POV
The village inn was modest but welcoming—timber walls worn smooth by years, lanterns swaying in the evening breeze, the scent of roasted meat and ale drifting from the open doorway. To the Shrek Seven Devils, it was civilization after days in the wild. To Luo Feng, it was a quaint reminder of countless waystations across distant planets and primal universes.
They took the entire upper floor—three rooms connected by a narrow hallway. The innkeeper, a weathered woman with a spirit rank in the low thirties, took one look at their battered but triumphant group and asked no questions beyond payment. Tang San handled the coins with quiet efficiency.
Dinner was communal: long wooden tables in the main hall, shared with a handful of traveling merchants and soul master hunters. Stories flowed with the wine—exaggerated tales of beast hunts, rumors of Spirit Hall's growing influence, whispers of the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Luo Feng sat at the end of the bench, listening more than speaking. His presence drew curious glances; power like his couldn't be fully hidden, but he damped it enough to avoid alarm. Beside him, Ning Rongrong laughed at one of Oscar's shameless jokes, her voice lighter than he'd heard it in the forest.
She had changed in small ways since absorbing the Dreamweaver ring—posture straighter, eyes brighter, a quiet confidence that hadn't been there before. Or perhaps he was only now seeing what had always been growing beneath the surface.
Ning Rongrong's POV
The food was simple but delicious—spiced spirit beast stew, fresh bread, honeyed fruits. After days of Oscar's sausages and foraged rations, it felt like luxury.
She sat between Xiao Wu and Luo Feng, close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed when reaching for the same platter. Each accidental touch sent a small spark up her arm. She told herself it was nothing. Just gratitude. Just curiosity about the mysterious man who had upended their spirit ring hunt and somehow become part of their circle in mere days.
But when he passed her the bread basket, fingers lingering a fraction longer than necessary, her heart stuttered.
"Thank you," she murmured, meeting his eyes.
The corner of his mouth curved—barely a smile, but meant only for her. "You're welcome."
Across the table, Dai Mubai was regaling the merchants with a highly embellished version of their encounter with the Titan Giant Ape, conveniently leaving out the part where Luo Feng subdued it single-handedly. Ma Hongjun added dramatic sound effects. Even Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes with fond exasperation.
Ning Rongrong found herself watching Luo Feng instead of the storytelling. He listened intently, occasionally nodding, but his gaze kept drifting back to her too.
Later, when the hall emptied and the group moved upstairs, she lingered in the hallway.
The others filed into their rooms—boys in one, girls in another, Luo Feng offered the small single at the end. Chivalrous, or perhaps preferring solitude.
Ning Rongrong paused outside the girls' door.
"Rongrong?" Xiao Wu asked softly. "Coming?"
"In a minute," she replied, voice steady despite the sudden flutter in her chest.
Xiao Wu's eyes flicked down the hall to where Luo Feng stood unlocking his door, then back to Ning Rongrong with a knowing smile.
"Don't stay up too late," she teased lightly, before slipping inside.
The hallway fell quiet, lit only by a single lantern.
Luo Feng's POV
He sensed her approach before footsteps sounded—light, deliberate.
Turning, he found Ning Rongrong a few paces away, arms loosely crossed, expression caught between determination and uncertainty.
"Everything alright?" he asked.
She nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again—small motions that made him want to smile.
"I just… wanted to say something. Before we go back tomorrow."
He leaned against the doorframe, giving her space. "I'm listening."
She took a breath. "These past days—with you guiding us, protecting us, but still letting us fight our own battles… it meant more than I can say. Not just the spirit ring. All of it."
Her voice was soft but clear, each word chosen carefully.
"I've always been told what I'm worth—by my clan, by rankings, by how useful my pagoda is. But you…" She met his eyes directly. "You looked at me like I could be more than that. Like I already am."
Luo Feng's chest tightened. In all his long life, few words had struck so deeply.
"You are," he said simply. "More than your clan imagines. More than this world's rankings can measure."
Her eyes glistened suddenly, but she blinked it away with a proud lift of her chin.
"I don't know what happens next," she continued. "We go back to Shrek. You… go back to the forest, I guess. But I don't want this to just end."
The admission hung between them, brave and vulnerable.
Luo Feng stepped closer—not touching, but near enough that she had to tilt her head to hold his gaze.
"It doesn't have to end," he said quietly. "I've been alone a long time. Longer than you can imagine. But these days with all of you—with you—have reminded me what it feels like to be part of something again."
Her lips parted, surprise and something warmer flickering across her face.
"I don't know where my path leads from here," he admitted. "But I find myself wanting it to cross yours again. Often."
A slow smile broke across her face—radiant, unguarded, beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with her clan's famed elegance.
"Then it will," she said with quiet certainty. "I'll make sure of it."
For a moment, the hallway felt suspended—two people from vastly different worlds standing on the edge of something new.
He reached out, slowly enough that she could pull away, and brushed a stray strand of pink hair from her cheek. His fingers lingered against her skin for the space of a heartbeat.
"Goodnight, Rongrong," he murmured.
"Goodnight, Luo Feng," she whispered back, voice barely audible.
She turned toward her door, pausing once to glance back. He was still watching, expression soft in the lantern light.
Only when her door clicked shut did he enter his own room.
Tang San's POV – From the Boys' Room
Tang San hadn't meant to eavesdrop. He'd stepped into the hallway for fresh air and arrived just in time to see the quiet exchange.
He retreated silently before either noticed.
Back inside, Dai Mubai raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"
Tang San nodded slowly, mind turning.
"Luo Feng will be coming with us tomorrow," he said with quiet conviction. "At least as far as Soto City."
Oscar grinned. "Think he's sweet on our princess?"
Ma Hongjun snickered. "If he is, good luck to anyone who tries to get in his way."
Tang San didn't smile, but his eyes held thoughtful approval.
"He's good for her," he said at last. "And I think… she's good for him too."
Morning Departure
The next day dawned clear and cool. The group gathered in the inn's courtyard, packs shouldered, ready for the final leg to Soto City and Shrek Academy.
The innkeeper waved them off with a knowing smile—young soul masters and their dramas were common enough sight.
As they walked the dusty road, Ning Rongrong naturally fell into step beside Luo Feng.
Conversation started light—plans for returning to Flender's brutal training, speculation about how Grandmaster would react to their new rings.
But beneath the words ran a new current: awareness, possibility, the quiet thrill of a beginning.
When the road forked—one path deeper into the forest, the other toward civilization—Luo Feng paused.
The group stopped with him.
He looked at Tang San first. "Your academy—Shrek. It takes only monsters, yes?"
Tang San smiled faintly. "Only the strongest. The most determined."
Luo Feng glanced at Ning Rongrong, who met his gaze with hopeful steadiness.
"Then perhaps," he said slowly, "it could use one more monster."
Her face lit up like sunrise.
The others erupted in cheers—Oscar whooping loudest, Dai Mubai clapping Luo Feng on the back hard enough to stagger a lesser man (it didn't even budge him).
As they resumed walking toward Soto City, Ning Rongrong slipped her hand briefly into his—just a moment, fingers entwined—before letting go with a secret smile.
Luo Feng returned it.
The path ahead stretched long: tournaments, rivalries, hidden threats from Spirit Hall, ancient inheritances, and secrets that would shake the continent.
But for now, under a bright morning sky, a wanderer from beyond the stars walked beside seven young monsters—and especially beside one fierce, growing girl whose hand he already looked forward to holding again.
The real adventure was only beginning.