The Crown Prince Scrubbed Raw, the School Uniforms Burned to Ash
The door to the Crown Prince's Crown Prince's Eastern Palace bathhouse was slammed shut from the inside with a deafening bang.
Qian Renxue dismissed all the palace maids who usually served her during her bath. Without even taking off her clothes properly, she jumped into the Scald sprinkled with Western Regions Fragrant Flower, grabbed a rough loofah, and began scrubbing her right shoulder vigorously!
She rubbed her skin until it was raw and bleeding, but she still couldn't calm down. Her mind was filled with the image of Ling Yun's rough grip on her shoulder, his hands covered in mutton fat, in that run-down mutton restaurant.
And that foul-mouthed rant—"His skin is more supple than a woman's, probably smoother than Hu Liena's."
Qian Renxue was so angry that her lips trembled, water splashed high, and her eyes turned red. But after the anger subsided, cold sweat broke out on her back.
She was twelve years old when she was disguised as Xue Qinghe in the palace. The disguise given to her by Qian Daoliu of the Spirit Hall was so convincing that even Sword Douluo Chen Xin couldn't see through it. How did this kid find out her true identity at a glance?! And he even compared her to Hu Liena of the Papal Hall!
"She Long!" she called out towards the roof beam.
The Snake Lance Douluo, She Long, peeked his dark head out from the shadow of the pillar. "Young Master."
"Go to Xizhimen! Keep an eye on Blue Tyrant and his gang, see where they go! That kid ran away with three ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones, there are plenty of jealous bastards in the world!" Qian Renxue gritted her teeth. "You follow him from a distance, and don't get too close! That Soul Bone on his forehead is incredibly evil. If he finds out and slaughters you like a wild boar, I won't be there to collect your corpse!"
Upon hearing this, She Long broke out in a cold sweat, quickly responded, and vanished in a puff of black smoke.
Outside Heaven Dou City, at Xizhimen Shili Slope.
Frost still clung to the leaves of the withered grass. Flender gripped Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's sleeves tightly, tears streaming down his face, his old face contorted in a grimace.
"My little devils! The Royal Imitation Field! The Earl's title! If you all run away, won't my Blue Tyrant's reputation be ruined?"
Before he could finish speaking, a woman in a black leather coat jumped off the Carriage and kicked Flender in the buttocks, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt.
Liu Erlong, hands on her slender hips, looked at the young men in front of her, now dressed in Coarse Hemp Cloth and Leather Armor, her eyes filled with delight.
"I love Yun's roguish spirit! What kind of fighting is it False Swipe exchange on the Arena? Young people should be out in the wilderness, fighting with Bladesman for meat!"
She untied a large leather bag from her waist and tossed it into Ling Yun with a clatter.
"Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins in hard currency, plus a few Black Market Passage Permits. Once you're outside these city gates, there's no law. If you encounter any trouble, don't hold back—fight to the death! Anyone who dares to be disrespectful, just say the name of the Horn of Slaughter!"
Ling Yun weighed the money pouch in his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. "Thanks, Teacher Erlong. Consider it a loan. I'll get it back for you with interest later."
He turned around and looked at Dai Mubai and the others. Their original blue school uniforms with black trim had long been torn off and thrown into the muddy puddle at their feet.
"Fatty, light the fire."
With a flick of his finger, Ma Hongjun sent a wisp of Phoenix Ember into the mud pit. With a whoosh, the school uniform, a symbol of discipline and honor, was instantly burned to ashes.
"From today onwards, no rules, no competition." Ling Yun put his hands in his pockets, his eyes turning cold. "Whoever has the hardest fist, whoever has the fastest knife, is the rule. Get out of here!"
Just as the group turned around, a series of breathless shouts came from behind on the official road.
"Wait for me! Brother Yun!"
Everyone turned around and stared in disbelief.
Ning Rongrong, dressed in a neat Short Jacket and carrying a large canvas bundle bigger than herself, was panting heavily as she ran towards them, her steps uneven. Oscar quickly went to meet her and helped her unload the bundle.
"I snuck out!" Ning Rongrong's face turned bright red as she yanked open the bundle.
A jumble of broken items tumbled out from inside. Top-grade Golden Wound Medicine, Antidote Pills, and even seven or eight expensive-quality Large-Caliber Firearm Landmines! This girl had emptied the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School's Inner Treasury!
"Sword Grandfather got drunk last night, and my dad was grinning like an idiot all night holding that skull. I managed to escape by climbing over the wall in the chaos." Ning Rongrong dusted off her hands, raised her chin, and looked at Ling Yun. "I'm Nine-Story Pagoda now! I don't want to go back to the sect and be a pampered young lady! Brother Yun, you said you'd take me to seize territory, count me in!"
Ling Yun looked at the smell of gunpowder and medicine on the ground, then glanced at the pampered young lady who had finally shed her spoiled ways, and grinned.
"Alright, Nine-Story Pagoda, you're going to be Mountain King, that's promising." Ling Yun bent down, grabbed a handful of hidden mines, tossed them to the fat man, and waved his hand, "On your way!"
Six people, carrying their bundles, braved the scorching morning sun and plunged into the wilderness without looking back.
Five hundred miles west of Heaven Dou City, there is a dilapidated mountain Mountain God Temple with a draft.
A cold wind blew in through the broken window frame. Tang Hao sat cross-legged by the fire, poking at the embers with a twig.
In a corner of the dilapidated temple, Tang San was lying on a broken stele, using the firelight to disassemble the Deep Sea Sinking Silver Pear Blossom Rainstorm Box into small parts, and then using a rag dipped in poison to wipe it clean bit by bit.
"Xiao San." Tang Hao raised his head, a cold glint in his cloudy eyes. "News just arrived from the city. Ling Yun dropped out of school yesterday and led the Shrek alumni out of the west gate towards the wasteland. Judging from their footprints, they're heading towards the No-Man's-Land, Chaotic Realm."
Tang San, who was wiping the Poison Sting, suddenly stopped.
The next moment, his ashen face twitched violently, and he grinned, letting out a hoarse, eerie laugh.
"He dropped out of school? He left Heaven Dou City?!"
Tang San suddenly stood up, grabbed the receiver, his eyes flashing red light, and his voice trembled with excitement. "Idiot... what a blind idiot!"
He paced back and forth in the dilapidated temple, laughing so hard he was breathless, "I was just worried that he was holed up in his shell at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School, with Sword Douluo and Poison Douluo never leaving his side, making it impossible for my Yama's Invitation to find a blind spot to strike!"
"He actually courted death! Carrying three ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones, he ran off into the desolate mountains without any guards?!"
Tang San turned his head, staring intently at Tang Hao, his fingers clenched stiffly. "A Soul Ancestor, no matter how unorthodox his water magic is, in the lawless wilderness, he's just a piece of fat meat hanging in the wolf's mouth! As long as Bite by the Spirit Hall's pursuers or Highway Robbery..."
He reattached the Sinking Silver Mechanism to his right forearm and snapped the spring shut.
"Dad, take me to that Chaotic Realm."
Tang San licked his dry, chapped lips, his eyes gleaming with a murderous intent that seemed to want to devour human flesh. "Without those old men as his protectors, let's see how he dodges my Poison Sting this time!"
Tang Hao threw the dry twig he was using to sift through the embers into the fire, patted the mud off his backside, and stood up.
He glanced at Tang San's mad dog-like appearance, his eyes practically gleaming with lust, grabbed the heavy, dark iron hammer next to him with his large, fan-like hand, and hoisted it onto his broad shoulder.
"Fine." Tang Hao spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, his voice so rough it seemed to drip dirt. "After years of forging scrap metal in the village, my bones are practically covered in mold. Chaotic Realm those Grimer of the Chaotic Realm like the back of my hand."
He lifted his big foot and stomped hard, extinguishing the fire on the ground, sending black smoke billowing out.
"Since this little bastard has stuck his neck out over the city wall, then the two of us will go and teach him a lesson about how those reckless wild dogs outside actually bite people!"