The next moment, the clothes on Ao Linxi and Chiyan turned into bunny-girl outfits.
"Whoa, that's so stiff!" Gu Tian said excitedly. "How about this, then?"
[The following scene is not suitable for display.]
"Ah!" Gu Tian let out a miserable scream, and the Sea of Consciousness returned to how it had been before.
"Brat, if you ever make us wear the emperor's new clothes again, I'll turn those Magic Pills of yours into walnuts and crack them in my hands!" Chiyan rapped Gu Tian hard on the head.
"Hahaha, I think Xiao Tian's pretty good. At least I can see that our Chiyan's already bigger than me." Ao Linxi teased her. Then she seemed to think of something, and her expression turned serious. "Chiyan, do you remember the exact coordinates where your true dragon body fell? If we can recover what remains of it, your strength can return to its peak in an instant."
Chiyan froze.
A trace of pain and confusion flashed through her beautiful red eyes. She tried hard to recall, but after a long while, all she could do was shake her head in dejection.
"I can't remember. That strike from the Asura God was too vicious. My soul and body were forcibly torn apart. As for where my body finally landed... I only remember it fell beside that frozen block. Everything else is blank."
Ao Linxi sighed and gazed into the distance. "It's all right. Take your time. Now that we've reunited, we'll find it sooner or later."
Before leaving the Sea of Consciousness, Gu Tian took one last look at the two mature beauties sitting on the sofa. Remembering what had just happened, he wanted to see it again, but he was also afraid Chiyan might actually pluck off his little brother.
When Gu Tian opened his eyes again, the sky outside was already bright.
The morning sunlight filtered through the light gauze curtains and fell in scattered flecks across the wide wooden bed. Gu Tian shifted, finding Xiao Wu still nestled against him in the same position she had fallen asleep in the night before, her petite, warm body pressed tightly against his.
"You're awake?" Gu Tian looked down and saw Xiao Wu gazing up at him with bright, ruby-red eyes.
Xiao Wu's cheeks flushed slightly, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Mm... I woke up ages ago. I saw you were sleeping so soundly, so I was afraid I'd wake you if I moved."
In fact, Xiao Wu had been lying like that for nearly an hour. She greedily savored the sense of safety that came from being surrounded by the Dragon God's aura, as if it were the most precious shelter in the world.
Seeing how cautious and utterly devoted she looked, Gu Tian's heart softened. He reached out and brushed the bridge of her nose. "What, were you staring at me first thing in the morning?"
Xiao Wu bit her lip, shyly shifting closer. She took a deep breath, as though summoning every ounce of her courage, and asked in a small voice, "Brother Gu Tian... since we're technically dating now, then... does that mean we can kiss?"
By the time she reached the final word, Xiao Wu's face had turned red all the way to her neck. Her long rabbit ears trembled uneasily above her head, betraying her apprehension.
Gu Tian froze for a moment, then laughed in spite of himself. This little rabbit was so straightforward that she'd caught him completely off guard.
Instead of answering directly, he chuckled. His body, which had been lying on its side, suddenly rolled flat, then pressed down on Xiao Wu, pinning her delicate body beneath him.
"Ah..." Xiao Wu let out a soft gasp. Feeling Gu Tian's aggressively masculine presence descend on her, her head spun at once, and her heart pounded as if it were about to burst through her chest.
Gu Tian gazed at her lovely face, so close and flushed with color, then slowly lowered his head and kissed her soft lips.
This kiss was nothing like Gu Yuena's clumsy, forceful one. It was tender and lingering, full of tentative exploration. Xiao Wu felt her mind go "boom," then turn completely blank. She responded awkwardly, her hands instinctively climbing around Gu Tian's neck as a giddy, weightless dizziness swept over her.
At length, Gu Tian lifted his head and looked at Xiao Wu, her eyes hazy and her breathing quick. "Satisfied, little rabbit?"
Xiao Wu unconsciously pressed her lips together, feeling the lingering warmth. Her mind was still a complete muddle.
That morning, at Nuoding Academy.
The atmosphere in the Soul Master theory classroom felt a little strange, thanks to the return of certain people.
Tang San sat toward the back. His face was still somewhat pale, and yesterday's damage to his Martial Soul had clearly not fully healed. He stared fixedly at the front row, where Gu Tian, Gu Yue, Na'er, and Xiao Wu—the girl he had once treasured above all else—were sitting.
Looking at Gu Tian's calm, unruffled back, Tang San felt a dull ache in his chest.
Yet what angered and confused him even more was Xiao Wu's state.
Xiao Wu was especially strange today. Usually lively and energetic, she now lay listlessly across her desk like a marionette with its strings cut, her eyes vacant and unfocused. Every now and then, she even reached up to lightly touch her lips with a fingertip, and a strange blush would then appear on her cheeks.
"What's wrong with Xiao Wu?" Tang San roared in his mind.
As far as he was concerned, this was absolutely not how someone in love normally acted.
"Something's wrong... something's very wrong." Tang San narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind spinning rapidly.
He recalled the insidious methods recorded in the Tang Sect's secret records. Xiao Wu had once depended on him so much that she'd even been willing to share a bedroll with him. Yet ever since she'd met Gu Tian, her personality had changed completely. She'd even remained indifferent when she saw Tang San humiliated.
"Poisoned by a Gu!"
Tang San's pupils contracted sharply as the thought cleaved through all his confusion.
"Right! Gu Tian must have planted a Gu in Xiao Wu!" Tang San frantically reasoned to himself. "His Martial Soul is so strange. It must be some kind of mutated Martial Soul with evil attributes. After Xiao Wu moved in with him, he must have used medicine or some kind of mental Gu worm to control her mind!"
"Maybe it's the most dangerous Gu in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record—the Love Gu. Once planted, it makes the victim yearn for the one who planted it. Like a maggot clinging to the bone, it gnaws at her until she's so restless she can't sit still, with a nest of cold worms seeming to wriggle in her chest."
The more he thought about it, the clearer Tang San's reasoning became.
No wonder Xiao Wu gazed at Gu Tian so adoringly. No wonder she seemed so absentminded now. In Tang San's eyes, her listlessness was a sign of weakness and confusion after the Gu poison had flared up!
"Gu Tian... you despicable scoundrel!" Tang San clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked. "How dare you use such a vicious method on my Xiao Wu! I, Tang San, swear I'll expose your true face and drive the Gu poison out of Xiao Wu!"
He had even begun planning how to use a little of Blue Silver Grass's paralytic poison to fight poison with poison and help Xiao Wu recover herself.
The morning passed, and the lunch bell rang.
Still lost in that long kiss from the morning, Xiao Wu floated all the way back to the apartment.
She ducked into her room. When she heard Gu Tian return, she hurriedly caught him by the sleeve.
Gu Tian had just bought the ingredients for lunch. Whenever he had time, he liked to cook for them himself. After all, there was no way the school cafeteria food could suit everyone's tastes.
"Brother Gu Tian, what are we having for lunch?" Xiao Wu asked shyly. Even though she wanted another kiss, she didn't dare say it outright. A girl had to maintain a little modesty.
"I bought you carrots. We can stir-fry them." Gu Tian handed Xiao Wu the plastic bag behind him, then pulled out a carrot and asked teasingly, "Xiao Wu, guess what you can do with a carrot?"
"Eat it?" Xiao Wu answered without a second thought.
"Then guess what you can do with a cucumber?" Gu Tian asked with a mischievous grin.
"I don't know." Xiao Wu could tell from his tone that he was up to no good.
"What about bitter melon? What can you do with that?" Gu Tian continued.
"I don't know." Xiao Wu's voice grew quieter and quieter. All these vegetables were long and straight. Gu Tian was definitely teasing her!
"Then guess what you can do with a tomato?" Gu Tian folded his arms and waited for her answer.
"What? You can do that with a tomato too?"
"Of course. They all have one thing in common."
"But it's round!"
"Huh? Xiao Wu, what are you talking about? You can stir-fry them all with eggs!" Gu Tian feigned utter shock as he stared at her.
"Hmph! You're always picking on me." Xiao Wu blushed and stamped her foot, but she didn't forget to glance at Gu Tian from the corner of her eye. Her gaze was brimming with affection.
"Xiao Wu, I'm sorry. How about we kiss?" Seeing Xiao Wu pretend to be angry, Gu Tian recalled how distracted she'd been in class that day.
This little girl wore every last one of her thoughts right on her face!
"Mm." Xiao Wu gave a soft little hum, her voice barely audible. Worried Gu Tian might not hear her, she nodded emphatically.
Na'er had just come in behind them, carrying a huge bag of snacks. She heard those words as soon as she entered and gaped in astonishment.
"Oh, so you two have been sneaking treats at home without Na'er!" Na'er dropped the snacks and rushed over in a flurry, her purple eyes brimming with indignation and excitement.
Gu Yue, who had just walked out of the kitchen, also stopped. Her dark green eyes watched the two of them with amused interest.
"Uh... Na'er, don't be ridiculous. We were just playing." Gu Tian gave an awkward cough.
"Na'er isn't interrupting! Brother Gu Tian is a bad guy. Did Sister Xiao Wu force you to kiss her?" Na'er pouted. She clearly couldn't tolerate Xiao Wu keeping all the fun to herself.
"We haven't kissed there yet..." Gu Tian spun his index fingers around each other in front of his chest. In psychology, this behavior often indicated that the person doing it was eagerly anticipating the action.
"Na'er doesn't care! Na'er wants one too!" Na'er squeezed between the two of them with an imperious air, but she didn't go straight to kiss Gu Tian. Instead, she turned to look at Gu Yue, then back at Gu Tian.
"Na'er, what are you up to now?" Gu Yue raised an eyebrow.
"Hehe." Na'er broke into a little devil's smile and pushed Gu Yue and Gu Tian together. "Sister, when it comes to how long we've been together, we're the veterans. You should set an example for Sister Xiao Wu. Kiss Brother Gu Tian first!"
With Na'er egging her on, even Gu Yue's cool, pretty face couldn't help turning red.
She glanced at Gu Tian, then at Xiao Wu, who was watching with eager anticipation. Finally, as if giving in, she quickly brushed her lips against Gu Tian's.
"There, happy now? Honestly, Na'er, your big sister told you to be more reserved when you're out and about!" Gu Yue turned around and glared at Na'er, somewhat embarrassed. "Next time we go back, I'll tell Big Sister and have her teach you a lesson. She'll spank you."
"Ah! No, please, Sister! Waaah!" Na'er whimpered a few times, looking utterly aggrieved.