The next day, Ning Jiao rose from the soft bed and slapped the soundly sleeping Ning Rongrong on the bottom.
"Ning Jiao!"
Still half asleep, Ning Rongrong grumbled indignantly without even opening her eyes.
"Get up. We still have to go Soul Hunting today."
Ning Jiao yawned, speaking listlessly.
As for yesterday's conversation, Liu Erlong had agreed to Ning Jiao's request, but the Inner Court currently had only one student dormitory.
So Liu Erlong had paid out of her own pocket to book hotel rooms for Ning Jiao and the others.
She planned to properly renovate the student dormitories later and divide the Inner Court into Class One and Class Two.
Those unsavory students on Flender's side could just go into Class Two.
"Speaking of which, Rongrong, why did you stop pretending to be a lady after just one day?"
Having given his face a quick wash, Ning Jiao emerged from the bathroom with a grin and looked teasingly at the bleary-eyed Ning Rongrong.
"Pretending, my ass!"
Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at Ning Jiao in disdain.
That blockhead Jiao had completely failed to notice her dejection yesterday as she fretted over what she might gain or lose. He thought she had merely been putting on an act!
"Get up, get up. We're heading to the Star Dou Great Forest for Soul Rings in a bit."
Ning Jiao continued nonchalantly. Since that was the case, he could not be bothered to use a Divine-Given Soul Ring to give this avatar its fourth Soul Ring.
"You freak!"
Ning Rongrong gave Ning Jiao a resentful look. They were both Seven Treasure Glazed Tile... no, he was Nine Treasure Glazed Tile, but his level had already been incredibly high before he evolved into Nine Treasure Glazed Tile, hadn't it?
"Calling me names again! You horrible Ning Rongrong, I'm not waiting for you!"
Ning Jiao turned indignantly and went out, leaving Ning Rongrong room to change.
"Hmph, at least you know what's good for you."
The corners of Ning Rongrong's lips lifted as she began slipping off her nightdress.
"Go on, then~"
Ning Jiao poked his head through the doorway and winked at Ning Rongrong!
"Get out!"
Ning Rongrong shrieked, covered her chest, and grabbed her nightdress to hurl it at Ning Jiao's head!
"Oh, come on, don't get mad. They're so small, I didn't see anything."
Ning Jiao's head vanished instantly, and the balled-up nightdress struck the back of the door.
"Yours are small, you bastard!"
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, feeling considerably more awake from sheer anger.
"Is this how normal siblings get along?"
Zhu Zhuqing pressed a hand to her forehead, looking speechlessly at Ning Jiao as he leaned beside the door.
Behind her, Tang Lan and Xiao Wu were already fully dressed and ready.
In fact, if Ning Jiao had left Shrek, those two would not have followed him, because Tang Lan had made a promise to Grandmaster.
But since Ning Jiao had offered another way, neither of them had left Ning Jiao's team.
"I don't know about siblings, but at our age, fooling around is perfectly normal."
Ning Jiao explained with a perfectly straight face, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward Zhu Zhuqing's ample assets.
He compared them with the little steamed buns he had just seen.
A crushing defeat for Ning Rongrong!
"Look where you shouldn't again, and I'll gouge your eyes out."
Zhu Zhuqing gave Ning Jiao an exasperated glare. He did not even bother to hide it.
For a moment, she could not tell whether he was lecherous or simply innocent by nature.
"So fierce~"
Ning Jiao pursed his lips and said nothing more. Who was it who had gone limp in his arms yesterday, then?
"Hah~"
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, turned her head, and ignored him.
"Ning Jiao, who do you like more, Zhu Zhuqing or Rongrong?"
"Don't tell me you like both?"
Xiao Wu approached with a mischievous grin and teasingly poked Ning Jiao's arm.
The instant Xiao Wu finished speaking, everything fell silent!
Beside them, Zhu Zhuqing froze slightly. Her long lashes lowered, and her eyes flickered as she secretly pricked up her ears.
At the same time, behind the door, Ning Rongrong, who had finished changing, paused with her delicate hand just short of the handle.
"I like Tang Lan best."
Ning Jiao thought for a moment, then looked toward Tang Lan.
"Scram."
Tang Lan sneered, spitting that single word from her little pink lips.
He had only just said yesterday that she was not pretty, and today he liked her best, did he?
"No, no! I asked about Zhu Zhuqing and Rongrong. Don't change the subject!"
"Then why can't I like Tang Lan?"
"You're lying! Tang Lan isn't even pretty!"
Xiao Wu's indignant cry successfully drew everyone's attention to her.
"N-no, what I meant was..."
"You jerk!"
Having spoken in the heat of the moment, Xiao Wu glared indignantly at Ning Jiao, then turned to say nice things to the speechless Tang Lan.
"Boring."
Zhu Zhuqing turned away and looked down toward the lobby. She had already spotted Teacher Liu Erlong, and beside her stood a man wearing glasses who looked thoroughly crafty.
"Aren't you clever~"
Ning Rongrong pushed the door open and emerged, giving Ning Jiao a lingering look.
She, Ning Rongrong, might never have eaten pork, but surely she had seen pigs run. She increasingly felt that Ning Jiao had the makings of a scumbag!
"As long as you don't make a relationship official, you can flirt with several people at once."
"Once none of them can bear to leave you, you hand the choice over to them."
Snap!
Ning Jiao snapped his fingers lightly and spoke with a completely candid expression.
Those words had come from the Asura God himself. Back when he was trying to persuade Phantylia to date the Angel God, he had offered quite a few suggestions.
He had even worried that Phantylia would disdain Qian Lingsu's age and suggested that he could find someone younger.
"You really are a bastard."
Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort. She would never let Ning Jiao lead her around by the nose!
Even if she really fell for Ning Jiao, she would never let him have his way!
"Since everyone's out, let's head downstairs."
"Teacher Erlong and another person who seems to be a teacher have been waiting for a while."
Zhu Zhuqing spoke calmly and headed for the stairs first.
"Let's go."
Ning Jiao shrugged and gestured for everyone to come along.
"Isn't that the swindler?"
Xiao Wu gave the man standing beside Liu Erlong a strange look.
"Is he a Shrek teacher too...?"
Tang Lan fell into thought.
"Things have been rather chaotic lately because of Words of the Gods."
"So for this Soul Hunting trip, Teacher Flender and I, both Soul Saints, will be accompanying you."
"If we do encounter danger, Teacher Flender is a flying Soul Master and can get you away quickly."
In the lobby, Liu Erlong greeted the students coming downstairs.
"Haha, I've long heard that several Little Monsters joined this batch of the Inner Court. Hello, everyone."
"I'm Flender, dean of the Outer Court."
Flender laughed heartily, seemingly bearing no resentment whatsoever over the matter with Dai Mubai.
"Speaking of which, Tang Lan, if Flender hadn't told me, I wouldn't even have known you were Xiaogang's disciple."
Liu Erlong suddenly gave Tang Lan a reproachful look.
"How has your teacher been lately? Is he in good health?"
Liu Erlong could not hold herself back from asking.
"He's... doing very well, I suppose."
"And Teacher said he'd be coming to Shrek Academy before long, too."
Tang Lan wore a strange expression, feeling that the relationship between Teacher Erlong and her own teacher seemed rather unusual.
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