...
The air seemed to freeze for a second or two.
Then, the "mountain of people" on the carpet began to move.
"Ahem... well..."
Ning Rongrong was the first to react. She sprang to her feet, pulling Na'er and Xiao Wu off her as well, and then casually dusted off her skirt.
"Oh my, what a coincidence! Brother Xuanhao, you're still awake too?"
"We...we just happened to be passing by! Yes! Just passing by!"
"Just passing by?"
Xuan Hao leaned against the window, arms crossed, watching the three poorly acting girls with a half-smile:
"You just happened to be passing by and came right into my room?
And you even piled up a human pyramid at my doorstep?"
Are you sleepwalking?
Or are you all trying to stage an accident together?
"hey-hey..."
Xiao Wu rubbed her sore bottom, grinning foolishly as she tried to get away with it:
"It's not that...it's that I was worried about you!"
"Brother, don't be angry."
Xiao Wu leaned closer and tugged at Xuan Hao's sleeve, the real rabbit ears contrasting interestingly with the fake ears on Zhu Zhuqing's head.
"If you really don't like that master, we can always go and cause trouble for him tomorrow!"
"If all else fails..."
A ruthless glint flashed in Ning Rongrong's eyes, and she made a throat-slitting gesture:
"Just find a secluded spot and kill him!"
"Anyway, he was just a level 29 Great Soul Master. He's dead, so what?
Who can trace it back to us?"
Why stay here and sulk by yourself? It's not worth ruining your health!
Seeing the girls' expressions that said, "We'll kill and burn as soon as you give the order," Xuan Hao's frustration completely vanished.
He shook his head helplessly and flicked Ning Rongrong's forehead:
"What are you killing?
All you do all day is fight and kill, what kind of behavior is that?"
"Besides..."
Xuan Hao sighed, his expression becoming somewhat complicated:
"If killing that guy would make me stop being angry, I would have done it right there in the lobby.
Why would I have waited until now?"
"The problem is..."
"If that guy really dies, it will end all the trouble, but it will only make me feel more frustrated."
"Some people are more disgusting when they're dead than when they're alive."
"The situation here is complicated, and you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."
Xuan Hao waved his hand, clearly not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer.
"Alright, stop worrying about this."
"I'm fine, I just haven't recovered yet.
I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
"Go back to sleep quickly, we have to go into the Star Dou Great Forest early tomorrow morning."
"oh..."
Seeing that Xuanhao was unwilling to say more, the four women did not press him further.
Although Ning Rongrong readily agreed, a glint of mischief shone in her big, darting eyes.
Hmph, just because you tell us not to interfere, does that mean we'll really just ignore it?
I'm known for being fiercely protective of my own! Since that Yu Xiaogang has made you unhappy, we'll settle this score with him sooner or later!
...
The four of them left Xuan Hao's room and returned to the suite next door.
After closing the door, Zhu Zhuqing finally couldn't help but ask:
"Um... does Brother Hao know that master?"
"You probably don't know him, right?"
Xiao Wu scratched her head and recalled:
"Although my brother often visits me in Nottingham these past few years, he always just calls me out to play.
He has never been to the academy, let alone met any masters."
"You've never even seen a mistress, how could the master possibly know me?"
"That's strange..."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned, seemingly lost in thought:
"If they didn't know each other, why would Brother Hao be so hostile towards him? Even...disgusted?"
"That feeling wasn't like witnessing injustice on the street, but more like... a long-standing grudge."
"Hmph, what's so strange about that?"
Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on the bed, hugging a pillow, and analyzed with a confident expression:
"You don't understand Brother Xuanhao."
"Although he may seem cynical and sometimes a bit of a jerk, he is actually a very principled person."
"He would never bully anyone for no reason, let alone take advantage of the weak. In fact, he is more enthusiastic than anyone else when he encounters injustice."
"Over the years, in Tiandou City, there's only one person who can make Brother Xuanhao pick fights for no reason, beat him up whenever they meet, and even humiliate him by demanding protection money—"
Ning Rongrong held up one finger:
"Fourth Prince, an avalanche."
"Who is that Avalanche?
He's a notorious spoiled brat who bullies men and women, commits all sorts of evil deeds, and is also a two-faced and treacherous villain!"
"Brother Xuanhao beat him up because he couldn't stand his character; he was acting on behalf of Heaven!"
At this point, a glint of light flashed in Ning Rongrong's eyes:
"And today, Brother Xuanhao suddenly attacked Yu Xiaogang, whom he had never met before, without even bothering to come up with a reason..."
The only explanation is—
"This Yu Xiaogang is just like that Xue Beng!"
"even..."
"More disgusting than an avalanche!"
"Otherwise, given Brother Xuanhao's status and vision, how could he possibly hold a grudge against a level 29 useless Great Soul Master?"
After listening to Ning Rongrong's reasoned analysis, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Na'er all nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense."
Na'er clenched her small fists, a cold glint flashing in her eyes:
"Since he's a bad guy, we can't let him get away with it!"
"How dare you make your brother unhappy..."
"Hmph, don't let me run into him again, or else..."
The four girls got together and began to plot some unspeakable "revenge plans".
...
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
The town outside the Star Dou Great Forest was still shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist when Xuan Hao and his group were already ready to leave.
This time, Xuan Hao didn't use his astonishing "carrying the car and flying" technique again. Instead, he put his hands behind his head and followed leisurely behind.
Ahead, four girls were lined up and running at full speed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
This is both a journey and a warm-up exercise.
At first, Zhu Zhuqing deliberately slowed down, afraid that Ning Rongrong, as a support-type Soul Master, wouldn't be able to keep up.
After all, it's common knowledge in the world of Soul Masters that support-type Soul Masters are physically weak, let alone this pampered little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
However, after running for a full half hour, the look of surprise in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes grew stronger.
As for Xiao Wu and Na'er, they are both Beast Soul Masters, one is a level 32 Soul Venerable and the other is a level 42 Soul Grandmaster. It's normal for them to have abnormal physiques.
To her surprise, Ning Rongrong stayed firmly in the group the whole time!
She was breathing steadily, her steps were light, and she barely broke a sweat.
The rhythm and stamina of his running showed no signs of being a support-type Soul Master; on the contrary, it was even better than many powerful attack-type Soul Masters!
"this..."
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but slow down a bit, moving closer to Ning Rongrong, and asked in confusion as she ran:
"Rongrong, how come you have such good stamina?"
"You've been running for so long, but you don't seem tired at all?"
"This is nothing!"
Ning Rongrong casually brushed a stray hair behind her ear and said with a relaxed expression:
"This level of running is just a warm-up for me."
"warm up?"
Zhu Zhuqing was even more puzzled. She frowned and finally asked the question that had been on her mind:
"Since you have such good stamina, why were you so averse to it when Dean Flander made you run twenty laps at Shrek Academy that day?
Why did you even turn on him and leave?"
At the time, everyone thought she was spoiled and couldn't endure hardship.
But now it seems that even fifty laps, let alone twenty, would be a piece of cake for her!
"Tch, who said I can't run it?"
Mentioning Flanders, Ning Rongrong curled her lip in disdain, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes:
"I left that day not because I was tired, but simply because I couldn't stand Flander's attitude!"
"Listen to what he's saying, is that even human?
What 'I know you're spoiled and can't handle hardship', what 'You can't eat until you finish running the course'…"
"Please! I train much harder at home than this!"
Ning Rongrong pointed to Xuan Hao behind her and said with an air of matter-of-fact:
"My brother Xuanhao always told me that support-type Soul Masters are mocking on the battlefield and are the enemy's primary target."
"If you can't win a fight, you should at least learn how to run away, right?"
"If you can't even run fast, then you're just a sitting duck, aren't you?"
"So for the past few years, I've been doing cross-country running with weights every day in the sect, and I also have to dodge all sorts of traps and hidden weapons.
Flander's twenty laps?
What's the difference between that and taking a walk?"
At this point, a hint of disgust flashed in Ning Rongrong's eyes:
"Most importantly, that Oscar!"
"I was running just fine, even though it was a boring training session that felt like a walk, I put up with it.
But then that creepy sausage-guy uncle insisted on coming over and giving me his disgusting sausage to eat, with this 'I'm doing this for your own good' look on his face."
"vomit..."
Ning Rongrong made a vomiting face:
"I was disgusted! Plus, Flander's arrogant and condescending attitude made me not want to play this childish game with them!"
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