A Flutter of Foreboding

As the sun rose in the east, Cao De slowly exhaled a breath of stale air after finishing his practice of the Great Sun Heart Method.

A flutter stirred in his heart. Cao De pondered the sensation, decided he must have imagined it, and gave it no further thought.

He leaped down from the building and saw Yu Xiaogang stumbling toward the boys' dormitory nearby, with Dai Mubai following behind.

"Cao De, the Dean wants to see you," Dai Mubai said.

Cao De nodded and headed for the Dean's office. As he pushed open the door, Flaide came forward to greet him, saying eagerly, "Cao De, you're here. Have a seat."

"What did you want to see me about?" Cao De sat down in a chair and cut straight to the point.

Flaide adjusted his glasses. "I'd like to relocate Shrek Academy to Heaven Dou Imperial City. What do you think?"

Cao De shook his head without hesitation. "No."

If they went to Heaven Dou Imperial City, Xiao Wu's identity as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast could easily be exposed. His strength was still insufficient to guarantee her safety, so he had to avoid every possible mishap.

That was also why Cao De had kept to the original storyline, first staying at Nuoding Academy and then coming to Shrek. Until he could control everything completely, he chose to play it safe.

Hearing Cao De's answer, Flaide looked a little displeased, then asked, "Is there a reason?"

Cao De had already guessed Flaide's little scheme. He simply wanted to go to Heaven Dou Imperial City to see Liu Erlong, make his presence felt, and see whether he had a chance with her.

Cao De couldn't be bothered to expose such a hopeless simp's thoughts, so he continued.

"There's no particular reason. Shrek will stay here for another two years. After that, I'll give you all my shares, and you can move it wherever you like. What do you think, Dean Flaide?"

Flaide frowned in thought, unable to work out Cao De's intentions, but the benefit was right there before him. He nodded in agreement. "No problem."

Cao De smiled, rose, and pushed open the door to leave.

His heart suddenly fluttered again. Frowning, Cao De quickly brought up the system panel. All three Remote Sensing Marks showed normal readings.

Cao De's brows knitted even tighter. What exactly was it? He thought for a long while but still couldn't figure it out.

He headed toward the girls' dormitory. The two girls were standing arm in arm and waved at Cao De as he approached.

"Good morning, Brother Cao De!" Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong called in unison.

Their voices were so sweet that Cao De nearly melted to his bones. As for whose idea this was, it had to be that little dirty-minded girl, Rongrong.

Cao De smiled and replied, "Good morning."

The two girls separated and each hooked herself around one of his arms, both pressing their breasts against him.

Cao De had never imagined being bumped by four soft globes at once, but now he was experiencing it firsthand.

The two sides feel different. Rongrong's seem a little bigger, Cao De assessed inwardly.

But the next moment, he could no longer smile.

"Brother Cao De, who do you think is better, me or Xiao Wu?" Ning Rongrong abruptly tugged at him, speaking in an affectedly sweet voice.

Xiao Wu also gave him a sharp tug and asked with a coquettish smile, "Brother, tell us. Who's better, me or Rongrong?"

Cao De's hair instantly stood on end. "Well, you're both good. Both good."

"You have to pick one." Ning Rongrong tugged hard.

"You have to pick one," Xiao Wu echoed, unwilling to back down.

Cao De's scalp prickled. "The cafeteria has a carrot feast today. You can really eat your fill."

Cao De decided to distract them. The best way to do that was to divert Xiao Wu's attention, and carrots were surely an excellent choice.

Still holding Cao De's arm, Xiao Wu smiled and said, "I knew it. Brother still likes me more, doesn't he, little sister Rongrong?"

"Cao De, do you really want a carrot feast today?" Ning Rongrong asked with a smile too, though a chill lurked within it.

Cao De was at his wits' end. Suddenly, the fluttering sensation returned. He clutched his chest, an expression of discomfort spreading across his face.

"Cao De!" "Brother! Are you all right?" Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu asked anxiously.

Cao De held his chest, his brows tightly furrowed. Only after a long while did he slowly say, "I'm fine."

"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu asked urgently.

"It really is nothing." Cao De smiled and stroked Xiao Wu's head.

Afterward, he stroked Ning Rongrong's head as well.

"Look me in the eyes when you say that." Ning Rongrong's expression was very serious.

Cao De raised his eyes to meet Ning Rongrong's gemlike gaze. "I'll probably have to go away for a bit."

"What for?" the two girls pressed in unison.

Cao De took out his martial soul, the Thousand-Blade Demon Sword. The blue patterns on its blade flickered with light.

"My martial soul is guiding me to retrieve some things." Cao De stared at the patterns.

"Can we go with you?" Ning Rongrong was the first to ask.

Xiao Wu also watched him with pleading eyes, her meaning plain.

Cao De shook his head. "This trip might be dangerous. I'm not strong enough yet."

Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu instantly looked dejected, and Xiao Wu's eyes filled with tears.

"It's all right. I'm just going away for a bit. I'll be back soon," Cao De hurriedly reassured them.

"It's fine. Let me take you out for a feast." Holding both girls' hands, Cao De headed toward Suotuo City.

After a lavish meal, much of the girls' gloom had visibly dissipated.

"Cao De, when are you planning to leave?" Ning Rongrong asked as she ate.

Cao De thought for a moment and said, "The day after tomorrow."

Ning Rongrong nodded.

After the meal, Ning Rongrong said something to Xiao Wu, and the two parted ways with Cao De.

Cao De didn't know what Ning Rongrong had taken Xiao Wu off to do, nor did he concern himself with it.

Now that he was going away, there were still a few things he needed to deal with. First was Tang San. Although that fellow had already been bullied into a weakling, he was still the protagonist, after all.

While Cao De was around, he had plenty of ways to keep Tang San in line, no matter how much trouble he tried to stir up. But now that he was leaving, he needed to take care of him first.

Cao De's thoughts raced, and soon he had a plan.

Before long, Cao De pushed open the door to the Dean's office again.

Flaide rose with a smile to greet him. "Cao De, you're here. Sit down."

Cao De asked with a smile, "What do you think of Tang San?"

Flaide's brows furrowed tightly. Unable to understand Cao De's intentions, he quickly analyzed the situation inwardly.

Cao De must already know about Tang San's memory loss. What is he here for now? To extort Zhao Wuji, or me?

Flaide was filled with uncertainty, but he still answered promptly, "Tang San? I don't have any particular opinion. I don't know what happened with his memory loss either."

Cao De noticed the subtle change in Flaide's eyes. Although he wasn't sure whether Tang San's amnesia was real or feigned, this was nevertheless an excellent opportunity.

"He's lost his memory? Dean, let's go have a look," Cao De said.

Growing even more puzzled by Cao De's intentions, Flender forced himself to remain calm and led him toward Shrek's infirmary.

Cao De followed Flaide into a wooden cabin, where two healing soul masters in white were soothing a long-haired man crouching on the floor.

A man lay on another bed, eating fruit. Cao De took a closer look and recognized him as Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun glanced at Cao De, then quickly lowered his head.

"I want to eat this." The man's voice drew Cao De's attention back.

"You can't eat that. You just pooped it out," a white-clad soul master said, hastening to stop him.

Seeing Flender enter, the white-clad soul master said apologetically, "Dean, Tang San is still mentally unstable. He won't eat his meals, but he wants to eat his own excrement."

The white-clad soul master's voice grew quieter toward the end.

"I understand." Flaide's expression was stern, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Only upon hearing the white-clad soul master's words did Cao De realize that the man crouching on the floor was Tang San.

As Cao De moved forward to examine him, Tang San dropped onto his stomach and wriggled under the bed. "I'm a cricket! I'm a Man Faced Demon Spider!"

The two white-clad soul masters immediately stopped Tang San and hauled him upright.

Only then did Cao De get a clear look at Tang San's face. It was still ugly, but he could recognize him as Tang San.

Cao De applied the medical arts from the Anti-Tang Sect Manual, pairing them with Laser Eyes to examine carefully whether Tang San had truly lost his memory.

Strangely, even Cao De couldn't make sense of the current state of the meridians in Tang San's brain.

It looked like the symptoms of amnesia, yet not quite. Cao De was puzzled.

"When Mubai returned to the dormitory today, Tang San was already like this," Flender added.

"Life always has its mishaps. There's nothing to be done," Cao De replied.