The Little Demoness's Awakening (Revised)

The two Soul Douluos slurred their words as they spoke. After listening to them, Qian Renyue's lips twitched slightly.

From the brothers' attire, she had recognized at a glance that they were from Spirit Hall.

But if Spirit Hall had sent them, why had they been skulking around? Besides, neither Qian Daoliu nor Guang Ling had told her they had sent anyone over. Of course she had to knock them flat first. If some villain had set their sights on her and she did nothing to save herself, wouldn't she just be waiting to die?

"Ah."

With a soft sigh, Qian Renyue explained to Gu Rong that they were on her side, and he untied them. After such a ridiculous misunderstanding, all she could do was apologize to the two senior Soul Douluos and let the matter pass.

The two Soul Douluos hardly dared accept Qian Renyue's apology. They belonged to the Worship Hall, and she was their young mistress. Even if she had beaten them by mistake, it had only happened because they hadn't announced themselves. They really couldn't blame her.

Once everything was cleared up, Qian Renyue realized that Guang Ling had plenty to do with today's fiasco. Qian Daoliu had told him to send people to protect her in secret, and he had certainly taken the words "in secret" to heart. He had flatly forbidden these two poor suckers from meeting her, leaving them no choice but to sneak around while protecting her. They had already been worried she would mistake them for enemies and attack them. Now their fears had come true: they had taken a beating for nothing and could only go back to nurse their injuries for a few days. Worse, they couldn't let the Worship Hall's worshippers find out while they recovered, or they would never be able to show their faces in Spirit Hall again. Their colleagues might even slap them with the title of Disgrace of the Year.

Thanks a freaking lot!

With faces swollen like pigs' heads, the two Soul Douluos bowed to Qian Renyue and left Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Chen Xin watched Qian Renyue for a long time. He wasn't as carefree as Gu Rong. When Gu Rong had dragged the men over earlier, he had already noticed that the two Soul Douluos belonged to Spirit Hall. And their calling Qian Renyue "Second Young Lady" was enough to prove that she belonged to Spirit Hall too. But-

Since when did Spirit Hall have a Second Young Lady?

I only knew they had a young master and a Saintess. Where did this Second Young Lady come from?

Could she be the current Pope's illegitimate daughter?

Or the previous Pope's illegitimate daughter?

No, the previous Pope had been dead for years. How could he have such a young illegitimate daughter?

Then she was the current Pope Bibi Dong's?

"..."

That didn't seem right either.

If she really was the Pope's illegitimate daughter, why wasn't she studying at Spirit Hall Academy? What was she doing at Heaven Dou Royal Academy?

No matter how he turned it over in his mind, something felt off, so Chen Xin decided to stop thinking about it. He had never cared about this sort of thing. Why had he suddenly started caring today?

"Thank you both for bringing me back, uncles. I'm heading inside now, so I won't see you off!"

Linking arms with Dugu Yan, Qian Renyue wanted nothing more than to escape this mortifying place. She had no desire to be cornered by Chen Xin and Gu Rong and questioned about her background. Given their intelligence, even if they hadn't yet remembered who those two Soul Douluos were, they would probably figure it out soon.

There was nothing wrong with revealing her true identity to them, but Dugu Yan was beside her now. Dugu Yan knew she was Crown Prince Qinghe's sworn younger sister. If she learned that Qian Renyue was also Spirit Hall's Second Young Lady, things would get complicated.

Dugu Bo was currently backing the fourth prince, Xue Beng, and he already suspected Xue Qinghe. If Qian Renyue handed him more ammunition now, Qian Renxue would probably want to slaughter her.

To avoid causing trouble for Qian Renxue, Qian Renyue decided to dodge the subject for now. As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she believed she would meet these two Titled Douluos again before long.

Qian Renyue slunk away, and Chen Xin said nothing. Standing beside him, Gu Rong watched her retreating figure and couldn't help thinking of Ning Rongrong, who had run away from home quite some time ago. He nudged Chen Xin with his elbow and suggested, "Little Sword, let's sneak over and see our darling Rongrong. It's been so long since I've seen her. I don't even know whether anyone's been bullying her or whether she's doing well."

As he spoke, Gu Rong sighed, his eyes filled with longing.

If Ning Fengzhi hadn't stubbornly forbidden him from going to find Ning Rongrong, he would have slipped away days ago.

"Little Sword, as long as neither of us says anything, Fengzhi will never know we went to see our darling Rongrong."

Gu Rong coaxed him.

He couldn't shoulder the blame alone. If he brought old Chen Xin along, then even if Ning Fengzhi got angry, Chen Xin would be there to take the brunt of it.

As for him, he would only count as an accomplice at most.

"..."

Chen Xin fell silent for a moment. It really had been a long time since he had seen Ning Rongrong. They happened to have time now, so sneaking over to see her wasn't out of the question.

"Let's go," he said.

"Sure thing!" Gu Rong replied, and the two vanished into the night.

Shrek Academy.

With Zhu Zhuqing gone, Ning Rongrong had lost another companion. Xiao Wu had spent the past few days with Tang San, giving him almost all her time except when she returned to the dormitory to sleep at night. When they finally got a day off, Ning Rongrong had wanted to invite Xiao Wu out shopping, only for Xiao Wu to turn her down, saying she was going to the Soul Fighting Arena with Tang San.

And so, after spending the entire day alone, Ning Rongrong sat in the grass, feeling that Shrek Academy really was far too dramatic.

First, Tang San had abandoned Tang Yue for Xiao Wu. Then Zhu Zhuqing had dumped Dai Mubai. Now the perfectly fine Shrek Seven Devils had become six. As for Tang Yue, she had made new friends at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Not only did they all protect her, but her strength had also advanced by leaps and bounds. It would be wrong to call all this anything but dramatic.

If she hadn't invested so much effort here and suffered so many grievances that, deep down, she couldn't bear to leave just like that, she might have gone with Zhu Zhuqing that day too.

Stars filled the sky, and the night breeze brushed softly past. In the stillness, only the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves could be heard.

Ning Rongrong gazed up at the sky, suddenly unable to understand why she had joined this lousy academy. Not only were the food and accommodations terrible, but several hateful people had hurled insults at her and lectured her for no reason.

She had finally made a friend here, only for that friend to leave with someone else before they had spent much time together. Although Xiao Wu counted as her friend too, Xiao Wu was simply too fond of Tang San. If Tang San hadn't said Xiao Wu was only his younger sister, Ning Rongrong would also have thought there was more to their relationship.

As for Tang Yue, Ning Rongrong didn't think she had done anything wrong.

Tang San had abandoned her back then, so it was perfectly normal for her to refuse to acknowledge him now. It was just...

How exactly had she leveled up?

Was there some secret?

Hmm...

No!

I had to go see Yueyue!

If Yueyue had some shortcut to rapid progress, perhaps she could coax it out of her. Then she wouldn't have to hold her tongue just because her level was lower than Dai Mubai's and the others'.

As a little support soul master, Ning Rongrong knew her own standing all too well.

She was no longer as naive as she had once been. She came from an excellent background, and her sect did indeed have two great Titled Douluos, but none of that was her own strength.

Her sect couldn't be her sheltered harbor for life, nor could those two Titled Douluos protect her every moment of every day. What she needed to think about was how to gain the ability to protect herself, rather than always hiding behind others and being the one who needed protection.