Qian Renxue Was No Pushover, and the Girls Moved Chu Xiu

"I'm telling you, that old woman really went off to throw up. She even puked up all the fruit she'd just eaten."

"I'm dying! Hahahaha..."

Ning Rongrong was back, laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach as she walked.

The leaves she wore couldn't withstand all that movement. Flashes of pale skin stood out in the dim evening light.

Qian Renxue followed behind her, her face livid.

She had thrown up the snake meat, but she still felt queasy. Ning Rongrong's taunts only made her mood worse.

"Come on. You're resting with me."

Qian Renxue walked up to Chu Xiu with a cold expression, grabbed his hand, and dragged him toward the tent.

Ning Rongrong had been laughing happily, but her smile froze on her face.

Shui Bing'er shook her head helplessly. With two teammates who couldn't stand each other, the road ahead would be difficult.

The grass tent was small and low.

There was only enough room to hunch over inside; no one could straighten up.

Qian Renxue went first, bending to crawl into the tent. Chu Xiu followed so closely that his upper body nearly touched her back. Together, they looked like two sevens stuck to each other.

A distinct fragrance reached Chu Xiu's nose, leaving him puzzled.

They had spent a whole day struggling to survive, and everyone had sweated. Even if they didn't smell awful, they shouldn't smell this good.

Could a beautiful woman's sweat smell sweet too?

That was the only explanation Chu Xiu could think of.

Several tough leaves lined the bottom of the tent, with a layer of dry straw spread over them. Qian Renxue went in and sat straight down on the straw.

Putting some distance between them did nothing to weaken the fragrance. In the cramped space, Chu Xiu felt an unfamiliar urge rising in him. Just as he wondered how to get closer to Qian Renxue, she suddenly turned to him.

"Do you know the Grandmaster?" she asked.

Chu Xiu's heart skipped a beat. The urge he had barely been holding back vanished at once.

"Huh? What Grandmaster?"

Chu Xiu did his best to sound calm. "You mean a Soul Grandmaster? Do you have a name?"

Qian Renxue stared sharply at his face, studying him for a long while.

Only then did she look away. "Never mind."

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep."

Qian Renxue lay down on the straw, pressed close to the inside of the tent and leaving some space between herself and Chu Xiu.

In fact, Qian Renxue knew of Chu Xiu. They had never met, but as Spirit Hall's young angelic mistress, she had heard about his awakening with a full thirty levels of innate Soul Power.

She had already gone to the Heaven Dou Empire by then and was playing the role of Xue Qinghe.

All she knew was that he had thirty levels of innate Soul Power and a martial soul resembling an island. Spirit Hall had been determined to recruit him, but for some reason, Bibi Dong later ordered them to stop competing with the Grandmaster for him.

The explanation among Spirit Hall's higher-ups was that the Grandmaster was an honorary elder of Spirit Hall. Leaving Chu Xiu in his hands was much the same as keeping him in Spirit Hall.

Besides, the Grandmaster had a deeper understanding of unusual martial souls and was better suited to guide him.

But Qian Renxue didn't see it that way.

One of their own was one of their own. If the Grandmaster truly cared about being an honorary elder of Spirit Hall, why would he fight them for talent?

Oh god, this woman is terrifying.

Only after Qian Renxue lay down with her back to him did the tension show on Chu Xiu's face. His heart was racing.

She hadn't brought up the Grandmaster out of idle curiosity.

Has she already guessed that I have the Deserted Island martial soul?

Chu Xiu had barely exchanged a few words with her all day. When he watched her argue with Ning Rongrong, he had even taken her for an ordinary girl with no schemes in mind.

But thinking about it now, how could a woman who had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire as its crown prince be that simple?

Did he really think an angel soul bone's disguise was all it took to play a crown prince?

She might even have picked that fight with Ning Rongrong on purpose.

As Ning Fengzhi's favorite little princess, Ning Rongrong must know Xue Qinghe. If Qian Renxue didn't change her temper and habits, Ning Rongrong could easily spot traces of Xue Qinghe in the little things she did.

The thought made Chu Xiu wary of ever underestimating Qian Renxue again.

He even began to wonder whether Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er were really as innocent as they seemed.

The more Chu Xiu thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Before he knew it, sweat had soaked his back.

He had planned to wait until Qian Renxue fell asleep, then sneak a look to see whether she really had any hair down there.

Now he didn't dare entertain the thought.

I'd better sleep. Qian Renxue is smart. Even if she knows who I am, she probably won't expose me as long as I'm still useful to her.

Chu Xiu closed his eyes and soon fell fast asleep.

Before he knew it, morning had come.

When Chu Xiu opened his eyes, someone else was beside him.

Petite Ning Rongrong was curled up against him, her sleeping face nestled in the crook of his left arm. Her arm rested across his waist, and she was sleeping so soundly that she had drooled.

"Mmm... You're awake?"

Chu Xiu's movement woke Ning Rongrong. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, her cheeks faintly red. "It got a little cold last night, so I held on to you while I slept. Don't read anything into it."

Outside the tent, Shui Bing'er heard them and came closer.

"Rongrong, are you and Chu Xiu awake?"

Perhaps afraid of seeing something she shouldn't, Shui Bing'er called from several steps away from the tent entrance.

Qian Renxue had no such concerns. She walked straight up to the tent and said, "The sun's well up. Hurry out, eat something, and get ready to gather supplies."

Chu Xiu got up from the straw and ducked out of the tent.

The sunlight outside was a little harsh. It must have been past eight.

"Why didn't anyone wake me last night?"

He and Qian Renxue had agreed to take the second watch. Now he had slept right through until morning. Even Chu Xiu, thick-skinned as he was, felt embarrassed.

Shui Bing'er stepped forward and handed him two apples.

"You worked the hardest yesterday, more than the three of us put together. So we let you sleep."

Ning Rongrong crawled out of the tent right behind Chu Xiu.

She grinned and said:

"The three of us can take turns going into the woods, so one of us can always stay outside. We can rest on the beach during the day, too. Leave the night watch to us from now on."

Qian Renxue said nothing, but she had clearly agreed to it as well.

In all the deserted-island survival novels Chu Xiu had read, the girls were burdens there purely to give the male lead someone to interact with.

He hadn't expected Shui Bing'er and the others to be so considerate of him.

At that moment, Chu Xiu was genuinely moved.

"All right. If you've already decided, I won't make a fuss. It's getting late, so I'll sort out today's work."

Chu Xiu took a big bite of a Wild Apple and spoke as he ate.