The Name of Taboo

On the other side of the spatial rift.

Deep within the Star Dou Forest.

The air was so fresh it felt as if it had been meticulously rinsed by rain, carrying the distinct, sweet scent of soil and vegetation.

Towering ancient trees formed a canopy so dense it blotted out the sky, allowing only a few stray beams of sunlight to filter through the thick foliage and dapple the ground with mottled light.

As Er Ming's massive body touched down, the hundreds and thousands of spirit 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, her legs turning to jelly the moment she landed, nearly causing her to collapse.

Her body still reeled from the impact of the scenes she had just witnessed.

She steadied her nerves, found her footing, and then turned around, looking up at Er Ming's enormous simian face.

Her heart was filled with too many questions.

"Er Ming."

"What is it, Big Sister Xiao Wu?"

Er Ming lowered his head, his copper-bell-sized eyes gazing at her with a gentleness that made it hard to believe he was a fierce beast capable of going head-to-head with a rank-98 Titled Douluo.

"How did you all come to save me?" Xiao Wu's voice was laced with confusion. "And those spirit beasts—why did they all go?"

She paused, then pressed further.

"I remember that many of those spirit beasts usually don't listen to anyone. Even you and Da Ming sometimes can't command the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear or the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor. Why did they all go this time?"

The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

She had assumed that at most, Da Ming and Er Ming would come to save her, perhaps accompanied by a few close ten-thousand-year spirit beasts.

Yet, she never expected that what would appear at Martial Soul City was a beast tide composed of tens of thousands of spirit beasts.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's group of stubborn old troublemakers had arrived as a complete clan, and the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor had brought an entire army.

There was even the Golden Light Eagle, a creature she had barely seen a few times since she was born; that notoriously slippery old bird had actually charged faster than anyone else.

This was far too abnormal.

Just as Xiao Wu was about to ask more, a voice drifted from behind her.

The voice was soft, yet it caused her entire body to freeze in place.

"It was I who sent them."

The moment that voice arrived, the spirit beasts returning to their nests in the distance all stiffened, not daring to even draw a breath.

Xiao Wu even saw that Er Ming's body had frozen solid.

This Titan Giant Ape, capable of clashing head-on with a rank-98 Titled Douluo, didn't even dare to twitch the tip of his tail at this moment.

The Golden Light Eagle's reaction was even more exaggerated.

This old eagle, known for being slippery, had flattened itself directly onto the ground, shrinking into a giant golden ball of fluff while muttering under its breath, as if reciting some ancient prayer.

"Who is..."

Xiao Wu had just started to speak, but before she could finish, a gentle force reached out from the void.

The force was as light as a warm spring breeze, yet as irresistible as the weight of the entire sky pressing down.

It wrapped around Xiao Wu, Er Ming, and the Golden Light Eagle—which was still huddled on the ground muttering—and gave a light tug.

The world spun.

Xiao Wu felt as if she were being enveloped by a warm, giant hand, passing through countless layers of overlapping space.

The light and shadows before her eyes flowed rapidly; grass, trees, mountains, rocks, streams, and cliffs all retreated, blurring into a series of ink-wash paintings with pages turning at high speed.

When she finally regained her footing, she found herself standing in front of a door.

It was a very ordinary wooden door.

A small courtyard with a brushwood gate, blue tiles, and white walls.

The walls were covered in green vines, and the courtyard was planted with a few nameless flowers and grasses, bearing small, pale purple blossoms.

In the corner sat a bamboo lounge chair, with a faded, washed-out old blanket draped over the back.

In the center of the courtyard stood a stone table, upon which sat a cup of clear tea still emitting wisps of steam.

The scene was so quiet and peaceful it felt surreal.

The wooden door slowly creaked open.

A figure stepped out from within.

The man wore a moon-white robe and appeared to be in his thirties.

His features could not be called exceptionally handsome, yet he possessed an indescribable aura, like the gentle warmth left behind after time had smoothed away all sharp edges.

His hair was held up casually by a simple bamboo hairpin, with a few strands of dark hair falling by his temples, his brow carrying a sense of detachment that came from having seen through the rise and fall of the world.

Jiang Li stood at the doorway, his gaze passing over the massive frame of Er Ming and the scattered, exploded feathers of the Golden Light Eagle, finally landing on Xiao Wu.

Too similar.

So similar that it made him feel as if time had flowed backward by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's lifespan.

The same spirited eyes, slightly upturned, like two freshly peeled lychees—moist, clear, and bright. The same bridge of the nose, the same curve of the lips, even the contour of her face was identical.

Even the stubbornness in her eyes and the pride in her bones seemed to have been cast from the same mold.

She was exactly like Xiao Rou.

Jiang Li's gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for a long time.

Only then did he slowly raise a hand toward her. "Come here, let me get a good look at you."

The moment the words fell.

Her body moved forward a few steps against her will, then came to a halt in front of Jiang Li.

Xiao Wu raised her head, meeting those eyes.

Those pupils were like a boundless starry sky, hiding so many things within them—so much that Xiao Wu felt her scalp tingle and a chill run up her spine just from a single glance.

"You are..."

Xiao Wu spoke with difficulty, her voice so raspy it was barely audible.

In truth, she had already vaguely guessed something.

As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she knew that a forbidden existence resided in the depths of the Star Dou Forest.

From the moment she was born, she had been told that the core area of the forest was strictly off-limits; it was an ironclad rule in the hearts of all soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest, a law greater than the heavens themselves.

Yet, she had never imagined—

That this legendary, forbidden existence would be like this.

So easygoing, so simple, like a recluse who had lived in the mountains for many years.

He stood there before an ordinary wooden door, looking at her with a kind gaze, like someone who had been waiting for a very, very long time.

Wait.

Kind?

Xiao Wu snapped back to reality.

Why would this legendary, forbidden existence look at her with such an expression?

Furthermore, the fact that Da Ming and Er Ming had led tens of thousands of soul beasts to Martial Soul City to save her today had felt wrong from the very beginning.

Although Er Ming was one of the emperors of the Star Dou Forest, could he really command a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?

Could he command a Thousand Jun Ant Emperor?

Not to mention those ten-thousand-year flying soul beasts that were accustomed to living in solitude!

In the entire Star Dou Forest, there was only one person currently qualified to mobilize so many soul beasts!

"Clever." Jiang Li watched the rapidly changing expressions on Xiao Wu's face and knew exactly what his daughter was thinking.

Those eyes were so much like Xiao Rou's, even the small habit of slightly furrowing her brows while thinking was identical.

"You guessed correctly." Jiang Li's voice was gentle and calm. "They went to save you because of me, because I am your father."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu's mind went blank.

She... she still had a father?