Ren Suo vaguely remembered making a promise to the Little Nine-Tailed Fox in "Midnight Walker," but he couldn't quite recall the specifics.
After all, it was just a trivial game scenario during those ten days of ghost walking.
However, Ren Suo felt he was certainly capable of saying such things, as he often talked big in games. Although he wasn't as good at showing off as an adventurer, Ren Suo sometimes bluffed quite a bit in games—after all, if you don't show off in games, are you supposed to wait for the Qingming Festival to brag to your ancestors?
Ren Suo looked down at Little Jiu. She wasn't looking at him but faced him with her little head, adorned with black twin ponytails, turned away as if pouting, seemingly angry.
She's in an unfamiliar country, the Mysterious Country, and she's carrying a Supreme Treasure. She was even chased by the Federal Undertakers before. I'm the only person she knows, and most importantly, she came all the way from New York because of me…
"Don't worry, I'll keep our promise," Ren Suo said, gently patting Little Jiu's small head. "I'll protect you."
"My name is Ren Suo. Please take care of me from now on," Ren Suo said with a smile, extending his pinky finger towards her. He was indeed very familiar with these kinds of tricks to cajole children.
Little Jiu looked up, hesitated for a moment, then also extended her pinky finger and made a pinky promise with Ren Suo. "My name is Little Jiu. Please feed me well from now on."
Although Ren Suo didn't care much about his bank balance (there wasn't much need for money at Heavenly Lotus Academy), he could easily support a little girl; it was just that some troublesome issues would need solving.
But first, he needed to deal with the problem of Little Jiu suddenly appearing on his bed.
Although Dong Chengling wasn't pressing him anymore, Ren Suo knew that if he didn't go out soon, she would definitely come in to pull him up—she might even suspect he had become paralyzed.
But Little Jiu was clinging to him, refusing to let go. Ren Suo looked at her; luckily, she had already transformed into a pretty, doll-like little girl. Even if he took her out of the bedroom to meet Dong Chengling, it would be…
Wait, that seems even worse.
If I take out a Nine-Tailed Fox, I can still argue that I was 'forced by the Nine-Tailed Fox.'
But if I take out a little girl, even Dong Chengling, with her Level 4 Bond, might escort me to the police station to turn myself in…
Thinking of this, an idea struck Ren Suo. He said to Little Jiu, "Little Jiu, you didn't follow our agreement!"
"Huh!?" Little Jiu was startled and quickly shook her head. "Impossible!"
"Look, the agreement was that you could come find me if you hid your tail and ears, right?" Ren Suo gently coaxed.
Little Jiu nodded. Ren Suo continued, "So, how did you get in last night?"
"I came in through the window," Little Jiu answered honestly.
"See, that's not 'coming to the door,' is it?" Ren Suo said. "So, you need to go out now, come in through the main entrance of the dormitory building, take the elevator up, and then come to my door. Only then will our agreement be properly fulfilled."
"Hmm…" Little Jiu pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I understand, Big Brother! I'll go down and come right back!"
"No need to rush. Go out and wander around for a bit. Come back in an hour," Ren Suo said in a highly deceptive tone. "During this hour, I'll prepare delicious food for Little Jiu. When you come to my door, I'll have a sumptuous meal ready. That way, our agreement will be perfectly fulfilled."
Seeing Little Jiu was tempted but still a bit hesitant, Ren Suo quickly struck while the iron was hot: "Little Jiu, you can sense my location, right? You don't have to worry about me running off. I'll be right here preparing tasty food for you! There'll be ice cream, cake, strawberry sundaes…"
From the SLURP SLURP SLURP sounds Little Jiu made while dreaming about ice cream that morning, Ren Suo guessed she must really love it. Sure enough, Little Jiu was tempted. "Okay, then Little Jiu will come back later! Big Brother, you have to wait for me!"
"Okay! Remember to be careful, and don't go near any creepy weirdos!"
Watching Little Jiu skillfully open the window and jump out, Ren Suo finally sighed in relief—this morning had been too stimulating; he was a bit overwhelmed.
After washing his face, brushing his teeth, and taking care of other morning necessities, Ren Suo sat down. Only then did Dong Chengling pick up her chopsticks; she had clearly been waiting for him to eat breakfast together.
Ren Suo felt slightly apologetic but said nothing. Instead, he picked up a shrimp dumpling and said, "It's been a long time since I had breakfast at home. I usually eat at the cafeteria and then come back."
Then, seeing Dong Chengling seemed about to say something, he quickly added, "But I usually get up very late in the morning, so I often skip breakfast and just have a bottle of sweet milk."
"You're no longer getting up early for cultivation and studying?" Dong Chengling asked, somewhat surprised.
Ren Suo chuckled. "I ran into some issues with my spell cultivation. I'll spend the next few days figuring out the cause and getting some rest."
"That makes sense," Dong Chengling said, glancing at him. "Are you feeling alright now?"
"I'm fine. A few more days of sleep should have me up and about again!" Ren Suo declared righteously.
Only by weathering the storm can one appreciate the beauty of the rainbow. Ren Suo, now enjoying a leisurely life, would naturally not return to that dreadful, all-consuming cultivation lifestyle.
Of course, this didn't mean Ren Suo would become a salted fish from now on. Rather, after eight days of arduous cultivation, he deeply understood concepts like 'teaching according to aptitude,' 'adapting methods to local conditions,' 'balancing work and rest,' and 'quality education.'
In short, Ren Suo would raise the great banner of 'saving the world,' explore a path to strength with his own personal characteristics, and unite all forces that could be united—which basically meant playing games while cultivating.
The BUZZING sound of cars drifted in from outside. As cultivators with keen hearing, both Ren Suo and Dong Chengling naturally heard the commotion.
"Why are there so many cars entering the campus so early in the morning?" Dong Chengling asked, picking up a fist-sized char siu bun and taking small bites.
"It might be Zhao Huo's fiancée coming to find him," Ren Suo speculated. "For someone who could gift Zhao Huo a car, arriving with a convoy would be perfectly normal."
"Zhao Huo's fiancée?" Dong Chengling was unaware of this and sounded curious.
"Yes, Zhao Huo's fiancée is rich and beautiful, very wealthy, and deeply in love with him."
Ren Suo suddenly turned into a gossip, discussing Zhao Huo's love life. However, he was quite discreet, only mentioning the fiancée and concealing all of Zhao Huo's other romantic entanglements.
"However, his fiancée seems to live quite far from Lotus River. It's been so long, and we haven't seen her visit Zhao Huo. If the convoy downstairs really is hers, then it makes sense why she's entering the campus so early. Long-distance couples are passionate, you know? Of course, they can't wait a single minute and would rush over, even if it's early in the morning."
Dong Chengling nodded, as if partially understanding.
Ren Suo grew more animated as he spoke. "And then Zhao Huo opens the door, sees his fiancée standing right there, and he'll definitely say, nervously and guiltily, 'Ah, what are you doing here?!'"
"Why would Zhao Huo feel nervous and guilty?" Dong Chengling asked.
"Well…" Ren Suo thought, Oops, I let that slip. Before he could think of an excuse, the doorbell suddenly rang. Dong Chengling, being closer to the door, immediately stood up and said, "I'll get it."
"Is that really okay?" Ren Suo also stood up and said, "After all, this place is—"
"It's fine." Dong Chengling seemed unfazed by potential misunderstandings and went straight to open the door, letting out a surprised "Ah."
Ren Suo initially thought it might be an acquaintance visiting him early. However, Dong Chengling's expression indicated it wasn't someone familiar—yet it was someone she recognized; otherwise, she would have looked puzzled, not surprised.
So Ren Suo walked over too and saw a blonde, blue-eyed beauty walking in. She greeted him in broken Mandarin, "Good morning, Suo."
It was Euphy Lampeluji, whom he hadn't seen in eight days.
Seeing Euphy, Ren Suo greeted her with pleasant surprise, "Ah, what are you doing… here!" His voice cracked on the last word, suddenly shooting up an octave.
Because he saw that behind Euphy, little Karen was following, and clinging to Karen's arm was Little Jiu!
Didn't I tell you to go out for a walk, Little Jiu? How did you end up back here already!
Dong Chengling cast a puzzled look at Ren Suo. Why are you so nervous just saying hello?