Departure, Suotuo City

"By the way, why were you being hunted?" Lin Qing asked curiously. "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Pretend I never asked."

In truth, Lin Qing was not curious at all, because he knew the entire story. Still, if he acted completely unconcerned about it, Zhu Zhuqing might suspect that he had approached her deliberately. Though for Lin Qing, this really had been nothing more than a coincidence.

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent for a moment before revealing the truth. "I come from the Nether Duke's Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire. As long as we awaken the Nether Civet Martial Soul, we are bound to princes of the Star Luo Imperial Family and must participate in the Star Luo Empire's struggle for the throne."

"I was betrothed to the third prince of the Star Luo Empire. In the future, I will have to fight the eldest prince and my sister—the person who led the group that came to hunt me down before. The winners get to live. The losers have only one fate: death."

"Is that so? So she was your sister. No wonder you look so alike," Lin Qing said, as though recalling something.

As for Zhu Zhuyun, Lin Qing could sense that she and that Soul King were undergoing their transformations. It could not be helped; they were too weak, and they had used Lin Qing's blood. They were also out in the wilderness, without a precious place like Infinity Castle to assist them, so the transformation would take a long time. Based on Lin Qing's estimate, Zhu Zhuyun and that Soul King would need at least another three days to complete their transformations.

"Yes. She sent people to hunt me down, perhaps because she feared I would find my fiancé and pose a threat to them," Zhu Zhuqing sighed.

"So you're going to Suotuo City to find that fiancé of yours?" Lin Qing put on an Oscar-worthy performance.

"Yes, but don't misunderstand. I've never met that fiancé, and there are no feelings between us," Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly explained, seemingly afraid that Lin Qing would misunderstand.

"I said I would take responsibility for you. I'll go with you to meet that fiancé of yours. If he's a responsible man, then so be it. But if he isn't, I will never hand you over to him!" Lin Qing declared.

Hearing Lin Qing's domineering words, Zhu Zhuqing did not feel repulsed. Instead, she felt deeply happy at his concern for her.

"But our fates were bound together by the Star Luo Imperial Family long ago. If you interfere between us, I'm afraid you'll offend both the Star Luo Imperial Family and the Zhu Family," Zhu Zhuqing said worriedly.

"So what? I'll just become a Titled Douluo! If the Star Luo Empire refuses to do things the decent way, then I'll make them do things the decent way. Zhuqing, rest assured. I won't let anyone force you. If they refuse, then even if I have to set foot in Star Luo and punch a hole through the heavens, I'll pull you out of this whirlpool!" Lin Qing's imposing spirit surged forth, as though he could already see himself suppressing the entire Star Luo Empire alone.

"Thank you." Zhu Zhuqing was deeply moved. A thousand words condensed into those two simple words.

"All right, get some rest first. Your injuries still need time to recover. Once you've mostly recovered, we'll set off for Suotuo City." Lin Qing ended the conversation, helped Zhu Zhuqing lie down, and prepared to leave the room.

"Lin Qing, wait!" Seeing that Lin Qing was about to leave, Zhu Zhuqing called out to him instinctively, not knowing why.

"Is there anything else, Zhuqing?" Lin Qing turned around and asked.

"You don't actually have to leave. You can cultivate in this room." Zhu Zhuqing did not know what she was thinking either. The words slipped out almost without passing through her mind.

"All right." Lin Qing was briefly stunned, but he did not ask any further questions. He simply agreed, sat cross-legged on the floor three or four meters from the bed, and began cultivating.

Over the next three days, Lin Qing cared for Zhu Zhuqing with meticulous attention. As a result, Zhu Zhuqing's favorability toward him soared day by day. On the final night, perhaps because she felt bad about making Lin Qing cultivate on the floor all the time, she invited him onto the bed after a struggle with herself, and the two shared the bed.

However, they did not do anything improper. It was simply a single room, and the bed was rather cramped for two people. Thus, Lin Qing could only hold Zhu Zhuqing close against him, and neither of them found it easy to fall asleep.

In the end, they still fell asleep.

The next morning, Lin Qing slowly woke up. Looking at the girl in his arms, he could not help thinking, Isn't this moving a little too fast? Is favorability really this easy to raise?

However, Lin Qing did not dwell on the matter. He patted Zhu Zhuqing's butt to wake her up. After they got themselves ready, the two set off for Suotuo City.

Upon arriving outside Soul Hunting Town, Lin Qing waved his hand and summoned a twenty-thousand-year-old Unicorn Pegasus.

Lin Qing had encountered this Unicorn Pegasus in the Mixed Zone while riding the Titan Python back after absorbing his Spirit Ring. Considering that using a Titan Python as a mount in the human world would be inconvenient, Lin Qing had the Titan Python suppress it, injected his blood into its body, and then threw it directly into Infinity Castle to transform.

The Unicorn Pegasus had completed its transformation days ago and become a ghost, yet its beauty remained impossible to conceal. Lin Qing had also gained an entire set of twenty-thousand-year-old Unicorn Pegasus Spirit Bones, as well as a Unicorn External Spirit Bone.

"This is..." Zhu Zhuqing stared at the Unicorn Pegasus that had suddenly appeared before her, her eyes filled with shock.

"This is my mount, a twenty-thousand-year-old Unicorn Pegasus," Lin Qing introduced.

"What? Twenty thousand years?" Zhu Zhuqing had originally thought it was merely a hundred-year Spirit Beast, or one that had only just passed a thousand years. After all, Lin Qing had made it restrain its aura as soon as he summoned it, preventing Zhu Zhuqing from sensing the pressure belonging to a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast.

"I named her White Cloud. It suits her rather well, doesn't it?" Lin Qing said. "All right, stop standing there. Get on. With White Cloud carrying us, we should reach Suotuo City in about half a day."

"Oh, all right." Zhu Zhuqing finally came back to her senses and hurriedly replied.

Lin Qing let Zhu Zhuqing mount first, then swung himself up behind her. He held her protectively in his arms, grasped the reins with both hands, and pressed his chest tightly against her back.

Feeling Lin Qing pressed against her back, a blush spread across Zhu Zhuqing's face.

"Zhuqing, sit tight. We're setting off," Lin Qing whispered into Zhu Zhuqing's ear.

"Mm." Feeling the distinctly masculine scent of Lin Qing behind her, Zhu Zhuqing's heart pounded wildly, like a startled deer.