Warm Softness in a Maiden's Embrace, Then an Attack

Mu En lowered his head and glanced at Xuan Zi, whose face was bruised and swollen, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Then he looked up at Xiao Wu, who stood calmly in the distance, and Jiang Ziming behind her, completely unscathed. He roughly guessed what had happened.

He sighed, ignoring Xuan Zi as he clung to his leg and wailed, then turned to Jiang Ziming and gave a slight nod.

"Jiang Ziming, Xuan Zi was rash in this matter. I apologize to you and your friend on his behalf. Rest assured, he won't bother you again in the future."

Jiang Ziming cupped his hands.

"You're too kind, Elder Mu. I wasn't hurt anyway."

Mu En nodded. Then he looked down at Xuan Zi, who was still clutching his leg, and said flatly,

"Come with me."

He turned and left.

Xuan Zi froze for a moment, then hurriedly scrambled to his feet and followed behind him dejectedly.

After the two had walked several hundred meters and confirmed that Jiang Ziming and the others could no longer hear them, Mu En stopped and turned to look at Xuan Zi.

Just as Xuan Zi was about to complain, Mu En spoke first. His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

"Didn't I tell you not to investigate him?"

Xuan Zi opened his mouth.

"But Elder Mu, that brat is only Rank 30, yet he has three ten-thousand-year soul rings, and they even evolved from thousand-year soul rings. That's completely abnormal! What if he's a soul beast reincarnated..."

"So what?"

Mu En cut him off and looked at him calmly.

"Even if he is a soul beast reincarnated, as long as he doesn't harm Shrek's students or do anything that endangers the academy, he is a student of Shrek! You've lived for so many years—do you not even have the tolerance to accept someone like that?"

Xuan Zi fell silent, utterly speechless.

Mu En turned around and gazed toward the distant horizon, his voice taking on a trace of remoteness.

"Besides... that boy's background is likely far more complicated than you imagine.

"You acted so recklessly this time. If the young lady beside him hadn't shown mercy, whether you could even be standing here talking right now would be another matter!"

Xuan Zi touched his still-aching cheek, shrank his neck, and did not dare say another word.

The next day, Shrek City's Treasure Appreciation Fair began.

This was Shrek City's annual grand event.

Whenever a new school term began, the academy joined forces with the city's major merchant guilds to hold a massive Treasure Appreciation Fair, displaying all manner of rare and precious treasures.

Soul bones, medicinal herbs, weapons, rare metals... everything one could want was on display.

Students could use cards issued by the academy to buy items on credit within a certain limit.

After classes that afternoon, Wang Donger directly dragged Jiang Ziming to the fairgrounds.

The venue was located in a massive building at the city center, covering several thousand square meters and divided into three floors.

The first floor contained medicinal herbs and rare materials, the second held soul bones and weapons, while the third was the auction area, displaying only the finest treasures.

The moment they entered, Wang Donger's eyes lit up.

"Wow! This jewelry soul tool is so pretty!"

"Freshly excavated ten-thousand-year Mystic Ice Grass? That's incredible!"

"Damn, Ziming, look at that!"

Like a lively little deer, she darted between display cases, looking at one thing and touching another, practically bursting with excitement.

Jiang Ziming followed behind her at an unhurried pace, his gaze sweeping across the various treasures.

The cards issued by the academy came in different ranks.

Ordinary students received white cards with limited credit.

Core students received purple cards with higher limits.

As for him, though he was also a core student, for some reason he had received a gold card.

Each year, he could take away three treasures of any grade for free, with no limit on their value.

Wang Donger had received a purple card and was already delighted. She dragged Jiang Ziming around, calculating what she ought to buy.

When they reached the second floor, Wang Donger suddenly stopped.

Her gaze fell upon a soul bone displayed within a transparent crystal case.

It was a golden right arm bone, its surface flowing with a faint sheen. Dragon patterns could vaguely be seen moving across the bone, radiating an ancient, heavy presence.

"Golden Earth Dragon King Right Arm Bone..."

Wang Donger softly read the label beside it, undisguised affection and longing appearing in her eyes.

She stood before the display case and stared at it for a long, long time.

Jiang Ziming walked to her side, glanced at the soul bone's price, then looked at Wang Donger's reluctant expression and smiled.

"You like it?"

Wang Donger hurriedly withdrew her gaze and shook her head.

"No, no, I was just looking... It's too expensive. My purple card doesn't have enough credit."

Jiang Ziming said nothing more. He walked directly to the counter and handed over his gold card.

"I'll take this Golden Earth Dragon King Right Arm Bone."

The staff member behind the counter looked at the gold card, then at Jiang Ziming. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, but he quickly accepted the card respectfully and processed the transaction.

Wang Donger was stunned. She hurried over and grabbed his sleeve.

"What are you doing? Something this valuable..."

"It's for you."

Jiang Ziming cut her off casually.

"I have three items' worth of credit this year anyway. Might as well use it."

Wang Donger opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat seemed blocked by something.

Looking at Jiang Ziming's calm, indifferent face, an indescribable warmth welled up in her heart, and her eyes reddened slightly.

"Ziming, thank you."

She lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Jiang Ziming smiled and said nothing more before turning to continue browsing.

He casually stopped at another display case and picked up a brown gelatinous substance labeled "Weathered Thousand-Year Whale Glue," examining it for a moment.

Whale glue was a rare treasure produced by deep-sea whale soul beasts. It contained exceptionally pure energy and could greatly improve a soul master's physique and upper limit of soul power.

Though this piece of whale glue was labeled as thousand-year-old, Jiang Ziming knew that its true age was at least ten thousand years.

Its outward characteristics were simply too indistinct, causing the appraiser to misjudge it.

Without giving anything away, he handed the whale glue to the staff member.

"I'll take this too."

The staff member accepted it and processed another transaction for him.

With two treasures in hand, he still had one of his three allowances remaining.

Jiang Ziming was in no hurry to use it. He did not think the treasures at this fair could compare to the treasures developed by his system.

That evening, Jiang Ziming and Wang Donger left the Treasure Appreciation Fair.

Since it was already late, Wang Donger took the initiative to offer to fly him back.

Holding Jiang Ziming in her arms, she spread the wings of her Radiant Goddess Butterfly and rose into the air, flying toward Shrek Academy.

Unlike Xiao Wu, Wang Donger had not fully grown yet and was comparatively petite. To hold Jiang Ziming securely, she had to press almost her entire body tightly against the boy's back.

Softness mixed with a sweet, delicate fragrance lingered around Jiang Ziming.

Donger's pretty face was flushed crimson, but she said nothing, trying to focus on flying.

As they flew over a dense forest, Jiang Ziming suddenly sensed an intense killing intent.

The next instant, several figures shot up from the forest and surrounded them!