In Douluo Continent, there is a proper way to die.

Chapter 111 Working Girl Hajiqing

Wow...it's huge!

Bai Chenxiang's mind almost stopped thinking. Judging from their appearances and voices, it was not difficult to guess that the three of them were the same age.

She first looked at Yinlan, then at "Xiaoqing", and finally looked down at her toes, and was overwhelmed with sorrow.

However, Yinluo was not included. She knew that the seemingly young princess was actually Lan Jie's mother.

but……

What did this thing eat to grow up like this?! Could it really be related to how well it eats?!

She had intended to say a few good words about her grandfather to Yinlan, but her train of thought was abruptly interrupted, and she was so shocked that she couldn't utter a single word.

"Huh?" Yin Lan was genuinely stunned. First, she turned her head back to look at the emblem on the carriage. It was indeed the emblem of the Spirit Hall. Then she turned back and looked at the girl who called herself "Xiao Qing" with a strange expression.

She has long, straight black hair, a cold face, and an exaggeratedly voluptuous figure, but her limbs are long and well-proportioned, indicating that she has systematically trained her explosive power. Her clothes are tight and form-fitting, and are indeed suitable for high-speed movement.

...Zhu Zhuqing? What a coincidence? How did she end up working as a bodyguard for a troupe under the Spirit Hall?

Yinlan's eyelids twitched.

The girl named "Xiao Qing" seemed to be quite inarticulate, and Yin Lan's undisguised scrutinizing gaze always made her feel uneasy.

...Has my identity been exposed? Am I one of my sister's people? How did I get here?

...Damn it, we've already escaped all the way here, and we were so close to leaving the Star Luo Empire!

Although she was not at peace inside, she did not show it on her face. Born into such a family, given such a life, and treated like an object, her "self" had long been erased. Now, her thoughts would no longer be reflected on her face as they were before.

Like a walking corpse... the girl's expression was obviously stiff, completely unlike what a girl her age should show. As if to escape, she subconsciously took a step back.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Just then, a woman with dark circles under her eyes walked over from the front of the troupe. She was the leader of the troupe's guards.

The strange atmosphere between them made her mistakenly think that "Xiao Qing" had encountered some trouble. She glanced at "Xiao Qing" and knew that the other party was young and had not experienced any great storms. Just like herself when she entered the world of Soul Masters at a young age, she keenly sensed the "fear" in the young man's heart.

To prevent "Xiao Qing" from causing any trouble, she gestured for her to return to the guard team first, leaving this matter to her.

Xiao Qing bowed slightly to the sleepy-eyed woman, then quickly left. Yin Lan watched her almost fleeing figure without stopping her.

It wouldn't be fun if she really scared away her Hakimi (laughs).

Yin Lan had learned beforehand that the guard leader's name was Lin Xiaole, and she was one of the Spirit Hall's own people. Her spirit was an owl, the same kind of spirit as Flander, the dean of Shrek Academy. However, she did not have Flander's talent of having cultivated to the level of a Spirit Saint. Her innate spirit power was not high. At the age of thirty-five this year, she was also a level thirty-five agility-type Spirit Master.

"Ha..." Lin Xiaole first let out a long yawn, then, with dark circles under his eyes and looking like he hadn't slept well, he looked at Yin Lan and the other two, "...Gentlemen, have you run into some trouble? We're about to set off, um..."

Bai Chenxiang looked at the other person with a questioning gaze. She had a feeling that this guard leader would fall asleep at any moment. How could someone like this be responsible for the troupe's guard duties? And even become the leader?

"Don't fall asleep yet," Yin Lan said with a dark expression, taking out a token engraved with pink and white flowers from the storage soul tool on her wrist and waving it in front of her. "Look at this, do you recognize it?"

"Hmm...?" Lin Xiaole squinted and glanced around groggily, taking a full half-beat to realize what she saw. Her eyes widened instantly, and she slapped her cheeks hard, perking up completely. "Coo coo coo coo!"

This made Bai Chenxiang, who was watching silently from the side, even more curious about Yin Lan's identity. How could it cause such a big reaction from the people of the Spirit Hall? She had seen that token before; Yin Lan had given it to her grandfathers, except for Titan.

Lin Xiaole didn't actually know what the token represented. She only knew that it was a custom-made identity token for the Spirit Hall that only the Hall of Offerings could possess, which meant that the young girls in front of her were important figures from the Hall of Offerings.

"It seems you know her," Yin Lan nodded, retrieving her token, and then asked, "That girl named Xiao Qing from before, is she new to your guard team? Tell me about her."

"My lord," Lin Xiaole was clearly now truly awake, her speech quickening considerably and becoming more fluent, no longer the slow and leisurely figure she had been before. She asked somewhat nervously, "Excuse me, but what has Xiaoqing done wrong?"

"No, it's just that I've taken a liking to her," Yinlan said truthfully as always, "and I wanted to find out more about her from you."

"I see." Lin Xiaole breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she hadn't done anything wrong. She looked at "Xiao Qing" with some envy. To be noticed by such an important figure in the Hall of Worship, this young man was probably going to have a bright future.

"My lord, Xiaoqing was introduced to our guard team when our brigade stopped at the Spirit Temple in Star Luo City," Lin Xiaole hurriedly introduced, his face beaming with pride, as if afraid that the important figure before him would ultimately be dissatisfied and hinder the young man's future. "Since we met, Xiaoqing has been the most hardworking among us, cultivating more diligently than anyone else. She hasn't even turned twelve yet, and she's already a Great Soul Master with a cultivation level of twenty-seven! Unlike us mediocre talents! She's destined to be a renowned figure in the Soul Master world!"

The escort team that joined in Xingluo City should indeed be Zhu Zhuqing. Logically, this makes sense, since although she hasn't been officially appointed, the politicians of the Xingluo Empire have already tacitly accepted Davis as the Crown Prince, and Zhu Zhuyun as the Crown Princess. They wield considerable power within the Xingluo Empire. Through normal channels, Zhu Zhuqing cannot leave the Xingluo Empire at all. The only way to escape is through the Spirit Hall, which is beyond the reach of the Xingluo Empire.

Seeing Lin Xiaole's appearance, Yin Lan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It seemed that the other party really didn't know Zhu Zhuqing's identity. That's right, as long as Zhu Zhuqing didn't reveal her full name, even if she released her martial soul, no one would be able to tell anything. The Zhu family's martial soul was called "Netherworld Cat" to put it nicely, but to put it bluntly, it was actually a "black cat," which matched the Dai family's "white tiger."

Fun fact: the Dai family's White Tiger Martial Soul isn't the legendary "Divine Beast White Tiger," but rather a "white tiger," or simply "White Tiger" (laughs). This is because ten thousand years later, Dai Luoli's mutated "Blood Tiger" Martial Soul is clearly stronger than the "White Tiger" Martial Soul. If the Dai family's Martial Soul were truly the "Divine Beast White Tiger," then Dai Luoli's Blood Tiger Martial Soul should theoretically have deteriorated and mutated. However, the reality is exactly the opposite.

Correspondingly, the Netherworld Cat Martial Soul, which can resonate with the "white tiger" and use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, is probably just Zhu family boasting about the "Netherworld" part.

"I understand," Yin Lan nodded slightly, then turned around, bent down, and put her hands under Yin Luo's armpits, lifting her high into the carriage. "You can leave now. Don't tell that girl about our conversation. I need to observe her for a while longer."

"Yes, sir!" Lin Xiaole was a little uneasy. She had said everything she needed to say. Now it was up to "Xiao Qing" to decide her own fate. She had done her best to help that young man find a way out.

As Yinlan and Bai Chenxiang entered the carriage one after another, Lin Xiaole rejoined the guard team at the front. A long horn sounded from the front of the brigade, and then, one carriage after another began to move forward in groups, pulled by specially trained Heavenly Soul Horses.

Inside the carriage, Yin Lan, holding Yin Luo, narrowed her eyes and fell into thought.

The historical Zhu Zhuqing can be considered a representative case of this world who lost their "self" because they lacked "power". Her innate soul power was level seven, which indeed surpassed many ordinary soul masters, but it was not enough for her. She was the least talented among the original Shrek Seven Devils. With such talent, coupled with a seven-year age gap, she simply did not have the opportunity to catch up with her sister.

However, her martial soul, the Netherworld Cat, was not a particularly outstanding beast martial soul. The cruel reality forced her to become Dai Mubai's vassal and rely on Shrek Academy, because only in this way could she seize a sliver of hope and survive.

The traditions of the Star Luo royal family meant she had nowhere to escape. Rather than having a "chance to fight Davis and Zhu Zhuyun fairly," she and Dai Mubai were simply stepping stones prepared by the Star Luo royal family for Davis and Zhu Zhuyun. No one in the entire Star Luo Empire had any faith in them.

If one could possess "power," no one would want to be a mere "attachment" without a "self."

Zhu Zhuqing had no other choice, not even the Spirit Hall, because the Spirit Hall would never trust members of the Star Luo Royal Family Zhu family, and they didn't need her as a fighting force, so they couldn't guarantee her safety.

Even Dai Mubai had a better chance of joining the Spirit Hall than she did, because Dai Mubai could be considered a "candidate for the throne" of the Star Luo Empire, which would give the Spirit Hall a "strong claim" to send troops to the Star Luo Empire. This would give him a way out no matter which side he was on, while Zhu Zhuqing was nothing before Dai Mubai gained his status.

This is the "reality" of the world for the weak, and Zhu Zhuqing is a weak person whose life has been decided by the strong from an early age, with no way to retreat. People like Qian Daoliu, who possess unparalleled strength and can also maintain morality, are extremely rare.

In order to survive, the weak can only find a way to attach themselves to the strong, just like Yinlan relied on the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction to establish a relationship with Gu Yuena, and then relied on Gu Yuena to establish a relationship with the Spirit Hall.

In the original history, Zhu Zhuqing only had Dai Mubai and Shrek Academy as options. Regardless of their actual strength, they were both stronger than her.

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However, since they both rely on the strong, Yinlan can give her a chance to control her own power, so that she is no longer someone's "attachment" but a "strong person" like Yinlan who can control her own life.

However, this opportunity must be earned by Hakimi himself.

............................................................

Hadrian's City was originally a border city in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire. As long as you cross the border mountain range that forms the national border, the other side of the mountain range is the Lima Plain of the Barak Kingdom within the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The specially trained Heavenly Soul Horse was already incredibly powerful, and the specially made carriages for the tour group were also very stable. In just one day, the tour group arrived in the mountains.

As night fell, everyone needed to rest, including the guards who had been on duty all day, the passengers who had been jostled around in the carriages all day, and the horses that had been running non-stop all day. The mountain roads were also difficult to navigate at night, so for safety reasons, the tour group decided to stop and rest for the night before continuing their journey in the daytime.

The person in charge of keeping watch was none other than Lin Xiaole, the leader of the brigade's guards whom she had met during the day. She carried an oil lamp and skillfully patrolled between the brigade's tents. The dark circles under her eyes had obviously faded a lot, but she still yawned from time to time, looking like she hadn't had enough sleep.

Due to the special nature of her martial soul, she was always in charge of the night watch for the troupe. However, she encountered such an important figure during the day, someone she had never met before, which made her feel uneasy and caused her to suffer from insomnia during the day.

"Who?" As she passed by a camp, she suddenly noticed a rustling sound. Although she was a little drowsy due to lack of sleep, thanks to the advantage of her martial spirit, she still managed to keenly detect the movement.

"Aunt Owl, it's me," a pair of cat ears twitched in the darkness. Relying on the cat eyes that allowed her to see in the dark, which she gained through her martial soul possession, Zhu Zhuqing slowly emerged from the shadows. "I have insomnia, I can't sleep."

She was startled by Yin Lan during the day, thinking that her sister's people had come after her. She was only relieved after Lin Xiaole returned and said that nothing had happened. Lin Xiaole was from the Spirit Hall, and there was no way she would help her sister's people to deceive her.

She was able to secure this opportunity to escape thanks to the great effort of an uncle who arranged for her to join the troupe. As long as the sun rises, she will be able to leave the Star Luo Empire tomorrow, finally gaining a chance to catch her breath.

But her sister must have sent people to investigate her whereabouts, so in order to avoid implicating the troupe, she planned to leave the troupe as soon as she crossed the border.

As for what the future holds... we'll see when the time comes.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes darkened.

According to her uncle, her fiancé, Dai Mubai, the third prince of the royal Dai family, who abandoned her in the Star Luo Empire and ran away alone, was living in a city called Soto City. And coincidentally, this tour group would be passing through that city... This was her last chance.

Zhu Zhuqing was very upset by her uncle's words. She seemed to have no other choice. With her thoughts in turmoil, she couldn't fall asleep, so she thought she might as well stay up all night and keep watch with the guard leader who had helped her so much.

Lin Xiaole was unaware of her distress, but she could tell that something was on her mind, so she stepped forward, took her hands, and looked her in the eye: "Child, you are still young, and you will have plenty of time to think about your life in the future. Your future is destined to be bright, unlike us little people who have worked hard for most of our lives and are still just Great Soul Masters or Soul Venerables. Just do your best and don't think too much."

...Is it enough to just do my best? But do I really have enough time?

Thinking of the Star Luo royal family's tradition of dueling at the age of twenty-five, Zhu Zhuqing's face showed bitterness.

But the very next second, it turned into terror.

In the darkness, a pair of hands reached out from behind Lin Xiaole. Before Zhu Zhuqing could warn him, they grabbed Lin Xiaole's head and twisted it 180 degrees, making the back of Lin Xiaole's head visible to Zhu Zhuqing.

Lin Xiaole's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

"Second Miss, we've been looking for you everywhere..."

(End of this chapter)