ye Qiong's joy too. She cried happily in his arms, waving her little paws.

She let out a long string of clear, crisp "mi" sounds, but mixed into them was an extremely faint, yet unmistakably clear, childish syllable.

"Mi... hap...py... Mimi..."

The smile on Ye Qiong's face froze.

He abruptly lowered his head and stared at the little one in his arms in disbelief.

"Mimi... what did you just... say?"