An Ambush on the Road to Star Dou, Zhu Zhuqing Rescued

They traveled on, and by noon the group entered a dense conifer forest. The light beneath the trees abruptly dimmed, and the air grew damp.

"Little Brother A-Zu, there's fighting up ahead!" Xiao Wu suddenly pricked up her ears. Her keen Soul Beast senses had made her the first to notice something amiss.

Yan Zu's gaze sharpened. Through the layers of branches and leaves, he could clearly see three black-clad Soul Masters attacking a black-haired girl in a clearing ahead. Two of them were Soul Elders, and their attacks were fierce. The other was a Soul Ancestor who had released a snake-shaped Martial Soul. Dark green Soul Power coiled around the girl, making it difficult for her to escape.

The girl was around twelve, tall and full-figured. Her black fighting clothes had long since been stained red with blood, but they could still scarcely conceal her delicate features. Her gaze was sharp as a knife, and even trapped in a desperate situation, she showed no sign of backing down. After using Martial Soul Possession, she had extended sharp Hell Claws from her fingertips and was struggling to hold out against the two Soul Elders.

"They're ganging up on her! That's too much!" Ning Rongrong immediately raised the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, its pale purple light flickering. "Yan Zu, I'll give you a boost!"

"Xiao Wu, keep those two Soul Elders occupied. Watch your dodges and don't take them head-on," Yan Zu said gravely. "Rongrong, boost Xiao Wu and me for speed and strength first."

"Okay!" the two answered in unison.

Little Jade pushed off with all four hooves and charged ahead like a bolt of jade-colored lightning. When they were still more than ten meters from the fight, Xiao Wu leaped down and activated Moon Shadow Instant Step. Her pink figure became several afterimages as she cut between the two Soul Elders in an instant.

"Waist Bow!" Xiao Wu cried, bending her body at an incredible angle and whipping her right leg toward the Soul Elder on her left. Caught off guard, he felt a piercing pain in his wrist as his short blade flew from his hand.

A flicker of surprise crossed the black-clad girl's eyes. She reacted at once, using her Hell Claws in tandem with Xiao Wu to drive both Soul Elders back.

"Rongrong, boost me!" Yan Zu leaped off Little Jade and used the Nine Spiral Shadows footwork, leaving a trail of afterimages through the forest as he charged straight at the Soul Ancestor with the snake-shaped Martial Soul.

Seeing that Yan Zu was only a boy who looked twelve or thirteen, the Soul Ancestor's eyes flashed with disdain. His snake-shaped Martial Soul suddenly swelled, and its dark green head lunged at Yan Zu with its gaping maw open, trailing a foul stench.

Yan Zu's expression did not change. He gathered pure Nine Yin Soul Power at his fingertip, and the instant the snake's head drew near, he struck an acupoint precisely beneath its snout. It was a key point in the flow of the snake-shaped Martial Soul's Soul Power. Once struck by the Nine Yin Soul Power, the dark green Soul Power fell into disarray. The snake-shaped Martial Soul let out a shrill, anguished hiss and dissolved into motes of light.

The Soul Ancestor's expression changed drastically. The Soul Power in his body was like a kite with its string cut, surging about out of control as stabbing pains shot through his meridians. Knowing he had met a tough opponent, he dared not keep fighting and turned to flee.

When the two Soul Elders saw the Soul Ancestor defeated, how could they dare remain? They exchanged a glance, then scrambled into the depths of the forest and vanished.

Yan Zu withdrew his hand and turned toward the center of the battlefield. Xiao Wu was supporting the black-clad girl and offering her a bottle of healing pills. "Hurry and take one. Little Brother A-Zu gave me these, and they're really good for healing."

The black-clad girl took the pills but did not take one immediately. Instead, she studied Yan Zu and the other two warily. Her gaze, sharp as an eagle's, swept over Little Jade on Yan Zu's shoulder, then fell on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's hand before finally settling on Yan Zu. "Who are you? Why did you help me?"

"My name is Yan Zu. This is Xiao Wu, and she's Ning Rongrong." Yan Zu spoke calmly. "We're on our way to Shrek Academy and happened to pass by. When we saw you being attacked, naturally we couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

"Shrek Academy?" A complex emotion flashed through the black-clad girl's eyes: surprise, along with a trace of anticipation that was difficult to detect. "Are you going to study at Shrek too?"

"You could say that. We're going to take a look first," Yan Zu said with a smile. "You seem to be traveling somewhere yourself. Could you be heading to Shrek too?"

The black-clad girl was silent for a moment, then nodded. "My name is Zhu Zhuqing. There's someone at Shrek I have to find." She said no more.

Yan Zu's heart stirred. It was Zhu Zhuqing, after all. He casually asked, "Where did you come from?"

Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together and said, "The Star Luo Empire."

Yan Zu: "..."

Yan Zu fell silent for a moment and exchanged a subtle glance with Ning Rongrong. Then he chose his words carefully and said slowly, "Is it possible... you've already gone past it?"

Zhu Zhuqing stared at him. A rare trace of bewilderment appeared in her sharp catlike eyes. "Gone past it? What do you mean?"

Ning Rongrong couldn't help bursting into laughter. She leaned over and explained, "She means Suotuo City is ahead of us! We're traveling from Nuoding City to Suotuo City, so if you came from the Star Luo Empire, that means you passed Suotuo City a while ago and kept going!"

Zhu Zhuqing: "?"

Zhu Zhuqing froze on the spot.

For the first time, those eyes, always sharp as a knife and calm as ice, showed unmistakable blankness, bewilderment, and astonishment.

She looked down at her dust-covered boots, then up at the utterly unfamiliar conifer forest, and finally at the "I'm not lying to you" expressions on Yan Zu and the other two.

For the first time, the cool beauty's expression cracked.

"..."

"I..."

Ning Rongrong covered her mouth and chuckled. "Zhu Zhuqing, don't tell me... you have no sense of direction?"

Zhu Zhuqing's ears visibly reddened, but she stubbornly kept her lips pressed together, neither admitting nor denying it. Trying to appear calm yet unable to hide her embarrassment, she looked like an entirely different person from the fierce, decisive black-clad girl of moments ago.

Yan Zu understood from her expression, but he did not press her. He simply said gently, "It's all right. We happen to be going to Suotuo City too, so you can come with us. If we turn back from here, we can get there in two days at our speed."

Zhu Zhuqing was silent for a moment, then gave a soft "Mm" in agreement. She lowered her head and silently began tending to the wound on her arm, her movements quick and efficient, as though her moment of embarrassment had never happened.

Yan Zu shook his head helplessly and changed the subject. "All right, it'll be dark soon. Let's find somewhere to camp and rest. Zhu Zhuqing is still injured, so she shouldn't travel at night."

The four climbed back onto Little Jade's back. Yan Zu had Little Jade release Vitality Corridor, and pale green light enveloped Zhu Zhuqing. Her wounds healed at a visible rate, and her Soul Power slowly recovered as well.

Along the way, Zhu Zhuqing gradually let down her guard and occasionally answered their questions.

Toward evening, Little Jade stopped in a valley for a rest. As soon as Yan Zu sat down, a system notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding! Key event check-in successful! Rescued core heroine Zhu Zhuqing and triggered a rare reward!]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Atlas of Mountains and Rivers!]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: cultivation ground invitation capacity +1!]

[Reward description: The Atlas of Mountains and Rivers records the habits, approximate distribution, and strength levels of Soul Beasts in the major regions of the Douluo Continent. It marks safe routes and dangerous forbidden zones, covers core regions such as the Star Dou Great Forest and Sunset Forest, and can assist with Soul Hunting and avoiding danger.]

Yan Zu was delighted. The atlas had come at just the right time; with it, he could avoid unnecessary dangers while Soul Hunting in the future. In Yan Zu's case especially, many of the Soul Beasts he needed to hunt were rare and very difficult to find.

As night deepened, the four sat around a campfire. Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were already fast asleep, while Zhu Zhuqing leaned against a tree trunk, warily scanning her surroundings. Yan Zu walked over and handed her a flask of warm water. "Don't worry. Little Jade's scent concealment can fool Soul Beasts under a thousand years old. It's very safe tonight."

Zhu Zhuqing took the flask and said softly, "Thank you."

"You seem to have a lot of stories," Yan Zu said slowly.

Zhu Zhuqing was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was a little lower than before. "I'm from the direct line of the Zhu Family in the Star Luo Empire. Our family has a rule: direct descendants must compete to become the heir. Those who lose... are either confined or killed. My older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, is much stronger than me. If I stayed in the Star Luo Empire, she would only surpass me."

She raised her eyes, the resolve in them even stronger than before. "My fiancé is Dai Mubai, a prince of the Star Dou Empire. We were supposed to work hard together and fight against fate.

"But he ran away-he's the heir of the Dai Family and the person I've been betrothed to since childhood. Our Martial Souls can work together. Only by finding him and growing stronger together can I survive the family's competition. I heard he was at Shrek, so..."

She did not continue, but the logic of her words was already clear: Shrek was not her "goal." Finding Dai Mubai and securing a chance to stay alive was what she was fixated on.

Yan Zu understood. Watching the dancing flames, he suddenly spoke.

"Zhu Zhuqing, have you ever heard the story of the frog at the bottom of the well?"

Zhu Zhuqing paused and turned to look at him. Firelight shone on his handsome profile, and his dark eyes were as calm as water, revealing no intention.

"I have," she answered flatly. Who hadn't heard that story?

"Then have you ever wondered-" Yan Zu did not look at her. His voice was as calm as if he were discussing the most ordinary thing in the world. "When did the frog realize it couldn't get out?"

Zhu Zhuqing was taken aback.

Yan Zu continued, "At first, it must have tried to jump out too. But the well walls were too slippery and steep. Every time it jumped, it fell. After enough falls, it stopped jumping. It told itself, 'The sky is only as big as the mouth of the well. Even if I jump out, this is all I'll see.' Gradually, it forgot that it had ever wanted to jump out."

He picked up a dead branch and poked the campfire. Sparks flew up and vanished in an instant.

"Then one day, a bird passing by told it that the sky outside wasn't the size of the well's mouth, but stretched as far as the eye could see. The frog didn't believe it and said it had seen with its own eyes that the sky was only that big. The bird could do nothing but leave."

"The frog stayed at the bottom of the well, holding on to what it believed was the truth."

At this point, Yan Zu turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing. In the moonlight, the girl's gaze was no longer sharp as a knife. Instead, she looked somewhat dazed and moved.

"But what the bird said was true." His voice was very soft. "The sky really is vast. The frog was the one who trapped itself."

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and stared at her dust-covered hands.

"You're looking for Dai Mubai," Yan Zu said without a ripple in his voice, as though stating a fact, "not because you can't do without him, but because you've made him your only way out. You think that once you find him, the betrothal can be fulfilled, you can stand against your family's rules, and your life will be secure."

He paused, then added:

"But a way out has never been something someone else can give you."

Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened slightly.

"You escaped all the way here from the Star Luo Empire and fought three Soul Masters on your own-" Yan Zu's gaze fell on her bandaged arm, then moved away. "You've had the strength to survive for a long time. You don't need anyone to prove it."

He stood and dusted off his robes, his tone returning to normal. "The sky is vast. Since you've already jumped out, don't dig yourself another well and crawl back in."

Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at his retreating figure.

The campfire crackled, and the night breeze blew past. Suddenly, she felt something loosening in her chest.

"...Thank you." She lowered her head. Her voice was very soft, but it carried an unprecedented gentleness.

"You're welcome." Yan Zu did not turn around, merely waving a hand. "Get some rest. We still have to travel tomorrow."

He took two steps, then looked back and added with a smile, "Oh, right. If you really get lost, remember to ask for directions. There's nothing shameful about that."

Zhu Zhuqing stared at him, then the corners of her lips rose slightly, revealing the faintest smile, one she herself did not even notice.

"...Mm."

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