When they reached the restaurant, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance at the increasingly excited Ning Rongrong and tacitly chose to keep quiet.
Ning Rongrong had never endured the hassles of a carefree journey; she could only feel intrigued by such a life, never imagining it might be bitter or exhausting.
It was like city folk paying to try their hand at farm work—each side simply unable to understand the other.
Seated in the top-floor private room of the tall restaurant, Yu Yan rolled his eyes and took the initiative, regaling Ning Rongrong with tales of the cities he had visited and the things he had seen.
Those stories held a powerful allure for Ning Rongrong; she quickly shifted from playing host to becoming an eager listener.
Meeting Xiao Wu's puzzled gaze, Yu Yan winked at her and continued recounting amusing anecdotes.
As the stories unfolded, Yu Yan's narrative reached Suotuo City, to Ma Hongjun and Oscar, and finally to Shrek Academy.
At the mention of Ma Hongjun and Oscar, Xiao Wu—who still remembered the two shameless fellows vividly—jumped in to share her impressions and the mischief they had caused.
Listening to Yu Yan and Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong couldn't help frowning; the two people she had yet to meet had already sunk to minus-ten-thousand points in her mind, dismissed as complete scum.
At her age, Ning Rongrong still couldn't hide her thoughts; whatever was on her mind was written plainly across her face.
'With this, Ning Rongrock probably won't join Shrek Academy in the future,'
Watching her expression, Yu Yan silently congratulated himself on achieving his goal.
Dark Snow, busy eating fish, looked up to see the furious Ning Rongrong, the bewildered Xiao Wu, and the secretly grinning Yu Yan. Unable to fathom what these humans were up to, the wolf turned back to the delicious stewed fish.
After spending a day in Heaven Dou City, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu—worried someone might beat them to the moon cleansing lotus once it ripened—galloped north toward the Extreme North Land under Ning Rongrong's envious gaze.
'One day, I, Ning Rongrong, will roam the World just like them.'
Standing atop the wall of Heaven Dou City, Ning Rongrong watched the two figures vanish from sight and quietly vowed, 'The World is vast—I want to see it.'
On the same wall, Ning Fengzhi looked forward to Yu Yan's promised visit to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School after his return from the Extreme North Land.
'The books spoke of a thousand li locked in ice, ten thousand li swept by snow—turns out they weren't exaggerating in the least.'
In the last town before the Extreme North Land, Xiao Wu gazed at the magnificent northern scenery and sighed in admiration.
This was Yu Yan's second visit; last time Dugu Bo had dragged him straight in by air, whereas now they were entering on foot.
Comparing the two experiences, Yu Yan felt that walking into the Extreme North Land was steadier and more reassuring.
The Mad Axe Mountain Range was vast, divided into southern and northern sections.
The southern section lay outside the Extreme North Land, ordinary mountains where humans lived.
The northern section sat inside the Extreme North Land, stretching deep into its central region and sheltering many Spirit Beasts—snowy peaks rarely touched by people.
The place where the moon cleansing lotus might appear was in the northern section of the Mad Axe Mountain Range, in a valley between the outer and middle zones of the Extreme North Land.
Following the map and nimbly avoiding both Spirit Beasts and Spirit Masters, the pair reached the suspected area on their second day in the Extreme North Land.
'The trees here have only just sprouted, and the Blue Silver Grass is newly grown—exactly what you'd expect after the moon cleansing lotus feeds energy back into the land.'
It was late autumn, yet the vegetation showed signs of midsummer—an anomaly that made perfect sense if the moon cleansing lotus were present.
'I can sense faint Moonlight Energy here.'
Possessing the Lunar Profound Rabbit Martial Soul, Xiao Wu was extremely sensitive to Moonlight Energy; with her palm against the ground she clearly felt it in the earth.
Her words perked Yu Yan up. 'Can you tell where it's strongest?'
Because of the region's odd behavior, many Spirit Masters had gathered hoping for treasure, and Spirit Beasts seeking a more comfortable habitat. Finding and picking the lotus before it fully ripened could spare a lot of needless conflict.
After all, when the moon cleansing lotus reached full maturity, it would trigger a small-scale phenomenon.
'I'm not sure, but I can try.'
She pressed her hand to the ground, invoked Martial Soul Possession, and carefully tracked the shifts in Moonlight Energy.
Three or four minutes later she stood and pointed northwest. 'The densest concentration is over there.'
Following her direction for more than an hour, Yu Yan spotted a Northern Plains Giant Wolf standing atop a boulder and surveying the distance.
Northern Plains Giant Wolves were pack ice-and-wind Spirit Beasts of the Extreme North Land, among the last creatures any local Spirit Master wished to encounter.
Highly territorial and fearless in battle, they nursed fierce grudges; the alpha possessed exceptional intelligence and a rare talent for command, enabling North Wind Giant Wolves to fight at one-hundred-fifty percent of their normal strength.
A bestiary warned: if you spot a lone Northern Plains Giant Wolf, unless you can crush the entire pack, don't even think—turn and run at once; you might still grasp a slim chance of survival.
'Is it just ahead?'
From a safe distance Yu Yan studied the lookout wolf and quietly asked Xiao Wu, who had her hand on the ground to feel for Moonlight Energy.
'Yes, right past it.'
She pointed behind the wolf, giving a definite answer.
'A five-thousand-year sentry—this pack is no joke.'
Judging the wolf's strength from its features, Yu Yan inferred that the whole pack would be tough to handle.
A direct assault could succeed, but the commotion would draw other Spirit Masters' attention; no one clever wanted to end up the snipe and clam.
They needed a smarter way to secure the moon cleansing lotus.
Many Spirit Masters had arrived; perhaps he could set them on the wolves?
No—if he brought in a crowd, snatching the lotus under their gaze would be nearly as hard as a frontal attack.
A head-on strike was out, setting tiger against wolf wouldn't work—so what about luring the tiger away?
Feeling that a decoy plan might work, Yu Yan began shaping a suitable scheme.