Tang San abruptly turned his head, glaring at Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai.
Though furious himself, he would never allow anyone to speak ill of Little Wu.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun exchanged glances, thinking that while their words might have been unpleasant, they were the truth. Why had he reacted so strongly?
"Little San, we spoke out of turn."
Dai Mubai, having more worldly experience, sensed Tang San's genuine anger and quickly backed down. "If you don't like to hear it, we won't say it again."
He quickly tugged on Ma Hongjun's sleeve, giving him a meaningful look.
Ma Hongjun could only grumble reluctantly, "Yeah, Little San, it was my fault. I shouldn't have blurted out the truth. Don't take it to heart."
Tang San felt as if he had been stabbed again.
He suppressed it, took a deep breath, forced down his anger, and stopped pursuing the matter with the two of them.
After all, now was not the time for internal strife.
Ao Sika, whose presence had always been low, had his gaze firmly fixed on the direction Ning Rongrong had disappeared from the start. His soul seemed to be flying away with her, completely oblivious that the others around him had almost started an argument.
With their own thoughts, the group entered the noisy and bustling Soul Arena.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were quickly scheduled for their matches.
Jiang Yunzhou rushed to the betting station immediately.
He now carried a massive sum of over four thousand gold coins, a level of wealth he had never experienced in all his years!
He checked the odds for the two of them. As newcomers, their odds were quite high, both at 1:2.
Thinking that his little treasury would soon double, his hands trembled slightly with excitement.
The first match was Zhu Zhuqing's, and he unhesitatingly chose to place a bet.
"Hello, I'd like to place a bet. Code name: Zhu Ye Qing. Four thousand gold coins, on her to win."
As he pulled out the heavy money pouch, his face clearly showed pain and reluctance, as if he wasn't handing over gold coins, but his very lifeblood.
Zhu Zhuqing had no interest in betting and had already gone directly to the waiting area.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, simply didn't care for such small amounts of money. If she bet too much, she feared the Soul Arena couldn't afford to pay, so she went to the waiting area with Zhu Zhuqing.
Little Wu, by Jiang Yunzhou's side, looked at the gleaming gold coins with an eager expression.
"Brother Yunzhou, are you betting too?" Little Wu leaned in, asking curiously.
Jiang Yunzhou turned to see her, raising an eyebrow. "Why did you follow me? Don't you need to prepare for your match?"
"Hehe, it's not my turn yet!"
Little Wu said with a giggle, "I saw you walking this way and guessed you were coming to bet, so I followed to watch the fun. Who are you betting on? Rongrong?"
"Of course, I'm betting on both!"
Jiang Yunzhou confidently declared, "Listen to me, you can't go wrong, a sure win! Do you want to bet a little too? I'll help you get rich!"
Little Wu, of course, knew Zhu Zhuqing's strength. Her obsession with making money wasn't particularly deep.
But seeing Jiang Yunzhou's enthusiastic look, she also became interested: "Okay! Then I'll bet on Zhu Qing and Rongrong to win too!"
She pulled out her meager money pouch and carefully counted out one hundred gold coins to bet.
One hundred of these gold coins had been deliberately given to her by Tang San; she wondered if he had finally wised up.
She noticed Jiang Yunzhou's gaze lingering on her humble money pouch, and immediately felt a bit awkward and embarrassed, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She thought to herself: Brother Yunzhou, what does this mean? Is he looking down on her for being poor? But his eyes didn't seem to convey that meaning!
Young girls are sensitive and most easily shy in such moments.
"Brother Jiang, don't make fun of me, my money..." She tried to explain, her voice growing softer and softer.
Jiang Yunzhou, however, directly interrupted her, his tone filled with genuine surprise and a hint of envy?
"I didn't realize you had so much private money, Little Wu! That's amazing, so many gold coins, you can buy so, so, so many delicious things!"
"When I was your age, I often didn't even get enough to eat!"
"Ah?"
Little Wu was stunned. This reaction was completely unexpected, as if it wasn't the disdain she had imagined?
"Alright, betting complete! I'm going to watch the match, you go prepare too," Jiang Yunzhou said in high spirits.
"Mm! Okay!"
Little Wu nodded vigorously, "Then I need to go prepare for my match too! Brother Yunzhou, remember to definitely watch my match!"
"Absolutely!"
Watching Little Wu leave, Jiang Yunzhou went straight to the spectator stands.
He found an inconspicuous spot and had just sat down when a feeling of being watched, like a prickling on his back, quietly arose.
His intuition told him that a hostile gaze was firmly fixed on him.
This feeling was very unsettling.
Jiang Yunzhou frowned slightly, subtly looking around.
Unfortunately, the venue was bustling with noise, spectators were shoulder to shoulder, and it was chaotic, making it difficult to immediately pinpoint the source of the gaze.
And whenever he tried to search, the feeling of being spied on instantly vanished without a trace.
After an unsuccessful search, he temporarily put the thought aside.
No matter who it was, in the face of absolute strength, they were nothing but clowns.
As long as he could ensure the safety of his two precious disciples, for everything else, he would adapt to the situation.
For now, making money was the priority.
However, things often happen this way: the more you don't want to be disturbed, the more trouble comes knocking.
As he was fully focused, anticipating Zhu Zhuqing's entrance, the feeling of being watched appeared again!
This time, Jiang Yunzhou maintained a high level of vigilance beforehand.
Sure enough, at the corner of a side corridor, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a dark figure!
He narrowed his eyes. It would have been fine if he hadn't noticed, but since he had, he absolutely couldn't ignore it.
All potential dangers must be nipped in the bud.
He immediately stood up from his seat and quickly walked towards that corridor corner.
Upon arriving, he only saw a corner of a robe disappearing around the next bend.
It felt as if someone was deliberately leading him, always revealing a slight trace just when he was about to lose his target.
"Heh~ Interesting," Jiang Yunzhou sneered.
He already knew someone was intentionally trying to lure him away from the Soul Arena.
To be so stealthy and conceal one's aura so well, their strength must not be weak.
In a place like Soto City, individuals with such strength were few and far between.
But would Jiang Yunzhou be afraid? Absolutely not!
He simply followed openly, curious to see what the other party was up to.
Each time, seeing a part of a figure 'just right' at a corner, this kind of mystifying trick gradually made him lose patience.
"Damn it, if you want to lure me to a deserted place, just say so! No need for all this spooky pretense!" Jiang Yunzhou directly shouted into the empty corridor.
Indeed, as he rounded the last corner, deep within a dim, secluded alley, an exceptionally burly figure stood with his back to him.
The person wore a worn-out hooded cloak, shrouding his entire body in shadow, exuding a sense of weathered danger.
With this classic 'ragged cloak' appearance, Jiang Yunzhou instantly guessed the identity of the person.
Besides that old schemer, who else could it be?