Upon returning to Spirit City, Qian Renxue intended to find Qian Daoliu, but stopped after taking just one step.
Because she discovered that Qian Daoliu held the Ancestral God in the highest esteem and could not tolerate the slightest questioning, she paused for a moment, but ultimately gave up.
Night fell over the white jade eaves of Spirit City, and a sliver of cool moonlight shone through the windows of the Tranquil Mind Hall, spreading a thin layer of silver frost across the ground.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Wu sat cross-legged on the edge of the couch, her fingertips unconsciously stroking her scorpion braid.
The aftershocks of the two divine powers, one golden and one crimson, that had just swept past outside the city still lingered in the air. One was the Angel Holy Light, and the other was the malevolent aura of Asura. Logically, someone of her level shouldn't be able to sense them.
Yet, even through layers of restrictions, she could clearly sense the collision of those two forces.
In the past, she would have been filled with worry and anxiously hoped that her Third Brother would not take the risk.
But at this moment, she simply sat quietly, gazing at the moonlight fragmented by the eaves outside the window, and a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
How exactly did she get to where she is today in her life?
My thoughts drifted back to the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, like fallen leaves swept up by the wind.
Back then, she was just a Soft Bone Rabbit, all pink and white, growing up amidst boundless greenery.
With her mother's gentle caresses, and the company of Da Ming Er Ming, morning dew clinging to the tips of grass blades, and moonlight falling on the lake's surface, the entire forest was her home.
She had lived for 100,000 years, witnessed the birth of spring and the withering of autumn, and the changing tides of beasts. She could have continued to live peacefully deep in the forest until the end of her lifespan.
Until the Spirit Hall's people shattered the forest's tranquility.
She will always remember the bloodshed of that day, the acrid smell of gunpowder, her mother's desperate back as she threw her away, and the words "Live on" etched into her soul.
My mother died at the hands of Bibi Dong of the Spirit Hall.
That day she made a decision—to take human form.
It wasn't that she longed for the simple pleasures of human life, nor did she covet human identity; it was that she knew she could never avenge this grudge in her Soul Beast form.
She wants to infiltrate the human world, figure out the rules of the Spirit Hall, see their weaknesses, and one day, personally seek justice for her mother.
Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transforms into human form, its cultivation completely dissipated, and it must start all over again. Stepping into the human world is a perilous journey with a slim chance of survival.
She stepped out of the Star Dou Great Forest with the determination to die, her heart filled with hatred and obsession.
But she never imagined that the moment she took her first step out of the forest, her life would veer off course.
She first met Tang San at the Dorm Seven in Nuoding City.
The boy was thin and small, dressed in faded cloth clothes, and his appearance was not even considered pretty.
However, he possessed a very peculiar aura, not purely human Soul Power, but mixed with a very faint trace of Soul Beast aura.
There was also a faint, almost imperceptible, dark red aura of pressure, like an invisible magnet, drawing her instinctively closer.
At that time, she thought it was a sense of kinship, a feeling of familiarity as she stepped into the world alone.
She naturally moved closer to him, naturally became his sister, and naturally stayed by his side.
Six years in Nottingham felt like a tender dream.
She became known as Sister Xiao Wu in the academy; if anyone bullied her, Tang San would be the first to stand up for her.
She even started to relax her cultivation, all so that she wouldn't surpass Tang San and could be a dutiful and good younger sister.
Lying in bed at night, listening to his steady breathing, she felt a sense of peace she had never felt before.
Gradually, she forgot the moonlight of the Star Dou Great Forest, forgot her mother's death, and forgot her original intention in taking human form.
Her world became very small, so small that it consisted only of Tang San.
When he laughs, she's happy; when he's sad, she's worried; when he says he'll protect her forever, she comfortably hides behind him, concealing all her claws.
Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night, feeling disoriented.
Is that Soft Bone Rabbit who dared to venture alone into the lair of a thousand-year-old Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, that Xiao Wu who stepped into the mortal world carrying a deep-seated blood feud, really the little girl in front of me who only revolves around this boy?
But every time she saw Tang San's serious profile, those doubts were suppressed.
She comforted herself, thinking that this was fine too.
With someone to rely on and someone to protect you, you no longer need to fight and kill.
She lied to herself for six whole years.
The real awakening occurred in Suotuo City.
That day, she followed Tang San from the academy to the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena, where she saw the bustling human world.
Suddenly, she smelled a peculiar scent. She leaned forward, searching around, and finally found it in the shadow of a pillar beneath the Spirit Fighting Arena.
It came from a white-haired boy with a faint golden mark between his brows, and his whole body was enveloped in an extremely warm and gentle aura of light.
He smells so good, he really smells so good, even more so than when he was with his Third Brother. I can't help but want to get closer to him.
The first encounter ended so abruptly, but the second meeting at the Shrek Academy and what happened afterward are still vivid in my mind.
She froze on the spot.
A sudden rush of light flooded my mind, bringing back all the long-forgotten memories, forgotten aspirations, and deliberately avoided identities.
who I am?
What am I doing in this human city?
Why should I tie my entire life to another person?
In that instant, it was as if she had suddenly gained enlightenment.
Six or seven years of living in a daze, like a long dream, have finally come to an end.
She saw the boy again on the street corner later.
He stood in the afterglow of the setting sun, his gaze calmly fixed on her, without surprise, without disdain, and without the greedy or fearful expression that other Soul Master showed towards Soul Beast.
He only said one sentence, his voice very soft, yet it seemed to be etched into her very soul.
"If the fish tank breaks, you either accept your fate and die, or you learn to breathe on your own in the vast water."
He didn't say "I'll help you," he just said, "Swim out yourself."
At that time, she only vaguely understood, and was filled with worry and fear, only to feel a gentle touch on a certain part of her heart.
She began to try to find her own rhythm, no longer relying on Tang San for everything, and learned to wear a mask until Tang San confronted her and explained Tang Hao's matter.
But once that trust collapsed, it was like a thorn stuck in my heart; it wasn't fatal, but it hurt.
But at that time, she was still half-asleep.
She still craved the warmth Tang San gave her, and still felt that with him around, even if the sky fell, someone would hold it up.
Then she noticed that he was slowly changing. Although there was still a lot of tenderness in his eyes, the fierceness around him was getting heavier and heavier, and even the way he looked at her had a kind of obsession that she couldn't understand.
So, for some reason, I wanted to wake him up, even if it meant losing myself.
It wasn't until she voluntarily entered Spirit City and was placed under house arrest in the Tranquil Mind Hall, looking back at her past life through the layers of palace walls, that she finally understood that sentence completely.
A night breeze slipped in through the cracks in the window, causing the strands of hair at her temples to sway gently.
She used to be afraid of being discovered, and she always hid herself carefully, afraid that others would find out that she was Soul Beast.
But now she suddenly felt that there was nothing to hide.
She is Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit. This is her origin, her source, a fact etched into her very bones. It cannot be changed, nor should it be.
Notting's six years of tenderness were real, Tang San's protection was real, and those feelings of attraction and dependence were also real.
She didn't deny the past; she simply finally put the order back in the right place.
First and foremost, she is Xiao Wu, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit raised in the Star Dou Great Forest, a daughter seeking revenge for her mother.
Secondly, there's Tang San's sister.
Staying in Spirit City was not an impulsive decision, nor was it out of spite or to spite anyone.
This is the path she chose herself.
She wanted to see for herself just how much filth was hidden within the Spirit Hall, a place that stood above all other Soul Master.
She wanted to meet Bibi Dong in person and see if this woman standing at the pinnacle of power was a pitiful person like herself, swept up by fate, or an enemy whose hands were stained with the blood of Soul Beast.
She is no longer that little girl hiding behind others.
She has her own grudges to settle and her own path to walk.
After hiding for so long, I finally don't have to hide anymore.
She looked up at the deep night outside the window, her eyes no longer holding their usual playful and mischievous charm.
People say that Soul Beast can only hide in the human world and are at the mercy of others.
The gods have orchestrated this, and fate has bound us all; it seems everyone is simply following the script.
But so what?
Who says a chess piece can't choose its own landing spot? Who says Soul Beast can't control its own destiny?
She insisted on giving it a try.
Try to break this game of chess with your own strength; try to forge your own path based on your own heart.
The past is like a dream, and I am just waking up from it.
The road ahead is long and arduous; she will face both hatred and the path of vengeance on her own.