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Zhu Zhuqing was clearly still awake, leaning against the inner side of the tent. Hearing the movement, she raised her cold eyes to look at him, her face devoid of expression.
"What are you doing here?"
Her voice was even colder than Hu Liena's.
At this moment, Dai Chengfeng's thick skin reached its peak. He directly approached and sat next to Zhu Zhuqing, reaching out to embrace her waist:
"Coming to keep you company. Tonight, I want to sleep holding you."
Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened slightly. She raised her hand to block his arm and snorted coldly, "Who asked for your company? Go back to your own tent."
Despite her words, she didn't make any further attempts to drive him away or scold him loudly, tacitly allowing him to stay.
Dai Chengfeng inwardly rejoiced, knowing there was hope.
He shamelessly reached out again. This time, Zhu Zhuqing only struggled symbolically before letting him hug her.
Dai Chengfeng pulled her warm body into his arms, gently resting his chin on the top of her head, inhaling her cool, delicate fragrance.
However, unlike that night's urgency, Dai Chengfeng was especially "well-behaved" tonight.
He simply held her quietly, making no further intimate moves, not even a kiss.
After a while, his breathing became even and long, seemingly… asleep?
This made Zhu Zhuqing somewhat puzzled.
Based on her understanding of Dai Chengfeng, every time he sneaked into her tent, he would either grope around or insist on being intimate. Why was he so well-behaved tonight?
Could it be… because he felt guilty about what happened with Ning Rongrong during the day?
"You do have some conscience left…"
Zhu Zhuqing said, leaning into Dai Chengfeng's arms and falling into a deep sleep.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Zhu Zhuqing dreamed, she never imagined that Dai Chengfeng refrained from touching her tonight simply because he feared getting caught.
After all, there was still a wound on Dai Chengfeng's tongue. If little kitten Zhu Zhuqing tasted the blood, Dai Chengfeng would really be—done for!
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The next morning, everyone woke up one after another.
While it was still dark, Dai Chengfeng slipped out of Zhu Zhuqing's tent and returned to his own, creating the illusion that he had been up early.
During breakfast, the atmosphere was still somewhat subtle but much more relaxed than the previous night.
Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena still mostly ignored Dai Chengfeng, but they were no longer completely icy.
Ning Rongrong carefully observed, not daring to say much.
She feared causing more trouble for Dai Chengfeng and truly dreaded him spanking her little bottom again.
After all, that rascal Dai Chengfeng didn't know how to cherish beauty. After the last beating, Ning Rongrong found her butt swollen…
Only Grand Priest silently watched everything, inwardly sighing: Youth is truly wonderful…
Soon, everyone packed up the camp and set off again.
The goal was clear—heading to the central region of the Great Star Dou Forest to find a suitable fifth soul ring for Hu Liena.
After walking for half the morning, Dai Chengfeng and the others finally arrived at the boundary between the outer and central regions.
And when Dai Chengfeng officially entered the central area of the Great Star Dou Forest…
Deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, in a core zone shrouded by dense life energy and a vast aura, four pairs of tightly closed eyes slowly opened almost simultaneously.
One pair of eyes was filled with killing intent. "That little Golden Lion actually…"
The other three pairs, one of which was cute and bright-eyed, lit up. "This aura… is Dai Chengfeng?"
A slightly immature girl's voice rang out, tinged with excitement.
"That's right, it's him. He's back."
Another steady, powerful voice responded.
"Is it really Dai Chengfeng?"
Hearing Da Ming's reply, the girl was very happy. "After transforming into a human, I suddenly haven't seen humans for such a long time. It feels like something is wrong with my entire rabbit!"
"Da Ming, Er Ming, let's go find Dai Chengfeng to play!"
"But Sister Xiao Wu, that tiger…"
Er Ming was a bit worried. After all, they could all sense Dai Chengfeng's presence; there was no reason that the Dark Demon God Tiger, who had deeper ties with Dai Chengfeng, wouldn't notice.
They two were fine, but Xiao Wu was currently only a Level 29 Soul Grandmaster…
If they encountered that Dark Demon God Tiger, they couldn't guarantee that their Xiao Wu wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.
Upon hearing the hesitation in Da Ming and Er Ming's voices, Xiao Wu immediately became upset.
She lightly leapt in front of the massive Azure Sky Python, Da Ming, looking up, her lively big eyes fluttering after transformation.
"Oh, Da Ming, Er Ming, don't worry!"
Xiao Wu's voice was crisp and a bit soft. "Since Dai Chengfeng dares to enter the central part of the Great Star Dou Forest, he must have strong protectors with him! We don't need to worry too much about safety."
She tugged at a strand of Da Ming's energy-manifested mane, continuing to persuade:
"Besides, although Dai Chengfeng can be annoying sometimes, if he really wanted to harm me, he would have done it back in the human world. Why bother notifying you to come pick me up?"
"This shows he… at least isn't that bad."
"I just want to see him from afar and talk to him a little. Can I?"
As Xiao Wu spoke, a pitiful expression appeared on her face. "I haven't seen familiar humans for such a long time. It's safe here, but it's really boring."
"Er Ming only knows how to sleep, and Da Ming, you're always cultivating. I'm almost suffocating!"
"Just let me go for a little while. I promise to only talk from afar and won't run around or provoke any spirit beasts!"
Seeing Xiao Wu's eyes full of longing and a hint of loneliness, Da Ming and Er Ming exchanged a helpless glance.
They couldn't resist Xiao Wu when she acted so sweetly.
Especially remembering that after Xiao Wu transformed, she indeed lost the hustle and bustle of human society, spending most of her time in the core area…
Her lively nature as a young girl was suppressed quite a bit, and they felt pity for her.
Finally, the steady Da Ming sighed, his powerful voice echoing.
"Sigh, alright, Sister Xiao Wu."
"But you must promise us to listen to our commands and absolutely not leave our sensing range even a step."
"If anything seems off, especially if we sense that tiger's presence, we must leave immediately."
Er Ming also gave a low growl, carefully patting his chest with his huge paw to show he would protect Xiao Wu.
"Great! Da Ming and Er Ming are the best!"
Xiao Wu immediately beamed with joy, happily jumping up. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll definitely behave! Let's go quickly!"
Watching Xiao Wu's sudden burst of vitality, though Da Ming and Er Ming still harbored some underlying worries, they could only let her go.
"Sister Xiao Wu, is the human world really that good?"
Da Ming thought to himself but ultimately didn't ask.
Soon, two enormous figures guarded the small, lively girl in the middle, quietly leaving the core area of the Lake of Life, moving towards where Dai Chengfeng and his group were located.
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