Gathered Together

Mu Feng froze for a moment. He remembered that although the two had clashed somewhat during their last meeting, her attitude had not been nearly as cold as it was now.

"No."

Bi Ji kindly offered, "Since we're heading the same way, I'll take you all there."

"Hiss..." Mu Feng found himself in a difficult position. Without Bei Bei and Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao in his hands was a hot potato. But for now, he could only bring Huo Yuhao to Shrek City first and think of another solution later.

Just as Mu Feng was about to agree, Bei Bei and Tang Ya suddenly popped out from another direction.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao, who was unconscious beside the tree, had his eyelashes tremble lightly. After being unconscious for so long and having a beautiful dream, he was about to wake up.

Mu Feng was speechless. He had clearly checked no almanac before going out today. He had only wanted to casually snag an opportunity—how had he ended up in such a troublesome situation?

Seeing Huo Yuhao leaning against the tree without moving, the two hurried over and anxiously asked, "Junior Mu, what happened to Little Brother Huo?"

Bi Ji had long sensed the auras of these two little ones. Watching the three talk, she softly said to Di Qiuli, "Don't you think that high-ponytailed girl in blue is very pretty? I didn't expect this little fellow to be so popular."

Anyone with eyes could see that Tang Ya and Bei Bei's actions were extremely intimate. Bi Ji had deliberately phrased it that way to tease Di Qiuli.

Di Qiuli turned her head away and remained silent. Bi Ji had not used to tease her like this. She did not know what was going on today, but it felt as though Bi Ji was "provoking" her.

Seeing through Di Qiuli's little thoughts, Bi Ji merely found this version of her quite amusing. She was much more fun than she had been in the Star Dou Great Forest, so Bi Ji's playful side emerged and she teased her a few more times.

Just as Mu Feng finished explaining the whole sequence of events to Bei Bei, the unconscious Huo Yuhao smacked his lips twice and slowly opened his eyes.

He remembered that there had been no one around him before he fainted. Why was it so noisy around him when he woke up, like a marketplace? And there were even two people he did not know.

Hearing Huo Yuhao stir, Bei Bei happily said, "Little Brother Huo, you're awake."

"Big Brother Bei, this is—" Huo Yuhao was somewhat confused. After he woke up, the big bug instead fell silent. Judging from Bi Ji's reaction earlier, she had not discovered him. As long as he did not speak up to remind Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao reacted naturally, Bi Ji would be even less likely to become suspicious.

"Brother Skydream, Brother Skydream," Huo Yuhao instinctively called for Skydream Iceworm's help, unable to make sense of the situation.

But after calling for a long time, he received no response at all. The two of them had been chatting happily in the dream just now, so why was Brother Skydream ignoring him after he woke up? Could that really have been just a dream?

Huo Yuhao's gaze wandered as Bei Bei repeated Mu Feng's explanation to him from the side.

The current situation was almost a complete mess. Since Mu Feng had already obtained what he wanted, he could not be bothered to concern himself with what came next. After bidding the others farewell, he immediately ran over to Bi Ji's side.

According to Bi Ji, she apparently no longer wanted to capture him. Shrek City was still quite a distance away, and catching a ride would be very convenient.

"Senior, let's go."

"Who are they?"

Mu Feng glanced at Bei Bei and Tang Ya. "They're students from Shrek Academy's outer court. They came out to obtain soul rings today, and I only met them not long ago."

Bi Ji nodded. After hearing Bei Bei's account, Huo Yuhao learned that while he had been unconscious, Mu Feng had fought soul beasts alone for quite some time to protect him.

Huo Yuhao looked at the corpses of several soul beasts around them. He had struggled greatly just to deal with a Wind Baboon, yet Big Brother Mu had fought so many soul beasts in order to protect him.

Bei Bei subconsciously believed that Mu Feng was merely a novice who had just become a Great Soul Master. Facing so many soul beasts alone could not have been easy for him, so he embellished the story somewhat while recounting it.

In Bei Bei's telling, even though Mu Feng had been in a sorry state, he had refused to let those soul beasts harm Huo Yuhao in the slightest. Thinking of this, a sudden ache welled up in Huo Yuhao's heart. This was the first time he had ever felt what it was like to be protected.

Although his mother had taught him to only reveal thirty percent of his heart when speaking to others and never give away his whole heart, he had merely grilled Big Brother Mu a fish, yet Big Brother Mu had helped him so much. Huo Yuhao was deeply moved.

But Mu Feng had already gone to stand beside Bi Ji. When Huo Yuhao wanted to thank him, Mu Feng only left behind the words, "See you at Shrek Academy," before catching a ride and disappearing into the forest.

"Shrek Academy?" Huo Yuhao's heart sank slightly. With his talent, it was absolutely impossible for him to enter the continent's most prestigious academy. And that beautiful older sister beside Big Brother Mu had been able to make the two of them vanish in an instant. Her strength must be extraordinary.

I must become stronger. Only then can I help more people, just like Big Brother Mu, Huo Yuhao silently vowed to himself.

Naturally, Mu Feng, who had already gone far away, had no idea that under Bei Bei's exaggerated account and Huo Yuhao's own imagination, he had become a righteous and heroic figure.

To prevent her aura from being sensed by Shrek's higher-ups, Bi Ji sent the two of them to the plaza outside Shrek City's eastern gate, where the registration assessment was being held.

Even though the earliest registration date had passed long ago, the plaza was still packed with people.

Sharp-nosed vendors had long since occupied favorable spots, constantly shouting and hawking their goods to the examinees passing by.

One was a shut-in who had spent years living in the underground city of Evil Demon Forest, while the other had never once left the Star Dou Great Forest. It was their first time arriving in Douluo Continent's super metropolis, and both were intensely curious about everything around them.

Feeling that the atmosphere had been rather cold along the way, Mu Feng tentatively tried to start several conversations, but Di Qiuli's somewhat indifferent replies shut every one of them down. Mu Feng eventually gave up trying to communicate with this humanoid fierce beast.

"We got along pretty well last time. How did she become like a completely different person after only one year?" Mu Feng glanced at Di Qiuli, who was browsing the shops with great interest, and silently complained, A woman's heart is as deep as the sea.

What Mu Feng did not know was that he was entirely an innocent victim. Bi Ji had teased Di Qiuli countless times because of him along the way. Unable to do anything to Bi Ji, she could only vent all her pent-up frustration on Mu Feng.

By deliberately refusing to engage with Mu Feng's topics, she took a small measure of "revenge" against him. It had been quite effective at first, but after most of her anger faded, Mu Feng suddenly stopped talking altogether, leaving her feeling uneasy.

She was somewhat worried that Mu Feng might be angry because of it, but she was too embarrassed to ask. Whenever she secretly glanced at him, she found that his attention remained fixed on the little shops on either side of the street. Her excited mood was immediately doused with a basin of cold water.