After the Soul Master Elite Tournament ended, Dai Mubai discovered that his fiancée was missing from the academy.
When had Shrek left, and where had she gone? He had no idea.
Ning Rongrong knew her sister well. Given Zhu Zhuqing's aloof nature, there was no way she would inform Dai Mubai of her departure. It was simply impossible.
Dai Mubai was in a state of panic, unable to calm down. He left the celebration banquet before it even finished.
Tang San, who accompanied him, empathized deeply. The night when Xiao Wu didn't return, he too was distressed and couldn't sleep a wink.
Time passed, day and night alternated, and soon another day and night had gone by.
At this very moment, Dai Mubai's fiancée was already far from the Tiandou Empire, on her way to the Star Dou Forest.
Chen Xuan, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ye Ye had been traveling for two days and nights. They were nearing their destination, with only twenty to thirty miles left to the Star Dou Forest.
During these two days and nights, the three had mostly spent their time in the carriage, only stopping at inns in towns for rest.
Although they had rented a luxurious carriage, the space inside was not particularly spacious, leading to unavoidable physical contact.
Being confined in a closed space for an extended period made Chen Xuan and Zhu Zhuqing, who were not very familiar with each other, feel somewhat awkward.
Sitting face to face, the close proximity, and the fact that they were a man and woman alone together for two days created a gradually tense atmosphere.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, who was usually cold and aloof, felt uneasy. After all, she had never had this kind of experience before—spending two days and nights with a man in a closed space.
She had hardly ever been in close contact with her fiancé Dai Mubai.
Chen Xuan was slightly uncomfortable, sitting across from a beautiful woman with an excellent figure. Though he managed for a short time, the prolonged situation was a bit overwhelming.
He considered walking instead but was concerned about tiring out Ye Ye, who, compared to their Soul Master levels, was only at the tenth-level soul power stage.
Since they were traveling to the Star Dou Forest, which involved mostly outdoor routes with few towns along the way, they had not had the opportunity to add another carriage.
"I'll go out for a walk." Chen Xuan decided to leave the carriage for the last twenty kilometers, giving the two women some alone time.
As night fell and darkness descended, the carriage entered a town. After dropping off the three, the coachman drove away.
This was the nearest town to the Star Dou Forest. Although the town was not large—less than one-fifth the size of Tiandou City—it was bustling with people.
Soul Masters heading to the Star Dou Forest usually stayed here for a while, so the town had many vendors and merchants making a living.
Familiar with the town, Chen Xuan navigated easily and headed to the largest hotel.
Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes narrowed as she walked down the street. She encountered several powerful Soul Masters, and sometimes there were even more Soul Respect and Soul Venerable ranks than ordinary people.
She even saw a few extremely dangerous middle-aged men whose mere presence caused ordinary people to tremble.
"Soul Sage?" Zhu Zhuqing's mouth slightly opened.
Chen Xuan's expression grew serious. His perception was keen, and he clearly felt that the black-clad individuals they had passed were above the Soul Sage level.
His intuition told him that their strength was at least at the Soul Douluo level, if not higher.
"Strange. With such powerful figures around, could something major be happening in the Star Dou Forest?" Chen Xuan wondered.
He didn't dwell on it too much as they had arrived at the hotel. The hotel was simply decorated but quite spacious, with accommodations and a dining area.
"Brother, I want to eat grilled chicken wings!" As soon as they entered the dining area, Ye Ye quickly found an empty table and sat down.
She loudly demanded grilled chicken legs, grilled chicken wings, and grilled chicken feet.
Chen Xuan's lips twitched. If it weren't for the original owner's memories, he would have doubted she had traveled here. The request for chicken feet was too obvious.
In the end, he ordered a whole feast of chicken dishes for Ye Ye, including chicken wings with rice, old hen soup, and more.
Zhu Zhuqing had a broad taste in food and didn't request anything specific.
When the dishes arrived, in addition to the chicken legs, there were five or six types of fish, prepared in various ways—fried, boiled, stewed, etc.
Zhu Zhuqing seemed lost in thought, staring at Chen Xuan for a long time. She wondered if the abundance of fish was a coincidence or if it was intentional.
Chen Xuan didn't mind. Though he wasn't very familiar with the plot, he knew Zhu Zhuqing's favorite food was fish, so he had ordered a variety.
"Eat up," he said, inviting her to sit and placing a piece of fish in her bowl.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, picked up her chopsticks, and ate in a slow and graceful manner.
She maintained a calm demeanor but occasionally glanced at Chen Xuan, and her thoughts seemed confirmed.
Zhu Zhuqing sighed lightly. This incident made her more certain that Chen Xuan was serious about pursuing her, and there was no misunderstanding.
Her favorite food, fish, had only been mentioned a few times in front of Shrek's group.
Chen Xuan, who joined later, couldn't have known. The situation was now clear: he was seriously gathering information about her likes.
Thus, Zhu Zhuqing sighed, feeling conflicted and unsure how to handle the relationship.
Three days ago, she had hinted that she was already betrothed.
Whether Chen Xuan didn't understand her hint or was unwilling to give up, the outcome seemed inevitable.
Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth to speak but hesitated, unsure how to begin.
She knew she didn't like Chen Xuan—only had some affection—but didn't want to hurt his sensitive feelings and was at a loss.
Zhu Zhuqing felt frustrated. On one hand, she appreciated everything Chen Xuan had done for her. On the other hand, she didn't know how to refuse without causing him pain.
"I'm tired. I'll go rest upstairs first." She left these words and, with a troubled heart, went up the stairs without looking back.
"Brother, why do I feel like this sister is sulking?" Ye Ye tugged at Chen Xuan's arm, suspicious that her older brother had done something wrong.
Her intuition told her that the aloof sister, who wasn't much older than her, was definitely a bit upset, and the source seemed to be her older brother.
"How would I know? Everything seemed fine just now," Chen Xuan replied, feeling at a loss himself.
They were traveling together, and it wasn't unusual for friends to choose dishes they liked.
It could only be said that women's emotions were very unstable and ever-changing.
The restaurant was as lively as ever, with many Soul Masters forming teams, collaborating, and helping each other to enter the Star Dou Forest together.
During this time, several people approached Chen Xuan, inviting him to join them. Their team, led by a Soul Emperor, had five or six Soul Masters and seven or eight Soul Venerables, forming a strong lineup.
The person who came was a young man dressed in extravagant clothing with glasses, of medium height. He introduced himself as Gu Jin Chao from the Star Luo Empire, a teacher from a mid-level academy who had been expelled and was now a team leader for hire.
"Brother, for a small fee, you can have a strong team escort you. Tempted?"
Gu Jin Chao said that joining them would only cost three hundred gold soul coins per person, and they would help hunt a thousand-year-old soul beast. It was a great deal and not to be missed.
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