Venom-Infused Hidden Weapons

"Hmm? What did you say?!"

Ye Qiu froze for a moment, unable to hear her clearly. He leaned closer and asked again.

Seeing Ye Qiu lean in, Xiao Wu's heart fluttered nervously, and her face turned bright red. It reminded her of how he had bullied her before—just like this. She set down the carrot in her hand, swallowed the sweet crisp bite in her mouth, and said in a clear, pleasant voice, "Sister Xiao Wu said... would you kick me away?!"

"Uh, haha." Ye Qiu paused, then laughed again. He had not expected Xiao Wu to ask such a question. Immediately intrigued, he propped up half his face with one hand, a hint of teasing flashing through his dark eyes.

"Don't worry about that. I won't kick you away now, but once you grow up a little more, that'll be another matter. After all, you made me miss out on so much rabbit meat. Let's do it the way you just said—use yourself to compensate me. Let me eat you."

After saying that, Ye Qiu smacked his lips, his gaze toward Xiao Wu carrying a trace of anticipation.

Having felt Ye Qiu's improper thoughts whenever he imagined her grown up more than once, Xiao Wu naturally understood what he meant by "eat." Her heartbeat abruptly quickened. Gritting her pearly teeth, even her eyelids flushed red with embarrassment as she shouted, "Y-you're not allowed to think such bad things!"

"Fine, I'll try not to. But are you still going to compensate me with yourself or not?"

Ye Qiu chuckled and nodded. He was still a child, after all. Thinking about such things really was not very good for his growth.

Looking at her delicate, doll-like face, with strands of light brown hair swaying by the corners of her eyes, the teasing smile appeared on his face again. He reached out, intending to pinch her tender cheek.

"Ah, you!"

Just as he was about to touch her, Xiao Wu cried out and dodged away, her face flushed red. "Don't even think about it! You said yourself just now that you didn't like that."

Ye Qiu smiled faintly and looked Xiao Wu up and down for a while. He crossed his thumbs and index fingers to form a frame, looked at Xiao Wu within it, and said lightly, "I never said I didn't like it. Of course, if you don't grow up pretty enough later, then I won't want you."

"What?! But you already..." Xiao Wu's expression changed, and a hint of panic appeared on her face. The words reached her lips, but she stopped herself and looked at Ye Qiu aggrievedly.

He had already kissed her, and she had kissed him too. In Ye Qiu's words, they had already stamped their seal. How could he be like this? Xiao Wu blinked, sniffed, and hurriedly cried out, "Sister Xiao Wu will definitely be prettier when she grows up than she is now!"

Xiao Wu's reddened eyes held rippling pink irises, and her dewy, lovely appearance improved Ye Qiu's mood considerably.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore. We can discuss this after you make sure you don't grow up ugly." Ye Qiu waved his hand, stopping while he was ahead. He was only joking, anyway. Once Xiao Wu grew up, he believed that both her face and figure would surely be excellent.

Ye Qiu reached into his clothes and pulled out several lollipops, placing them on the table. "Here, make do with these for lunch first. I'm going to return the lunchbox to Grandpa Jack and tell him not to prepare rabbit meat tonight."

"Ye Qiu, where are you taking those little rabbits?"

Looking at the lollipops on the table, then seeing Ye Qiu pack up the rabbit meat, Xiao Wu could not help asking.

Ye Qiu replied, "We can't waste food. I'm taking it back to Grandpa Jack. Just pretend you can't see it."

"Okay~"

Xiao Wu nodded in reluctant agreement.

With that, Ye Qiu ignored her and headed outside. When he saw the bed boards drying out in the open, he did not forget to remind Xiao Wu, "Oh, right. The bed boards outside should be brought in once they've dried enough. Don't let them crack from the sun."

"Did you hear me?!"

"Sister Xiao Wu knows!"

Only after hearing her indignant cry did Ye Qiu carry his things toward Old Jack's house.

Xiao Wu looked at the candy on the table and recalled their conversation from earlier, her face burning hot.

It was all Ye Qiu's fault! He was always so improper when he spoke.

Xiao Wu raised her little hand and touched her face, then lowered her head to look at her small body. All of a sudden, she began to feel anxious. What if she did not grow up as pretty as Ye Qiu wanted?!

"Ah~ How could Sister Xiao Wu possibly grow up ugly!"

At this time of day, some villagers were already preparing to head back to the fields. Along the way, Ye Qiu greeted so many people that his mouth went dry.

Still, it gave him a feeling of returning home in glory. After all, in the eyes of these villagers, the profession of a Soul Master was indeed highly esteemed.

Time passed swiftly.

As the sun began to set, the villagers working in the fields also shouldered their hoes and headed home.

On a small hill where Tang San often trained, three figures stood there now.

Perhaps Tang San had just lost his father and was feeling lonely, desolate, and cold. He had actually taken the initiative to come over and invite Ye Qiu and Xiao Wu out for a walk and a chat.

Ye Qiu did not refuse. After all, perhaps Tang San wanted to acknowledge another older brother? He brought Xiao Wu along and followed him.

On the hillside, Ye Qiu and Xiao Wu each had a Silent Sleeve Arrow on their wrists. After showing off a little, Tang San had given them the weapons.

He was not trying to acknowledge an older brother—Ye Qiu was not entirely convinced of that—but he also knew that Tang San did not want to let others walk all over him for nothing.

Ye Qiu stood in the middle, looking at the setting sun on the horizon. The smile on his face was bright and sunny, making him seem very approachable.

Xiao Wu stood beside him, looking at Ye Qiu's profile. His childishness had not yet faded, but the confidence on his face was outlined by the setting sun, glowing brilliantly.

Tang San also watched Ye Qiu in silence.

Over the past year, he had come to understand that Ye Qiu's talent was extremely formidable and had already surpassed his own. Although he had spent some time on theory and hidden weapons, Ye Qiu's talent was undeniable.

Moreover, he had gained some understanding of Ye Qiu's temperament. Usually, Ye Qiu did not care much about anything, and he could easily mingle with a group of children. He did not have particularly deep schemes.

He was just a little mischievous from time to time.

He also seemed a little lecherous?! But he was still quite frugal; he never left a single grain of rice in his bowl.

Ye Qiu stretched out both arms and gave a lazy stretch, then turned to Tang San. "Little San, it's getting late. Let's call it a day. We'll have plenty of chances in the future."

"Mm, then see you tomorrow." Tang San smiled faintly. He was quite pleased by the flash of shock Ye Qiu had shown upon seeing his hidden weapons.

People admired the strong, especially in the Spirit Master World, where this was even more apparent! He was confident that he could make Ye Qiu trust him, and eventually submit to him! Unfortunately, Tang San did not know that Ye Qiu was an excellent actor, and that shock had all been fake.

"Little San, goodbye!" Xiao Wu called out to Tang San. By the time she turned back around, Ye Qiu had already gone some distance ahead. She stomped her foot and had no choice but to chase after him with quick little steps.

"Ye, Ye Qiu, you're too fast. Wait for Sister Xiao Wu!"

"Run faster yourself!"

Ye Qiu did not slow down because of Xiao Wu's cries.

He had to let Xiao Wu know that sometimes, no matter how quickly he moved forward, he would not stop just because she called for him not to.

Watching the two leave and listening to their bickering, Tang San could not help but smile bitterly. It seemed that only Ye Qiu could handle Xiao Wu. Yet the sight of Xiao Wu catching up and hanging off Ye Qiu made the smile on Tang San's face stiffen again unconsciously.

After going to Old Jack's house to pick up dinner and confirming that there was no rabbit meat in it, Xiao Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Carrying the food in one hand and linking her other arm through Ye Qiu's, she looked every bit like a young married couple as they walked down the road.

Glancing at the hand holding the food, Xiao Wu asked Ye Qiu curiously, "Ye Qiu, where did Tang San get that thing called a sleeve arrow?"

"I'll tell you later." Ye Qiu glanced at her and answered flatly. His steps did not pause in the slightest, but the forearm beneath his sleeve had already undergone Martial Soul Possession.

Hidden weapons had gaps too. As long as there were gaps, venom could seep in afterward. Ye Qiu could easily figure out their internal structure.

Ye Qiu had long understood Tang San's thoughts, but a mere Silent Sleeve Arrow was nowhere near enough to satisfy Ye Qiu's appetite.

Besides, with Xiao Wu involved—and especially now that Tang Hao knew her identity—unless the father and son were willing to give up a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, their relationship was destined to end badly.

Not to mention that Ye Qiu had secretly joined Spirit Hall.

"Oh~" Xiao Wu nodded dejectedly and said nothing more. She tightly gripped Ye Qiu's sleeve and followed closely at his side.

Wishing everyone a happy life!