Trailing behind Ye Qiu, Tang San, who'd been stuck watching them act all lovey-dovey, caught a whiff of the meat aroma and couldn't help but feel tempted.
"Xiao Wu, Ye Qiu, do you guys want one?"
"No thanks."
Ye Qiu shook his head. Unless necessary, he wasn't keen on eating anything Oscar made.
Naturally, Xiao Wu followed his lead. Besides, she wasn't in a good mood right now and had no appetite at all.
Sensing Tang San's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing shook her head slightly. She wasn't really into that kind of meat.
Seeing this, Tang San didn't insist.
In no time, he had bought two sausages and was happily enjoying them.
Their exchange was heard clearly by Ye Qiu and Xiao Wu.
Looking at Oscar still hawking his sausages, Xiao Wu couldn't help but complain.
"Ye Qiu, this Monster Academy sure lives up to its name. What kind of fourteen-year-old looks that mature?"
"Haha…" Ye Qiu chuckled softly. He leaned in close to Xiao Wu's ear and whispered, "There are even weirder ones in this academy."
"Huh?" Xiao Wu blushed, her body softening a bit from his warm breath.
She looked up at him in confusion; Ye Qiu seemed to know quite a bit about the academy. But he didn't explain further. Some things were more fun to discover on your own.
He too was curious — just how young was Ma Hongjun when he started messing around in brothels?
As Tang San was happily munching away, an angry voice rang out.
"Oscar! You've got the nerve to sell your sausages here again!? Are you looking to die!?" Dai Mubai stepped forward like an arrow. He grabbed Oscar's big beard in one hand and locked his neck under his arm.
"Aah! Ow! Dai boss, have mercy! It hurts!" Oscar let out a soft, miserable whimper.
Dai Mubai frowned at the girly voice. He felt uncomfortable. He looked at Zhu Zhuqing.
His voice held a touch of menace as he questioned Oscar: "You didn't let them eat it, did you?"
"No, no! Uh… they all turned it down. Only that little brother over there bought some."
Oscar's face turned purple, clearly struggling to breathe from Dai Mubai's chokehold.
"Big Brother Dai, what's wrong?" Tang San, still chewing on Oscar's sausage, looked at them in confusion and couldn't help praising, "This senior's big sausage is pretty tasty."
"Tang San… you…" Dai Mubai looked at the half-eaten sausage in Tang San's hand and the bamboo skewers lying nearby, his expression flashing between surprise and mischief. There was something shady in his eyes.
"Ye Qiu, is there something wrong with his sausages?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.
"You'll know soon enough." Ye Qiu replied playfully, watching Tang San with amusement.
The sausage wasn't dirty, but Oscar himself was kind of sleazy. His thoughts weren't exactly clean. Ye Qiu wouldn't eat something made by someone like that. Dai Mubai let out a strange laugh and released Oscar.
He grabbed his shoulder and barked, "Come on, Oscar, show Tang San how your sausage is made!"
"Huh?!" Oscar's face, barely visible behind his hair, looked troubled.
"Boss Dai, there's really no need… I'll just give the money back to this junior."
Dai Mubai's grip on his shoulder tightened, making it creak.
He threatened in a low voice, "Oscar, don't make me use force."
"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Under pressure, Oscar raised his left hand and, with that sleazy tone of his, weakly chanted his soul incantation.
"I, your father, have a big sausage!"
As the words fell, a fragrant sausage appeared in his hand. It looked just like the one Tang San was holding, except it hadn't been grilled yet — and it was missing the bamboo skewer.
Upon hearing the chant, Tang San's face instantly turned black. Pure and untarnished as he was, he made some unfortunate connections in his mind. The rest of the sausage fell from his hand to the ground, and his stomach turned. He stared at Oscar, his eyes full of anger.
"All right, scram, and better not let me catch you selling sausages in the academy again." Seeing Tang San's reaction, Dai Mubai quickly shooed Oscar away, then turned back with a laugh.
"Hahaha, Tang San! Don't worry. Oscar's just a food-type soul master. His incantations are just a little weird! Haha…" Even though he said it was no big deal, the teasing look on his face and his loud laughter said otherwise.
Zhu Zhuqing watched coldly and took a few steps away from Tang San.
"So gross…" Xiao Wu muttered under her breath, snuggling a little closer to Ye Qiu.
Suddenly noticing Ye Qiu's teasing gaze, she looked up at him, and her face turned red instantly. She lowered her head, too embarrassed to speak.
Clearly, she remembered that she had eaten Ye Qiu's food before, too.
"You pinched me earlier. Maybe it's time I got a little payback."
Ye Qiu whispered with a sly grin.
"Big sis Xiao Wu would never… that was your fault earlier!" Her voice came from his arms, soft and flustered.
After Dai Mubai's laugh faded, he finally calmed Tang San down.
Throwing an arm around his shoulders, he said seriously, "All right, I've made the arrangements. I can take you guys directly to the fourth trial!"
Just as he was about to lead Ye Qiu and the others away—
"Wait, teacher!"
"Why don't they have to take the test!?"
The commotion earlier had drawn the attention of the students still waiting in line. They were all geniuses who had reached level 20 before age 13.
Seeing Ye Qiu's group skip the trial stirred up some protests.
"All right, quiet down!" One of the test proctors tossed over a milky-white crystal ball and instructed,
"Mubai, explain it to them."
"Tch, what a hassle." Dai Mubai caught the crystal ball and handed it to Tang San, signaling him to test his soul power.
Then he barked at the protesting students, "Open your eyes and watch closely. If any of you have soul power at level 25 or above, you can also skip the middle steps and go straight to the fourth trial!"
As soon as the words fell, Tang San injected his soul power into the crystal ball. It immediately lit up like a diamond, glowing brilliantly until it was completely full.
This kind of crystal ball could only test up to level 30.
"Soul Master!? No way!" The students gasped in disbelief.
"There's nothing impossible about it. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean others can't."
"Let me repeat this one more time—"
"At Shrek Academy, we only accept monsters!"
Dai Mubai looked at them with contempt. He'd seen plenty of twelve-year-olds who reached level 20, but few could pass the entrance trials.
As he spoke, he took the crystal ball from Tang San and tossed it to Xiao Wu.
Looking a little uneasy, he added, "Uh… go easy. Don't use too much power."
Dai Mubai knew all too well— The dean was a total miser. If she broke the crystal ball, they'd probably get charged for it.
"Hmph, big sis Xiao Wu knows." She huffed and carefully injected her soul power.
The glow was even slightly brighter than Tang San's.