House Xu's Intentions

Xuan Xiao glanced at the four Light Bone Dragons circling in the sky, waved a hand, and said, "Put them away. We won't need them."

With a lift of his hand, a pitch-black spatial rift opened out of thin air, as though it led to another world.

The four Light Bone Dragons let out low roars before flying into the rift one after another, vanishing from everyone's sight as if they had never existed.

The spatial rift slowly closed, and the forest returned to its previous tranquility. Only the firewood in the campfire continued crackling.

Xuan Xiao dusted off his hands, turned to Manyi, and spoke in an even tone.

"As you can see, they're Light-attribute Bone Dragons. Never mind Mu En being near the end of his life—even at his peak, it would still be hard to say who would win."

Manyi's pupils suddenly contracted. She opened her mouth, her voice filled with disbelief. "Dragon God Douluo? He's still alive?"

Though she had already lived through two sixty-year cycles and was over a hundred and twenty years old, making her an old monster in the eyes of ordinary people—

Compared to an old monster like Mu En, who had lived for two or three centuries, she was truly young. She was a junior among juniors, not even worthy of carrying his shoes.

She had heard Mu En's legends ever since childhood. The Dragon God Douluo was reputed to be one of the strongest people alive, and rumor had it that he had died many years ago. She had always thought it was merely a legend.

She never expected that the legendary figure was actually still alive.

Xuan Xiao gave a derisive laugh, his tone carrying a hint of gloating.

"He originally only had a year or two left. Now he was nearly angered to death too. It probably won't be long before we're attending his funeral feast."

Xu Jiujiu was stunned by that. She blinked curiously and asked, "Why? Who could anger a Limit Douluo to such an extent?"

Xuan Xiao smiled and gave her four words. "The Far North."

At the mention of that place, both women's expressions immediately turned ugly.

Their Star Luo Empire had suffered a disastrous setback there, with devastating losses.

Although no one had died, every Titled Douluo had essentially been stripped clean of their savings. They had all become poor as dirt, to the point that they had to think twice before buying a bottle of good wine.

Xu Jiujiu frowned. She remembered the intelligence report saying that the shadowy figure had not killed anyone, only robbed them, so she asked tentatively.

"I remember that shadowy figure didn't seem to kill anyone, did he?"

Xuan Xiao nodded, but then changed the subject. "I took an eighteen-hundred-thousand-year torso bone from Shrek as hush money, so it isn't convenient for me to explain the exact reason."

"But I can tell you this: they lost five Titled Douluo. Ten went, and only half returned."

The moment those words were spoken, Xu Jiujiu and Manyi's expressions completely changed.

Five Titled Douluo!

Those were five Titled Douluo!

The entire Star Luo Empire only had a little over a dozen Titled Douluo in total. Those losses were far too terrible!

Xu Jiujiu drew a deep breath and suppressed the shock in her heart. The way she looked at Xuan Xiao had completely changed.

She knew that the young man before her was absolutely no ordinary person.

The secrets and power he possessed far exceeded her imagination.

Xuan Xiao stretched, yawned, then stood up and patted the dirt from his backside. "All right, we've eaten our fill. Let's go, little maid. We'll head into the city, find somewhere to rest, and tomorrow I'll take you to break off the engagement."

Zhu Lu hurriedly got to her feet, packed up their things, and obediently followed behind him.

Seeing this, Xu Jiujiu hurriedly called out, "Wait..."

She opened her mouth, only to realize that she did not even know his name. She felt somewhat awkward for a moment.

She gave a light cough, then revealed a proper smile and said,

"How about we enter the city together? It will give us a chance to play the host. I know Star Luo City well and can serve as your guide."

This was an impossibly thick golden thigh to cling to. If she let him slip away just like that, she might as well stop being a princess. Her imperial brother would surely scold her to death when she returned.

Xuan Xiao glanced at her, nodded, and said flatly, "If you can keep up, come along."

After saying that, he lifted Zhu Lu into his arms from behind. Zhu Lu gave a startled cry and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, two rosy blushes rising on her cheeks.

Then, six snow-white wings instantly unfurled from his back.

With only a gentle flap of his wings, his entire body turned into a streak of light and vanished from the spot in an instant, moving at a breathtaking speed.

Xu Jiujiu only saw a blur before he was gone. She hurriedly turned to Manyi and cried anxiously, "Grandma Manyi!"

Manyi did not dare delay. She hurriedly used Soul Power to lift Xu Jiujiu and flew toward Star Luo City.

A distance of merely ten li was only a matter of two short minutes for a Titled Douluo.

Yet when Manyi descended with Xu Jiujiu before the gates of Star Luo City, she discovered that Xuan Xiao was already standing there waiting, calm and composed. Not even his breathing was disturbed, as though he had merely gone for a stroll.

The way Manyi looked at Xuan Xiao changed completely.

She had originally thought he was merely some arrogant, domineering rich young master, throwing his weight around by relying on his family's background and treasures. But now, it was clearly nothing of the sort.

Even though she had not flown at full speed, she was still a Titled Douluo. Her speed was absolutely no slower than that of a flight-type Soul Sage.

Yet even so, she had been left far behind by a twelve-year-old boy. She had not even caught a glimpse of his shadow.

Xu Jiujiu was secretly alarmed as well, but she quickly adjusted her mindset. Walking forward, she said with a smile, "Please follow me."

She brought Xuan Xiao and Zhu Lu to the Star Emperor Hotel, personally arranged the finest rooms for them, and instructed the attendants to prepare hot water and a late-night meal. Everything was handled perfectly, without the slightest flaw.

Then she bid Xuan Xiao farewell and immediately rushed back to the palace, heading straight for the imperial study.

Xu Jiawei was reviewing memorials in the imperial study. When he saw Xu Jiujiu hurriedly push open the door and enter, he could not help setting down his brush. He looked up at her, surprise appearing on his face.

His younger sister had always been steady and composed. It was rare for her to be this flustered.

Leaning back in his chair, he asked with a smile, "What happened? You're rarely so flustered. Did someone bully you?"

Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath, steadied her breathing, and walked to the desk. She braced both hands on its surface and stared at Xu Jiawei with blazing eyes, excitement and urgency in her voice.

"Brother, I met someone today. Someone very, very extraordinary."

Xu Jiawei raised his brow, signaling for her to continue.

Xu Jiujiu gathered her thoughts, then recounted everything that had happened that night from beginning to end, without leaving out a single detail.

After listening, Xu Jiawei remained silent for a long while. His fingers lightly tapped the desktop, producing soft knocking sounds.

His expression shifted constantly. At times he frowned, at times he pondered, and at times shock appeared in his eyes.

After a long time, he finally spoke slowly, his voice carrying a trace of gravity.

"You're saying that the boy fought his way out of Shrek alone, brought four Light Bone Dragons with him, and even knows the truth behind the Far North incident?"

Xu Jiujiu nodded forcefully. "Yes, Brother. And he said that tomorrow, he intends to go to the White Tiger Duke's Estate to break off the engagement and help his maid dissolve her marriage contract with Dai Huabin."

Xu Jiawei narrowed his eyes, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

The White Tiger Duke's Estate, House Dai—they had always been a thorn in House Xu's side.

In the past, they had never been able to determine whether the legends of the Shrek Seven Monsters were true, so they had not dared make a move.

Now, after what happened in the Far North, they dared make a move even less. The Sea God was still alive—then what about the War God?

If they could use this opportunity to make things difficult for House Dai, that would be quite a fine thing.