"Then where should we go?"
Yue Guan grinned: "Where else could we go? Didn't Ci Xue say that the young master is in Tian Dou City?"
He urged, "Let's go, let's go, let's set off now. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second."
Ghost did not object; wherever Chrysanthemum Pass went, he would follow.
Ling Yuan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
Now that things have come to this, is there any other choice?
There's no going back to the Pope.
Bibi Dong didn't care about their lives at all.
Young Master Qian Renxue at least sent someone in advance to inform them not to enter the Star Dou Great Forest.
Based on this relationship alone, Heaven Dou City is at least safer than the Spirit Hall.
"Wait a minute," Ling Yuan suddenly said, "Are we just going to run away like this? Don't we need to make up an excuse?"
"What excuse do you need?" Yue Guan shrugged. "Just say we encountered a 100,000-year-old ferocious beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, fought our way out, and the rest of us were all killed. We were severely injured and barely escaped, but our strength was greatly diminished, and we won't be able to rejoin the team for a while..."
He spoke more and more fluently.
"No, no, no, let's just pretend we're dead. Let Bibi Dong think we died in the forest too, since she won't examine the bodies herself anyway."
Ghostly: "Playing dead?"
"Cut-off! Saves trouble!" Yue Guan clapped his hands. "We're not going back to report. Let's just pretend this Soul Hunting Operation was a complete wipeout, with no one surviving. Let the Pope clean up this mess himself."
Looking at Yue Guan's confident and shameless demeanor, Ling Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Don't you think... this is too much for His Holiness the Pope...?"
Yue Guan turned around, looked at Ling Yuan, and said something serious, which was rare for him.
"Lingyuan, you're not a child anymore. There are some things you should have seen clearly long ago."
"She doesn't care about our lives at all. She never has."
"In her eyes, we are nothing more than tools that can be used and sacrificed. If we are useful, she will use us; if we are not, she will kick us aside."
"From the moment she took in that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang... no, from the day she became Pope, the Spirit Hall was no longer the Spirit Hall it used to be."
Ling Yuan fell silent.
Yue Guan continued, "The young master is her biological daughter. But what has she done to the young master? From the time the young master was born until he grew up, has she ever been a mother for even a single day? Not once. But she treats that good-for-nothing very well, doting on him, beating him, and scolding him all at the same time. It's quite amusing."
These words were blunt and biting, and as Ling Yuan listened, the expression on her face gradually changed.
After a while, she closed her eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the last trace of loyalty to the Pope in his eyes had faded.
"Let's go," Ling Yuan said.
Yue Guan nodded in satisfaction and patted Gui Mei on the shoulder.
"Old Ghost, what do you call this?"
The ghost glanced at him: "What's your name?"
Yue Guan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.
"Those who understand the times are wise! Let's go!"
Without further hesitation, the three determined the direction of Tiandou City, used their movement techniques, and quickly left from the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The forest behind us remained deep and quiet.
The corpses and remains left on the battlefield by the Soul Hunters will soon be completely decomposed by the soul beasts and microorganisms in the forest.
In just a few days, all traces will disappear.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Bibi Dong placed high hopes on the Soul Hunter Squad.
now--
completely annihilated.
...
late at night.
The Imperial Palace of the Heavenly Dou Empire.
The night outside the window was as thick as ink; there was no moon, only the lights on the distant city towers flickering in the darkness.
Qian Renxue sat on the soft couch by the window, one leg curled up and the other dangling over the edge of the couch, her long golden hair draped over her shoulders, not tied up.
She was wearing a plain-colored nightgown with a casually draped outer robe over it, a stark contrast to the Xue Qinghe who sat upright on the dragon throne during the day.
Serpent Spear Douluo She Long stood in the shadows by the window, his hands behind his back, his posture respectful.
"Young Master, judging by the time, the Soul Hunting Force should have been in the Star Dou Great Forest for several days now." She Long's voice was very low. "As for Thorn Blood, the people are on their way back to Heaven Dou City."
Qian Renxue hummed in agreement, her gaze remaining fixed on the view outside the window.
She Long hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Young Master, do you think... Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Spirit Kite Douluo will come back with Thorn Blood?"
Qian Renxue remained silent for a few seconds.
"No." Her answer was crisp and decisive.
She Long was slightly taken aback.
Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze, leaned against the window frame, and said in a calm tone: "Although Sister Lingyuan and I have some feelings for each other, she has been in the Spirit Hall for so many years, and she is still quite loyal to that woman Bibi Dong. Not to mention Yue Guan and Gui Mei, they are old-timers who have followed the Spirit Hall all the way, and they are that woman's right and left hands."
"When Ci Xue goes to talk to them, he's just passing on the message. Whether they listen or not is their own business."
"They've probably already followed the main force into the Star Dou Great Forest."
"As for what happens next..." Qian Renxue lowered her eyes, "that remains to be seen."
She Long nodded; he and the young master had the same idea.
The loyalty of the three titled Douluo to Bibi Dong could not be shaken by a secret letter or a few words.
"However…" She Long lowered his voice even further, "I have been thinking about the speculation that the young master mentioned earlier, and the more I think about it, the more reasonable it seems."
She Long pondered for a moment, organizing his words: "Young Master said that the reason why Dongfang Jing is so familiar with the situation of the Star Dou Great Forest is because he has an extraordinary relationship with certain beings in that forest."
Qian Renxue didn't reply, but her eyes said it all.
She certainly remembered her own speculation.
It's not just that I remember; I've thought about it repeatedly.
When she first learned about him, Dongfang Jing was just a boy being hunted down.
Tang Hao pursued him, forcing him to venture deep into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Then he disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was accompanied by a group of mysterious and powerful individuals.
Bi Ji, Xue Di, Bing Di, A Yin... each of them is an unfathomable Title Douluo level.
A young boy disappeared in the forest for a period of time, and when he came out, he was with a group of titled Douluo.
This whole thing is abnormal.
What a coincidence! All the reclusive titled Douluo are following him?
Qian Renxue stood up, walked to the table, and poured herself a cup of tea.
She held the teacup, watching the tea leaves rise and fall within it.
"Uncle She Long, do you remember you saying that there was a little girl in pink in the Purple Star Academy team?" Qian Renxue said. "Her name is Xiao Wu."
She Long nodded: "That's right, the girl's true identity is actually a 100,000-year-old soul beast! A soul beast in human form!"
Qian Renxue: "A soul beast with 100,000 years of cultivation can transform into human form, as recorded in ancient books. Ci Xue and you have both confirmed that you both sensed an aura on that little girl that was different from that of a human soul master."
"Dongfang Jing had already broken through to the Soul Douluo level, and he and the powerful figures around him couldn't possibly be unaware of this. But from beginning to end, they didn't lay a finger on Xiao Wu."
"We did not hunt her down, nor did we absorb her soul rings or soul bones."
"He even took her with him and protected her all the time."
She Long thought for a moment and then said, "Perhaps... he truly considers her a companion?"
Qian Renxue laughed: "Companion?"
"Uncle She Long, what reason do you think a human Soul Master would have to consider a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast in human form as a companion?"
She Long's lips moved, but he couldn't say anything for a moment.
There is indeed no reason.
Human soul masters and soul beasts are inherently antagonistic.
A 100,000-year soul ring and a 100,000-year soul bone are things that countless titled Douluo can only dream of obtaining.
But Dongfang Jing just left it untouched.
unless...
Qian Renxue deduced, "Unless, he himself has some special relationship with the soul beast."
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(End of chapter)