Departure, Treatment

Flender continued arranging what came next. "Last night, Teacher Zhao already told me how dangerous this trip to the Star Dou Forest was. Next, I'll take Oscar to the nearest Hunting Soul Forest to hunt his third spirit ring specifically for him. In the days after that, Grandmaster will be in full charge. Teacher Lu, Teacher Shao, I'll have to trouble the two of you to help out."

"All right, Dean," Lu Qibin and Shao Xin answered at the same time.

Dai Mubai suddenly spoke up then. "Dean Flender, why don't I see Teacher Zhao?"

The expression on Flender's face did not move an inch. He did not even blink, lying without the slightest flush or stumble. "Teacher Zhao has his own matters to attend to these next few days, so he isn't here."

Qian Ren Shuang had not the slightest interest in the matter of "where Zhao Wuji went."

Right now, his true top priority was to use his second martial soul to treat the cracks in his bones, but that thing was his trump card and could not be revealed in front of others.

To keep the secret of his twin martial souls, Qian Ren Shuang found an excuse and walked up to Flender. "Dean, I'm taking Guilmon out to find an acquaintance to treat our bone fractures. I'd like to ask for leave."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Flender's expression instantly turned concerned, and there was even a hint of eagerness in his tone.

In his mind, he had already automatically filled in who "acquaintance" referred to—Ye Renxin, the strongest healing-type soul master on the continent today.

If he could use "accompanying Qian Ren Shuang for treatment" to build a connection with this person, then Shrek Academy would have somewhere to send its injured students in the future.

Flender's mental abacus clattered loudly, and the smile on his face was almost overflowing.

How could Qian Ren Shuang possibly let Flender follow him? He sized Flender up and down, his gaze sweeping over that sharply defined face before landing on his old, washed-out clothes, and said expressionlessly, "No need. The healing soul master I know judges people by looks. Dean, that face of yours that looks like a shoe insole already ruins any good impression, and your taste in clothes is so rustic too. If I bring you over, I'm afraid you'll drag me down and get us swept out the door."

Flender's smile froze on his face.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, then swallowed it back down.

In the end, he coughed awkwardly, choked on his own saliva, and coughed for quite a while before regaining his composure. He waved a hand. "All right, then I won't go. Be careful on your own."

"Brother Shuang," Zhu Zhuqing's voice drifted over from the side, carrying a bit of a nasal tone—her injuries from the Star Dou Forest had not fully healed yet, and her nose was still a little blocked. "Then do you think my looks are good enough?"

She asked it seriously, without the slightest hint of joking in her eyes.

At the side, Dai Mubai heard this and immediately sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His own fiancée wanted to leave with another man? How could that be allowed?

He clutched his chest, the expression on his face instantly switching into pained mode as he groaned theatrically. "Ow—my sternum! It must've been damaged when I fought the Titan Giant Ape! Brother Shuang, take me along for treatment too!"

Qian Ren Shuang glanced at the two of them, his tone as flat as if he were reading a menu. "You two should be fine if you eat more of Oscar's recovery sausages. Besides, neither of you meets the looks standard—common powder and rouge."

Zhu Zhuqing: "..."

Dai Mubai: "..."

Zhu Zhuqing's appearance might not have been enough to topple kingdoms, but she was at least one in a hundred.

Although Dai Mubai could not compare to Qian Ren Shuang's delicate good looks, once his evil-eyed double pupils were put there, he was also a handsome guy with extremely high recognizability.

Yet in Qian Ren Shuang's mouth, the two of them had become "common powder and rouge."

Ning Rongrong, however, did not care about the topic of looks. She tilted her head and asked, "Qian Ren Shuang, when did you meet that person?"

In her impression, Qian Ren Shuang and Guilmon had been staying at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect these past few years, never stepping out of the main gate or through the inner door. When had he met some healing-type soul master outside?

Qian Ren Shuang glanced at Ning Rongrong and replied indifferently, "I started staying at your home when I was nine, and I met that healing soul master when I was eight."

"In other words," Dai Mubai seized the chance, the corner of his mouth curling as he delivered a precise follow-up blow, "when Brother Shuang met that healing soul master, Rongrong, you were still just a fertilized egg."

Ning Rongrong's face flushed bright red with a whoosh, from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. She was so angry she stamped her feet, the finger she pointed at Dai Mubai trembling. "Dai Mubai! Guilmon, help me teach him a lesson!"

With an "Awo," Guilmon was about to charge forward. Although both its forearms were still hanging in bandages, its momentum did not lose out in the slightest.

"That's enough, Guilmon, stop messing around." Qian Ren Shuang stopped it with a shout. "We're going together to find that person for treatment."

Guilmon was stopped and still bared its teeth at Dai Mubai a little unwillingly before obediently following Qian Ren Shuang's footsteps.

"Brother Shuang," Tang San walked out from the crowd and chased after him for two steps. "About how long will you be gone for treatment this time?"

Qian Ren Shuang did not look back and shrugged. "No idea. I'm not that healing soul master, so I can't give an approximate time."

After he finished speaking, the backs of the man and beast gradually receded into the distance and disappeared outside Shrek Academy's shabby front gate.

At the same time, a pair of eyes had been fixed on the direction Qian Ren Shuang left in from beginning to end.

Tang Hao was crouched in a corner, wrapped tightly in a black robe, revealing only a pair of cloudy but sharp eyes.

When he heard that Qian Ren Shuang was going to find a healing soul master, he immediately began calculating in his heart: the healing soul master this person was looking for definitely had real skill in treatment. Maybe he could even cure the hidden injuries on Tang Hao's body as well.

The old wounds left behind from that battle with Qian Xunji back then had been tormenting him all this time. Whenever the weather turned overcast and rainy, even the cracks between his bones ached.

If he could use this chance to get them treated...

Thinking this, Tang Hao decided to temporarily leave Tang San's side and go follow Qian Ren Shuang. Along the way, he could also probe this person's attitude toward Spirit Hall—this was the true priority.

His figure flashed, and he vanished silently from where he stood.

Qian Ren Shuang and Guilmon walked along the road to Soto City. He had taken this road a few times before, so it was not unfamiliar. Guilmon followed beside his feet, both forearms hanging in bandages, swaying as it walked like a wobbling penguin.

As they walked, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the roadside and blocked the middle of the road directly.

Qian Ren Shuang's steps abruptly halted, every muscle in his body tightening in an instant. He subconsciously retreated half a step, his body turning slightly sideways, his center of gravity sinking as his whole person entered a guarded state. His gaze locked firmly on the black-robed man in front of him, and his mind had already begun calculating the possible directions and angles from which the other party might attack.

Guilmon's reaction was even more direct—it lunged forward and stood in front of Qian Ren Shuang, a low growl rumbling from its throat. "Evil—evil—"