Rongrong Splashes Out Gold Coins and Runs Into Dai Mubai at the Village Entrance

After a while, they finished their meal, leaving most of the plates on the table empty.

Ning Rongrong rubbed her full stomach contentedly and picked up the bill.

The five of them left the restaurant and headed south through the streets of Suotuo City.

Afternoon sunlight fell across the flagstone road. Vendors along the street called out cheerfully, hawking snacks and little Soul Tool trinkets.

Ning Rongrong slowed down and sidled up to Lin Xuan, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked unusually well-behaved as she said with a smile,

"Lin Xuan, you didn't finish telling us about it back at the restaurant."

Lin Xuan glanced at her.

"I told you everything there is to tell. Tang San and I really were Work-Study Students from Holy Soul Village."

"That's not what I meant."

Ning Rongrong trotted a couple of steps ahead, then turned and walked backward. She pressed her palms together beneath her chin, her voice sweet.

"Just tell me how you came up with the Clear Mind Talisman. Are there any other tricks that work with it?"

Lin Xuan's tone remained mild.

"It's just an application of my Martial Soul. Practice makes perfect."

When Ning Rongrong saw that this approach wasn't working, she turned and caught Zhu Zhuqing's arm, giving it a gentle shake.

"Zhuqing, you want to understand it too, right? Getting from level twenty-seven to thirty is a major hurdle. Something this good could save us at least half a year of hard training. Let's ask Lin Xuan together and get him to tell us a little more."

Zhu Zhuqing stiffened as Ning Rongrong tugged at her.

She desperately wanted to raise her Soul Power, but her upbringing made it hard for her to act coy in the middle of the street.

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

Xiao Wu, walking on Lin Xuan's other side, stopped.

She watched Ning Rongrong pull Zhu Zhuqing over to crowd around Lin Xuan. For some reason, a tightness settled in her chest.

Back on the Back Hill at Notting Academy, she had always been the only one hanging around Lin Xuan.

Now two more girls were hovering around him. Something about it felt wrong, though she couldn't say why.

Xiao Wu hurried forward and squeezed between Lin Xuan and Ning Rongrong. She hooked her arm through his left arm and gave a soft huff.

"Rongrong, making talismans is tiring for Lin Xuan. Stop pestering him with questions."

Ning Rongrong was pushed half a step aside, but she didn't get angry. Instead, she pulled a face at Xiao Wu.

"You're so stingy, Xiao Wu. It's not like I won't pay him. I really do want to learn."

Tang San walked at the back, watching the commotion ahead. He couldn't help shaking his head.

Back in Holy Soul Village, children their age had thought Lin Xuan too quiet and hard to approach.

It had been the same at Notting Academy. Apart from Xiao Wu, who stuck to him every day, Lin Xuan rarely wasted words on anyone else.

Yet on his very first day at Shrek, two more beautiful girls were already flocking to him.

Tang San marveled to himself. Lin Xuan's knack for winning people's trust wherever he went was rare indeed.

Lin Xuan stopped, slipped his arm free of Xiao Wu's hold, and rubbed the top of her head.

"That's enough. Don't make a scene in the street."

Xiao Wu swatted his hand away, straightened her mussed bangs, and stepped aside without another word.

Lin Xuan raised his right hand, and Soul Power stirred in his palm.

Three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from beneath his feet as his Soul Power traced intricate patterns in the air.

Within a few breaths, four Clear Mind Talismans took shape, giving off a faint, pleasant scent as they hovered steadily before the group.

Lin Xuan waved his hand, sending one talisman to each of the four.

"One each. Now stop arguing in the street."

Tang San caught his talisman and tucked it into his clothes with practiced ease.

"Thanks, Lin Xuan."

With her own talisman in hand, Xiao Wu's sour mood eased considerably. She absorbed the Talisman Paper on the spot.

Zhu Zhuqing held out both hands and carefully caught the white Talisman Paper hovering before her.

The moment her fingertips touched the talisman, a cool sensation seeped through them and into her meridians. Her mind cleared, and much of the fatigue weighing on her chest melted away.

Zhu Zhuqing thanked Lin Xuan earnestly.

"Thank you, Lin Xuan."

Ning Rongrong took her talisman too, turning it over and over in her hands, clearly delighted with it.

"This is great! I'm using it when I meditate this afternoon!"

She put the talisman away carefully, then brushed a hand over the Storage Soul Tool at her waist.

A heavy brocade money pouch appeared in her palm. Gold coins clinked inside.

Ning Rongrong pushed the pouch straight into Lin Xuan's hands.

"Lin Xuan, thank you for the talisman! Take this, and don't you dare refuse!"

Lin Xuan glanced down at the bulging pouch. By his rough estimate, it held at least two hundred Gold Soul Coins.

He drew his hand back half an inch without taking it.

"We're classmates. There's no need to pay me."

When Ning Rongrong saw he wouldn't accept it, she stepped forward and hung the pouch from the buckle at his waist.

"Just take it! You've seen the awful food in the academy dining hall. It's barely fit to eat. We use up so much energy training that we'll wear ourselves out if we don't eat properly."

"And you have Xiao Wu to feed, too."

Xiao Wu's face flushed at once. "Who... who needs him to feed me?"

Ning Rongrong went on with a smile.

"Consider it my contribution to better meals for the team. I'm the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I brought plenty of money with me, so this is nothing."

Then she paused, clasped her hands behind her back, and leaned forward slightly.

"But now that you've accepted my money, you can't call me 'classmate Ning Rongrong' anymore. It sounds too distant. Just call me Rongrong from now on."

Lin Xuan looked at the heavy pouch hanging from his waist and laughed. If the young lady was determined to give it to him, there was no need to keep pushing her away.

He put the pouch into his Storage Ring.

"If you insist, then thank you, Rongrong."

Hearing Lin Xuan use her new name, Ning Rongrong beamed and bounced a couple of steps ahead, her hands behind her back.

Zhu Zhuqing, standing nearby, took a step closer.

She didn't have Ning Rongrong's wealth to throw Gold Soul Coins around, but she didn't want to seem overly distant either.

Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together and said softly,

"Lin Xuan, you can just call me Zhuqing from now on."

Lin Xuan nodded to her.

"All right, Zhuqing."

Xiao Wu stood to one side with her hands on her hips and muttered sourly,

"Rongrong this, Zhuqing that. You've picked those names up quickly enough."

Behind them, Tang San gave a small cough and pretended to study the sky, looking away completely.

Lin Xuan ignored Xiao Wu's muttering and urged everyone to pick up the pace.

"Go back and meditate properly this afternoon. Get yourselves ready. Dean Flender's combat class tonight won't be easy."

At the mention of combat class, Ning Rongrong's face fell.

"We just ran twenty laps this morning, and now we have to fight tonight? Are all the teachers at this lousy academy insane?"

Zhu Zhuqing remained calm. "Get some rest."

Tang San, meanwhile, said coldly,

"I hope the academy's combat class tonight doesn't disappoint me. Otherwise..."

Lin Xuan patted Tang San and said nothing more. What resources could Shrek Academy possibly have?

None. Not a single thing.

The five chatted as they crossed the main road and soon returned to the remote, rundown Shrek Academy.

The moment they entered the village, Lin Xuan noticed someone standing nearby.

It was Dai Mubai. He leaned against a haystack with his arms folded, his expression grim.