Looking at Dai Mubai Like a Damp, Creepy Bug

Flender said she was living off her reserves.

But she was clearly moving upward.

Ning Rongrong folded her arms, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.

"Hey."

Oscar cautiously edged closer. His peach-blossom eyes were full of things left unsaid. He rubbed his hands together, deliberating over his wording for a long while before finally squeezing out a sentence.

"Rongrong, are you okay? Don't take what the Dean said to heart. That's just how he is with all of us too—his mouth is unforgiving, but he means well."

He secretly watched Ning Rongrong's expression, having prepared an entire routine of consolation.

Then he realized none of it was needed.

Ning Rongrong glanced back at him. There was no grievance on her face, no sulking, not even displeasure. She looked perfectly calm, with a hint of matter-of-fact composure.

"Upset?" She tilted her head. "Why would I be upset?"

Oscar froze.

"Everything I said just now was the truth." Ning Rongrong's tone was as casual as if she were discussing dinner. "I really am stronger than most of them. What's there to be upset about? If Dean Flender thinks I'm not good enough, then there's something wrong with his judgment, not with me."

Oscar opened his mouth.

He didn't agree with that. Flender had raised him since childhood, and held tremendous weight in his heart. Yet when this twelve-year-old girl looked at him with such unwavering certainty, the rebuttal in his throat simply would not come out.

That confidence was not an act.

Nor was it stubborn bravado.

It was a certainty that had grown from her very bones, utterly natural and unquestionable.

Oscar scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. "I see."

Even he felt spineless saying it. But what could he do? On one side was the Dean he had respected since childhood; on the other was the girl who had captured his heart at first sight. Caught between them, all he could do was stand there uselessly.

"Then are you still planning to stay at the academy?" There was a trace of nervousness in Oscar's voice. "Or are you going to find that master of yours?"

Ning Rongrong raised a brow.

To be honest, when Flender had told her to leave if she could not figure it out, the thought had indeed crossed her mind. Fine, she would leave. She could return to Soto City, find that fraud of a master, make him teach her all the remaining soul skills, and still grow stronger.

But the thought lasted only a second.

She thought of the contempt in Dai Mubai's evil eyes when he looked at her. She thought of Flender's expression that seemed to say, You don't deserve it. She thought of Tang San's seemingly gentle yet deeply arrogant manner.

What gave these people the right to look down on her?

When had Ning Rongrong ever slunk away in defeat?

Besides, she had told her father, Grandpa Sword, Grandpa Bone, and that fraud of a master that she would enroll at Shrek Academy. Going back with her tail between her legs now? She could not afford that humiliation.

And there were Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. Two geniuses, two potential resources. She had spent an entire day building connections with them; she could not let that effort go to waste. What if that fraud of a master needed new disciples later? With this bond in place, things would be much easier.

No matter how she calculated it, this was not a loss.

"Leave?" Ning Rongrong lifted her chin, her eyes carrying a trace of mockery. "Why would I leave? This place is so entertaining, and I've only been here for one day."

Oscar's eyes lit up.

"As for that lecherous Dean..." Ning Rongrong changed the subject, a lovely curve appearing on her lips. "I'll prove it to him with my actions. I'll make him understand that every word he said today was complete bullshit."

Oscar's expression stiffened.

That was the Dean he had revered since childhood.

And a twelve-year-old girl had just called him full of bullshit right in front of him.

He wanted to argue. He really did. But Ning Rongrong's delicate face looked far too beautiful under the moonlight, and the utterly unrestrained, unapologetic boldness in her words made his heart race even faster than her gentle, dignified mask from earlier that day.

Oscar stood rooted in place, his face flushing bright red. His lips moved three times, but not a single word came out.

Ning Rongrong glanced at him.

She was far too familiar with that look. At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, eight out of ten boys her age looked at her that way. The other two did not dare look.

"Enough." She waved a hand, sounding as casual as if she were dismissing a clingy follower. "I'm going to practice the Wind Empress Qimen my master taught me. Go wherever you want, but don't follow me."

With that, her white skirt swayed as she walked off with light steps without looking back.

Her figure cast a slender shadow in the moonlight, quickly disappearing at the end of the academy's tree-lined path.

Oscar remained where he was.

His right foot lifted slightly, wanting to chase after her. His arm rose as well, wanting to call out to her.

In the end, both fell back down.

That retreating figure was too decisive. So decisive that he understood Ning Rongrong did not need him at this moment.

Oscar sighed and crouched atop a stone beside the training field, staring blankly at the moon alone.

He had no idea how much time passed.

Scattered footsteps and murmurs came from the distance. Flender's training group had returned, though Flender himself was not among them.

The moonlight was at its brightest.

Tang San walked at the front, his pale blue training clothes smeared with mud and grass clippings. Xiao Wu followed half a step behind him, her scorpion braid swaying back and forth, her face flushed from exertion.

Dai Mubai came third, his golden hair hanging loose, the chill in his evil eyes even heavier than it had been during the day. Zhu Zhuqing walked silently at the back like a shadow. As she passed the area where Ning Rongrong and Oscar had been, her gaze swept over it without drawing attention.

Oscar was still sitting on the stone. When he saw them return, he stood up.

"Oscar." Tang San nodded at him, his tone gentle. "Why are you still here? It's late. Aren't you going back to the dorm?"

Oscar rubbed his face and forced out a smile. "I was waiting for you guys."

Xiao Wu's gaze traveled around the area. When she did not see that familiar figure in white, she bit her lip.

Ning Rongrong had brought three large bags of food to find her and Zhu Zhuqing during the day, and Xiao Wu could still remember the taste of those honey walnut pastries and osmanthus cakes. Honestly, when Flender had lectured Ning Rongrong on the training field, Xiao Wu had actually wanted to say something.

If Ning Rongrong's Wind Empress Qimen really could do everything she claimed, then running training truly had little meaning. As a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit in human form, Xiao Wu understood one principle better than anyone.

Whether soul beast or soul master, specializing in one area was the strongest path to growth. Ning Rongrong possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's supreme support abilities, along with the Wind Empress Qimen's offensive and survival techniques. Taking those two things to their limits would be enough.

But she had not spoken up for Ning Rongrong. Tang San and the Dean had both sided against Ning Rongrong, so she had found it difficult to open her mouth.

Now, not seeing Ning Rongrong anywhere, Xiao Wu's heart gave a jolt.

She didn't really leave, did she?

Then who's going to bring me tasty food in the future?

Though that thought was a little selfish, it was indeed the loudest voice in her mind at that moment.

"Where's Rongrong?" Xiao Wu grabbed Oscar's sleeve, obvious anxiety in her voice. "Did she go back to the dorm to rest?"

Oscar opened his mouth.

Before he could answer—

"She left."

Dai Mubai's voice cut in from the side. It was cold, harsh, and full of contempt.

He folded his arms across his chest, his evil eyes half-lidded, a mocking curve on his lips.

"A spoiled young miss who couldn't take a few words from the Dean, so she ran back to her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with her tail between her legs to call for reinforcements."

He tilted his head, golden hair sliding from his shoulder to reveal the hard lines of his profile.

"It's better that she left. Someone like that would only be a nuisance if she stayed at the academy. Throwing money and her background around all day, without any actual strength—her mouth is the only thing she has going for her. In a real fight, she wouldn't last even one exchange."

A cold gleam flashed in his evil eyes.

"Otherwise, I really can't guarantee I'd be able to hold myself back from teaching her a lesson."

The moment his words fell—

"Oh?"

A crisp female voice drifted from the darkness behind Oscar.

Everyone turned toward the sound at once.

Under the moonlight, a graceful figure stepped out from the shadows of the tree-lined path. Her white dress was clean and neat, her chin-length hair fluttering lightly in the night breeze, and her almond-shaped eyes shone unusually bright beneath the moon.

Ning Rongrong stood with her arms folded, her head tilted as she looked at Dai Mubai. The curve of her lips was neither too broad nor too slight—just enough to infuriate someone to death.

"You've got some nerve calling me spoiled." Her voice was not loud, but every word seemed deliberately timed and thrown straight at him. "Aren't you a spoiled young master yourself? Walking around with that sour face every day like the whole world owes you money. What gives you the right to criticize me?"

Xiao Wu's eyes brightened, and the tightness in her chest finally eased.

"Rongrong! You didn't leave!"

Behind Tang San's calm expression, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He had assumed Ning Rongrong would not appear again tonight.

Zhu Zhuqing stood at the rear. Her cold gaze rested on Ning Rongrong for two seconds, impossible to read.

Dai Mubai's face darkened instantly.

The chill in his evil eyes grew so dense it nearly became tangible. His expression was like someone had forcibly stuffed something indescribably foul into his mouth—fishy and rancid, yet impossible to spit out.

"You didn't leave?"

His voice lowered, filled with gritted fury.

"You figured it out? You're staying at the academy?" He snorted, his golden hair stirring in the night breeze. "Fine, stay. But keep that mouth of yours clean around me. I'm not Oscar, and I'm not Tang San with his good temper. Talk to me like that again, and don't blame me for being rude."

A sharp gleam surged in his evil eyes.

"I, Dai Mubai, don't go easy on women."

Ning Rongrong giggled, completely lacking any awareness of being threatened.

"Of course I'm staying. How could I just leave a place this entertaining?"

She tilted her head at Dai Mubai's gloomy face and deliberately widened her smile.

"What kind of expression is that? Are you a zombie? Did Zhu Zhuqing shut you down, so you came to take your anger out on me?"

She covered her mouth and laughed.

"Ha ha, and Oscar even said you were some master-level romantic. You can't even handle one little girl."

She turned sideways, casting Dai Mubai a provocative glance.

"You said you'd be rude to me? Come on, then. Let me see exactly how rude you can be."

Once those words were spoken, everyone present changed expression.

Xiao Wu's mouth fell open into an O. She wanted to pull Ning Rongrong away but did not dare move.

Oscar's peach-blossom eyes were filled with four words: It's over, it's over.

Tang San's brows furrowed slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai.

A crack finally appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's icy expression. When Ning Rongrong mentioned her name, her catlike pupils contracted for an instant.

The cold light in Dai Mubai's evil eyes flared.

"Ning Rongrong. Don't test my patience."

He spoke one word at a time, as though squeezing them through clenched teeth.

"This is Shrek Academy. Not your home. Others may fear your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but I, Dai Mubai, do not. If you anger me, be careful, or I'll rape you first, kill you after, then rape you again and kill you again."

The instant the words fell, Ning Rongrong's expression visibly soured. At that moment, she looked at Dai Mubai as though he were a damp, creepy bug.