Xiao Wu's Conflicted Feelings

Zhang Yu's lackeys stood rooted to the spot, mouths agape, as if someone had cast an immobilization spell on them.

Meng Yan watched from behind, dumbstruck, forgetting even the pain of the bruise at the corner of his mouth.

Zhang Yu lay on the stone steps, his eyes still open.

He felt weightless, as though he were floating in midair.

Images flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Then they froze on that morning.

He had stood outside Dormitory Building No. 2, leading a few lackeys to pick a fight with the people from Dormitory No. 7, his nose in the air.

The pauper called Meng Yan had hunched his shoulders and hadn't dared fight back. Zhang Yu had thrown two punches, gotten bored, and kicked him.

Someone nearby had cheered him on, and he had felt he was finally somebody.

The scene shifted again, to when he had just seen Jiang Wu.

A boy half a head shorter than him, dressed in old clothes washed pale, had stood there quietly and said, "Let's spar."

He had found it funny then, thinking the boy didn't know whether to live or die.

Now he knew that the one who didn't know whether to live or die was himself.

Zhang Yu's vision slowly blurred, his ears buzzed, and his chest was so tight he couldn't breathe.

He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only a muffled breath escaped. Then his head lolled to one side, and he passed out.

Jiang Wu withdrew his fist, secretly surprised that the power provided by the Golden Dragon King's first seal was a little too strong.

He had used only a portion of his strength, yet one punch had sent his opponent flying.

If he struck with all his strength, wouldn't he kill his opponent instantly with one claw?

Jiang Wu felt that the Golden Dragon King's power inside him wasn't the original Golden Dragon King's power. It might be the version from Legend of the Divine Realm.

The Golden Dragon King in Legend of the Divine Realm had the combat power of a Supreme God. Ordinary Supreme Gods couldn't defeat him.

He had heard others say that the Golden Dragon King and the others had their combat power nerfed later, their strength dropping to the First-Level God level, then changing to the Half-Step God King level.

Still, it wasn't a big problem. At the very least, when he became a god in the future, he would have First-Level God combat power, and perhaps even Half-Step God King combat power.

"Boss..." Meng Yan cautiously edged closer from behind, his voice trembling. "He... he isn't going to die, is he?"

"He won't die." Jiang Wu flexed his wrist. "He just passed out. You lot, carry him to the infirmary."

Only then did Zhang Yu's lackeys wake as if from a dream. They rushed over in a flurry and, all hands scrambling, lifted Zhang Yu off the stone steps.

One of them glanced back at Jiang Wu and met his calm gaze. He shuddered all over and nearly dropped Zhang Yu on the ground.

"Oh, right." Jiang Wu called them back.

The group froze in place.

"When he wakes up, tell him not to forget what he promised. From now on, whenever he sees someone from Dormitory No. 7, he can take the long way around."

They nodded repeatedly and carried Zhang Yu away in a flash.

Jiang Wu turned to Meng Yan. "Come on, let's get back to class."

Meng Yan followed in a daze. After a couple of steps, he couldn't help looking back at the broken sapling in the flower bed and swallowing.

"Boss, that punch just now..."

"What about it?"

"N-nothing." Meng Yan hunched his shoulders and swallowed the rest of his words.

He had wanted to say that punch looked fiercer than anything the academy's three-ring dean of instruction could throw.

When Jiang Wu returned to the classroom, Wang Dong'er was already waiting for him with her head on her desk.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him enter, and she waved to him.

"Xiao Wu, where did you go?"

"To take care of something."

"What was it?"

"Nothing important."

Wang Dong'er narrowed her eyes and looked at Jiang Wu. "You got into a fight?"

Jiang Wu was a little surprised. "How did you know?"

Wang Dong'er looked smug. "What's so hard to guess? Meng Yan and the others said they got beaten up yesterday. What else would you be doing but avenging them?"

Jiang Wu nodded. "Not bad. You've got a brain."

Wang Dong'er was pleased with herself at first, but she quickly realized what he meant.

"Ahhh, Xiao Wu, I'll fight you to the death!"

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.

During those two years, Jiang Wu had reached level 16.

He had also gained a nickname at school over those two years: Mom.

The nickname had left Jiang Wu completely numb, but as time passed, he had gotten used to it.

Jiang Nannan had laughed about Jiang Wu's nickname for days and teased him with it several times.

Wang Dong'er and Jiang Wu had grown closer over the two years, and she went home with him every time they had a break.

The Clear Sky Sect? Big Daddy and Second Daddy?

Didn't know them.

Wang Dong'er knew Jiang Wu's mother had a heart problem. In the second year, she gave her a Black Tortoise Divine Pill, curing Su Yuehua's heart problem.

The Black Tortoise Divine Pill hadn't come free, of course. The price was that Jiang Wu had to play with her every day.

"Sis, be careful on the road," Jiang Wu said to Jiang Nannan.

Jiang Nannan was now eleven. Someone had written her a letter of recommendation, and her level met Shrek Academy's requirements. Today, she was leaving for Shrek Academy.

Jiang Nannan gently stroked Jiang Wu's head. "I will. I'm counting on you to take care of Mom."

Wang Dong'er, standing beside Jiang Wu, spoke up. "Don't worry, Sister Nannan. With me here, no one will dare bully Auntie Su."

Jiang Wu nodded and promised Jiang Nannan that he would take good care of their mother.

After they chatted for a while, Jiang Nannan boarded a carriage and left for Shrek Academy.

"Come on, let's go back to school."

"No, let's buy something to eat first."

"All right."

Jiang Wu reluctantly agreed, and Wang Dong'er pulled him toward the snack street.

In the distance, a figure watched Jiang Wu with a conflicted expression.

The figure was Xiao Wu. A few days ago, she had secretly come down from the Divine Realm, disguised herself, and come over to check on the situation.

She hadn't realized it until she came, and when she did, it gave her quite a shock.

As soon as she arrived, she felt the resonance of their bloodlines from far away. This left Xiao Wu at a loss, unsure what she should do.

She was now increasingly suspicious that Jiang Wu was her child.

One had to know that she was already a god now. The only people whose bloodlines could resonate with a god were those who shared the same bloodline.

The only person who carried her bloodline was her daughter, Wang Dong'er (Tang Wutong), and now Jiang Wu had appeared.

More importantly, Jiang Wu wasn't Su Yuehua's biological son. She had picked him up outside, and that was what made her think that Jiang Wu might be her son.

Xiao Wu felt incredibly conflicted now and didn't know what to do.

If Third Brother found out about Jiang Wu's relationship to her, something would definitely happen to Jiang Wu. She absolutely couldn't let Third Brother find out.

If she left Jiang Wu alone, Third Brother would definitely never find out.

But Jiang Wu carried her bloodline. How could she possibly leave her son to fend for himself?

Xiao Wu took a deep breath and forced back the emotions surging up inside her.

She couldn't acknowledge him.

At least, not now.

She knew Third Brother's temperament all too well.

If he found out that Jiang Wu had her blood flowing through his veins, no matter how or where the child had come from, Tang San would investigate it to the very end.

But she could secretly help Jiang Wu.