Farewells and Departure for the Extreme North!

Early morning, outside the eastern gate of Shrek Academy.

The rising sun cast its golden-red radiance over the grand massive archway, while mottled tree shadows swayed endlessly across the bluestone-paved street.

Today was the first day of break, and all of Shrek City had fallen into a state of lively bustle.

Students leaving the academy for the holidays packed the broad streets to the brim, the neighing of horses and the cries of vendors hawking local specialties weaving together into a boiling tide of noise.

Yun Yi, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao followed the crowded stream of people out through the gates.

Xiao Xiao had deliberately changed into a goose-yellow long dress today, its hem fluttering gently in the breeze.

Her originally shoulder-length dark green hair was neatly pinned behind her ears with an exquisite pale green crystal hairpin, giving her the charming brightness unique to girls her age.

Yet her steps were unusually slow. Her shoe soles repeatedly scraped against the bluestone slabs, and after every couple of steps, she paused to look up at the tall, straight-backed figure walking ahead.

Eight months spent together day and night—time had truly passed so quickly that it caught her unprepared.

Xiao Xiao silently went over every little moment from the past semester.

Several lavishly decorated carriages were parked at the intersection ahead, specially tasked with taking the children of great clans home.

The moment of parting had finally come.

"My carriage is here." Xiao Xiao stopped, gripping her skirt tightly with both hands. Her voice was so soft it was nearly swallowed by the surrounding clamor.

Hearing her, Yun Yi turned around, his gaze falling on the young girl.

Wang Dong also stopped half a step away, both hands tucked into the pockets of her school uniform trousers as the tip of her shoe irritably kicked at loose pebbles on the ground.

Xiao Xiao bit down on her lower lip and sniffed hard.

Her eyes remained fixed on Yun Yi's pure white boots. Those boots had stayed where they were, not moving an inch.

Yet they had been the coordinates she had followed throughout the entire semester.

This separation meant thirty whole days without seeing him.

The sense of loss in her heart multiplied geometrically, eventually overwhelming the reserve and shyness within the young girl.

Xiao Xiao suddenly raised her head, obvious redness flooding the rims of her eyes.

She closed her eyes and, without caring about anything else, hurried forward two steps and crashed straight into Yun Yi's arms.

She stretched out her slender arms and tightly wrapped them around the boy's waist, burying her flushed cheeks in his coat, which carried the scent of sunlight and dry flames.

"I'll miss you..." Her voice carried an irrepressible sob as all the courage she had gathered over the semester erupted at that moment.

Yun Yi lowered his head and looked at the girl trembling faintly in his embrace.

He accepted the hug in kind, his hands naturally sliding down to encircle Xiao Xiao's slender waist.

The boy's palm was broad and scorching hot. The rough calluses on his fingertips and the web between his thumb and forefinger, worn from years of drawing a bow, were clearly transmitted through the thin fabric to her waist.

Xiao Xiao trembled as though struck by electricity.

With such a sensitive place being touched so directly by the person she liked, she was so nervous that she forgot to breathe. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, nearly crashing through her ribs.

Yun Yi lowered his head, his thin lips nearly brushing the girl's crimson ear.

"I wouldn't want to leave Xiao Xiao either. After all, Xiao Xiao is just so lovable."

His deep, languid voice poured directly into her ear, carrying a magnetic charm that was utterly intoxicating.

The searing heat at her waist and the gentle, straightforward words of affection by her ear intertwined, completely shattering Xiao Xiao's final psychological defense.

The little girl's whole face reddened as if it might drip blood.

She jerked her arms away as though shocked, covered her burning cheeks with both hands, then turned and fled wildly toward her family's carriage.

Her retreating figure was flustered and panicked, the picture of someone fleeing in defeat.

Once she reached the carriage, Xiao Xiao lifted a corner of the curtain and secretly poked half her head out. Looking at the boy still standing where he was and watching her leave, her eyes were filled with shyness and delight.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone pavement with a steady rumble, gradually merging into the distant flow of carriages.

Wang Dong stood where she was, watching as the carriage turned the corner and vanished completely before finally letting out a heavy snort.

"You only know how to bully Xiao Xiao."

She pouted, her tone carrying a trace of jealousy that was hard to detect.

So early in the morning, at the academy gates with people coming and going, they were hugging and whispering such mushy words into each other's ears. They had completely treated her like a decoration.

Yun Yi turned to look at his roommate, whose face was full of displeasure.

The corner of his lips curled into a flamboyant grin as he spread his arms openly.

"Then do you want one of my affectionate hugs?"

That blatant teasing landed on her. Normally, back in the dormitory, Wang Dong would have rolled her eyes without hesitation and added a "dream on."

But today, she fell silent.

A whole month.

She would have to spend thirty days and nights in the cold castle of the Clear Sky Sect.

She would not hear his infuriatingly sharp-tongued jabs, feel the warmth and comfort brought by Yun Dong Power flowing through her meridians, or even hear the steady breathing coming from the bed across the room in the dead of night.

Habits truly were a cup of deadly poison.

Wang Dong snorted heavily again and turned her head aside, trying to maintain the persona of a proud young master.

But at that moment, her body betrayed her mind.

Unable to help herself, she took a small step forward and awkwardly, stiffly moved closer, slowly wrapping her arms around Yun Yi's back.

Yun Yi showed no mercy as he drew his arms in and firmly imprisoned her in his embrace.

Wang Dong rested her chin on Yun Yi's broad shoulder and tightly shut her eyes.

She breathed in greedily, drawing the unique scent mixed with sunlight and ultimate fire deep into her lungs, trying to imprint it forever into the deepest part of her bones and blood.

People came and went around them, and students heading home occasionally cast astonished glances their way.

Two exceptionally handsome boys hugging tightly in public was truly an eye-catching sight.

Sensing the probing, stunned gazes around her, Wang Dong's muddled mind instantly cleared.

She abruptly released him and leaped a large step back, forcibly putting on a stern face and feigning an easygoing, indifferent air, as though it had all been for show.

"Enough, enough. One hug is enough. You're making it seem like we're being separated by life and death. So mushy." Wang Dong turned away from Yun Yi and waved her right hand aimlessly through the air twice.

"I'm leaving! See you when school starts!"

Yun Yi slipped his hands back into the pockets of his school uniform trousers, watching the pink-blue figure rush toward the luxurious carriage in the distance as he raised his voice with a smile.

"See you when school starts, then!"

Only after watching Wang Dong's carriage merge into the bustling stream of traffic in the distance did Yun Yi withdraw his gaze.

On the noisy, boiling street, students and vendors brushed shoulders as they passed, yet no one noticed that an additional figure had appeared beside Yun Yi at some point.

His back was perfectly straight, and his full head of black hair was combed without a strand out of place.

Having returned to his peak state, Mu En's control over his own aura had already reached perfection.

Even if he stood openly in the center of the crowd, ordinary people's subconscious minds would automatically filter him out.

"Young people really know how to have fun." Mu En stood with one hand behind his back, gazing into the distance along the path the carriage had taken, his tone full of undisguised amusement and teasing.

Yun Yi tilted his head and shot back without yielding.

"Looks like after returning to your peak, Senior Brother, your heart has become more lively too."

"Want me to ask Shaozhe to arrange something? Have him compile a list of all the unmarried female teachers of marriageable age in the inner academy and send it to Sea God Pavilion for you to choose from?"

Mu En was choked by those words into a violent coughing fit, his old face flushing bright red.

The dignified Dragon God Douluo was being teased in the street by his own junior brother about finding himself an old companion. If word got out, where would he put the dignity of the Pavilion Master?

Seeing that he had lost the verbal sparring match, Mu En could only forcibly put an end to this dangerous topic.

His expression became solemn again, and the easygoing air around him was completely swept away by a subtle authority.

"Let's go. It's time to handle serious business."

Yun Yi also put away his joking mood and nodded heavily.

Mu En raised his right hand and casually slashed through the air.

Space was effortlessly torn apart before that immense power.

The two figures vanished from outside Shrek Academy's bustling eastern gate.

Their destination was the continent's northernmost forbidden zone—the Extreme North.