The master had given everyone three days off, so for the first time since the start of the term, the Shrek group finally enjoyed three days of free time.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun happily ran off to Soto City, playing wildly for an entire day, while Zhu Zhuqing kept to her strict self-discipline — even during the break, she continued to train. She had already realized that her talent ranked the lowest among the Shrek Seven Devils, and if she didn't work harder, she would definitely be left behind.

This left Dai Mubai, who had been plotting for some time, quite disappointed…

On the day before the break, Dai Mubai had dragged Han Feng to study tactics until midnight, trying every possible method to get Zhu Zhuqing to go out with him. He nearly drove Han Feng crazy in the process! Yet the next day, before Dai Mubai could even open his mouth, Zhu Zhuqing — as if guessing his intentions — cut him off with a single, "I'm going to train," nearly suffocating him in frustration.

On the first day of the break, Dai Mubai pulled Han Feng into an all-day sparring match, leaving Han Feng both amused and helpless.

Meanwhile, Tang San planned to use the three-day break to craft a set of hidden weapons, so he had no time to accompany Xiao Wu. Left with no choice, Xiao Wu stuck to Ning Rongrong and went with her to Soto City for the entire day.

The next morning, Han Feng was once again dragged out of bed early by Dai Mubai.

"Big White, are you insane!? Fine, I surrender, okay? Zhu Zhuqing is just training seriously — what's wrong with that? If you really have nothing to do, go find Fatty and Oscar instead. Leave me alone!" Han Feng said weakly, looking at Dai Mubai with no energy left to argue.

"Not a chance!" Dai Mubai shook his head firmly. "You don't even know how embarrassed I was yesterday! I spent the whole night coming up with so many plans, and I didn't even get the chance to put a single one into action before it all got cut short! I can't accept that!"

Han Feng rolled his eyes. "How would I know about that…"

"Of course you wouldn't — you're such a straight-laced guy!" Dai Mubai complained, muttering almost crazily, "Just thinking about Zhu Zhuqing's expression yesterday gives me goosebumps all over. I can barely show my face!"

Han Feng couldn't understand what Dai Mubai was going on about. He yawned and asked strangely, "So you decided to take it out on me?"

"Exactly!" Dai Mubai stared at Han Feng without hesitation.

Han Feng raised a hand to his forehead, speechless. "Big White, you're fifteen years old — can you be a little more mature? It's just one rejection. It's not even the first time! And besides, Zhu Zhuqing didn't say she doesn't want to go out with you — she just said she's going to train. Perfectly valid reason, well-organized. What are you hung up on?"

He truly didn't know what else to say. Normally, Dai Mubai seemed to have a clear head about relationships, but the moment Zhu Zhuqing was involved, he acted like some lovestruck boy in his first crush.

Dai Mubai's face flushed red, though it was unclear whether from anger or embarrassment. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "You're the last person I want to hear that from!"

"Ah, Big White, you're lovesick!" Han Feng teased with mock sympathy.

"Enough talking! Are we sparring or not?" Dai Mubai cut him off roughly.

"I'd rather die than bend!" Han Feng shot back. "If you're itching for a fight, go find Teacher Zhao — he'll be happy to spar with you."

"Tch!" Dai Mubai froze at the thought. If only he dared to. Ever since Han Feng and the others enrolled, Zhao Wuji had gone a little crazy — when sparring with them, he used no spirit skills or martial spirit at all, relying solely on brutal physical strength. Every blow landed hard enough to make them feel it in their bones. It was agony disguised as "for their own good," and after a few experiences like that, none of them ever went looking for him again.

"Eh?" Just then, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong came out and spotted Han Feng and Dai Mubai glaring at each other. Xiao Wu curiously came over. "What are you two doing, fighting this early in the morning?"

Seeing them, Dai Mubai quickly turned away, not wanting the two girls to know about his embarrassing situation — especially not Zhu Zhuqing.

Han Feng simply smiled. "Oh, it's you two. I guess Tang San's still holed up in his workshop, huh?"

"You're as annoying as ever," Xiao Wu said with a not-so-friendly smile, an edge of threat in her tone, as if she might throw her carrot at him any moment.

"Right back at you," Han Feng replied, unbothered.

"Xiao Wu!" Ning Rongrong called out in a mock-scolding tone, and Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose at Han Feng before saying theatrically, "Fine, for Rongrong's sake, I won't stoop to argue with a kid."

By age, Han Feng was one of the younger members of the Shrek Seven Devils, and Xiao Wu often used that to tease him.

Han Feng just shrugged, letting it go. "So where are you headed?"

"Oh, we're going to Soto City…" Ning Rongrong answered quickly.

"What's so fun about Soto City? We've been there so many times already…" Han Feng muttered, rubbing his chin as if he couldn't understand how they never got tired of it.

"There are still some fun spots," Ning Rongrong said, a little worried he might think she wasn't being diligent — especially since she'd promised him recently that she'd train hard.

Noticing her unease, Han Feng flicked her forehead lightly. "Are you scared of me? Is this about the running incident? I already apologized — don't hold grudges like that!"

Blushing at the slight closeness, Ning Rongrong hurried to explain, "No! It's not like that at all!"

"Strange girl," Han Feng said with a bemused look. He was about to turn away when a thought struck him — if he went to Soto City too, Dai Mubai wouldn't have the chance to drag him into another pointless brawl.

It wasn't that Han Feng hated sparring — he actually enjoyed the rush of battle — but Dai Mubai's fights weren't real combat. They were just wild, brute-force venting with no tactics, exhausting and pointless. After a whole day of that yesterday, Han Feng was done.

"You're going to Soto City, right?" he asked Ning Rongrong suddenly, his tone serious.

"Y-Yes…" she stammered, startled by his sudden change in expression.

"Let's go together!" he said, instantly shifting from serious to excited.

"You… want to come to Soto City with me?" Ning Rongrong asked blankly.

"Why not?" Han Feng frowned, thinking she was reluctant. He explained, "Don't worry, we're just going the same way. Once we're there, we won't stick to you."

"'We'? 'Us'?" Ning Rongrong repeated, confused.

Han Feng pointed at Dai Mubai. "You're going with Xiao Wu, right? Me and Big White will come too."

Ning Rongrong glanced at Dai Mubai, who looked utterly innocent, feeling both conflicted and disappointed. She wanted to go with just Han Feng, but also worried that without Xiao Wu's jokes or Dai Mubai's help, her occasional willfulness might upset him.

Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu, meanwhile, were stunned until Han Feng mentioned them, finally realizing what he was talking about.

Dai Mubai cried out exaggeratedly, "Fengzi! Don't drag me into this! I don't want to go to Soto City — I'm going to find Teacher Zhao for training today!"

"What? Didn't you just say—" Han Feng stared at him in disbelief.

"That was then, this is now!" Dai Mubai said stubbornly.

Han Feng turned to Xiao Wu. "What about you?"

Taking a big bite of her carrot, Xiao Wu slapped her forehead in mock realization. "Oh! I just remembered — I promised to see San-ge today! Sorry, Rongrong, I can't come with you!"

Han Feng frowned. He remembered clearly that Xiao Wu hated watching Tang San work with metal.

Behind him, Ning Rongrong's head lowered, her face warm with shyness and gratitude.

In the end, Han Feng had no choice but to head to Soto City with Ning Rongrong alone. After all, he'd been the one to suggest going, and Dai Mubai had warned him that if he stayed at Shrek today, he'd be dragged into a full day of training with Zhao Wuji.

As they watched the two leave, Xiao Wu poked Dai Mubai and murmured, "What did you do last night? Did Han Feng finally get a clue?"

"No, I didn't do anything. Probably not a clue — just a lucky accident," Dai Mubai said calmly, watching them go and hoping Ning Rongrong could make some progress. After all, their cooperation had never stopped.

Xiao Wu nodded in agreement.

"Oi! Didn't I just hear someone say they wanted to spar with me? Who was it, eh? Mubai?" Zhao Wuji's voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

Dai Mubai instantly froze, while Xiao Wu's face lit up in a smile full of schadenfreude.

PS: Read Advance Chapters at patreon.com/c/Shinazuki