The next day, at Shrek's training grounds.
For once, Ning Rongrong arrived earlier than anyone else.
She stood in the middle of the grounds, arms folded across her chest, her face full of disdain. Her pink hair swayed in the morning breeze.
One look at that bristling stance was enough to tell that trouble was brewing today.
Before long, the other girls arrived as well.
Tang San and Xiao Wu stood on the left, while Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing stood on the right.
Their expressions varied as they stared at Ning Rongrong.
Oscar and Ma Hongjun huddled at the back, watching Ning Rongrong's haughty posture without daring to breathe too loudly.
Li Hanqiu arrived last, spotting Ning Rongrong at once.
"Li Hanqiu!"
Ning Rongrong called out, her voice crisp and clear, carrying a young girl's particular brand of pride.
Li Hanqiu scratched his ear. "What is it? Need something?"
His indifferent attitude left Ning Rongrong flustered and furious.
She planted her hands on her hips, her lovely eyes fixed on Li Hanqiu. "Hmph! I'm Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! No one has ever dared give me attitude!"
Her eyes were a little red. Clearly, last night's anger had simmered all the way until now.
"Yesterday, in front of all those people, it was bad enough that you wouldn't help me, but you even went off to put medicine on that tigress.
"What was that supposed to mean? What gives you the right to bully me like this?"
The grounds fell silent. Dai Mubai froze for two seconds before realizing that Ning Rongrong meant him by "tigress." He was so furious he nearly charged over to argue again.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhuqing took Dai Mubai's hand and stopped him. "Big Sister Mubai, don't be rash. Let's see how Teacher handles this first."
"Hmph! I can't be bothered stooping to that spoiled princess's level!"
Sunlight fell across the sandy ground, glaring white.
Li Hanqiu hummed thoughtfully, looked at Ning Rongrong glaring at him, and suddenly smiled.
He walked slowly up to her and crouched halfway down to meet her eyes.
"Rongrong," he said, "I'm not bullying you. You simply have too many flaws.
"I can't indulge you like everyone else does. That would ruin you."
Ning Rongrong froze.
"Me? I don't have flaws! I have the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and I have Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa! I have anything I could want!"
"Then if you have everything, why are you angry?"
Ning Rongrong faltered. She opened her mouth, but for a moment, no answer came.
"That means you're missing something," Li Hanqiu said. "Something that drives you to give it everything you've got."
"Give it everything? Why should I?"
"And that's why you can't even beat Zhu Zhuqing, the youngest of you."
"Who says I can't beat her?" Ning Rongrong snapped.
Li Hanqiu turned and beckoned to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhu Zhuqing, spar with Rongrong."
Ning Rongrong's expression changed. "She's an agility-type fighter, and I'm a support type! How am I supposed to fight her?"
"That's why I'm asking you," Li Hanqiu said. "Being proud is a good thing, but you've forgotten one thing. All along, have you actually wanted to win, or merely to prove you won't lose?"
"Obviously! Of course I..."
With a toss of her long black hair, Zhu Zhuqing was already standing opposite her.
Ning Rongrong had been backed into the arena.
She gritted her teeth and raised both hands.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up with a hum, radiant light swirling through its seven tiers, each brighter than the last.
"Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength! Second: Speed!"
Two beams of colored light descended, both falling on her.
But no matter how much support a support-type Soul Master applied, she still fell far short of a true agility-type Soul Master.
Zhu Zhuqing did not even bother with pleasantries. Her Soul Ring flashed, and her body flickered.
Before Ning Rongrong could react, a dark shadow had slipped behind her.
"It's over."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice sounded almost directly against her ear.
A knife-hand stopped lightly at the back of her neck.
Ning Rongrong stood frozen.
She had not even seen how Zhu Zhuqing had gotten there.
Li Hanqiu clapped his hands.
"That's enough."
He walked up to Ning Rongrong, his expression calm.
"Your support abilities really are powerful. No one would question the world's greatest support Martial Soul.
"But remember this: if you rely solely on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, then on your own, you're worthless."
"Don't blame your teacher for speaking harshly. If I indulged you and watched you die alone out there someday, that would be doing you real harm."
Ning Rongrong bit her lip, tears gathering in her eyes.
Her breathing grew heavier as she glared at Li Hanqiu. Then she turned her head, spun around, and ran.
Her pink hair swept through the wind, mingling with droplets of tears that blew onto Li Hanqiu's fingertips.
Li Hanqiu touched Ning Rongrong's tears with his index finger and let out a soft, weary breath.
"That young miss's temper is as haughty as ever."
Dai Mubai walked over to Li Hanqiu, his fists cracking:
"Teacher, let me go. I'll beat that spoiled princess up and see which is harder-her stubborn mouth or my fists!"
Seeing this, Tang San shook his head and slowly approached. "Mubai, your fists would hurt Rongrong."
Li Hanqiu was a little startled by those words and glanced in surprise at Tang San as he came to his side.
Since when did little San start thinking about that? Not bad, not bad. Worth encouraging.
But Tang San's next words took such a turn that Li Hanqiu nearly choked with anger.
In a soft, sweet voice, Tang San said, "Why not let me go instead, Teacher? I'll dip my Blue Silver Grass in salt water and whip Ning Rongrong's bottom good and hard. Then she'll have no choice but to..."
Li Hanqiu's face darkened. "Both of you, stop. I'll go myself."
With that, Li Hanqiu clasped his hands behind his back and strolled in the direction Ning Rongrong had gone.
As Li Hanqiu gradually walked away, Tang San glanced at Dai Mubai, who looked down at him in return.
Neither said a word, but their thoughts were unexpectedly in agreement.
Hmph, what a poser!
What a two-faced bitch.
Back Mountain.
Ning Rongrong crouched beside the stream, hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms.
"I hate them... I hate them all..."
Footsteps gradually drew closer.
Li Hanqiu walked over, lifted the hem of his clothes, and sat on a rock.
"What did you come looking for me for?" Ning Rongrong asked in a muffled voice, sneaking a glance at him through her sleeves.
"I was worried you'd hide here crying alone, cry your face into a mess, then skip class again tomorrow," Li Hanqiu said.
"I wasn't crying!"
She raised her head, her eyes red and swollen, yet her mouth remained stubborn.
Li Hanqiu smiled without exposing her.
"Go ahead," he said. "You've been bottling it up for a while, haven't you?"
Ning Rongrong hugged her knees. Only after a long while did she speak quietly.
"I hate you all. Every single one of you bullies me."
"At home, whenever I get angry, Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa coax me. Everyone has to greet me with a smile."
"But here with you, Li Hanqiu, Dai Mubai gives me attitude, Zhu Zhuqing wears that cold face, and that heartless Xiao Wu only knows how to clap and cheer from the sidelines!"
The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt, her tears falling drop by drop.
"And you! You know perfectly well that if you just said one nice thing to coax me, I'd graciously forgive you and stop being angry. But you just won't!"
Listening to her, Li Hanqiu suddenly smiled.
"So you think every principle under heaven should revolve around you?"
"I... that's not what I meant..."
"Rongrong, even if the whole world revolved around you, I'd find that perfectly normal."
"Huh?!" Ning Rongrong blinked, momentarily thinking she had misheard.
She instinctively caught Li Hanqiu's sleeve, overjoyed. "W-what did you say?"
Li Hanqiu smiled. "Whether it's your family and sect or the top-tier Martial Soul you possess, you're the most outstanding of them all."
He reached out and rested his large hand on Ning Rongrong's fluffy head. "Besides, you're such a pretty, charming girl.
"It's perfectly normal for you to think the whole world should revolve around you."
Ning Rongrong blushed and shyly lowered her head. "I-I'm not as wonderful as you make me sound..."
"But if you want true friends, you can't always make people accommodate you."
Li Hanqiu's sudden change of tack made Ning Rongrong tremble. Looking at the stream, he continued:
"Of course you can want everyone to give way to you. But have you ever considered that they have tempers too, and grievances of their own?
"If you want others to treat you well, you should first ask yourself whether you've ever shown them a pleasant face."
Ning Rongrong lowered her head. After a long while, she muttered quietly, "Then... you can't blame everything on me."
Li Hanqiu raised his hand and rubbed the top of her head.
"I know you're not bad at heart. No one has taught you, that's all.
"And meeting me was a heaven-sent connection. I'll fulfill my responsibility to teach you to be good."
Ning Rongrong's face flushed scarlet in an instant.
She turned her head away, the tips of her ears burning. "W-who said you could pat my head..."
"Then stop smiling."
"Was I smiling?" She covered her face.
Li Hanqiu smiled and stopped teasing her.
Suddenly, he turned his head, his gaze resting on a patch of grass not far away.
"You've been listening long enough. Isn't it time you came out for some air, Gangzi?"
With that, Li Hanqiu snapped his fingers.
"Holy Light Ao."
A golden shadow shot out from behind the trees and pinned a gray figure to the ground.
The man wore gray robes. It was none other than Yu Xiaogang.
He had been crouching in the grass, peeking out and watching avidly. Unprepared for a dragon to spring out behind him, he was pressed flat on his face, all five points touching the ground.
"Li Hanqiu! W-what are you doing? Let go of this Grandmaster!"
Li Hanqiu ignored him and merely told Ning Rongrong, "Rongrong, take a good look. Stay away from this man from now on."
Ning Rongrong stood up and glared fiercely at Yu Xiaogang.
"I know! This rotten old man is awful. Yesterday, he said you were a biased devil, Teacher Li. He told me to question you in front of everyone today and put you on the spot!"
"I-I was..." Yu Xiaogang panicked.
"Let's go." Li Hanqiu rose and pulled Ning Rongrong up.
As he passed Yu Xiaogang, he raised his foot and kicked him squarely in the backside.
Whoosh-
Yu Xiaogang flew two meters and landed facedown in the mud beside the stream, taking a mouthful of moss.
"If I catch you approaching my students again, you won't get off so lightly next time."
Li Hanqiu led Ning Rongrong toward the training grounds without looking back.
Ning Rongrong jogged a couple of steps to follow him. After a few more steps, she turned back and made a face at Yu Xiaogang, who was struggling in the mud.
"Bleh."
Yu Xiaogang lay beside the stream, his mouth full of dirt and his eyes full of venom.
"Li Hanqiu..."
He clenched a handful of mud, his knuckles turning white.
"You forced me to do this... you forced me!"
Muddy water trickled down his face, making that old face look more twisted than ever.
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