(A beautiful picture of Xiao Wu)
Sitting to Xiao Jue's right, Ning Rongrong saw how diligently Zhu Zhuqing was massaging him, and alarm bells rang in her heart.
What's with Zhu Zhuqing? Is she trying to steal Xiao Jue from me?
No way!
Ning Rongrong hurried over and began massaging Xiao Jue's right arm and shoulder.
"Xiao Jue, I'll give you a massage too!"
With a beauty on either side of him, Xiao Jue enjoyed their massages and narrowed his eyes in comfort.
At that moment, Xiao Wu stared at the two of them, utterly bewildered.
She suddenly remembered that in the Star Dou Great Forest, many female Soul Beasts would compete for the finest male Soul Beast, which was best for the propagation of their species.
Xiao Wu looked at Xiao Jue. He really was handsome, and his physique was impeccable too!
Then she had to compete for him too!
She was following her biological instincts!
Xiao Wu hurriedly knelt in front of Xiao Jue and raised her little fists. "Then I'll massage your legs!"
Xiao Jue said, "Mm, that feels good! So good!"
He lay in the carriage, with Zhu Zhuqing massaging his shoulder on the left, Ning Rongrong kneading his arm on the right, and Xiao Wu pounding his legs in front.
What treatment! This feels amazing!
And that wasn't all.
His system panel began chiming.
[Ding! Recovered 1 Lust Point!] [Ding! Recovered 1 Lust Point!] [Ding! Recovered 1 Lust Point!] [Current Lust Points: 5] [Martial Soul bonus: Charm greatly increased! Looks greatly enhanced!] [The higher the Lust Points, the greater the bonus!]
Xiao Jue's heart blossomed with joy. This feels great! I struck it rich this time!
After a day's travel, the group reached a small town.
Zhao Wuji ordered them to rest.
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Tang San were all gasping for breath, utterly bedraggled.
The four of them slumped on the ground as if their Soul Power had been drained dry, panting in great gulps.
Xiao Jue, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, stepped leisurely out of the carriage and stretched.
They looked as relaxed as if they were on vacation.
Zhao Wuji pointed to a rather ordinary-looking hotel ahead and said,
"We'll stay here. Get a night's rest, and we'll set off early tomorrow morning. You'll pay for your own lodging and meals."
The hotel was a two-story building, with a simple restaurant in the ground-floor hall and rooms upstairs.
Zhao Wuji booked himself a single room and went straight upstairs.
After a brief discussion, the four boys booked a four-person room for themselves.
The three girls booked a triple room for themselves.
Ning Rongrong looked at Xiao Jue and said with a grin, "Little Xiaozi, I'll get you a room!"
Oscar immediately objected. "Huh? Rongrong, I want one too! Why are you getting him a room all to himself?"
Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes. "What's it to you? Because I want to!"
Oscar lowered his head dejectedly, like a rooster that had lost a fight.
Dai Mubai clapped his hands. "Let's eat first. Everyone pays for themselves. I'm not covering you."
Ma Hongjun leaned over and said with a grin, "Boss Dai, aren't you going to treat us? You get the biggest allowance. You're loaded."
Dai Mubai looked at the three girls and Xiao Jue and snorted. "I'm not treating anyone."
Clearly, he was still bitter about not getting to ride in the carriage.
Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at him. "Cheapskate."
Dai Mubai said, "..."
Ning Rongrong waved a hand grandly. "I'm treating Xiao Jue to dinner! Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, come join us!"
The eight split into two tables.
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Tang San sat at one. With no one treating them, each ordered a bowl of noodles or a rice bowl.
The sight was as bleak as if they were eating prison food.
Things were different at the other table.
Ning Rongrong spent freely, ordering all sorts of delicious dishes.
Roast chicken, roast duck, red-braised pork, steamed fish... The dishes filled the table.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "Stick with Rongrong and there are carrots to eat!"
Ning Rongrong tossed her hair with a flourish, screaming inwardly, The rebates are going wild! Xiao Jue, I love you!
Watching plate after plate of delicious food arrive at Xiao Jue's table, Ma Hongjun nearly drooled onto the floor.
"Gulp..."
He swallowed, looking at the plain noodles in front of him, and nearly burst into tears.
"Why...?"
By now, the restaurant was already sixty to seventy percent full.
Just then, a group of eight people came in from outside.
Leading them was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. His moon-white Soul Master robe was particularly elegant, embroidered with silver-thread patterns that shimmered as he moved.
Behind him were seven young people, six men and one woman, all looking to be around twenty. They wore the same moon-white Soul Master robes, though theirs lacked the silver embroidery on the middle-aged man's.
But whether it was the middle-aged man or the seven youths behind him, each had a cyan ring on their left shoulder, with two characters embroidered inside it in the same color: Canghui.
Ma Hongjun's little eyes were fixed on the only young woman in the group of eight. His eyes gleamed as he stared relentlessly at her, almost drooling.
"That chick's pretty good-looking. Boss Dai, those guys must be from Canghui Academy, right?"
Dai Mubai curled his lip, his face full of disdain. "It's just the puny Canghui Academy. What the hell are they showing off for?"
Neither the fatty nor Dai Mubai made any effort to lower his voice.
A Soul Master's hearing was naturally a little better than an ordinary person's. Although the restaurant was somewhat noisy, the middle-aged man in the group of eight looked over, his brows slightly furrowed and his expression dark.
Sitting beside Tang San, Oscar chuckled. "There's a good show coming."
Tang San glanced at him in puzzlement. "What good show?"
Oscar lowered his voice. "This is part of our training too. Dean Flender said a Soul Master who doesn't dare stir up trouble isn't a good Soul Master.
"As the saying goes, a mediocrity is too afraid to stir up trouble. Besides, picking a fight with people from a Soul Master Academy is the safest option. At worst, it's just a fight."
Tang San couldn't help laughing. "Put all our dean's sayings together and you could make a collection of monster quotes."
At the other table,
Xiao Jue sneered. "So a mediocrity is too afraid to stir up trouble? They neither provoked you nor bothered you, yet you went out of your way to pick a fight. Isn't that just the logic of a street thug looking for trouble?"
Ning Rongrong nodded repeatedly. "Exactly!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement too.
Only after hearing Xiao Jue did Xiao Wu suddenly see the light. Right, why go looking for trouble when there's none?
Xiao Wu raged inwardly, And all four of them actually buy into that 'a mediocrity is too afraid to stir up trouble' stuff. It's all thug logic!
Just then, a young man from Canghui Academy rose from his seat and walked toward Tang San's table.
Judging by his path, he was heading straight for Dai Mubai.
A trace of disdain appeared in Dai Mubai's evil eyes. He remained seated and unmoving, looking down his nose at him.
At that moment, a server happened to be bringing their table its first dish.
The young man from Canghui Academy suddenly quickened his pace and collided squarely with the server, who cried out in alarm.
The dish was about to land upside down on Dai Mubai's head...