Ah Zhu hurried into Hu Bugui's room. She had come back from a relaxing vacation the day before yesterday and started to come to Hu Bugui every day to practice. It was getting late and she should have gone back to the foot of the mountain to rest, but when she saw the horrifying scene, she hurried back. Hu Bugui warned her not to make a fuss, but the scene she described was indeed a bit horrifying. Not only her, but even Hu Bugui was a little surprised, and his old face wrinkled even tighter.

The setting sun was red and the spring breeze was slightly warm, but what Ah Zhu saw was an extremely desolate scene, as if he was mourning for the dead and sighing for the living.

In an alley, Xia Xiao was holding a woman in red with an expressionless face. Xiao Ran behind him had a serious expression, as if he was facing an unsolvable problem and could only bite the bullet to calculate and try to solve it. When Ah Zhu saw them at a corner, he didn't even dare to say hello, but just stood there, staring at the woman in Xia Xiao's arms. Xia Xiao, who was always careful and had a strong sense of perception, didn't notice Ah Zhu this time, because his mind was on the woman in his arms.

The woman in red had a cold and stunning face. Her profile gave Ah Zhu a beauty that could overwhelm a country. The pride contained in her was like that of a princess of the Great Wilderness, and no one could resist her. Her not-so-long black hair hung down to the ground along her slender arms, and she looked indescribably sad, as if she was about to die, or just returned from the abyss of death.

Ah Zhu thought the woman looked familiar, and later found out it was Shu Shuang. Shu Shuang was Xia Xiao's sweetheart. Although Ah Zhu felt it was a bit tricky and felt that he had no chance, he still wanted to report the matter first, maybe there would be some situation. Shu Shuang was resurrected, and Xia Xiao should be happy, so why did he look like that?

Ah Zhu could not forget that expression, which was full of pain and despair, as if he was preparing for a desperate counterattack, like seeing countless monsters surrounding him on the grassland in the dark. After knowing each other for so long, Xia Xiao's expression this time scared Ah Zhu the most, it was colder than every time before.

"Master, don't you want to go and take a look?"

Hu Bugui knew that Ah Zhu came here specifically for no other reason than to care about Xia Xiao. It was useless for her to go there and ask questions. The thought of such a scene was terrifying. She didn't dare to go alone, so she had to come to him.

"I'll go now."

Hu Bugui stood up from his mat and said:

"Take Doudou back and rest. I'll come find you later."

"Doudou's injury is healed?"

Ah Zhu was so happy that the fear on his face disappeared. As soon as he returned to the academy, he wanted to find Doudou, but Hu Bugui said that it was injured during training, so he had to wait for a few days. Now that Doudou is back, Ah Zhu has someone to accompany him, and there is someone to race with him when he goes up the mountain.

Hu Bugui looked to the side. Behind the screen, a huge creature stood up and walked slowly towards Ah Zhu like a stone lion. This was a Tibetan mastiff. Under the light of the room, it looked like a white rock, giving people a sense of indestructibility. Its fangs and claws were like those of a tiger or a lion. This Tibetan mastiff, which was taller than Ah Zhu, had eyes as small as green beans, but it made Ah Zhu extremely excited.

"Master, you turned Doudou into this? Great!"

Ah Zhu rushed forward and hugged Bai Shi Tibetan Mastiff, which stunned the latter. Not only did he not dare to move, but his face also turned red.

"Um... this isn't a bean."

Azhu was a little disappointed. He bent down and looked around, looking for Doudou.

"I asked him to train Doudou, but he trained too much and injured his foot. He has been taking care of your Doudou these past few days."

"Thank you for your help."

Ah Zhu bowed deeply, and when he looked up he finally saw Dou Dou.

It drooped its tail, as if it had embarrassed Ah Zhu and was too embarrassed to see her again. It was still the little yellow dog, without any change. A yellow dog could not become a wolf dog. Even if a Tibetan mastiff trained it all day, it could not become as brave as him. Doudou's eyes were a little disappointed, but Ah Zhu held him up. This familiar embrace warmed his heart and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Thank you for your hard work, Doudou. I'll take you back to rest."

Ah Zhu suddenly became extra gentle, bowed to Hu Bugui and Bai Shi Tibetan Mastiff again, and then walked out the door. If Bai Shi Tibetan Mastiff was not Doudou, she would not like him so much. She knew that Doudou was a little disappointed, so she comforted him:

"It's okay Doudou, I don't dislike you, you have to stay with me."

Doudou barked twice, as if in response.

There were no lights on the mountain road at night, but small flower buds had grown. The peach blossoms were about to bloom again, but few people could appreciate them. Ah Zhu wiped Doudou's tears and went down the mountain with it. Even though this was a road many people yearned for, she could not avoid being lonely. In comparison, the woman in red had won from the beginning.

Hu Bugui did not go to find Xia Xiao, who needed time to calm down. He went to find the senior sister, and they had been communicating closely during this period, all about Xia Xiao.

Hu Bugui didn't sense it, but Qing Xunzi passed by here, which revived Shu Shuang. But how irritable would this woman, who was very different from the previous Shu Shuang, be? Hu Bugui couldn't help but be curious, and even a little expectant. The story that Xia Xiao brought made the students of the same class pale in comparison. Even if he was low-key and didn't like to show off, Hu Bugui saw it all.

The eldest sister said that she couldn't interfere, so Hu Bugui would never go to Xia Xiao too much. But this poor child now had one more thing to do.

Xia Xiao's eyes were a little tired, pretending to have a lot of things to do, but she just couldn't finish them. Looking at the woman in red sleeping in her bed, although there was no movement, the stone in her heart just couldn't fall. Xia Xiao was afraid that she would blow up the room and make a big noise when she was half asleep. It was a troublesome thing to think about getting the seniors on the mountainside to recognize her.

"Take a rest first."

Xiaoran was not as opinionated as Shushuang. She was always waiting for Xia Xiao's words and orders, not knowing that this would make Xia Xiao more tired.

"I'll keep an eye on her."

Xiao Ran circled around and took root outside Xia Xiao's room, turning into a white-red tree, watching the woman in red sleeping in the window. Xiao Ran didn't want to call her Shu Shuang for the time being, and Xia Xiao didn't want to either. He lay in Shu Shuang's room, his eyelids heavy, his eyes slightly painful, and he fell asleep quickly when he closed his eyes.

Fortunately, the roof was not opened tonight, and she did not wake up the next day, but there were new things to do. This time, the eldest sister came to find Xia Xiao in person, and brought Ah Zhu with her. Ah Zhu has been secretly looking at Xia Xiao's room, which is always closed. Is this considered a hidden beauty? I don't know what Xia Xiao did to her. Ever since the incident with Gou Longbang, he felt that Xia Xiao's mind was not right. Even if he didn't do it, he would definitely do it.

My grandma once said that men are two-legged beasts, and most of the time they think about their lower body.

Ah Zhu wronged Xia Xiao last time, and he wronged him this time too. What can he do? He can't just...

Ah Zhu's mind was too dangerous. He could only think about that kind of thing at most. But facing the woman in red, Xia Xiao didn't even think about it. She had a face like Shu Shuang and a figure like Shu Shuang. Even if she was lying there sleeping, it was enough to torture people.

"I'm afraid we have to go back to the Southern Merchants' capital."

"when?"

"It's up to you, but this time we'll go together as a group of three."

Although she discovered the situation last time, she did not find the source of the black energy. The eldest sister did not want to let it go easily, so she was ready to go back again.

The capital of Nan Shang Empire was filled with black air. Those were the auras of the targets they were looking for, but they couldn't find them from the outside, so they started from the inside, which was why they brought Azhu with them.

"The source of the black energy is related to Prince Nan Shang. This time we will go directly to the prince's mansion to learn from them. Even if they hide deeply, they will panic when they see us. Then we will take action directly to force the black energy out. Since we have confirmed the identity of the prince, we don't need to rush there, so I hope to give me three days. I have something to deal with."

Xia Xiao has a fierceness that gives people a very reliable feeling, but perhaps only he knows the bitterness in it. He must now deal with these things, finish them once and for all, and do them to the best of his ability, so that there will be no more troubles in the future. Otherwise, if it continues like this, he will be busy to death sooner or later.

There was no reason for the senior sister not to give him these three days, and this time was already very short. After everyone left, the room returned to silence, and a male voice asked:

"Two drinks?"

Xia Xiao, who was scratching his head, turned to look at the man and nodded slightly.

In the peach grove, there was a table of side dishes, including chicken feet and peanuts, with a large bowl of wine on top, which surprised Xia Xiao.

"Are you planning on getting me drunk?"

"It doesn't matter if you're drunk or not, but you need to relax."

"I'm afraid I'll get drunk and wake up, which will waste more time."

"Big Sister is always busier than you, but she still has time to make and taste wine. You should relax too! You'll collapse if you keep going like this."

The wine pot beside Tianming was half the height of his body. This was their task for today. The big cup he held up was like a big pancake. Although the mouth was big and the bowl was low, it held a lot of wine. Tianming acted like if you don't raise your glass, you are not giving me face, and forced Xia Xiao to drink. He had always arranged his life in an orderly manner, which was very monotonous in the eyes of outsiders, and he was the only one who enjoyed the quietness. But during this period, he had too many worries, and he couldn't bear to waste time, so Tianming became a bad guy.

Seeing Xia Xiao raise the glass, although he was a little reluctant, Tianming started to compose a poem.

"Instead of worrying about nothing, it's better to drink some wine. Cheers!"

Xia Xiao took a big sip, and after the wine went down his throat, he let out a breath out as usual, and when he inadvertently looked up, he was surprised.

"Are the peach blossoms about to bloom?"

"Otherwise, if you don't relax, the consequences will come."

Tianming looked around and saw a few early blooming peach blossoms. He plucked a few petals and poured them into Xia Xiao's wine.

"what?"

"You look so bitter, so I'll give you some slightly sweet peach petals."

"Like a little kid."

"I'm older than you."

They clinked glasses again, and this time Xia Xiao drank the wine in the bowl with peach petals. Although he was not drunk, he was talkative. When Xia Xiao talked about what happened during this period, Tianming listened and sighed from time to time, saying that Xia Xiao was really desperate. If it were him, he might not be so desperate, but Xia Xiao always took risks in the name of cherishing his life. He didn't know when his life would really be gone.

But after hearing this, Xia Xiao also understood that he was not that busy. He would look for the golden spirit beast today, deal with the matter of the woman in red tomorrow, and adjust his condition the day after tomorrow, then be ready to set off.

Tianming could only talk to Xia Xiao about Qin Feng and Mu Lin. They were still working hard at the foot of the mountain, but it was unlikely that they would reach the mountainside. They might have to stop at the foot of the mountain. In the future, we will only meet in the world. But Tianming still brought their concern for Xia Xiao to the right place. Although he and Xia Xiao were doing different things now, they didn't have many topics to talk about. But making friends doesn't necessarily require topics, but relies on sincerity.

The wine was bitter in my mouth and hot in my throat. I first picked up a few peanuts with chopsticks, then with my hands. I gnawed chicken feet without meat, but just like daily life, it is precisely because there is more bitterness than sweetness that I cherish the hard-earned relaxation time even more.

After drinking all the wine today, Xia Xiao and Tian Ming were already drunk. They walked back to the town side by side, with a small peach petal in their hair. It was hidden in the black hair, like a dancer behind a thin screen, dancing with long sleeves, singing and arguing in front of people, but silent behind people.

Tianming staggered while carrying Xia Xiao, and sent him back to the room, before suddenly spitting out a mouthful of alcohol outside the door. It was not pleasant to be drunk. If he hadn't wanted to catch up with Xia Xiao, he would have had a good sleep like him today.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xiaoran was extremely gentle, but she didn't take Tianming seriously.

"Even if you didn't ask me to do it, I would still go drink with him. Don't be so polite."

Xiao Ran nodded, thinking that the academy was a great place, and His Highness had become so approachable. She carried a basin of water with a towel soaked in it, and forgot to bow her head when she entered the door, bumping into the door, tears came out, but she laughed again.