Dai Mubai: At Least Teacher Zhao Can Hold Him Off, Right?

A white figure darted out from behind Yang Xing as soon as the words fell.

Ning Rongrong rushed up to Xiao Wu in three quick strides, eagerly picking up the conversation.

"Yes, yes!" Her eyes curved into crescent moons, her voice sweet and crisp. "Xiao Wu, you were the only one there who always wanted to help me! When that dead tiger was about to hit me, you and Tang San were the only ones who said you'd help, and you even dragged Zhu Zhuqing off to find a teacher!"

She grabbed Xiao Wu's arm and shook it twice. "I'll remember this kindness! From now on, order whatever food you want in Soto City, pick any pastries you like! My people and my money will both have your back!"

Caught and shaken by Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu's fear of Yang Xing was diverted somewhat. Her gaze shifted from Yang Xing to Ning Rongrong's face, where genuine warmth and affection filled her delicate features.

Her body was still trembling, but not as badly as before.

"Rongrong, it's good that you're all right." Xiao Wu's voice was still a little unsteady, but more natural than before.

From the corner of her eye, Ning Rongrong spotted Zhu Zhuqing standing at the edge of the group, expressionless but with a faint flicker in her eyes.

She released Xiao Wu's hand, then walked several steps over to Zhu Zhuqing and directly grabbed her cool wrist.

Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened for an instant.

"Zhuqing!" Ning Rongrong pulled her over beside Xiao Wu, her tone certain. "I know you didn't help me deal with that stinking tiger because you have ties to Dai Mubai, so it wasn't easy for you to act. I don't blame you for that."

She released Zhu Zhuqing's wrist, turned to face the two of them, and spoke rapidly.

"And when Xiao Wu went to find a teacher for help, you went with her too, right? Xiao Wu said so. You even suggested finding the other teachers."

At that, Ning Rongrong suddenly blinked, as though she had just remembered someone she seemed to have forgotten. Straightening up, she swept her pretty almond-shaped eyes across the empty, wrecked training ground.

Other than Tang San, who could not move, Dai Mubai, whose face was deathly pale, and Li Yusong, who lay in the distance groaning, there was no sign of that food-system Soul Master with the full beard.

"Oh, right." Ning Rongrong tilted her head curiously, bringing her gaze back to the two girls before her. "That big sausage... where's Oscar? Where did he run off to? Wasn't he still here before the fight?"

Xiao Wu had not yet fully settled from her fear of Yang Xing, her face slightly pale. Hearing this, she merely shook her head blankly, indicating that she had had no mind to pay attention to anyone else at the time.

Zhu Zhuqing, however, remained as calmly observant as ever. A trace of recollection flickered through her cool eyes as she answered hesitantly, not entirely certain. "It seemed that when you started fighting Dai Mubai, he hurried off. He was heading toward the dormitories, so he probably wanted to break up your fight and find a teacher."

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips after hearing that and muttered softly, "Is that so? Then he's actually pretty kind..."

Then Zhu Zhuqing's catlike eyes shifted slightly. Her gaze passed over Ning Rongrong's face before landing on the robed young man in the distance, lingering for a moment.

"Mm." She uttered a single word.

Ning Rongrong nodded in satisfaction and was about to say something else when she caught Xiao Wu's abnormal state from the corner of her eye.

Xiao Wu's shoulders were still trembling faintly. Both hands clutched the hem of her skirt, her fingertips white. A shadow that was hard to describe lingered in those large, lively, bright eyes.

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"Xiao Wu?" She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "What's wrong? Your face is so pale."

Xiao Wu's body stiffened again.

"N-Nothing." She shook her head, a little too quickly, her scorpion braid swaying back and forth. "I was just frightened earlier."

"Frightened?" Ning Rongrong tilted her head. "What frightened you?"

Xiao Wu's gaze drifted uncontrollably toward Yang Xing.

Just once, and then it quickly withdrew.

But what kind of eyesight did Ning Rongrong have?

She followed Xiao Wu's gaze.

Yang Xing was standing where he was, looking entirely innocent. The lipstick marks on his face were especially conspicuous under the moonlight.

Naturally, Ning Rongrong realized that Xiao Wu might have been frightened by the way her fraud of a master had acted earlier. Besides, for some reason, just seeing Yang Xing's face irritated her.

So she strode back to Yang Xing in three steps and pushed him. The force was light, but her attitude was thoroughly disdainful.

"You!" Her voice turned haughty again as she pointed at Yang Xing. "You scared Xiao Wu! Stay farther away, farther away..."

Yang Xing was pushed back half a step and clicked his tongue.

"What did I do? Hey, can't you show your master a little respect? I just saved you."

"Saving me is one thing!" Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips. "But can't you pay attention to your appearance? Look at your face! Look at your clothes! What are you supposed to look like? You're scary, you know!"

As she spoke, she grabbed Yang Xing by the sleeve and tugged him farther away from Xiao Wu. She was not strong, but she put plenty of force into the gesture.

Then she turned and jogged back to Xiao Wu.

"It's all right, it's all right." Ning Rongrong hooked her arm around Xiao Wu's, her voice soft as cotton. "He's just like that. He looks intimidating, but he's not a bad person."

Her arm wrapped around Xiao Wu's as she gently patted the back of her hand.

"Though my master is a little lecherous-looking, a little disgusting in his behavior, and a little unreliable when he talks, he really won't hurt anyone. Don't worry."

Behind them, Yang Xing's mouth twitched three times at that string of adjectives.

With Ning Rongrong holding her arm, the fear seeping out from between Xiao Wu's bones eased even further. Ning Rongrong's warmth reached her through their arms—warm and real.

She took a breath and forced a smile. "Mm, I'm fine now."

Ning Rongrong hugged her more tightly, then waved at Zhu Zhuqing in the distance.

Zhu Zhuqing walked over and stood on Ning Rongrong's other side. The three girls stood together, keeping five or six meters away from Yang Xing.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Dai Mubai's eyes had already spun around more than fifty times.

At this moment, a single word filled his evil eyes.

Panic—

Yang Xing's utterly dismissive attitude when he had passed by him earlier had not reassured him in the slightest. Instead, it made him even more terrified.

While Ning Rongrong had been whispering with Yang Xing, she had pointed in his direction several times. He could not hear what they were saying, but he could see the white-dressed girl's angry expression and the gestures she was making.

They were talking about him. They had to be talking about him.

It was just that Yang Xing had no free hand right now.

But what if Yang Xing freed one up?

He had personally seen a hand catch a Soul Emperor's full-force strike, and a single kick send Li Yusong flying.

What if that kick landed on him?

Dai Mubai did not dare imagine it.

His Adam's apple bobbed twice as his peripheral vision swept toward the edge of the training ground.

Could he run? Where would he go? Could he outrun someone who could teleport and appear out of thin air?

Just as he racked his brain without finding any way out.

Bang. A hand landed on his shoulder from the side.

"Ah!"

Dai Mubai nearly jumped out of his skin. A cold gleam surged in his evil eyes as he turned, ready to strike.

Then he saw who it was.

Zhao Wuji had somehow appeared silently at his side.

His massive body, over two meters tall, stood beside him. Thick bandages were wrapped around his head, his left eye swollen into a narrow slit, and the right side of his face bruised purple. One arm hung before his chest, secured in place with gauze, while his other hand rested on Dai Mubai's shoulder.

He looked like someone who had just been dragged out of a dump.

"What happened?" Zhao Wuji's voice was muffled as it squeezed through his swollen lips. "What's all this noise in the middle of the night? Oscar woke me up from bed, and I accidentally knocked that brat unconscious?"

He swept his gaze over the wreckage on the training ground—the pitted earth, the scattered stones, and Li Yusong still lying on the ground in the distance.

"What happened to Old Li?"

Dai Mubai's eyes instantly lit up.

Zhao Wuji! A seventy-sixth-rank Soul Sage! Martial Soul: Mighty Vajra Bear! The Immovable King!

Though he currently looked like a crippled patient, this was Zhao Wuji! Zhao Wuji, the notorious troublemaker who had once made a fearsome name for himself across Douluo Continent as the Immovable King before retiring!

Half the weight in his heart lifted.

It was not that Zhao Wuji could definitely defeat Ning Rongrong's mysterious master.

But at least... at least he could hold him off, right?