Outside Zhu Zhuqing's boudoir, in the courtyard,
Zhu Zhuqing sat on a stone chair, her long, beautiful legs stretched out on a stone table, gazing blankly at the distant sky.
She had just cleared everything up with her father. Only now did she truly understand what an extraordinary genius Xu Ran was.
In the Star Luo Empire's history, the number of twelve-year-old Soul Elders could be counted on one hand. Xu Ran was one of them. Even the Zhu Family had to spare no effort to win over a genius like him. That was why they had gone with the current and agreed to marry her to Xu Ran.
Scenes of her time with Xu Ran surfaced in her mind. Even she did not know what she felt for him. She was only a young girl and did not yet know what love was, nor whether her feelings for Xu Ran were love.
Then there was Dai Mubai. Although she no longer wanted to mention that name, she had to admit that he was the Star Luo Empire's third prince, and his marriage represented the dignity of the imperial family. Even with her family's consent, she and Xu Ran still had a long road ahead if they wanted to be together.
The one who held supreme power in the Star Luo Empire would not want to see the imperial family disgraced.
"Stop thinking about it. Whatever happens in the future, I'll stand in front of you." Xu Ran quietly walked up behind Zhu Zhuqing and gathered her into his arms. Feeling the soft, fragrant girl in his embrace, he felt a surge of contentment.
"Don't move. I'm only giving you a hug. I won't do anything else." Sensing the thoughts of the girl in his arms, Xu Ran spoke, involuntarily tightening his embrace a little and pressing Zhu Zhuqing's perfect, delicate figure firmly against his chest.
He buried his face in her soft black hair, gently breathing in the fragrance that belonged to her alone.
Zhu Zhuqing really was beautiful. At least, she was the most beautiful girl he had seen in the Zhu Family so far.
And now Zhu Zhuqing was his fiancée. With their marriage contract as proof, she belonged to him alone. If anyone dared lay a hand on her, he would destroy them with a single stroke of his sword.
Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened slightly. Held in Xu Ran's arms, her heart pounded wildly, and she hardly dared breathe. She had wanted to slip out of his embrace, but she could feel his deep attachment and care for her. That was what she had lacked most throughout her life. For a moment, she could not quite bear to leave.
"Xu Ran, will you protect me in the future? Will you always, always protect me?" Zhu Zhuqing asked softly. She did not know what would happen in the future either. She only knew that being together with Xu Ran would be very difficult.
"I will, unless I die," Xu Ran said without hesitation, his gaze filled with determination. Although he lusted after Zhu Zhuqing's body, he would never merely toy with her. The girl he liked only needed to rest peacefully in his arms. If a man could not protect his own woman, what was the point of him being alive?
"Don't say things like that." Zhu Zhuqing covered Xu Ran's lips with her delicate hand, preventing him from continuing. She did not want anything to happen to him.
"All right. I won't." Xu Ran smiled, his gaze drifting involuntarily toward a certain spot.
Zhu Zhuqing really was so big.
From his current position, looking down along the snowy skin of her fragrant shoulder, he could even...
"No peeking." Xu Ran's breath brushed her skin. She turned her head and caught his gaze, immediately feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed.
Covering her chest with her delicate hands, Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at him irritably.
Shameless Xu Ran. He claimed he wasn't a lecher, yet he was sneaking looks at her.
"A lovely, graceful maiden is a gentleman's fair pursuit. I'm not being lecherous on purpose. Besides, it's human nature. I can't change it. And I'm looking at my darling Zhu Zhuqing, not anyone else." Xu Ran found her a little amusing. Zhu Zhuqing was still very cute. It was only because no one in the Zhu Family cared about her that she had gradually closed herself off and become cold and aloof. But no matter how cold she was, he could warm her until she melted.
"Who's your darling?" Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face flushed. How had he failed to notice before how shameless Xu Ran was? He was even calling him darling. And he was a little lecherous, always looking at those places.
"Well, you're my fiancée, and I even have the marriage contract in hand. If you aren't my darling, who is?" Xu Ran chuckled, gently twining Zhu Zhuqing's long hair around his fingers and feeling its silky smoothness.
"You haven't won me over yet. If you don't treat me well, I won't marry you." Embarrassed and annoyed, Zhu Zhuqing spoke with a little haughtiness.
"All right. I'll definitely treat you well from now on, so you'll lie obediently in my arms and be my darling."
"By the way, I'm leaving tomorrow. I still have some things to take care of outside." Xu Ran looked into the distance as he spoke. Nuoding City was in the Heaven Dou Empire, a very long way from here. He had to set out early.
"When will you come back?" Zhu Zhuqing asked urgently, unable to help feeling a little aggrieved. She had only just signed a marriage contract with Xu Ran, and he was already leaving. They had not even had a proper conversation yet. She did not know his length, and he did not know her depth. Was he in such a hurry to leave already?
"Soon. Once I'm back, I'll take you away from here. We'll go to the Heaven Dou Empire. If we stay here, I'm afraid the imperial family will discover our relationship and move against us." Xu Ran ruffled Zhu Zhuqing's long hair. Shrek Academy would begin recruiting in a few months, and naturally, he would go show Dai Mubai up.
"All right. I'll wait for you to come back." Zhu Zhuqing nodded, a hint of longing in her eyes. She wanted to go out and see the world too.
"I'll be off, then." Xu Ran smiled and hugged Zhu Zhuqing once more before turning to leave.
He was now going to rescue Xiao Wu, a girl who had gone astray.
Xiao Wu had yet to see through the true face of that hypocrite Tang San.
Tang San professed to be righteous, destroying Spirit Hall and Slaughter City. Yet it had all been for personal vengeance.
He had gained benefits from Slaughter City, along with Divine Slaughter's Domain, then turned around and destroyed it. Even the Asura God's inheritance had vanished without a trace. He was exactly the sort who picked up his bowl to eat, then put it down and cursed the mother who fed him. Moreover, he had remained the sole Asura God in the Divine Realm for tens of thousands of years without any thought of relinquishing his position. He had probably destroyed the inheritance himself, so how could he pass the position on?
After destroying Spirit Hall, he had never helped Soul Masters establish an organization that benefited them either, leaving countless commoner Soul Masters unable to awaken their Martial Souls. During the era of Peerless Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao, who possessed a Body Martial Soul, had needed to venture alone into the Far North to obtain a Soul Ring. Jiang Nannan, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters, had been willing to sell her body for a Mystic Water Pill worth ten Gold Soul Coins.
Admittedly, the subsidies Spirit Hall distributed to Soul Masters had all come from money it forced the two great empires to provide. But without Spirit Hall, why would the two empires have paid that money? As emperors, they would have preferred all their subjects to be mediocrities so their rule would not be affected. Why would they allow power they could not fully control to grow stronger? If they were truly so benevolent, things like "burning books and burying scholars," "banishing the hundred schools," and "selecting officials through eight-legged essays" would never have existed.
And what good had Tang San ever done?
The catastrophe that struck the continent during the era of Peerless Tang Sect had also been inseparable from Tang San. Spirit Hall had been destroyed, and the Qian Family's inheritance, along with even the divine positions of the Angel God and Rakshasa God, had been ruined, leaving no successors. Without the Rakshasa God, there had been no one to govern the wicked Evil Soul Masters. The severed inheritance of the Six-Winged Angel, which possessed the three attributes of light, holiness, and flame, had also deprived the Evil Soul Masters of a powerful nemesis.
Professing to be righteous, he had become Douluo Star's greatest villain. The prohibition against deities casually descending to the lower realm meant nothing to him. He had sent his daughter down, then his grandson. Every ten thousand years, once Douluo Star had recovered its vitality, he would send his descendants down to shear another fleece off it.
Such a man professed to be righteous, yet in Xu Ran's eyes, he was no different from Yue Buqun.
He also liked to show off, only acting once his teammates encountered danger. Whenever Xiao Wu was in danger, his strength would immediately surge, and then he would act, winning her heart.
But now that he had appeared, Tang San's fate was already sealed.
Naturally, his fate was to be a good-for-nothing-and, of course, to be cuckolded.
He would steal Xiao Wu away and teach him the meaning of cruelty.
Of course, after stealing her away, he would flaunt it in front of him, showing him how painful it was to see the girl he liked held in another man's arms.
Before you continue