Tang Hao Leaves

Qian Ren Shuang silently withdrew the second soul skill he had placed on Growlmon. Growlmon's speed dropped at once, and the howl of the wind quieted considerably.

Helpless, Flender could only clear his throat and shout what he had just said all over again. This time, not only Qian Ren Shuang, Xiang Ya, Tang San, and Xiao Wu on its head heard him; even Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, hidden in the white fur, heard every word clearly and echoed their agreement.

Hearing that everyone had agreed, a trace of satisfaction appeared on Flender's face. Then a wave of nostalgic emotion for "those glorious years past" welled up in him, and he said in a reminiscent tone, "Speaking of which, the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy, whom we're going to find this time, used to be in a group with me and Grandmaster."

When Yu Xiaogang heard this, his face gradually turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably. He instinctively wanted to step back, to avoid this topic, but Flender was gripping his hand tightly—how could a mere Great Soul Master break free from the hand of a Soul Sage?

"Oh? What group?" Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. Back in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had been nicknamed the "little witch." Seeing Yu Xiaogang looking so restless now, she knew he did not really want to recall this part of the past—and that only made her want to get to the bottom of it even more.

"Our group back then was called the 'Golden Iron Triangle,'" Flender said, his voice carrying a hint of pride. "I was the flying corner, Grandmaster was the wisdom corner, and the person we're going to find is called Liu Erlong. She was the slaughter corner."

"Flender!" Yu Xiaogang suddenly grew agitated, his voice changing pitch. "Erlong and I are only brother and sister! It's impossible for us to be together!"

Inferiority and cowardice locked him like two iron chains, leaving him without the courage to face Liu Erlong at all. After all these years, he had been running—running far away from Liu Erlong's sight, running to Soto City, running to Shrek, and now he was about to run back to Heaven Dou City, to a place even closer to her—he could not bear it.

"Oh, look at that fuss. Their relationship is already so close they don't even need to use surnames anymore." Flender spread his hands and shook his head in mock helplessness.

"Aiya—Xiaogang, why are you still hung up on this?" Flender threw an arm around Yu Xiaogang's shoulders, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness and teasing. "We're all soul masters. Some behavior that ordinary people can't understand is perfectly normal."

"You should know who opposed my marriage with Erlong back then, don't you?" Yu Xiaogang looked at Flender with some resentment, his voice aggrieved. "How can you just sum them up with 'ordinary people'?"

"Who told you ordinary people can't become soul masters?" Flender frowned slightly, his tone firm and decisive. "In short, this time I'll be watching you. You're not allowed to run again! Otherwise, would you be worthy of Sister Erlong? Would you be worthy of me, who painfully gave up what I loved back then?"

When Flender said this, his tone was extremely serious, even carrying a gravity he had never shown in front of the students before. His gaze told Yu Xiaogang—there was no room for negotiation in this matter.

Yu Xiaogang's expression turned ugly. He lowered his head and fell silent. He understood everything in his heart. Every word Flender said was right. But the fear and worry in his heart were like a thorn that had been embedded for more than ten years, impossible to pull out.

"Dean, Grandmaster," Xiao Wu, who had originally been drooping her head and ears in boredom because of the journey, instantly perked up when she heard the words "love triangle." Her eyes shone as if lamps had been lit inside them. "You and Dean Liu Erlong used to be in a love triangle?"

Gossip seemed to be a nature carved into human bones. The moment Xiao Wu said this, everyone present—Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and even Xiang Ya, who quietly tilted her head—closed in, pricked up their ears, and filled their eyes with curiosity and anticipation.

"Yes." Flender was quite frank and did not hide anything. "Simply put, Grandmaster and I both liked Liu Erlong back then. Then Liu Erlong liked Grandmaster, so I tactfully let go. In the end, it turned out Liu Erlong was Grandmaster's younger female cousin, and Grandmaster just—ran."

When he said the word "ran," he glanced at Yu Xiaogang. Yu Xiaogang buried his head even lower.

"Oh—" everyone said in unison, their faces full of "so that's how it was."

"But being able to let go of the person you like just like that," Oscar praised, "Dean, you really are impressive."

"Of course." Originally, as the one who had lost the competition, Flender usually felt rather gloomy whenever this was brought up. But now that someone had handed him such an excellent way to save face, his mood naturally improved.

Flender proudly puffed out his chest, his tone filled with smugness. "As your dean, I have to have at least one thing that sets me apart."

Xiao Wu secretly glanced at Tang San, a trace of complicated softness in her eyes, and quietly thought to herself, Thank goodness Third Brother and I aren't related by blood at all. We're only sworn siblings.

If there really were that layer of blood relation... she did not dare think any further.

To change the subject, Yu Xiaogang coughed twice, composed himself, and began instructing everyone. "Let's not talk about this for now. Dai Mubai, Oscar, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing—I hope you can remember that the seven of you are a whole. You are the Shrek Seven Monsters."

He deliberately left out Qian Ren Shuang, intending to use the small group's exclusivity to take a tiny bit of revenge on Qian Ren Shuang for beating him up twice before.

However, when Tang San heard this, he frowned and asked, "Grandmaster, what about Brother Shuang?"

He clearly remembered his father's demand of him—to build a good relationship with Qian Ren Shuang. If Qian Ren Shuang was not among these seven, then he would have fewer chances to interact with Qian Ren Shuang in the future. How was he supposed to complete that task?

"Cough, cough, cough." Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat, his mind turning rapidly—he really could not understand why this disciple of his cared so much about Qian Ren Shuang.

Could he not be a little more cold-blooded?

Surely it could not be that after fighting the Titan Giant Ape in Star Dou Forest, he had become utterly devoted to him.

Besides, they had not won that fight, and if it had continued, he definitely would have been the one at a disadvantage.

Still, the other party was, after all, the son of his idol. Following Tang San's words, he found himself a way out. "Qian Ren Shuang is a generation older than you, after all, so of course he can't be an official member of your group. He should serve as your team leader. A seven-person squad having eight people is very normal."

This reason was so forced that even he did not quite believe it himself, but the words had already left his mouth, so he could not take them back now.

"Brother Shuang, did you hear that?" Tang San turned his head and shouted excitedly toward Qian Ren Shuang on Growlmon's head. "You're the team leader!"