"Hey... what did Senior Ye say to you just now?"
Ning Rongrong pursed her lips, her brows deeply furrowed.
She had thought that aloof senior wouldn't have any special feelings for Su Li.
But then...
She had only left a little late, and the two of them had ended up walking together?
And they had been standing so close...
Could they have been doing... something secret?
Ugh!
This was so annoying!
"Nothing. She just asked about the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul."
Su Li spoke calmly, his gaze almost frighteningly sincere.
Ning Rongrong stared at him for two seconds, then quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course...
She was just being too sensitive.
She wondered if Su Li would like her this way...
No, no, no!
Who wanted him to like her?!
Ning Rongrong patted her head and looked away, the tips of her ears turning faintly pink.
Su Li glanced at her, smiled, and sat down on a chair.
Then...
Right in front of her, he began cultivating.
"What? It's fine to relax once in a while..."
Ning Rongrong sighed helplessly and sat beside him, watching the two girls chatting a short distance away.
With a soft huff, she rested her head on Su Li's shoulder.
His cultivation paused for a moment, then resumed. He said nothing.
"Lingling, you and Su Li..."
"We talked about a few things."
"Oh, I know... I'm just curious why you went to see him."
Ye Lingling looked at her anxious friend. With all those questions, why did she seem like an adorable little puppy?
No!
How could she describe her friend like that?
Ye Lingling thought for a moment, then tilted her head and looked at her curiously. "He came to me."
Dugu Yan's face stiffened. She took two steps back and forced a faint smile. "Ahem... Lingling, don't joke about that..."
"I'm not. Su Li came to me himself."
Ye Lingling blinked her clear, innocent eyes. Her unruffled gaze made her look utterly incapable of lying.
Dugu Yan would rather believe her friend was lying than accept it.
No!
She had spent a whole year caring for him, yet she had made less progress than her best friend?!
After all...
How many times had those two even met?
They barely spoke to each other!
He went to her... he went to her...
"Damn it! Just because he came to you, you had to give him what he wanted?!"
Dugu Yan's pretty face flushed as she gripped Ye Lingling's shoulders. She suddenly regretted introducing her to Su Li.
Could it be...
Her little husband liked girls like that?
It made sense. He was quiet, and so was her best friend.
The two of them looked well suited...
No!
How could she think that?
He was her man!
"Yanzi, he insisted."
"Ask him yourself if you don't believe me."
"Anyway... I'm going back to cultivate. Bye~"
The moment Ye Lingling turned away, she couldn't help smiling. There was even a spring in her step.
With her hands behind her back and her blue hair swaying lightly, she looked full of energy, nothing like her usual solitary, withdrawn self.
"I... I wouldn't dare ask him myself..."
Dugu Yan lowered her head dejectedly. She glanced at the two in the courtyard, leaning so close together, and her chest rose and fell as though she had taken a blow.
"Hmph. I'll let Ning Rongrong have him for a few years."
"Once he's grown up, just watch me steal him away!"
Dugu Yan strode off, refusing to torment herself any further.
Ning Rongrong saw it happen.
She thought Dugu Yan had given up.
"Hehe~ That nasty woman. Su Li would never fall for you."
Ning Rongrong muttered softly, but the boy beside her heard every word.
Huh? Why were there two things she didn't want him to do in that one sentence?
The leaves had turned yellow, and the autumn air was crisp.
Su Li stepped on fallen twigs, producing several sharp cracks.
Dry leaves burst beneath his feet. It was strangely satisfying.
"Su Li, you've eaten quite a bit of Whale Rubber lately. Are you confident you can absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"
Chen Xin looked at the boy beside him, who had grown considerably taller. More and more, he saw something of his younger self in him.
"No problem."
Su Li answered as he looked at the sign ahead.
It read: You are about to enter the outskirts of Star Dou Forest. Those who are not Soul Masters are advised not to enter. Enter at your own risk.
"Sword Grandpa! You have no idea how awful Whale Rubber tastes!"
"Sometimes I felt so sick I couldn't eat another bite, but Su Li forced it into my mouth, and I..."
"Just thinking about it makes me feel sick..."
Ning Rongrong held her stomach and pretended to retch.
She shot Su Li a sidelong glare, as if blaming him.
"No pain, no gain."
"There will be much worse hardships ahead. If you can't even handle this, how will you grow stronger?"
Su Li spoke as though imparting some profound wisdom.
"Oh, stop acting so wise!" Ning Rongrong planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. "I'm the Seven Treasure Little Princess. I was born to enjoy life, not suffer!"
"Why would I go looking for hardship?"
At that thought...
Ning Rongrong suddenly remembered that she had spent the past year and more eating papaya every day. Wasn't she doing exactly that?
Ugh!
How annoying...
She never should have put herself through all that just because of one offhand remark from Su Li!
She did look a little prettier, perhaps, but hadn't she always been beautiful?
Other than that...
Maybe her chest had grown a little fuller?
"That's enough. Stop arguing, you two."
"Su Li is right. What Soul Master hasn't had to endure trials to get where they are?"
"If you want to stand out, what's a little hardship?"
Ning Rongrong huffed but didn't argue.
After all...
She was used to it.
Still, there was something hard to describe about Su Li prying her mouth open and feeding her...
After just one time, she had grown used to it...
Ning Rongrong recalled how she had complained even as she swallowed without hesitation. Her cheeks grew hot, and the tips of her ears reddened.
How had she ended up letting Su Li feed her?
Shouldn't she, the young lady, have been feeding him instead?
Still...
It had felt rather nice...
The three walked along the outskirts of Star Dou Forest for a while. Aside from a few Soft Bone Rabbits, they found nothing.
"That's strange... We've been walking for ages. We should have run into at least one Hundred-Year Soul Beast by now."
"Why is it nothing but little rabbits?"
Ning Rongrong scratched her head and looked at Chen Xin in puzzlement.
She wondered if he had failed to conceal his aura and frightened all the Soul Beasts away.
Su Li surveyed the area and spotted a scorch mark on a nearby tree.
It looked as though an attack from a fire-attributed Soul Beast had left it there.
Just then...
Chen Xin, who had stood with his hands behind his back and his face expressionless, narrowed his eyes.
He looked southeast and spoke.
"That Soul Beast is coming..."
A moment later...
A four-legged Soul Beast with horns on its head and a golden-red body came running toward them.
It looked pained, as though it were injured.
"A Sacred Flame Dragon Lizard?! Of all the Soul Beasts..."
Before you continue