News of Tang San's failed challenge against Yi Yun spread like wildfire through Nuoding City.
Some said Tang San had overestimated himself, some said Yi Yun was far too powerful, and others said the two were putting on an act. After all, who would really use a single finger to stop a Soul Master's all-out attack?
But more people began paying attention to Yi Yun.
A teenage Titled Douluo who had effortlessly crushed a Soul Master with just one finger-"genius" could no longer describe that kind of strength.
He was a monster.
The news traveled fast, faster than Yi Yun had expected.
And some of it reached ears it should never have reached.
Early in the morning, just after the city gates opened, a figure walked into Nuoding City.
She was a girl of about twelve or thirteen, tall and slender, with long black hair tied into a neat ponytail. Her features were delicate, but her expression was as cold as winter ice.
She wore a tight black outfit that outlined her slender yet powerful figure.
A short sword hung at her waist, and her steps were light, like a cat poised to spring.
Most striking were her eyes-a pair of amber feline eyes, deep and sharp, which seemed to size people up as prey.
Her name was Zhu Zhuqing.
She was a legitimate daughter of the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire, with the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul, and a future agility-attack Soul Master.
But at that moment, exhaustion was written all over her face.
She had fled all the way from the Star Luo Empire to Nuoding City, traveling for half a month, eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the open sky. Even her clothes had several tears.
"Nuoding City..." Standing at the gates, Zhu Zhuqing looked at the dusty little city with a slight frown.
She had heard of Nuoding City, an unremarkable little city without any powerful experts or influential factions.
But she had not come here to admire the scenery.
She had come for refuge.
The man who disgusted her surfaced in Zhu Zhuqing's mind: Dai Mubai.
The third prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family, and her fiancé in name.
An imperial marriage alliance, an exchange of interests-the two had been betrothed since childhood.
But Zhu Zhuqing did not like Dai Mubai. That playboy used his status as a prince to chase women everywhere, replacing the women around him one after another.
She did not want to marry someone like that.
So she had fled.
She had escaped the Star Luo Empire and fled somewhere no one knew her.
But Zhu Zhuqing knew Dai Mubai would not let her go.
The dignity of the Star Luo Imperial Family could not be challenged. Once word spread that she had fled her marriage, Dai Mubai would certainly send people after her.
She needed someone to back her.
Someone powerful enough that even the Star Luo Imperial Family would not dare touch them.
And just a few days earlier, she had heard some news: there was a teenage Titled Douluo in Nuoding City.
A teenager. A Titled Douluo.
Zhu Zhuqing had not believed it at first, but the reports were full of convincing details, even clearly describing the Titled Douluo's name and appearance.
Yi Yun, dressed in white, long-haired, and very good-looking.
Zhu Zhuqing decided to try her luck.
Standing outside Nuoding Academy, Zhu Zhuqing looked at its peeling sign and sank into thought.
This was where that Titled Douluo stayed?
A Titled Douluo, in a shabby place like this?
She hesitated, then walked inside anyway.
"Hello, is Mr. Yi Yun here?" Zhu Zhuqing stopped a passing student, her voice cool and clear.
The student froze for a moment when he saw Zhu Zhuqing's face.
What a beautiful girl.
"You... you're looking for Mr. Yi Yun?"
"Yes."
"He's on the hill out back. I'll take you there."
"Thank you."
The two crossed the sports field, went around the classroom building, and reached the hill behind it.
Then Zhu Zhuqing saw a sight she would never forget.
A young man in a white robe was lying on the grass, basking in the sun.
Beside him sat a girl with a scorpion-tail braid, munching on a carrot.
Farther away, a boy dressed in blue held a green pole and hopped around in a sandpit.
No matter how she looked at it, this scene did not resemble a Titled Douluo's daily life.
"That's Mr. Yi Yun." The student pointed at the white-robed young man lying there.
Zhu Zhuqing frowned.
This was that Titled Douluo?
He looked... about her age.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I saw him defeat Tang San with one finger."
Still dubious, Zhu Zhuqing walked over and stopped in front of Yi Yun.
"You're Yi Yun?"
Yi Yun opened his eyes and saw a black-haired girl standing in front of him, looking down at him.
The girl was beautiful, but her expression was as cold as thousand-year-old ice, and her entire bearing warned strangers to keep away.
Those amber feline eyes in particular carried an innate wariness and scrutiny when she looked at people.
Yi Yun recognized her at a glance.
Zhu Zhuqing.
The Hell Spirit Cat, a legitimate daughter of the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire, and Dai Mubai's fiancée.
"I'm Yi Yun." Yi Yun sat up and looked Zhu Zhuqing over. "Who are you?"
"Zhu Zhuqing."
"What do you need from me?"
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, but said it anyway.
"I need your protection."
"Protection?" Yi Yun raised an eyebrow. "Who did you offend?"
"The Star Luo Imperial Family."
Pretending not to know, Yi Yun tilted his head. "The Star Luo Imperial Family? How did a young girl like you offend them?"
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip.
"I'm from the Star Luo Zhu Family, and I'm betrothed to a member of the imperial family. I ran away from the marriage."
"Oh." Yi Yun drew out the word and nodded meaningfully. "Ran away from your marriage, did you? You've got some nerve."
"I don't want to marry that playboy." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was cold, but a barely perceptible trace of vulnerability lay in her eyes.
Yi Yun looked at her, remaining silent for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"I can protect you."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up briefly.
"But there's one condition."
"What condition?"
Yi Yun rose from the grass, brushed the clippings off his clothes, and looked at Zhu Zhuqing with a beaming smile.
"Let me hear you call me Big Brother."
Zhu Zhuqing: "..."
Beside them, Xiao Wu nearly choked to death on the carrot she was munching.
In the distance, Tang San stumbled and fell into the sandpit.
Zhu Zhuqing's face reddened visibly, the flush spreading from her neck all the way to her ears.
Her feline eyes widened into perfect circles, their amber depths filled with disbelief.
"Wh-what did you say?" Even her voice changed pitch.
"Let me hear you call me Big Brother," Yi Yun repeated, smiling like a scoundrel. "Just once. Say it, and I'll protect you."
"You!" Zhu Zhuqing trembled all over with anger.
In all her life, no one had ever teased her like this.
In the Star Luo Empire, she was a legitimate daughter of the Zhu Family. Who would dare say something like that to her?
But now she was a young lady fallen on hard times, fleeing for refuge, and the person before her was her only hope.
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"Pick another condition."
"No."
"I can give you money."
"I don't lack money."
"I can give you treasures."
"I don't lack treasures."
"Then I can..."
"I don't lack anything except a little sister," Yi Yun said with a beaming smile.
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists until they creaked.
She really wanted to punch him in the face.
But she could not beat him.
And she needed his protection.
Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then another.
Then she opened her eyes and spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Big Brother..."
"Louder. I didn't hear you."
"Big Brother!" Zhu Zhuqing practically shouted it.
Afterward, her face was as red as a cooked shrimp, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"That's more like it." Yi Yun nodded in satisfaction. "From now on, you're with me. If anyone bullies you, I'll hit them back for you."
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip without speaking.
Her feelings were complicated.
On the one hand, she had indeed found someone powerful to back her.
On the other, that person did not seem particularly proper.
Xiao Wu had watched the entire process of Yi Yun teasing Zhu Zhuqing.
The carrot in her hand no longer tasted good.
"Brother Yun, who is she?" Xiao Wu walked over and looked Zhu Zhuqing up and down, a hint of hostility in her eyes.
"Zhu Zhuqing. She'll be our companion from now on," Yi Yun introduced her.
"Companion?" Xiao Wu frowned. "Why is she becoming our companion?"
"Because she ran away from her marriage and needs protection."
"That still doesn't mean she can just call you Big Brother, does it?"
Seeing Xiao Wu pout, Yi Yun could not help laughing.
"Jealous?"
"Wh-who's jealous?!" Xiao Wu's face instantly reddened. "I'm not jealous!"
"Then why are you blushing?"
"I-I'm hot!"
"It's only spring."
"I run hot!"
Yi Yun laughed even more happily.
Standing nearby and watching Yi Yun and Xiao Wu bicker, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly had a strange feeling.
These two seemed to have an unusual relationship.
"You two are..." Zhu Zhuqing asked tentatively.
"I'm Brother Yun's Xiao Wu!" Xiao Wu said first.
"I'm Xiao Wu's Brother Yun," Yi Yun followed.
They exchanged a glance and both smiled.
Watching them make eyes at each other, Zhu Zhuqing became even more certain: something was going on between these two.
But she did not ask any further.
Right now, she only wanted to know one thing.
"Yi Yun, can you really protect me?" Zhu Zhuqing looked at Yi Yun seriously. "The pursuers from the Star Luo Empire might arrive very soon."
"Call me Brother Yun," Yi Yun corrected her.
"...Brother Yun," Zhu Zhuqing managed with difficulty. "Can you really protect me?"
Yi Yun did not answer. Instead, he turned and walked toward a huge boulder in the distance.
The boulder stood about two stories tall and weighed at least several dozen tons.
Yi Yun stood before the boulder, raised his right hand, and lightly tapped it with his index finger.
The boulder split down the middle into two halves, its broken surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
Then Yi Yun blew a breath at it.
The two halves crumbled into powder and scattered on the wind.
Zhu Zhuqing's mouth fell open, her eyes wider than bronze bells.
She had seen powerful people, but never anyone this powerful.
One tap of his finger split a boulder; one breath turned it to powder.
What kind of monster was he?
"Believe me now?" Yi Yun dusted off his hands and walked back.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded mechanically.
She believed him.
Completely.
"Then let me hear you call me Brother Yun."
"Brother Yun." This time, Zhu Zhuqing said it willingly.
Tang San climbed out of the sandpit, covered in sand, with a few blades of grass still stuck to his face.
He saw Zhu Zhuqing, and he had also seen Yi Yun split the boulder with one finger.
"Another one..." Tang San muttered.
He remembered Yi Yun saying he wanted to win over every female character on the Douluo Continent.
He had thought Yi Yun was joking.
Now it seemed it was no joke.
"Little San, come here!" Yi Yun beckoned to him.
Tang San walked over with the Pole Vault over his shoulder.
"This is Zhu Zhuqing. She's our companion from now on," Yi Yun introduced her. "This is Tang San, my lackey."
Tang San said expressionlessly, "I'm not your lackey."
"Then what are you?"
"I'm... your rival."
"Oh, the guy I defeated."
Tang San: "..."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Tang San, then at the Pole Vault in his hand, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"What are you holding?"
"My Martial Soul." Tang San's voice was calm.
"What Martial Soul?"
"Pole Vault."
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent.
She suddenly felt that this boy named Tang San had it even worse than she did.
At least she had her Nether Civet Martial Soul, while he had nothing but a Pole Vault.
"Hello, I'm Zhu Zhuqing." Zhu Zhuqing greeted him politely.
"Tang San." Tang San nodded.
The two exchanged a glance, then looked away at the same time.
They were both thinking the same thing.
Just how many people was this Yi Yun going to wreak havoc on?
The dean sat in his chair, looking at the report before him, his head ready to burst.
"Another one?" The dean rubbed his temples.
"Yes," the secretary said. "A girl named Zhu Zhuqing, from the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire. Supposedly, she ran away from an arranged marriage."
"Who is she here for?"
"Yi Yun."
The dean sighed.
In a few more days, would even people from Spirit Hall start showing up?
"Forget it. Let him be." The dean waved a hand.
It wasn't as though he could keep him in line anyway.
In the cafeteria, the four of them sat together for a meal.
Yi Yun sat in the middle, with Xiao Wu on his left, Zhu Zhuqing on his right, and Tang San across from him.
The scene looked quite harmonious, if one ignored Tang San's face, which said he had nothing left to live for.
"Zhu Zhuqing, eat more meat. You're too thin." Yi Yun placed a piece of braised pork in Zhu Zhuqing's bowl.
"Thank you, Brother Yun," Zhu Zhuqing said softly.
"Xiao Wu, here are your carrots." Yi Yun served Xiao Wu a plate of carrots.
"Thank you, Brother Yun!" Xiao Wu smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Tang San looked at the plain white rice in his bowl, then at Yi Yun's empty hands.
"What about mine?" Tang San couldn't help asking.
"Didn't you say you wanted to save money?"
"..."
"Help yourself."
Tang San took a deep breath and picked up a piece of leafy green for himself.
He suddenly felt that his standing in this group was lower than even a Pole Vault's.
At least Yi Yun would pick up the Pole Vault and swing it a couple of times.
He wasn't even worthy of Yi Yun's attention.
Late that night, Zhu Zhuqing lay in bed, gazing at the unfamiliar ceiling.
This was the dorm room Nuoding Academy had arranged for her. Though simple, it was far better than eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky.
She had been through a lot that day.
She had found someone to back her up, called a strange man her brother, and met a boy whose Martial Soul was a Pole Vault.
It all felt like a dream.
But the one who had left the deepest impression on Zhu Zhuqing was still Yi Yun.
On the surface, he was all smiles, frivolous, and fond of teasing people, but his strength was real.
So overwhelming that it left people in despair.
And he treated her very well. Though he had made her call him brother, it had been in jest; he hadn't truly made things difficult for her.
"Maybe... coming here was the right choice," Zhu Zhuqing murmured.
She closed her eyes, and Yi Yun's smile appeared in her mind.
She didn't know why, but suddenly, that smile felt very warm.
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