Rabbits Are So Cute—Of Course They Should Be Made into Spicy Diced Rabbit

Time flew by, and soon it was February.

The academy year, with one year counting as a term, had temporarily come to an end, and the month-long New Year holiday was about to begin.

Because academy rules prohibited students from returning home during their studies and only allowed visits from family, Lin Manshan had not returned to Sacred Soul Village for several months.

However, his adoptive father and mother had come to Nuoding City some time ago to purchase wedding supplies for their son, Jie Qi. They had also stopped by the academy to visit him. Remembering that Old Jack had said he would come to pick him up, Lin Manshan thought it would be inconvenient for the old man to travel in the depths of winter. So he took the opportunity to ask them to tell Old Jack that there was no need to come for him when the academy went on break—he could walk back himself.

After informing Tie Shan, the owner of the Blacksmith Shop, a day in advance and buying a few things in the city, Lin Manshan set off early in the morning for Sacred Soul Village with a bundle on his back. Of course, since they were headed the same way, Tang San and Xiao Wu came along as well.

Perhaps afraid of exposing the existence of his Soul Tool, Tang San did not offer to use it to help carry Lin Manshan's things. Lin Manshan said nothing about it either. After all, they really were not close.

Over the past half year, their relationship had essentially remained at the stage where Lin Manshan would greet him with a friendly smile when they met, and Tang San would respond with a calm nod. They had barely exchanged a few words. Tang San's attitude toward the other dormmates was similarly neither warm nor cold, always carrying an inexplicable sense of distance. As for Xiao Wu, whether influenced by Tang San or simply by her nature, her temper had only grown worse.

Put nicely, she was lively and energetic. Put bluntly, she feared the world was not chaotic enough. No one knew where she had learned so many filthy curses; whenever a disagreement arose, she would start cursing, saying whatever was most unpleasant. If she could not argue someone down, she would call for a duel. Quite a few students at the academy had already been beaten by her.

Lin Manshan, however, was not particularly affected. He got up very early every morning to run, attended class in the morning, and went out to work in the afternoon, so he was hardly ever at the academy. When he returned to the dormitory at night, he quickly entered cultivation, leaving him few chances to interact with Xiao Wu.

The three walked along a narrow mountain path. Tang San and Xiao Wu chatted and laughed, their hands empty, while Lin Manshan carried a large bundle and admired the scenery along the way.

After several months of exercise and blacksmithing, his physical strength had improved tremendously compared to before. Carrying several dozen pounds was effortless for him. Besides that, his Soul Power had reached Level 6, just short of Level 7. There was nothing to be done about it. Born a Commoner with only Level 3 Innate Soul Power, this body truly had poor cultivation talent. Reaching his current level was already the result of diligent cultivation.

"Over these past few months, perhaps the thing that has grown fastest is my height." Lin Manshan mocked himself inwardly.

He had only just turned seven, yet he was already close to 1.35 meters tall. Among children his age, he stood out like a lone peak. With Soul Power protecting his bones and muscles from training intensity far beyond what his age could normally endure, his height had increased quickly and steadily.

As they walked, vast stretches of farmland appeared ahead of them. Smoke curled up from cooking fires in the distance, and the outline of a village could vaguely be seen.

"Tang Hao should already be on his way to see Yu Xiaogang by now." Lin Manshan glanced at Xiao Wu from the corner of his eye. In truth, Tang Hao had already visited Nuoding Academy several times. The first time, he had even lurked around the academy for several days, so he had long known Xiao Wu's identity.

In the original story, when Tang Hao took Tang San to see the Blue Silver Emperor, he had mentioned that after sending Tang San to Nuoding Academy, he had been secretly watching Tang San's growth all along. Was that not also to keep an eye on Xiao Wu and prevent her from being exposed? After all, she was not only his future daughter-in-law, but also a walking Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone.

Of course, none of that was the important part to Lin Manshan. What mattered was that Tang Hao had once followed him when he went to work at the Blacksmith Shop.

He could almost be certain that Tang Hao had learned from Tang San and Xiao Wu's conversation that he worked at the Blacksmith Shop and suspected that he might have secretly learned the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. That was why he had come to confirm it. If not for his special ability to sense souls and discover the trail in advance, he would not have used only conventional techniques while forging iron. Had there been even the slightest trace of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he would likely have been separated from his head.

Glancing at Tang San from the corner of his eye, Lin Manshan turned back, quickened his pace, and headed toward the village entrance.

Looking at the village in the distance, Tang San was visibly excited as well. He took Xiao Wu's hand and quickened his pace.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Lin Manshan stopped, turned back with a smile, and waved at them before quickly walking toward his home.

After returning home and waiting for Old Jack to come back, the Family gathered together and happily shared lunch.

Everyone liked the gifts Lin Manshan had brought back. The only regret was that Lin Manshan had not made it back in time for Jie Qi's wedding.

After lunch, Lin Manshan packed up a few things and went alone to pay respects at his parents' graves.

The graves of Sacred Soul Village were all gathered on a small hill, stacked layer upon layer like steps. The surrounding trees were lush, and the scenery was rather pleasant.

His adoptive mother had already cleared away the Weeds around the grave, so all he needed to do was burn some Spirit Money and kowtow.

After finishing everything, Lin Manshan began making his way down the mountain path.

The warm sun hung high overhead, and the mountain breeze was refreshing and pleasant as it brushed against the occasional thick patches of Weeds on either side.

"Rustle, rustle." The sound of grass being pushed aside and crushed rang out.

Lin Manshan stopped and turned toward a clump of Weeds not far away. He sensed the presence of two souls, both very weak.

"Out sunbathing? Extra Meal tonight." He quickly picked up two broken stones with relatively sharp edges from the ground.

He had practiced Hidden Weapon Techniques as well. But with so many things to do every day, he could only practice occasionally—for example, picking up stones and throwing them while running in the morning. By now, he probably had not even reached the beginner level. He could not make them curve, but his aim at a target was fairly accurate.

After crouching quietly for a while and seizing the right moment, "Whoosh, whoosh."

Two sharp stones shot out.

Then, "Thud, thud." Two crisp sounds rang out, and the air fell silent.

Lin Manshan hurried over and summoned his Woodcutting Knife Martial Soul to clear a path.

Before long, he discovered a cave hidden beneath dead grass. Two palm-lengths outside the entrance, two gray-furred wild rabbits lay on their sides. They did not look large. He lifted them and weighed them in his hand; each was about three pounds. Raising them for a closer look, he found that husband and wife had both come home together.

"What a sin, what a sin." Lin Manshan muttered as he carried them home.

He had only just entered the village and reached the middle of the road when a sharp cry suddenly came from behind him. "A'man, stop right there!"

Xiao Wu. Lin Manshan adjusted his expression, turned around, and gave a foolish smile. "Sister Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"

Xiao Wu's eyes were red-rimmed. Her gaze shifted from the wild rabbits in his hands to his face, and she muttered indignantly, "Rabbits are so cute. How could you kill them?"

Rabbits were so cute—of course they should be made into Spicy Diced Rabbit, so he could eat two extra bowls of rice for dinner. Lin Manshan put on a puzzled expression. "Because you can eat them! Just like wolves eat rabbits and rabbits eat grass. Isn't that normal?"

"Besides, rabbits breed very quickly. They can have several litters a year, and each litter can have several babies."

"The village Elders said that if you see rabbits near the fields in winter, you have to catch them. Otherwise, when spring comes, they'll all run out and eat the crops."

At those words, Xiao Wu's face immediately flushed red. Her little fists clenched, and her body trembled slightly, perhaps from anger. "You... you..." She stammered for a long time without thinking of a reason to refute him, tears welling in her eyes.

She stomped her foot, turned, and ran away with a sob.

"Xiao San, did I say something wrong?"

Looking utterly bewildered, Lin Manshan looked at Tang San, who still stood where he was, and raised the female rabbit in his right hand. "Xiao San, do you want to take one back for dinner? I have two. I can give you one."

"No need." Tang San gave Lin Manshan an indifferent glance, then turned and chased after Xiao Wu.

Lin Manshan curled his lips and turned to leave.

That night, he happily ate four large bowls of rice.

The New Year holiday lasted a month. He could avoid Xiao Wu when he went out alone, but when he went out with his family, he inevitably ran into her while she was out playing.

Whenever they met, the look Xiao Wu gave him could only be described as one of deep hatred.

As for that, Lin Manshan simply maintained a foolish, baffled expression and took the initiative to smile back at her. Xiao Wu could do nothing about it. Before even half the holiday had passed, she dragged Tang San back to the academy.

Lin Manshan also returned to the academy after half the holiday had passed. The spiders controlled by his Beast Taming Technique had limited memories and could only retain them for around a week. To avoid missing information, he had no choice but to return as well.

Fortunately, his schedule was packed. Aside from sleeping at night, he was basically never at the academy during the day. Although Xiao Wu disliked him, she did not take the initiative to provoke him.

But without question, the relationship between Lin Manshan and Tang San and Xiao Wu had reached an irreconcilable point.