On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, in a clearing surrounded by trees, a fire was lit.
Zhu Zhuqing sat on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk. She no longer looked haggard as before, but rather aloof, even indifferent.
Leaning against the tree, her eyes involuntarily drifted towards Ye Qiu, who wasn't looking.
He held skewers of beef, roasting them over the fire.
Glancing at Zhu Zhuqing beside him, he hadn't expected that the person he had saved would become one of the Shrek Seven Devils, and even more so, a second-level god, the God of Speed.
Thinking of the Shrek Seven Devils, Ye Qiu couldn't help but think of that silly rabbit. Although they hadn't been apart for long, the sudden quiet around him still made him feel a little uneasy.
In the firelight, he seemed to see Xiao Wu's playful face, and a gentle smile appeared on Ye Qiu's face.
The aroma of roasted meat wafted through the air, golden oil droplets sizzling as they dripped onto the fire.
"Alright! Let it cool a bit before eating." Ye Qiu handed over the roasted meat. "By the way, I shouldn't have to feed you this time, right?"
"No need. After all this day, I can still move my arms without any problems." She took the meat from Ye Qiu, her lips slightly upturned as she blew on it to cool it.
"That's good!" Ye Qiu planted the meat in the ground and then lay down on the grass. The Blue Silver Emperor, which Ye Qiu had released, playfully touched his cheek.
A day had passed since the deaths of the Remnant Leopard and the others. During this time, Ye Qiu had begun searching for soul beasts, but he still hadn't found any that satisfied him.
The Star Dou Great Forest was simply too vast; even searching with his Sharingan took him a considerable amount of time.
Soul beasts that were only one or two thousand years old were far from reaching the current limits of his Sharingan. Ye Qiu speculated that his abilities should be able to control soul beasts over three thousand years old! However, getting them to obediently sacrifice themselves might be a bit risky.
Just like Sato before, when faced with the threat of death, one often has an immense will to survive.
'Unfortunately, I have too few attack methods, and I've run out of gunpowder. Sigh!' Ye Qiu felt regretful.
A clear, cold voice came.
"What were you thinking about just now?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about what kind of soul beast I should find."
Zhu Zhuqing seemed a little nervous, picking at shredded beef with her fingers and putting it in her mouth, her eyes lowered. "I mean, when you laughed just now, were you... thinking of someone?"
"Huh?" Ye Qiu was taken aback, not understanding why she would ask such a question.
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just felt you rarely laugh so I was curious." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and immediately looked away.
Ye Qiu looked at her strangely, put his hands behind his head, and said leisurely, "Well, I guess you could call me a person!"
"Call me a person?" What kind of answer is that? Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at him and said nothing more.
The meat was almost dry, and Ye Qiu began to devour it.
"Can you help me become stronger?" After a moment of silence, Zhu Zhuqing's voice turned cold again.
"Hmm?" Ye Qiu quickly swallowed the beef in his mouth, looking at her in surprise, pointing to himself: "I'm just a commoner. As the second young lady of the Zhu family, don't you have far more resources than me? You still need my help?"
"I mean, you help me hunt souls! Your strength is so great that even a Soul Master can't handle you. Hunting a hundred-year-old soul beast shouldn't be difficult, right? I can pay you!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at him earnestly, waiting for his reply.
"Help you? And there's a reward?" Hearing her words, Ye Qiu's eyes lit up!
In Douluo Continent, the most common form of soul hunting is in teams. Teamwork not only increases hunting efficiency but also often allows the weak to defeat the strong.
Although he didn't have gunpowder now, didn't he have a living teammate beside him?
Ye Qiu tore off a piece of beef, chewing with relish, his eyes scanning Zhu Zhuqing.
"What are you looking at! I promised you payment, but that doesn't mean you can have those filthy thoughts." Zhu Zhuqing covered her chest, looking at him cautiously.
"Cough cough... What are you thinking?" Ye Qiu almost choked on his meat, casually tossing aside the grilled meat in his hand, and squatted down in front of her.
He looked at her seriously, "What...what do you want?" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes darted away.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, "I need you!"
"Ah, you need me!?" Zhu Zhuqing looked at him blankly, her face flustered. She didn't know what he meant. Hadn't she asked him for help first?
"I need your help, or rather, let's help each other!"
"Help each other? I'm injured right now, what can I do to help you?" She pushed Ye Qiu's hand away.
"I'll help you obtain the second ring of the thousand-year-old spirit! You help me hunt a spirit beast over three thousand years old, how about that?" Ye Qiu bluntly stated his request.
"Are you out of your mind? Let's not even talk about whether I can help you, I've never even heard of..."
"Never heard of the second ring of the thousand-year-old spirit, huh?" Under her strange gaze, Ye Qiu took over her words.
Sometimes, facts speak louder than words!
Ye Qiu directly activated his spirit, and a purple light rose from beneath his feet.
"This...this is impossible!" Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, somewhat incoherently, staring at him in shock, her eyes filled with that purple light.
Ye Qiu leaned close to her, pinched her chin, and spoke in a seductive voice, seemingly possessed by magic. "Don't you want to become stronger? Once you obtain the second purple ring, your soul power will definitely increase by leaps and bounds. Think of how much less hard training you'll have to
do then!" He thought she would agree without hesitation, but instead, she froze, staring intently at the bloodlust in Ye Qiu's eyes. Her lips parted slightly
. 'She's going to agree!' Seeing her reaction, Ye Qiu was overjoyed.
However, the voice he expected didn't come. Zhu Zhuqing's face grew larger and larger in his eyes.
*Pop!* Ye Qiu's body trembled, his eyes lost focus
, a cool sensation on his lips, a slippery feeling in his mouth, and his hands cupped her face, his eyes misting over.
'This is...!' Ye Qiu froze on the spot, his soul power stopped circulating, and the Sharingan in his eyes slowly faded.
...
A moment later, Zhu Zhuqing's body temperature slowly returned, her eyes regained their clarity, her pupils dilated, and the two stared at each other wide-eyed.
A blush crept across her face, her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she shoved Ye Qiu away.
Ye Qiu lay on the ground, savoring the lingering, peculiar sensation, lost in thought for a long time.
Zhu Zhuqing covered her mouth, her small chest heaving, her earlobes practically bleeding! She had actually
been glaring at Ye Qiu with such hatred, wishing she could cut her own tongue off.
Suddenly, silence fell, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.
A withered leaf fell from a tree, landing on Ye Qiu's brow. He shuddered, finally snapping back to reality. "I'm so sorry...
" he hurriedly stammered, getting up and apologizing to Zhu Zhuqing, but before he could finish, he was interrupted.
"I agree!"
"Huh?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at him coldly and said again, "I said, I agree to help each other!" Her voice was icy as well.
"That's great!" Ye Qiu first clenched his fist, then explained to her, "Just now... just now I..."
"Enough! That was just an accident, I don't want to talk about it anymore." Her small hand clenched until it turned white. "If you dare to tell anyone what happened between us, I will definitely kill you! I definitely will!"
She glared fiercely at Ye Qiu, her words resolute. Even though she felt a little trembling inside, her status required her to abandon such unrealistic thoughts!
Ye Qiu also calmed down. He wasn't quite sure what she was thinking, but he understood that she genuinely didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Okay! Don't worry, I'll keep all of this to myself."
"Mm!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded, her eyes dimming slightly.
(End of Chapter)