Inside a hotel room.
A lone man and woman sharing a room should have been an ambiguous, intimate scene, yet because the two simply sat across from each other in silence, only meeting eyes, the atmosphere instead felt oddly strange.
"Main body," Forsi spoke softly, "you all should be able to attend Shrek Academy's entrance exam six days from now, right?"
Nanfusheng sighed. "That'll be difficult. Tang Wulin plans to attend an auction two days from now to obtain a spiritual item to help him break through the second seal of the Golden Dragon King. That's going to take a good bit of time. In the end, we'll probably have to enter as work-study students."
"I see…"
Forsi Wall replied briefly and then fell silent again, sitting there without saying more.
"I'm telling you, you should head back already. If someone happens to see you here, it'll be a real hassle." Nanfusheng said helplessly.
"You're driving me away? You don't love me anymore, do you? You heartless man, casting me aside for someone new! Sob, sob…"
Nanfusheng's face darkened as he looked at this "clone" of his. If you're going to cry, at least squeeze out a tear for me!
"I'll leave then. I hope you and Xie Xie live happily ever after."
Seeing Nanfusheng's expression, which clearly said he wanted to punch her, Forsi quickly dropped the act, straightened up, and walked toward the door.
But just as she reached it, she glanced back over her shoulder. "I'm really leaving now… you're not even going to see me off? You really don't love me anymore!"
Looking at this drama queen, Nanfusheng scowled. "You've never given me any benefits at all—what exactly am I supposed to love you for?"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Forsi thought for a moment, then tugged her skirt up just slightly. She kicked off her shoes, revealing feet as fair and flawless as white jade, like ice lotuses in bloom. Tilting her head with a sly smile, she said,
"Even though I can't let you do anything too excessive right now… if you beg me, I might allow you to just lick a little…"
Her lazy, husky voice carried a trace of temptation. As she spoke, those delicate jade-like toes even wiggled playfully.
"Damn it! The roles are reversed now? I have to beg you, just so you'll let me lick? Don't underestimate me—I'm Nanfusheng!"
He immediately pushed Forsi toward the door. "Out, out, out! Or I'll show you what I can really do!"
"Tch. A man with desire but no courage." Forsi let herself be pushed, her body stumbling toward the doorway.
Nanfusheng shoved her shoes back at her, making sure she put them on before pushing her completely out of the room. Desire but no courage? My ass! Xie Xie is sharing this room with me. By the look of things, they'll be back any moment now.
As if on cue—
"What are you two doing?"
The worst-case scenario had arrived. Nanfusheng turned his head and saw Xu Xiaoyan, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue staring wide-eyed at them. Even Wu Zhangkong was behind them, gazing coldly. The one who had just spoken was Xu Xiaoyan.
At that moment, Nanfusheng's hands were still resting on Forsi's shoulders. Their posture wasn't particularly intimate, but it wasn't exactly innocent either.
Seeing the group's stares, it was Forsi who acted first. Composed and confident, she said,
"Hello, everyone. My name is Forsi Wall. Just now, I was troubled because I couldn't find a place to stay. It was Fusheng who helped me find this hotel. I was simply thanking him—and inviting him to a meal as thanks."
"Oh…"
Her calm, poised explanation, coupled with her stunning beauty, was enough to instantly dissolve most suspicion.
Not that anyone had truly been suspecting anything anyway. After all, during these three years, Nanfusheng had been with them almost constantly. If he had been in contact with someone like this, they'd have noticed. Besides, a girl this beautiful wasn't the type to give herself away so easily.
"Hello, I'm Xie Xie—this guy's best friend." Xie Xie was the first to respond. He couldn't help glancing at Forsi again, secretly marveling at Fusheng's luck for meeting such a girl.
"I'm Tang Wulin…"
The rest of Class Zero followed with their introductions. Even Wu Zhangkong gave his name, though his delivery was as cold and aloof as ever.
"Nice to meet you all," Forsi replied with grace, then turned to Nanfusheng. "Since your friends are back, I won't disturb you further. I'll be going."
Without lingering, she left the hotel. Only Wu Zhangkong's gaze followed her back as if lost in thought.
"This girl is anything but simple," Wu Zhangkong suddenly said.
The others looked at him in confusion. "Uh? Teacher Wu, it's Shrek Academy's entrance exam period right now. That girl's probably another applicant. Isn't it normal for her to be exceptional?"
Wu Zhangkong shook his head. "Her cultivation is already at least four rings. And though I didn't catch the precise level, her spiritual power should far surpass yours as well."
"??!!"
"No way!" Xie Xie blurted out. "Teacher Wu, she looked even younger than me. How could she already be a four-ring Soul Ancestor—and have spiritual power that surpasses ours?"
The others nodded. Exceptional cultivation, they could accept—there were always geniuses out there. But for someone that young to have such overwhelming spiritual power? That was hard to believe. Even Tang Wulin, whose mental strength had been accelerated by the Golden Dragon King's seals, found it hard to accept.
But none of them doubted Wu Zhangkong. If he said so, it was almost certainly true.
"When we entered earlier," Wu Zhangkong continued, "a subtle spiritual probe swept over us. If the girl hadn't made an effort to hide her intent, even I might not have noticed it."
"!!!"
They were shocked. Teacher Wu was a seven-ring Soul Sage. And yet that girl's spiritual probe had nearly gone undetected.
Tang Wulin sighed. "As expected of Shrek City—full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. We've only just arrived, and already we've been given a harsh lesson."
"Mm." The others nodded solemnly.
Wu Zhangkong, seeing their shaken morale, added, "There's no need to feel disheartened. If you can pass Shrek's entrance exam, with the Academy's resources, your futures won't necessarily be any worse than hers."
His timely encouragement worked. Tang Wulin and the others were instantly fired up, quickly returning to their rooms to cultivate.
Meanwhile, in his own room, Nanfusheng glanced at Xie Xie fiddling around with the walls and furniture in puzzlement. What the heck is he doing?
Xie Xie knocked here, tapped there, then finally nodded in satisfaction. "Good. This hotel's walls are soundproof."
Nanfusheng: "??? What are you doing?"
"Because of you, of course," Xie Xie said, exasperated.
"Me? What did I do?" Nanfusheng asked blankly.
"This way, we can be sure our conversation won't be overheard by Miss Forsi—or Xu Xiaoyan and the others." Xie Xie explained with a sigh.
Then he looked Nanfusheng straight in the eye. "We've been friends for years now. As a friend, let me give you one piece of advice: being unfaithful never ends well."
Nanfusheng: "??? What are you even talking about?"
Seeing his clueless face, Xie Xie scolded, "Just remember this: a man must be loyal. That's the greatest advice I can give you as your brother."
With that, he handed Nanfusheng the lunch he'd brought for him, then went back to cultivating.
"Ahh…" Nanfusheng sighed. He more or less understood what Xie Xie was hinting at, but when it came to matters of the heart, he was… sensitive. Best to just let things happen naturally. For now, eat first.
On the bed, Xie Xie opened his eyes again, watching Nanfusheng with a complicated expression. Because of his family circumstances, he was very sensitive to relationship matters.
He had already noticed during their three years together that Xu Xiaoyan seemed to have feelings for Nanfusheng.
Compared to the puzzling relationship between Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, Xie Xie felt Xu Xiaoyan and Nanfusheng were a much better match.
After all, Gu Yue—though she'd mellowed over the years—still gave him trouble. Every time she argued with him, if she lost verbally, she'd immediately resort to violence, and he could never win.
Xu Xiaoyan, on the other hand, was far easier to get along with. Yes, she sometimes sided with Gu Yue to tease him, which annoyed him, but at least she wasn't stronger than him.
So Xie Xie was more than happy to play matchmaker.
His warning to Nanfusheng came from the worry that he might get charmed by Miss Forsi Wall. With her beauty and talent, how many soul masters could resist? Her attitude toward Nanfusheng also seemed… unusual.
Whether or not she truly liked him, Xie Xie didn't know. But he definitely didn't want his best friend dragged into a messy love triangle.
The higher a female soul master's talent, the higher her pride. And the stricter her requirements for a partner. Unlike ordinary people, "having multiple wives" just wasn't realistic.
Besides, Miss Forsi Wall might not even have genuine feelings for Nanfusheng. With her looks, there was no shortage of admirers.
He just didn't want to see his friend end up in a situation where he pleased no one, hurting himself in the process.