His Embrace Could Heal the Heart, Zhu Zhuqing's Plight

"Starting with courtesy before resorting to force? I like it!"

Fang Fan approved of the plan.

"Greetings, Your Holiness!"

The elders bowed to Bibi Dong.

Three elders remained at Spirit Hall to oversee its affairs. Elder Chrysanthemum and Elder Ghost had not come along.

The sight of them all moved Fang Fan, and excited him a little too.

"Thank you, Master."

He spread his arms and hugged Bibi Dong, burying his face against her neck and nuzzling her. He held her rather tightly.

The elders stared at Fang Fan in disbelief and drew sharp breaths.

What?!

Fang Fan had some nerve, hugging His Holiness the Pope!

She was a lofty Peak Douluo at level ninety-eight!

One word from her could decide the fate of several elders!

And Fang Fan had just thrown his arms around her!

What a sight!

The elders swallowed hard, already wondering how they could plead for Fang Fan.

Maybe they could save his life, even if he couldn't escape punishment!

Bibi Dong's expression turned stern. "That's enough hugging. It's time to go!"

"Right! Let's go!"

Fang Fan was surprised himself. Bibi Dong was usually distant, imperious, and commanding. Yet instead of sending him flying, she had let him hold her for a while before pushing him aside.

Fang Fan felt thoroughly satisfied. His spirits soared.

After all, Bibi Dong was a peerless beauty.

And she had done so much for him, even obtaining the Angel Meditation Method for him.

To get the Angel Meditation Method,

she must have paid a tremendous price. Otherwise, she could never have gotten it from Qian Daoliu, a man fanatically devoted to the Angel.

Once I get the Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I'll give her two, Fang Fan thought.

What Fang Fan didn't know was that the hug seemed to have lifted Bibi Dong's spirits.

She had felt something special about Xiao Fan, as though his presence could soothe her restless heart.

Even the influence of the Rakshasa God's Evil Thought seemed a little weaker.

That surprised her. For a moment, her defenses had fallen away.

In the past, she would have struck down any man who dared hug her!

Even Na'er had never hugged her, nor had she ever hugged Na'er.

Bibi Dong shook her head at the thought. With a wave of her hand, she used Soul Power to lift Fang Fan into the sky.

The other five elders rose into the air and followed.

They were Ling Yuan, Holy Dragon, Demon Bear, Pufferfish, and Ghost Leopard.

Together, they flew toward the Star Luo Empire.

Star Luo Imperial Junior Academy.

Zhu Zhuqing remembered how Dai Mubai had asked her to flee the Star Luo Empire with him a month and a half ago.

She had refused, disappointed by his cowardice.

Then Dai Mubai had fled the Star Luo Empire alone.

She had thought she could withstand the pressure from the imperial family and her own clan.

But she had underestimated their methods.

Her classmates shunned her, while the imperial family and nobles targeted her in every way they could. She could barely keep up.

Even most of the Zhu Family had sided with Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.

"You think a weakling like you can take on the first prince and Zhu Zhuyun alone?"

"Your fiancé's already run away! It's laughable that you're still holding on!"

"Get out of the imperial academy!"

The two girls' words were vicious, dripping with malice.

They had cornered Zhu Zhuqing in a secluded part of the academy.

Zhu Zhuqing stared coldly at them as dark-blue Soul Power surged around her. Her voice was icy.

"Get lost."

"You don't know your place! Big Tiger, teach her a lesson!"

One girl gave a nasty smile. A broad-shouldered boy stepped out behind her, fiery-red Soul Power swirling around him and forming a huge Fire Tiger at his back.

"Roar..."

Big Tiger activated Martial Soul Possession. His muscles swelled, and he grew much taller. He swung a blazing red tiger claw at Zhu Zhuqing.

"Hell Stab!"

Zhu Zhuqing cried out. Her Hell Spirit Cat took possession of her: dark-blue cat ears sprouted from her head, claws from her hands, and a tail behind her. Her eyes turned feline blue. In her tight black leather outfit, she looked both adorable and fierce.

A yellow Soul Ring appeared around her.

She drove a foot into the ground and shot past Big Tiger in a streak of blue light.

"Pfft..."

Blood sprayed from Big Tiger's chest. He screamed and flew backward, crashing to the ground.

Zhu Zhuqing came to a stop three meters behind him, then walked toward the school gate with her bag on her back.

The two girls collapsed to the ground in fright, leaving a wet patch beneath them.

Thinking of everything she had endured lately, Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth.

It hurt.

She could barely breathe under it all.

Her family's cold looks, her clan's rejection, her classmates' hatred and attacks—

she was close to her breaking point!

Had holding on done her any good?

Was it all just a joke?

Negative thoughts sneered in her ear like demons.

Her spirits sank.

She had just reached the Zhu Family's front gate

when a middle-aged woman and man approached from the side.

"Zhuqing, you're back? I heard the prince couldn't beat the first prince and fled the Star Luo Empire! Why didn't he take you with him? You've had a hard time lately, so Second Aunt has some advice: ask to dissolve the Engagement, or join your sister and the first prince. Either way, you might survive!"

"Zhuqing, Second Aunt is right.

If you don't, things will only get worse. They're targeting you openly now, but next time they might send assassins!"

"I'll think about it for a few days,"

Zhu Zhuqing said coldly. She went around them and headed for the back entrance.

Second Uncle and Second Aunt sided with Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun. Neither of them meant well.

If she asked to dissolve the Engagement, the Zhu Family would cast her out,

and even her parents could not protect her.

She used to think that being the Star Luo Empire's grand marshal made Zhu Dashuai all-powerful.

But recent events had taught her that even a grand marshal could have his hands tied. He could not choose whom his own daughter married.

There were times when he could not even protect her.

The Zhu Family was nothing more than a family the imperial Dai raised to supply brides.

She had long grown tired of this suffocating life.

She wanted to get away.

She wanted to leave the Star Luo Empire.

Apart from her parents, everyone here seemed like an enemy,

harboring a faint but unmistakable hostility, a malice she could not explain.

No matter how hard she tried, nothing changed.

She trained relentlessly every day, yet it all felt futile.

Zhu Zhuqing returned to her room, shut the door, and drew the curtains.

Whenever she entered or left the academy, or went home, someone watched her from the shadows.

She knew they worked for Zhu Zhuyun or Dai Weisi.

She wanted to flee the Star Luo Empire too, but it seemed harder than she had imagined.

Zhu Zhuqing did not blame Dai Mubai. She blamed only her own bad luck.

She curled up on her bed. It felt as though countless demonic eyes were watching from outside her room. Only here did she feel even a little safe.

She was like a bird in a cage, unable to escape even when she wanted to!

She went to the bookcase and took out the Star Luo Empire Map. Then she began planning her escape from the Zhu Family and the Star Luo Empire.

She picked up a pen and drew several escape routes, trying to imagine who might pursue her—

Soul Kings? Soul Ancestors?

She was an agility-type Soul Grandmaster, but she had no hope of evading either.

"Whoosh..."

Wind whistled past their ears.

Fang Fan held the Star Luo Empire Map, comparing it with the terrain below.

"Master, we're almost at the Zhu Family's estate!"