The old man selling carrots had, of course, been hired by Qian Renyu. He knew that Xiao Wu, a hundred-thousand-year-old Rogue Rabbit, loved carrots, so he'd gone out of his way to find someone to help it indulge.
The prices were clearly marked, and no one got cheated.
But Rogue Rabbit, why'd you have to grab the carrots and start chomping as soon as you got there? You really didn't act like a stranger.
And so, you got beaten up again.
Tang San and Xiao Wu finally understood that you had to pay for food.
But Xiao Wu couldn't understand one thing: I only ate two carrots. Why should I pay for three?
The old man selling carrots slapped Xiao Wu right across the face.
"You little beast! I saw you eat three carrots with my own eyes, and now you're trying to deny it?"
"Then let me cut you open and see for myself!"
Xiao Wu looked at the knife lying in front of her. If he cut her open, her rabbit innards would be ruined. She shook her head in fright.
"What, you don't dare? Then pay up. Three hundred Gold Soul Coins. Not a single coin less."
"We don't have that much money," Tang San said.
Xiao Wu had caused this mess, so why wasn't she saying anything?
Because this hundred-thousand-year-old Rogue Rabbit only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. She had no idea how much money they had; Tang San kept it all. If Xiao Wu had held onto the money, she'd have spent it all in less than half a day.
"No money? That's easy."
The old man grabbed Tang San in one hand and Xiao Wu by her rabbit ears in the other. Xiao Wu grimaced in pain as he marched them toward Nuoding Academy.
When they reached Nuoding Academy, the old man went straight to the dean's office, shouting as he went, "Your students Tang San and Xiao Wu stole, snatched, and hogged my carrots! They ate a whole bunch of them, and now they won't pay!"
In the dean's office were Zhu Bajie, the dean of Nuoding Academy; Su Daqiang, the head instructor; and Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
When Zhu Bajie and Su Daqiang saw the old man, they hurried to their feet to greet him. "Elder Zuo, what brings you here?"
Yu Xiaogang asked, "And who might this be?"
Zhu Bajie hastily replied, "This is the renowned Elder Zuo Shandiao."
"Martial Soul: Great Eagle."
"Rank 53 Battle Soul King."
Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly. Wasn't it a bit much to make such a fuss over a mere rank 53?
"Elder Zuo, what brings you here?" Zhu Bajie asked.
"These two are your students, right? They ate my food without paying, so I've come to collect."
"How much? I'll pay," Yu Xiaogang asked.
"Three hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"Three hundred Gold Soul Coins? What did you eat?"
"I only ate two carrots," Xiao Wu said timidly.
The old man heard her and threw Tang San and Xiao Wu to the ground. Then—smack!—he slapped Xiao Wu across the face.
"You ate three, and you still dare to argue!"
"I only ate two," Xiao Wu said, lowering her head.
Smack! Another slap.
"If you say you only ate two, then dare to let us cut open your belly and see for ourselves?"
"Senior, we'll pay the three hundred Gold Soul Coins. Please don't give Xiao Wu a hard time," Tang San said.
"Fine. Then hand over the money."
Tang San didn't have that much money, so he looked to his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, for help.
Yu Xiaogang reached into his left pocket. Empty. Then he reached into his right pocket. Still empty.
But though Yu Xiaogang had no money, he had a solution. He turned to Zhu Bajie, the dean of Nuoding Academy.
Zhu Bajie checked his left pocket. Empty. Then he checked his right pocket. Still empty.
"You've checked four empty pockets already. Do any of you actually have money?"
"Of course, of course. Don't worry, Elder Zuo," Zhu Bajie said, and he and Yu Xiaogang turned to Su Daqiang.
Su Daqiang looked thoroughly unwilling. "Hurry up. Don't dawdle," Zhu Bajie urged.
"Yes, Director Su. You'll have to help Xiao San and the others," Yu Xiaogang said.
Su Daqiang had no choice but to take out the money. Yu Xiaogang immediately tried to grab it.
"Dean, I'm lending you this money, all right? You know what to do." As he spoke, Su Daqiang handed the money to Zhu Bajie, ignoring Yu Xiaogang.
Zhu Bajie passed the money to Zuo Shandiao, and that settled things.
But Tang San and Xiao Wu became like rats crossing the street, with everyone wanting to beat them.
Tang San was always telling people they deserved to die. Xiao Wu was a Rogue Rabbit who insisted everyone call her Sister Xiao Wu. If they didn't, she'd beat them up. She was always picking fights with people; when she couldn't win, she made Tang San fight for her. And when he couldn't win either, they both jumped in.
The worst part was that both of them fought to kill.
On top of that, word had spread all over Nuoding City that the two of them slept together under the same covers with no clothes on. Then they went off to live together. Then they ate someone's carrots without paying and tried to use force, only to get beaten up instead. And on top of that, there was Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's useless teacher, who lived off other people.
From the dean down to the students, everyone hated them.
But the two of them had no idea.
Well, birds of a feather flock together.
Every day, Qian Renyu took Zhang Zhuan and Yang He along to make Tang San and Xiao Wu kneel and kowtow to him. Then each of them slapped the two of them across the face.
Tang San and Xiao Wu had probably gotten used to it by then. They were numb to it. Sometimes, as soon as Qian Renyu arrived, they'd kneel and kowtow on their own, then turn their faces toward him.
After a year of this, Qian Renyu felt it was getting boring, so he returned to Spirit City.
Back at the Worship Hall in Spirit City, Qian Renyu met the descendants of the Offerings. He spent every day training and living alongside them.
Five more years passed. During that time, Qian Renyu obtained a fourth Soul Ring, one that was forty thousand years old, and gained his fourth Soul Skill: Snow Melting and Cold Spring.
After Xiao Wu and Tang San went home for a visit, they officially confirmed their sibling relationship:
Pure and innocent Brother San,
Polite and refined Sister Xiao Wu.
Tang Hao also discovered that Xiao Wu was a Soul Beast. He secretly called her out and said he supported her being with Tang San, then gave her a jade pendant to conceal her identity as a Soul Beast.
That same year, Qian Renyu turned twelve.
Thinking of the upcoming Soul Master Tournament, and then of the notorious Shrek Seven Devils, he decided to form a team and enter the tournament.
The team members were as follows:
Jin Nianjin
Age: 15
Martial Soul: Golden Crocodile King
Rank: 35
Granddaughter of the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Age: 16
Martial Soul: Azure Cloud Divine Luan
Rank: 37
Granddaughter of the Third Offering, Azure Luan Douluo.
Qiangu Youxiao
Age: 15
Martial Soul: Coiling Dragon Staff
Rank: 34
Grandson of the Sixth Offering, Qianjun Douluo.
Qiangu Youjian
Age: 15
Martial Soul: Coiling Dragon Staff
Rank: 34
Grandson of the Seventh Offering, Xiangmo Douluo.
Xiong Duoyan
Age: 18
Martial Soul: Azure Flame Mighty Lion
Rank: 42
Son of the Fourth Offering, Mighty Lion Douluo.
That's right. Mighty Lion Douluo had become a father late in life.
One day, Qian Renyu's unreliable system gave him a reward: the Five Poisons Technique.
When Qian Renyu saw the reward, he thought, Isn't this made for Dugu Bo, the disgrace of the Titled Douluos?
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