Chapter 271
Disgusting!
Ning Rongrong caught her breath and gave him a disgruntled look.
Although she was still young, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School still possessed an air of composure. Her glance carried a hint of innate charm, but also revealed a sense of aloofness and impatience.
Oscar felt his bones go weak under her gaze, and his little schemes began to stir again.
Oscar chuckled, trying to appear less disheveled. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Ning Rongrong, as if presenting a treasure. He lowered his voice, his tone both mysterious and slightly lewd, and said:
"I have a big sausage!"
As he uttered his somewhat comical incantation, the yellow spirit ring flashed, and a steaming hot sausage, emitting an enticing aroma, instantly appeared in his hand.
He eagerly handed the sausage to Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong, try this! My recovery sausage is incredibly effective with its first soul skill!"
Oscar was eagerly promoting it.
"Not only does it promote wound healing, but it's also amazing at restoring energy! Eat one and you'll be full of energy! With my sausages in unlimited supply, let alone twenty laps, even two hundred laps is just a matter of running a few more trips!"
Oscar patted his chest, trying to win over the charming little princess with the aroma of the food and the effects of his soul skills.
He knew his sausages were incredibly effective, especially in situations where it was purely a test of physical strength; they were an absolute cheating tool.
He thought that as long as Ning Rongrong was willing to try it once and experience the benefits, it would be much easier for her to accept it in the future.
However, reality dealt another heavy blow to the Oscars.
Ning Rongrong's gaze fell on the steaming sausage, but instead of the joy or curiosity Oscar had expected, it was instantly replaced by intense disgust and disdain.
Her pretty little eyebrows furrowed tightly, and her glassy eyes revealed undisguised disgust and contempt.
She abruptly took a step back, as if the sausage were something extremely filthy.
"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!"
Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised disgust and a hint of anger at being offended.
"Who wants to eat something like you, conjured up with those lewd incantations! You can keep it and enjoy it yourself!"
Before she could finish speaking, she didn't even bother to look at Oscar's face, which froze instantly, filled with astonishment and hurt, nor did she want to hear his weak and feeble explanation.
A strong sense of frustration, resentment, and suffocation overwhelmed her last bit of resolve.
Leaving behind those cold words, Ning Rongrong turned around abruptly, quickened her pace, and stopped running along that damned, seemingly endless village road. Instead, she veered off course, crossed a sparse field, and hurried toward the distant, vaguely visible outline of a sizable city—Soto City!
Her back view was resolute and angry, her exquisite dress billowing as she ran, the hem covered in dust and bits of grass, but she didn't care.
Those words, uttered through gritted teeth, "Disgusting!" struck Oscar's heart like a cold stone, shattering his enthusiasm for presenting his treasure and the last vestiges of his illusions.
Oscar stood there, stunned, still holding the large sausage that emitted an enticing aroma. His expression shifted from astonishment to embarrassment, and then from embarrassment to deep disappointment and hurt.
He watched Ning Rongrong's figure disappear swiftly into the field path without a trace of lingering affection, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
In the end, like an abandoned dog, he looked down at the sausage in his hand, dejected, and took a big bite, as if chewing on the bitterness of defeat.
"Ugh……"
A long sigh, accompanied by the sound of chewing, drifted across the empty fields.
The outline of Soto City gradually became clearer and larger in Ning Rongrong's vision.
The towering city walls, the rows of houses, and the bustling crowds at the city gates all exuded a hustle and bustle that was completely different from the remote countryside of Shrek Academy.
Ning Rongrong slowed her pace, her rapid breathing calmed down slightly, but the frustration and anger in her heart did not dissipate.
She looked up at the towering city gate of Soto, the sunlight almost blinding. She wasn't trying to escape the running assignment—though it was indeed an impossible and pointless punishment.
She wanted to escape that oppressive environment, escape Flander's hypocritical preaching face, escape Oscar's self-righteous good intentions, and escape Shrek Academy's barbaric and crude monster logic that tried to crush and reshape her.
More importantly, she needed to find a quiet place to sort out the information that had been crashing against her established beliefs for over a decade, from yesterday until now!
Lin Xia!
That mysterious, powerful, and terrifying young city lord!
An old friend of Father Ning Fengzhi?!
The one in charge of Gengjin City?!
An existence that commands respect even from the Pope of the Spirit Hall?!
A twelve-year-old Soul King?!
Controlling monstrous beasts of natural disaster?!
All of this weighed heavily on her heart like giant stones.
But the father, Ning Fengzhi, didn't mention it at all!
To completely shut out such an important person, such an amazing world!
She felt like a little sparrow carefully kept in an expensive cage, thinking she had seen the whole sky, unaware that outside the cage lay a vast and boundless starry sky and colossal beasts that could overturn her understanding!
She needed space, the vibrant atmosphere of everyday life to calm her inner turmoil, and a temporary escape from the constraints of her identities as a "Shrek Academy student" and "the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."
As I stepped into the shadow cast by the heavy city gates of Soto, the bustling sounds of the city instantly rushed towards me.
The streets were bustling with carriages and horses, and pedestrians thronged the area. The cries of vendors rose and fell, and the aromas of food, leather, and rusty iron mingled together, creating a vibrant atmosphere that enveloped Ning Rongrong.
She wandered aimlessly along the wide stone-paved street. Shops lined both sides of the street, some selling weapons and armor, some dealing in cloth and silk, and some restaurants and teahouses with various signs.
She was dressed in luxurious clothes and had an outstanding temperament. Even with dust on her skirt and her hairpin slightly loose, she could not hide her innate nobility, which attracted the attention of passersby.
Her gaze swept over the exquisite goods and the bustling crowd, but her eyes were somewhat vacant.
After thinking for a while, Ning Rongrong decided to treat herself first.
Disgusted by Oscar's lewd sausage spell, all she wanted now was to eat something truly exquisite and delicious.
She continued walking along the street, her eyes scanning the area with keen interest. Soon, her gaze was drawn to a three-story building with elegant, antique-style decorations.
A plaque bearing the name "Qingmingju" hangs in front of the building, its calligraphy elegant and graceful.
Through the exquisitely carved wooden windows, one can vaguely see the refined interior furnishings. There are not many guests, but their attire and demeanor suggest they are not ordinary people.
It is here.
Ning Rongrong straightened her slightly loose hairpin, patted the dust off her dress, and tried her best to regain some of the demeanor of the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School before stepping into Qingming Residence.
She needs a quiet, comfortable environment to drink a good cup of tea, eat some delicate snacks, and think carefully about what to do next.
At the edge of the field, Lin Xia swallowed the last mouthful of mineral fragments, feeling the pure energy flowing and settling within her body.
He didn't open his eyes, but he could almost see Ning Rongrong's angry figure running towards Soto City.
"It seems that Dean Flander's plan has been very effective."
Lin Xia spoke softly, her voice exceptionally clear in the breeze, addressing Zhu Zhuqing beside her.
Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Lin Xia's well-defined profile.
The sunlight outlined the lines of his jaw, giving it a calm sharpness.
Zhu Zhuqing was taken aback.
"what?"
"It's nothing." (End of Chapter)