Shrek Academy, training ground, night.
When Rongrong came back from outside, Xiao Wu was sitting on the edge of the training ground, holding his knees in a daze.
"Are you back?" Xiao Wu looked up at her.
"Yeah." Rongrong sat down next to her and was silent for a while, "I saw him."
Xiao Wu's hand tightened slightly. "Who?"
"Chen Jieqi."
Xiao Wu said nothing.
She lowered her head, looked at her toes, and unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes with her fingers.
"He said that everything he said was true."
Rongrong's voice was very soft, as if he was talking to himself,
"He also said that he would participate in the competition."
Xiao Wu was silent for a long time.
"Oh." she said.
Rongrong turned to look at her. Xiao Wu's expression was calm, but there was something inexplicable in his eyes.
"Xiao Wu," Rongrong hesitated, "Are you..."
"Nothing." Xiao Wu stood up, "I'm going to train."
She turned around and walked towards the training ground, walking very quickly.
Rongrong looked at her back, opened her mouth, and said nothing.
Not far away, Tang San stood at the end of the corridor, watching this scene.
He couldn't hear what they were saying clearly, but he saw Xiao Wu's expression when he stood up,
It didn't look like he was going to train, it looked like he was hiding from something.
He clenched his fists, turned around and walked away.
That night, Tang San found Xiao Wu at the training ground.
She sat alone on the sidelines, hugging her knees and looking at the sky.
The moon was round and the stars were bright, but she didn't see anything.
"Xiao Wu."
She turned around, saw him, and smiled reluctantly, "Third Brother."
Tang San walked up to her and looked down at her.
Her eyes were a little red, as if she had cried, but also as if she had not cried.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"There's been something wrong with you these days."
Xiao Wu lowered his head and said nothing.
Tang San squatted down and lowered his voice, "Is it because of that person?"
Xiao Wu's body froze.
Tang San saw her reaction, and he suddenly felt a pain in his chest.
"You went to find him?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse.
"I didn't." Xiao Wu raised his head suddenly, "I just... just..."
She couldn't tell.
She doesn't know what she is "just".
Just want to take a look? Just want to know what kind of person he is?
Just wondering what he meant by those words?
She couldn't give any reason.
Tang San looked at her for a long time.
"I know." He stood up, turned around and left.
"Third Brother..." Xiao Wu called him, his voice a little urgent.
He stopped and didn't look back.
"I..." Xiao Wu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked and he couldn't say a word.
Tang San waited for a while, but didn't get her explanation.
"Go back and rest early." He said, and then left.
Xiao Wu was sitting alone on the training ground, hugging his knees and burying his face in them.
The moonlight shone on her body, making her shadow very long.
She didn't cry.
She just felt that something was broken.
Tang San did not go back to the dormitory. He was alone in the center of the training ground, practicing over and over again.
Sweat wet his clothes and his breathing became rapid, but he did not stop.
He can't stop, he will think about it when he stops.
If you think about it, it will hurt.
Under the moonlight, the young man's figure repeated his movements over and over again.
No one saw his efforts, and no one saw the redness in his eyes. Only the moon knew.
Rongrong was lying on the bed, covering his face with his hands and raising the corners of his mouth.
He said it.
What he said was true.
She turned over, squinting her eyes, feeling sweet and a little panicked.
Do you want to go find him again tomorrow?
No, no, it's too proactive.
What about during the competition?
She said she was going to cheer him up.
She smiled and pulled the quilt over her head.
In the bed next door, Xiao Wu opened his eyes and looked at the moon outside the window.
She remembered that when Tang San left, her back was straight, but her shoulders were trembling slightly.
She wanted to call him but didn't know what to say.
She wanted to chase him, but she didn't know what reason to use.
She just felt that something was breaking bit by bit.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.
In the dream, there was no bamboo forest, no fragrance of tea, and no that person.
There is just a blank space.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Chen Jieqi stood in front of the dormitory window, looking at the night in the distance. The moonlight shone on the window lattice and shone on his face.
He remembered that Xue Qinghe looked back at him before leaving. It was not the look that a "prince" should have.
The prince's eyes should be calm, restrained and watertight.
But when he turned around, he was half a beat too slow, as if he was waiting for something, or as if he was holding back something.
He remembered something earlier.
Twelve years ago, when he opened his eyes from his infancy and saw the Sunset Forest night sky, he just wanted to live.
Behind Martial Soul Awakening, Heart of the Naaru Martial Soul and Ashbringer, plus Innate Full Soul Power,
He thought he could practice with peace of mind and slowly become stronger.
Later, he began to make plans, collecting Immortal Herb, taking Spirit Bone, wooing Qian Renxue, and dividing Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Every step is calculated accurately, and every move is made steadily.
He thought it was right.
But he suddenly asked himself, since when did he start looking at value first when looking at people?
Dugu Bo is the protective umbrella, Qian Renxue is the chess piece and trump card, Rongrong is the daughter of Ning Fengzhi,
Xiao Wu is the moving Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, he weighed everyone on the scale,
Then decide how much emotion to invest.
In the past six months, he has done more things than in the past eleven years. It is not because he has become stronger.
It's because he has become cold.
He remembered what he had said, "Where the sun is the hottest, the shadows become deeper and brighter. Light and darkness are twins that coexist and reflect each other."
"His pursuit of the ultimate holy light will give rise to what kind of darkness?"
He doesn't know.
He only knew that when Xue Qinghe looked back at him before leaving, his heart moved.
Not because of the value of "Heaven Dou Crown Prince", not because of the weight of "Spirit Hall Young Master".
It was because at that moment, he suddenly felt that that person, like her, was not the path he chose.
A baby who was inexplicably thrown into Sunset Forest, and a girl who lurked in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace for revenge and planning.
One has to survive, the other has to complete the mission.
They are all alone, and they have worn masks for so long that they have almost forgotten their true appearance.
He saw himself in that slow moment of looking back.
He should answer "yes", Heaven Dou Spirit Master Exchange Tournament will go, this is the safest answer, it will not expose himself, and will not affect the layout.
It was not easy for anyone to see the flaw, but he didn't answer, not because it was too late, but because he couldn't say it.
He suddenly realized that he was not just plotting against her.
This thought made him uneasy, more uneasy than facing Tang Hao, facing Spirit Hall, or facing any enemy.
Because this means that he is no longer a pure chess player. There is an extra chess piece on the chessboard that he himself cannot understand.
He closed his eyes, the moonlight reflected on his face, which was very cold.
He has already planted some seeds.
But he didn't know if there was one sprouting in his heart.
He stood there and didn't move for a long time.
The moonlight is very quiet.