At the other end of the spatial rift.
Deep in the Star Dou Forest.
The air was so fresh it seemed as if the rain had gently washed it clean, carrying the sweet, earthy scent of soil and plants.
Towering ancient trees stood so close together that they blotted out the sky. Only a few rays of sunlight sifted through the dense canopy, scattering dappled patches of light across the ground.
The moment Er Ming's massive body hit the ground, hundreds and thousands of Soul Beasts that had returned through the spatial rift scattered, each heading back to its own territory.
Xiao Wu jumped down from Er Ming's shoulder, but the moment she landed, her legs buckled and she nearly fell.
The scenes she had just witnessed still reverberated through her body.
She steadied herself and got to her feet, then turned around and looked up at Er Ming's enormous ape-like face.
She had too many questions.
"Er Ming."
"What is it, Sister Xiao Wu?"
Er Ming lowered his head. His enormous, bell-like eyes gazed at her, his expression so docile that he hardly seemed like a Ferocious Beast capable of facing a Level 98 Titled Douluo head-on.
"How did you come to save me?" Confusion laced Xiao Wu's voice. "And why did all those Soul Beasts go, too?"
She paused, then pressed on.
"I remember most Soul Beasts usually don't listen to anyone. Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and Thousand Jun Ant Emperor, for example—even you and Da Ming can't always get them to do what you want. Why did they all go this time?"
The more she spoke, the more something felt wrong.
She had assumed that at most, Da Ming and Er Ming would come to save her, perhaps with a few close Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
But she had never imagined that more than ten thousand Soul Beasts would appear in Spirit City, forming a beast tide.
The entire clan of Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears, those old thorns in everyone's side, had shown up. Thousand Jun Ant Emperor had even brought an army.
There had even been a Golden Light Eagle, whom she had only seen a few times since birth. The famously slippery old bird had charged in faster than anyone else.
It was all too strange.
Xiao Wu was about to ask another question when a voice suddenly came from behind her.
It was soft, yet it froze her in place.
"I told them to go."
The instant that voice sounded,
the Soul Beasts in the distance, heading back to their nests, all froze where they stood. Not one dared even breathe.
Xiao Wu saw that even Er Ming had gone rigid.
The Titan Giant Ape, who could face a Level 98 Titled Douluo head-on, now didn't dare so much as twitch the tip of his tail.
Golden Light Eagle's reaction was even more exaggerated.
The old eagle, renowned for his slippery ways, dropped flat to the ground and curled into a gigantic golden ball of feathers. He muttered to himself as if reciting some ancient prayer.
"Who is—"
Xiao Wu had barely begun to speak when a gentle force reached out from the void.
It was as soft as a spring breeze, yet as impossible to resist as the whole sky bearing down on her.
It wrapped around Xiao Wu, Er Ming, and Golden Light Eagle, who was still lying on the ground muttering to himself, then gave a gentle tug—
The world spun.
Xiao Wu felt as if a warm hand had enveloped her, carrying her through layer upon layer of overlapping space.
Light and shadow raced past her eyes. Plants, rocks, streams, cliffs—everything retreated behind her, blurring into ink paintings flipping past at dizzying speed.
When she found her footing again, she realized she was standing in front of a door.
It was an ordinary wooden door.
A humble courtyard, its walls white beneath a roof of green tiles.
Green vines climbed the walls, and a few unfamiliar flowers grew in the yard, bearing delicate pale-purple blossoms.
A bamboo recliner sat in the corner, an old blanket, washed until it had faded, draped over its back.
In the middle of the courtyard stood a stone table, with a cup of steaming tea on it.
The scene was so peaceful and quiet it felt like a dream.
The wooden door slowly opened.
A figure stepped out.
The man wore a moon-white robe and looked to be just over thirty.
He wasn't particularly handsome, but there was something about him that was hard to describe, a gentle quality left behind after time had worn away every sharp edge.
His hair was casually tied up with an ordinary bamboo hairpin. A few strands of black hair hung by his temples, and his brows held the calm of someone who had seen the rise and fall of the world.
Jiang Li stood in the doorway. His gaze passed over Er Ming's massive form, over Golden Light Eagle's ruffled feathers, and settled on Xiao Wu.
So much like her.
So much so that he thought time had turned back a hundred thousand years.
The same lively, slightly upturned eyes, like two freshly peeled lychees, moist and bright. The same bridge of the nose, the same curve of the lips—even the contours of her face were identical.
Even the stubbornness in her eyes and the pride in her bones seemed carved from the same mold.
She was exactly like Xiao Rou.
Jiang Li gazed at Xiao Wu for a long time.
Then he slowly raised a hand toward her. "Come here. Let me get a good look at you."
The instant he finished speaking,
her body moved against her will. She took several steps forward, then stopped in front of Jiang Li.
Xiao Wu looked up and met his eyes.
They were like a boundless starry sky, concealing more than she could imagine. One glance was enough to make her scalp prickle and a chill creep up her back.
"You are..."
Xiao Wu struggled to speak, her voice so hoarse that she could barely get the words out.
She had already guessed, at least in part.
She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. She knew that a forbidden existence dwelled deep within the Star Dou Forest.
Ever since she was born, she had been told never to set foot in the forest's innermost region. It was an ironclad rule in the hearts of every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Forest, a law greater than the heavens.
But she had never imagined—
that this legendary forbidden existence would be like this.
So easygoing, so unassuming, like a recluse who had lived in the mountains for many years.
He stood before an ordinary wooden door, looking at her with a kindly gaze, like someone who had waited for a very, very long time.
Wait.
Kindly?
Xiao Wu suddenly came to her senses.
Why was this legendary forbidden existence looking at her like that?
And what's more, Da Ming and Er Ming had led more than ten thousand Soul Beasts to Spirit City to save her today. Something about it had felt wrong from the very beginning.
Er Ming might be one of the rulers of the Star Dou Forest, but could he really summon the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears?
Could he summon Thousand Jun Ant Emperor?
And what about those Ten-Thousand-Year flying Soul Beasts, who usually kept to themselves?
There was only one person in the entire Star Dou Forest with the authority to command so many Soul Beasts!
"Clever." Jiang Li watched Xiao Wu's expression change rapidly and knew what his daughter was thinking.
Her eyes were so like Xiao Rou's. Even the little frown she made when thinking was identical.
"You're right," Jiang Li said, his voice gentle and calm. "They went to save you because of me—because I'm your father."
At his words, Xiao Wu's mind went blank.
She... had a father?
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