I Think We Need to Change

Xie Mu's steps faltered for a moment. His shoulders tensed slightly, and his fingers tightened around the sheet of paper.

He did not turn around or stop walking. He merely folded the paper again, tucked it into his clothes, and quickened his pace.

The laughter chased after him for a stretch before it was finally swallowed by the wind and the sound of hoofbeats.

His hand never loosened from the strap of his bundle as he ran faster and faster toward Shrek City.

By Sea God Lake, Tang Wulin had already helped Gu Yuena back to the entrance of the dormitory building. Only after watching her climb the stairs did he return, standing beneath a willow tree and gazing at the ripples wrinkling the lake's surface in the wind. He let out a long, silent breath.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands. The surging sensation in his blood from when that nine-colored light had erupted still lingered deep in his meridians, carrying a faint warmth.

Dragon God Transformation...

And this was only the first transformation, yet it was already this powerful!

He lowered his eyes, suppressing those turbulent thoughts, then looked up at the setting sun in the distance before turning toward the dining hall.

Damn it, I'm hungry again. Food first.

Tang Wulin could not help clutching his forehead in despair.

With a faint flush on his face and an uneasy look in his eyes, Xuan Lao landed beside him and stammered, "Um, well, about Xiaotao... her martial soul... You know about it too, right? The academy will compensate you afterward. What do you think?"

Tang Wulin glanced at Xuan Zi. "That's fine, but I hope the academy will still place some restrictions on Ma Xiaotao. After all, if I hadn't been there and those had only been two ordinary students, what would have happened to them? Are you just going to whitewash everything?"

"But... but nothing happened, did it?" Xuan Zi lowered his head, his eyes filled with unease as he furtively glanced at Tang Wulin.

That guilty look was practically...

"Nothing happened, but we still need to improve our safeguards. Ma Xiaotao may not have fallen into becoming an evil soul master yet, but the possibility remains. If no better option works, seal her soul power and make her stop cultivating." A stern glint flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes.

"Forget it, Xuan Lao. Do this instead. Help me notify everyone that I will convene a Sea God Pavilion meeting tomorrow. Regarding the academy's security issues, I think we need to change." After a moment of silence, Tang Wulin raised his eyes and spoke sharply.

Shrek Academy had to change. Otherwise, he would not feel comfortable staying here. Since he had decided to remain, he might as well shape it into something he wanted.

Normally, with his current strength, he had no authority to convene and preside over such a meeting.

But now that Old Tang had appeared, as the Sea God's spokesperson, he still carried a certain degree of prestige. And if that was not enough, he could just call Old Tang out again.

Anyway, Old Tang expended a great deal of energy when he acted, but merely coming out to intimidate people did not consume much. With the energy in Tang Wulin's body now, he could restore him quickly.

Besides, he did not believe that this intervention had failed to draw Tang San's attention up in the heavens.

Since Tang San had not descended to cause trouble for him, it meant that he had managed to deceive the heavens to some extent.

If worse comes to worst, I can always ask my godfather and godmother.

They're two genuine God Kings!

Seriously, one problem after another.

Tang Wulin felt a headache coming on.

I really want to shout, Jianqiu, my head hurts!

But if he actually shouted it, someone would probably ask, "Who's Jianqiu?"

He stood at the entrance to the inner court dining hall and turned around twice on the spot. In the end, he still could not withstand the emptiness in his stomach. Lifting the curtain, he went back inside.

The inner court dining hall was already past mealtime, and the vast hall was empty. Only the kitchen stove was still lit, its warm yellow light spilling through the serving window and casting a gentle patch of light over the tiled floor. Familiar with the place, Tang Wulin walked to the window and poked his head inside.

Uncle Chen was cleaning up beside the stove. When he saw Tang Wulin return, he did not even have time to set down his rag before exclaiming, "Oh? Little Tang, why are you back again? Didn't you eat your fill earlier?"

Tang Wulin leaned against the windowsill and gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. "Uncle Chen, I didn't get full. Something held me up earlier, and I'm starving now. Please make me something else. Anything quick will do."

Uncle Chen gave him a look but asked no more questions. He turned around, pulled a cleaned Iron-Haired Pig hind leg from the kitchen's ice cellar, gathered half a basket of fresh mountain mushrooms and spirit bamboo shoots, then efficiently lit the fire and started cooking.

As the clatter of the spatula against the wok rang through the kitchen, Tang Wulin had already taken his usual seat by the window. He pulled his round wooden stool from his storage soul tool and set it down, then rested his chin in both hands and stared longingly toward the kitchen.

Before long, Uncle Chen came out carrying plate after plate of steaming food.

Braised Iron-Haired Pig knuckle, spirit bamboo shoots stewed with mountain mushrooms, honey-glazed grilled ribs, and a large basin of steamed silver-scaled fish topped with shredded red pepper and chopped scallions. A few pale golden goji berries and codonopsis floated in the soup, while steam billowed up and the fragrance drifted across the table.

Tang Wulin did not stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks and began shoveling food into his mouth.

The moment he bit into the first mouthful of pork knuckle, it was as though something had plucked a string within him. A warm current of energy spread from his stomach and slowly rose through his meridians, like a spring stream in March flowing over frozen earth, gradually replenishing the blood and vitality that Dragon God Transformation had drained from him.

His previously chilled fingertips began to warm, and a soft flush rose at the roots of his ears.

His chopsticks never stopped. Piece after piece, fish after fish—he even swept the tender stewed mushrooms and bamboo slices into his stomach along with the soup.

Uncle Chen stood beside him, waiting to clear the dishes and bring out new ones. As the stack of empty plates on the table grew higher and higher, his expression shifted from initial shock to calm familiarity. In the end, he even crossed his arms and nodded with something like admiration.

When the final dish had been wiped clean, Tang Wulin finally set down his chopsticks.

Leaning back, he sprawled across the wooden stool with his back against the chair and legs stretched out. He tilted his head up at the dim yellow hanging lamp on the dining hall ceiling and let out a long breath, his entire body radiating the laziness and relaxation unique to a full stomach.

Uncle Chen came out of the kitchen with a cup of warm water, set it before him, and casually stacked the empty dishes from the table onto his arm. Smiling, he asked, "Full?"

"Full." Tang Wulin sat up a little and took a sip of water to moisten his throat. Then he looked at Uncle Chen. "By the way, Uncle Chen, weren't you working in the outer court dining hall before? Why are you in the inner court today?"