As Ning Rongrong and the others scrambled to offer Shi Yi water, Tang San, who had been standing behind them with a cold expression, slowly stepped forward. His gaze locked tightly onto the child before him, and surprise and confusion rose within him.
Just moments ago, Tang San had been discussing with Oscar and the others how easily they had won this tournament. They had also mentioned the child who had disrupted their hunt for spirit beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
If not for that child, Tang San would have obtained a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, and their chances of winning the championship would certainly have been greater.
Now that someone who looked so similar had appeared before him, fury surged in Tang San's heart. He clenched his fists, his face revealing his anger.
It was the child's fault for stealing his spirit beast, and the child had even taken his Immortal Herb. The loss of the Aromatic Silk Beauty had made him extremely displeased. He refused to believe that the child was truly that powerful; there had to be something he did not know.
Yet this child seemed somewhat familiar. But upon closer inspection, he also felt different from the child he had encountered before.
This time, the child's clothes had changed from red to orange, but his features were incredibly similar. They could even have been twins.
What shocked Tang San even more was that, through his Purple Demon Eye, he saw that the child had double pupils. This left Tang San deeply puzzled.
After all, even in the Tang Sect of his previous life, he had never seen anyone with double pupils.
But in the next instant, he warmly said, "Let me. If you want water, you can have mine... I have plenty here."
"Third Brother?"
When the others from Shrek saw Tang San step in, they assumed he felt guilty just like they did, so none of them stopped him.
Only Xiao Wu watched Tang San's actions as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
Shi Yi had no objections. As long as he got water, it did not matter who gave it to him.
"Come, come... Drink some water. Drink."
Tang San took out a waterskin from Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night. He also pinched some powder between his fingers and smeared it around the mouth of the waterskin. His movements were swift, and he did it behind his back, so no one noticed.
However, Shi Yi's brows furrowed slightly. He accepted the waterskin, looked at its opened mouth, but did not drink from it immediately.
He merely stared silently at Tang San.
The others could not help asking in confusion, "Kid, weren't you thirsty? Why aren't you drinking?"
Tang San was also somewhat surprised.
"Kid... why aren't you drinking? Are you not that thirsty yet?"
Seeing Tang San's actions, Shi Yi inwardly sneered. Father had been right—knowing someone's face did not mean knowing their heart. He had to keep his eyes open and not be deceived.
They had planned to walk farther and see if they could find a water source in the forest. But they had encountered some people halfway there. Remembering Father's words that people enjoyed helping others, he had asked them for water. Who would have thought they would actually poison him? People truly were treacherous!
That was right. Shi Yi had seen Tang San's little trick clearly.
He possessed Innate Double Pupils. He could see objects dozens of miles away with perfect clarity, let alone such a small movement from Tang San.
"There's something wrong with this water. I won't drink it."
Shi Yi spoke bluntly, his face expressionless.
"Impossible!"
"Kid, you can drink water carelessly, but you can't talk nonsense!"
"How could there possibly be anything wrong with the water Third Brother gave you?"
Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun all questioned the child's words, speaking almost at the same time.
They felt that this child was truly ungrateful and had gone too far. They had kindly offered him water, yet he accused them of poisoning it.
"That's right, little friend. You must be mistaken. There's definitely nothing wrong with this water."
"Yes, Third Brother would never hurt you."
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong also stepped forward to explain, their expressions full of sincerity.
But when they saw that the child still looked unconvinced, they did not know what to do.
Seeing that the child was riding a spirit beast as well, Xiao Wu secretly thought that he was probably a spirit beast too—a fellow kind. But she could not say it openly, so she could only prove it herself.
She took the waterskin from Shi Yi's hand and said boldly, "Then Sister Xiao Wu will take a drink first. If there's no problem, you'll drink it, right?"
She held the waterskin in one hand and pointed at it with the other.
"Alright! If Sister says it's fine, I'll drink it." Shi Yi replied with a smile.
Hearing that childish "Sister," Xiao Wu felt delighted. After speaking, she raised the waterskin and was about to pour out some water.
Suddenly, Tang San behind Xiao Wu swept out his hand and shouted coldly.
"No! Xiao Wu, you can't drink it!"
"Brother, why can't I drink it? Is there really something wrong with this water?"
Xiao Wu was somewhat surprised. She had not noticed Tang San's little trick and had only thought that he disliked this child.
It had never even crossed her mind that Tang San might poison someone.
"No, it's just that this water has been sitting for too long. There really is something wrong with it, so it can't be drunk."
Tang San blurted out in panic as he reached to snatch the waterskin from Xiao Wu's hand.
However, after hearing him, Xiao Wu flicked the waterskin in her hand. It happened to collide with Tang San's outstretched Mysterious Jade Hand, and the two struck each other.
Bang... The waterskin shattered across the ground, and the water spilled everywhere.
Everyone stood dumbfounded!
Xiao Wu froze as well, looking at Tang San with disbelief written all over her face.
What was this supposed to mean?
Shi Yi remained silent with a cold face. The water was definitely poisoned. Moreover, the poison seemed quite potent—once dissolved in water, it became colorless and odorless, impossible for any ordinary person to detect.
People from the other academies turned toward Tang San upon hearing the commotion. Feng Xiaotian, the Godwind Academy captain at the front, could not help mocking him. "Tang San, even if you didn't want to give the kid any water, there was no need to poison it. You even pretended to smash the waterskin and destroy the evidence."
Tang San's brows furrowed slightly. He knew he had done it, but he did not want to clash with them, so he explained, "I only wanted to help her take the waterskin. I didn't expect this to happen."
Yet Feng Xiaotian refused to let it go. "Hmph, who knows whether you did it on purpose? You just didn't want the kid to get any water. You saw that he was young and easy to bully."
"Earlier, you even said you knew his brother. I'd say you know him as an enemy... Tang San, you truly are a complete and utter villain!!"
At that moment, Dai Mubai stepped forward and shouted angrily, "Feng Xiaotian, don't slander us! Tang San never meant anything like that. Your Godwind Academy only lost the match, so now you're making a fuss for some stranger."
Ma Hongjun and Oakes also stepped forward to support Tang San.
In their hearts, Tang San was perfect. He could not possibly do something like this.
The two sides immediately stood at sword's point, and the atmosphere grew tense to the extreme.
Tang San's expression turned incomparably ugly. As he looked at Shi Yi before him, another trace of killing intent flashed through his eyes.
Why was it that every time he encountered a child dressed like a Gourd Baby, he could never defend himself... Could these bastards not just obediently go die?
"Third Brother..."
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San with concern on her face.