Resurrect, My Love

Shrek Academy's garden wasn't large, but Dean Flender had bragged about it as "the imperial garden of the continent's number-one academy."

In reality, the garden was only half the size of a basketball court. It had a few crooked trees, a half-dead lawn, and several clumps of wildflowers whose names nobody knew. A wooden bench sat on the grass, its paint already peeling. It creaked whenever anyone sat down.

But Tang San didn't care about any of that.

To him, as long as there was sunshine, Xiao Wu, and this bench, it was the most beautiful place in the world.

At that moment, he was sitting on the bench with his left arm around Xiao Wu's shoulders and a copy of the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook in his right hand, muttering to himself as he read. Sunlight filtered through the crooked tree's branches, casting dappled shadows over them.

Xiao Wu leaned against his shoulder, her eyes half-closed. She looked as though she were about to fall asleep.

"Third Brother," Xiao Wu yawned, "you've been reading for an hour. Aren't you tired?"

"Not at all." Tang San turned a page. "I'm studying Soul Beast habits. It'll help us when we hunt Soul Rings in the future."

"But I'm so bored..."

"Then how about I tell you a story?" Tang San put down the book, his eyes lighting up.

Xiao Wu eyed him warily. "What story?"

"A story about the Tang Sect. Once upon a time, there was a sect called the Tang Sect. They were experts in Hidden Weapons and poisons..."

"You've told me that eight times." Xiao Wu's expression was blank.

"Then I'll tell it a ninth time. I'll add a few new details this time..."

"Third Brother." Xiao Wu sat up straight and looked him in the eyes. "Have you ever thought about something?"

"What?"

"You might be a chatterbox."

Tang San: "..."

He opened his mouth to argue, but realized that he really did talk a lot whenever he was with Xiao Wu. In his previous life, he'd been the Tang Sect's most taciturn inner disciple. He hadn't said ten words in a day. But after arriving on the Douluo Continent and meeting Xiao Wu, he'd barely stopped talking.

"That's because I only talk so much with you," Tang San said sincerely.

Xiao Wu's cheeks turned faintly red. "You sure know how to sweet-talk."

Tang San smiled and picked up the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook again.

The sun was warm, the breeze gentle, and the garden smelled of grass and wildflowers. In the distance came the whoosh of Ma Hongjun practicing his fire-breathing, mixed with Oscar's incantation, "I Have a Big Sausage," and the muffled grunts Dai Mubai made as he lifted a stone lock.

It was an utterly ordinary morning at Shrek Academy.

Everything was so peaceful, so beautiful, so—

"Bzzzz—"

A mosquito flew by.

It was tiny, so tiny that no one would have noticed it without looking closely. It flew low, weaving between the grass and wildflowers in search of a target.

Tang San didn't notice it.

Xiao Wu didn't notice it either.

The mosquito found its target.

Xiao Wu's arm.

It landed silently on Xiao Wu's right forearm, sank its proboscis into her skin, and greedily sucked her blood.

Xiao Wu felt a slight itch and instinctively looked down.

"Aw," Xiao Wu said, lifting her arm and spotting a small red bump. "A mosquito bit me."

Her tone was casual, as if she were saying, "What a nice day." It was just a mosquito bite. What was the big deal? When she was little, she'd been bitten by poisonous bugs a hundred times bigger than mosquitoes in Star Dou Forest and hadn't thought twice about it.

But Tang San's reaction was beyond anything she'd expected.

As soon as Tang San heard the words "a mosquito bit me," he put down the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook and turned to look at Xiao Wu's arm.

His eyes fixed on the little red bump.

Then his pupils suddenly shrank.

It was as though two soybeans had suddenly turned into mung beans. The whites of his eyes expanded sharply, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. His face changed too, going from its usual color to deathly pale. His lips turned purple, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"Xiao Wu..." Tang San's voice trembled. "You're hurt?"

Xiao Wu blinked. "Huh? I'm not hurt. It's just a mosquito—"

"A wound!" Tang San's hand trembled as he reached for Xiao Wu's arm. "There's a wound on your arm!"

"That's not a wound. It's a mosqui—"

"Blood!" Tang San's eyes reddened. "You're bleeding! Xiao Wu, you're bleeding!"

Xiao Wu looked down at her arm. Sure enough, there was a small red bump, but it was from a mosquito bite. She wasn't bleeding at all. The bump was only slightly raised; her skin was completely intact, not even broken.

"Third Brother, I'm not bleeding. It's just a mosquito..."

But Tang San wasn't listening anymore.

There was only one thought in his mind: Xiao Wu was hurt.

That thought exploded in his head like a bomb, blasting his reason, logic, and judgment to pieces. Tears welled up in his eyes, slid down his cheeks, and fell onto Xiao Wu's shoulder.

Then he suddenly threw his arms around her.

He hugged her very, very tightly, as if he wanted to squeeze her into his own body. His arms locked around her like iron hoops, almost leaving her unable to breathe.

"Xiao Wu!" Tang San cried, his voice hoarse and choked with sobs. "You can't die!"

Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "I'm not—"

"Resurrect, My Love!" Tang San roared at the sky, his voice as tragic as a farewell on the battlefield. "Resurrect, My Love! Resurrect, My Love!"

He shouted it three times, each louder and more anguished than the last.

The whole garden fell silent.

Ma Hongjun stopped breathing fire in the distance. Oscar stopped chanting. Even Dai Mubai's muffled grunts as he lifted the stone lock fell silent. Everyone had heard Tang San's cry. Everyone froze.

Xiao Wu sat trapped in Tang San's arms. Her expression shifted from blank to confused, then from confused to speechless, and finally from speechless to murderous.

"Third Brother," Xiao Wu said, taking a deep breath, "I just got bitten by a mosquito."

Tang San didn't hear a word.

His tears fell like beads from a broken string, pattering down one after another. His nose was running too, and tears and snot smeared his whole face. His expression was so pained and twisted that he looked as if he were suffering a wrenching separation from a loved one.

"It's all my fault!" Tang San beat his chest and stamped his feet. "I didn't protect you! If only I were stronger, you wouldn't have been hurt!"

"But I'm not hurt..."

"Your wound is bleeding! You're lying to me! You must be saying you're fine because you don't want me to worry!"

"I don't have a wound, and I'm not bleeding..."

"You're lying to me!" Tang San lifted his head and looked at Xiao Wu through his tears. "You must be in a spirit state! The real you is already dead! You're just a spirit now! Resurrect, My Love!"

Xiao Wu: "..."

She wanted to slap Tang San awake, but he was hugging her too tightly. Her arms were pinned to her sides, and she couldn't move.

"Third Brother, get a grip." Xiao Wu did her best to keep her voice calm. "I'm alive, I'm warm, and I have a body temperature. Feel me. I'm warm."

Tang San touched Xiao Wu's face. He could indeed feel its warmth.

But his brain had already explained it away as "the lingering warmth of a spirit."

"Your spirit hasn't completely faded!" Tang San cried again. "There's still a chance! Resurrect, My Love!"

Xiao Wu gave up.

She gave up on using logic to reason with Tang San, gave up on using facts to bring him around, and gave up on any rational way of making him come to his senses.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and told herself: This is the man I chose. I chose him, I chose him, I chose him.

Just then, two people walked along the garden path.

Xiao Wu (the girl) and Oscar.

Xiao Wu (the girl) was carrying a basket of fruit, while Oscar held two sausages he'd made himself. They had been heading to the training grounds, but when they passed the garden, they heard Tang San's wailing.

Xiao Wu (the girl) stopped and turned to look.

She saw the scene on the bench: Tang San was hugging Xiao Wu (the rabbit) and sobbing, while Xiao Wu (the rabbit) looked utterly resigned to life. The air practically reeked of "I want to die."

"What's Third Brother freaking out about now?" Xiao Wu (the girl) said helplessly.

Oscar took a bite of his sausage and replied calmly, "I'm used to it. He did the same thing when Xiao Wu sneezed last time."

"She sneezed?" Xiao Wu (the girl) raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Oscar nodded. "Last month, Xiao Wu sneezed in the dining hall. Tang San immediately thought she had a terminal illness. He hugged her and cried for half an hour, going on about 'Resurrect, My Love.' Xiao Wu spent ages explaining that her nose had just been itchy, but Tang San wouldn't listen. He insisted it was 'the last flicker before death.'"

Xiao Wu (the girl) fell silent for a moment. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"I think so." Oscar took another bite of sausage. "But Xiao Wu (the rabbit) won't let me say that."

"Why not?"

"She says, 'Third Brother just loves me too much.'"

Xiao Wu (the girl) glanced at Xiao Wu (the rabbit), who was looking at her with a desperate plea for help.

"I don't think she loves him too much," Xiao Wu (the girl) said, shaking her head. "I think she's just way too patient."

Oscar nodded in deep agreement.

The two didn't interrupt Tang San's "funeral." They quietly walked away. Even after they'd gone some distance, they could still hear Tang San's voice coming from the garden. "Resurrect, My Love—!"

Oscar sighed. "Do you think Tang San was a stage actor in his last life? His acting is just too convincing."

Xiao Wu (the girl) rolled her eyes at him. "You'd better keep quiet. You don't want him to remember what you said."

Oscar immediately shut his mouth and warily looked around. Only after confirming that Han Li wasn't nearby did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Back in the garden, Tang San was still crying.

He'd been crying for half an hour.

His tears had run dry, leaving him wailing without them. His voice had gone hoarse, reducing his cries to whispers. His face was smeared with snot, his eyes swollen like peaches, and his nose red as a clown's.

But he was still crying.

Xiao Wu (the rabbit) had gone from wanting to hit him, to resigned, to numb, to completely checked out. Her eyes were vacant, her expression blank, and her soul had flown to the ninth heaven.

She thought, if she could turn back time, she'd never let that mosquito bite her.

No, if she could turn back time, she'd never sit on that bench.

No, if she could turn back time, she'd never get together with Tang San.

No, if she could turn back time, she'd never leave Star Dou Forest.

"Third Brother." Xiao Wu (the rabbit)'s voice was soft and calm.

"Mmm... sob..." Tang San answered through his tears.

"It's been half an hour."

"Mmm... sob..."

Aren't you tired?

"Mmm... sob..."

Doesn't your throat hurt?

"Mmm... sob... cough, cough, cough!" Tang San started coughing. His throat really did hurt.

He finally stopped crying and lifted his head to look at Xiao Wu with his swollen, red eyes. His face was covered in tear tracks and snot. He looked absolutely wretched.

Xiao Wu (the rabbit) looked at his face, took a deep breath, and then—

"Slap!"

A slap.

Crisp, loud, and merciless.

Tang San was stunned.

He held his cheek and stared at Xiao Wu, his eyes full of one question: why?

Xiao Wu (the rabbit) lowered her hand, rolled her wrist, and asked expressionlessly, "Come to your senses?"

Tang San blinked, then blinked again.

His brain began to reboot, slowly, painfully, and with great difficulty.

"I... what was I..." Tang San's voice sounded nothing like his own. "What was I doing just now?"

"You cried for half an hour," Xiao Wu (the rabbit) said.

"Why?"

"Because a mosquito bit me."

Tang San froze.

He looked down at Xiao Wu's arm. There was a little red bump, small, ordinary, and insignificant.

Then he looked at his own hands. They were covered in tears and snot.

He touched his face. It was swollen, red, and sore.

He cleared his throat. It was hoarse, painful, and ruined.

"Uh..." Tang San's face turned red, then purple. "I was dreaming."

Xiao Wu (the rabbit) looked at him without saying a word.

Tang San guiltily lowered his head. "I really was dreaming... I dreamed the Spirit Hall had captured you and you'd sacrificed yourself... I dreamed you died... I..."

"Third Brother," Xiao Wu interrupted him.

"Yeah?"

"Every time, you say you were dreaming."

Tang San: "..."

"Last time I sneezed, you said you'd dreamed I'd been poisoned."

"The time before that, I fell and scraped my knee. You said you'd dreamed a Soul Beast had eaten me."

"And the time before that, I threw up after eating something bad. You said you'd dreamed I'd gotten pregnant and died in childbirth."

Tang San lowered his head farther and farther, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"So," Xiao Wu (the rabbit) said, crossing her arms, "were you really dreaming, or are you just making excuses?"

Tang San was silent for a long time.

"I think... maybe... perhaps... probably..." he stammered, "I really am a little... too worried about you."

Xiao Wu (the rabbit) sighed.

She reached out and ruffled Tang San's hair. Her tone softened from exasperated to gentle. "Third Brother, I know you care about me. But I'm really fine. I'm a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. How could a mosquito kill me?"

"But..."

"There are no buts." Xiao Wu cupped Tang San's face. "Look at me, Third Brother. I'm alive, warm, and I have a body temperature. I'm not going to die, or at least, I'm not going to die that easily. You don't need to wail like the sky's falling every time you see me get a tiny scrape, and you definitely don't need to say 'Resurrect, My Love' every time—I'm not dead yet!"

Tang San looked into Xiao Wu's eyes. They held exasperation, tenderness, affection, and a hint of the threat, Keep this up and I really will hit you.

"I... I'll try," Tang San said.

"Not try. You will," Xiao Wu corrected him.

"I will."

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise."

Their little fingers hooked together and shook.

At last, a smile appeared at the corner of Tang San's mouth. His eyes were still swollen, his nose was still red, his voice was still hoarse, and his face was still puffy, but he felt a lot better.

"Xiao Wu," Tang San said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For still being here."

Xiao Wu smiled and nestled into Tang San's arms. "Silly. I've always been here."

Far away, on a branch of a crooked tree.

Han Li had a monocular trained on the pair in the garden.

His expression was intent, his gaze calm, and the corners of his mouth even lifted slightly—that was the satisfied look of someone who had "discovered his prey's weakness."

He held the monocular in one hand and a ledger in the other, his brush racing across the page.

"Subject No. 307: Tang San."

He wrote down the name, then paused to think for a moment before continuing.

"Notes: Tang San appears to suffer from severe paranoia and a compulsive need to save others. Symptoms include—overreacting to injuries sustained by Xiao Wu (rabbit). Even something as minor as a mosquito bite, a sneeze, a scrape, or an upset stomach triggers his reflexive 'Resurrect, My Love.'"

Han Li thought for a moment, then added:

"Based on observation, Tang San's 'Resurrect, My Love' is triggered with extreme frequency, almost daily. Triggers include, but are not limited to: Xiao Wu sneezing, Xiao Wu coughing, Xiao Wu tripping, Xiao Wu being bitten by a mosquito, Xiao Wu choking while eating, Xiao Wu stumbling as she walks, Xiao Wu saying 'I'm tired,' Xiao Wu saying 'I'm sleepy,' Xiao Wu saying 'I'm hungry,' Xiao Wu being silent for more than three minutes, Xiao Wu not smiling, Xiao Wu smiling too much..."

He counted them up and continued writing.

"Preliminary assessment: Tang San's 'Resurrect, My Love' is not a Soul Skill, a spell, or a secret technique, but a psychological disorder. While it does not affect his combat ability (which was weak to begin with), it can distract him at crucial moments and be exploited as a potential weakness."

"Recommendation: If fighting Tang San, create the illusion that Xiao Wu (rabbit) has been injured to provoke him into an emotional breakdown and secure an easy victory."

"Additional note: Tang San's tear ducts are exceptionally well-developed. His crying skills are impressive, and he may have a thousand years of cultivation."

When he was done writing, Han Li nodded in satisfaction, closed the ledger, and put away the monocular.

He leaped down from the branch and landed silently, brushed the leaves off himself, and turned to leave.

As he passed the garden, he glanced from afar at Tang San and Xiao Wu on the bench. The two were nestled together, looking perfectly content.

The corners of Han Li's mouth lifted slightly.

"Everything is under control."

After murmuring the words, he disappeared into the bushes.

On the bench, Xiao Wu suddenly shivered.

"What's wrong?" Tang San asked.

"I don't know." Xiao Wu looked around. "I feel like someone's watching us."

Tang San immediately tensed. "Is it someone from the Spirit Hall? Have they come to capture you? Resurrect, My Lo—"

"Third Brother." Xiao Wu clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Mmph?"

"Be quiet."

Tang San obediently fell silent.

Xiao Wu looked around once more, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She shook her head. "Maybe it was just my imagination."

She nestled back into Tang San's arms and closed her eyes.

"Third Brother."

"Hmm?"

"You really need to see a psychiatrist."

Tang San: "..."

He opened his mouth to say something, but realized he had nothing to say.

Because he knew Xiao Wu was right.