In the shadows of the corner, Toji's muscles were taut like a fully drawn bowstring, and not even his eyelashes dared to tremble.
The pressure emanating from Xuan Zi Titled Douluo, made the air inside the stone house thick and sticky, with the smell of alcohol mixed with fluctuations in Soul Power echoing in the small space.
This is troublesome.
His gaze fixed on Xuan Zi's back was like a poisoned knife.
If this old man really stays here all night, forget about rescuing anyone; he'll even have trouble getting himself out of there.
The next moment, Xuan Zi pulled an oiled paper package from his Soul Tool with his greasy fingers.
As the packaging was unpacked, the rich aroma of meat instantly filled the entire stone house.
Those were chicken legs that had been slowly smoked with more than a dozen spices; the skin was golden and crispy, and the fat was still sizzling.
"Hmm, Shrek Cafeteria's cooking has improved again."
He took a deep, blissful breath and casually tore off the fattiest part of the chicken leg.
The meat juices dripped down his gray beard, adding another oil stain to his dirty clothes.
With his other hand, he grabbed the gourd and tilted his head back to drink. The murky wine spilled from the corner of his mouth, soaking his front of his shirt in a mess.
Upon seeing this, Toji's eyes twitched slightly.
This Taotie actually turned the solitary confinement cell into a picnic campsite?
The rich aroma of meat and wine kept wafting into his nose. What was even more outrageous was that Xuan Zi would casually toss the bone behind him after gnawing on it.
The latest chicken leg bone landed right in front of the shadows where Toji was hiding, the bone still covered in saliva and bits of meat.
"..."
It's all about the thrill.
Xuan Zi let out a satisfied burp, then pulled a lotus leaf pouch from his Soul Tool.
The moment the lid was lifted, the aroma of savory meat dominated and overwhelmed the previous smells.
He directly tore open the flaky flesh with his bare hands, the thick gelatinous substance stretching into glistening threads at his fingertips.
"Guarding prisoners also requires physical strength," Xuan Zi muttered to himself, and began to eat with great relish.
Toji silently rolled her eyes. Was this old guy's guard just sitting there eating and drinking?
He was getting quite hungry.
These past few days, I haven't had a chance to properly replenish my energy while searching for Elder Zhang and Zhang Lexuan.
"Huh?"
Xuan Zi suddenly stopped chewing, and this unexpected change made Toji's heart beat a beat slower.
Did you spot me?
Then Xuan Zi pulled out a whole, glistening chicken.
"I almost forgot about this."
Toji: "..."
This isn't Titled Douluo; he's practically a reincarnated starving ghost.
However, this is also a side effect of his Martial Soul.
"Ha..." Xuan Zi, eating meat and drinking wine, looked satisfied. His cloudy eyes suddenly turned to Elder Zhang, "Tell me... will that kid come to save you first, or your daughter?"
Elder Zhang kept his eyes tightly closed, but Toji keenly noticed that the old man's fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly.
"If you ask me... he'd better not come, otherwise, hmph."
Toji held her breath and gently turned her head.
Just then, they discovered that Xuan Zi was tilting his head back and chugging wine, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with each swallow, the wine dripping down his white beard and onto his clothes with a soft pattering sound.
Right now.
He tentatively moved his left foot out half an inch.
Just then, the sound of the boot soles rubbing against the ground was completely drowned out by Xuan Zi's smacking chewing sounds.
The old man was intently tearing apart the large piece of meat, not even lifting his eyelids.
Toji the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Has this old man lost all his vigilance?
As expected of you, Xuan Zi.
He boldly took a step forward, his shoe almost touching the chicken bone that Xuan Zi had casually tossed on the ground.
"Snap!"
Xuan Zi suddenly bit into a bone and crushed it.
Toji froze instantly, his muscles tensing like a fully drawn bowstring.
But the old man just smacked his lips, then took out a chicken leg from his Soul Tool and started gnawing on it with his mouth full of oil.
"..."
Toji his forehead veins were bulging.
Damn it, I have to run away right under the nose of a Level 98 Super Douluo.
It's just too difficult.
Although he had accomplished this once when he was Soul King, that was in the Star Dou Great Forest, where the environment was complex and he couldn't see himself.
Now, the two of them are in this small room.
Xuan Zi can find himself as soon as he looks up.
Fortunately, Xuan Zi, perhaps because of his gluttony or his over-reliance on Spiritual Power, didn't even glance in his direction.
"Call..."
Toji, it maintains its own breathing rhythm, merging into the universe.
His perfect control over his body reached its peak at this moment.
The heart stops beating, the pores close, and even the body temperature drops to match the environment.
He swaggered past Xuan Zi from behind, his clothes even brushing against the old man's messy hair.
The rich aroma of wine and meat perfectly masked his faint scent, and as he stepped across the threshold, the moonlight gilded his shoulders with a silvery edge.
"Belch--"
Xuan Zi suddenly let out a loud hiccup, and raised his head with blurry, drunken eyes.
His cloudy gaze swept towards the doorway, and his nostrils twitched slightly.
"Strange..." Xuan Zi suddenly muttered, "Why is there a... strange smell? It seems like someone is there?"
But soon, realizing no one was around, Xuan Zi resumed his feasting and drinking, completely ignoring everyone else.
At this moment, Toji left the house and slipped into the shadows of the courtyard wall, out of Xuan Zi's sight.
He glanced one last time at Xuan Zi, who was engrossed in the delicious food, before his figure vanished into the night like a wisp of smoke.
Only after completely leaving the warning area did he dare to exhale the breath he had been holding for so long.
"Damn, that was close."
Toji cursed under his breath.
It was truly remarkable that they managed to escape.
" Xuan Zi, Xuan Zi goodness you came. If it had been someone else... keeping an eye on the door, I wouldn't have had anywhere to run."
Toji immediately ran out of the Shrek Academy.
The night was as dark as ink, and the stars were sparse.
Toji's figure slid down from the shadow of Shrek City's high walls, his boots lightly touching the muddy ground outside the city, splashing up a few tiny pebbles.
He dusted off his clothes, his face still covered in mold from the drainpipes, and looked utterly disheveled.
"It's you?"
A low shout came from the bushes not far away.
Di Qiu'er was the first to rush out, her golden hair gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Behind her followed more than a dozen elite Body Sect, each with a tense look in their eyes.
"Why do you look like this?" Di Qiu'er grabbed Toji's wrist, the icy touch on her fingertips making her frown. "We've been waiting for so long, why didn't you use the code? Did something happen?"
Toji shook his hair, sending a few withered leaves flying.
"It's more complicated inside than we thought."
His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't had water in a long time.
" Zhang Lexuan is being held near the Sea God Pavilion. Elder Zhang is wearing trigger-activated soul-guided shackles, and the locations where they are being held are all different and far apart from each other."
"With Elder Zhang personally guarding Xuan Zi Zhang, and a Titled Douluo guarding Zhang Lexuan, there's simply no way to rescue them both at the same time according to the original plan."
Toji sighed.
Di Qiu'er quickly handed him a bottle of water. "Okay, go back and rest first."
Take your time, there's no rush.
He Toji drank a whole bottle of water in one go.
Several Titled Douluo from the Body Sect behind Di Qiu'er gasped in shock.
"Young Sect Master, what should we do next?"