Su Yu took a step forward and headed toward the corner at an unhurried pace.
In the shabby Dorm Seven, all the work-study students held their breath, their eyes fixed on his retreating back.
No one knew what this ruthless boy, who had just knocked out the gatekeeper with Gold Soul Coins, intended to do to the neurotic rabbit-eared girl.
Xiao Wu was still crouched in the corner, hugging her knees and burying her face in them. She was still muttering under her breath about Tang San.
Her worldview had just taken a devastating blow, and the whole rabbit was in a daze.
Su Yu walked over to Xiao Wu without paying any attention to the curious stares around them.
He slowly crouched down, bringing them closer together.
He looked at her drooping, fluffy rabbit ears, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, he murmured, "A hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit, and you can't even handle a little change?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap out of a clear sky.
Xiao Wu shuddered violently, and her drooping rabbit ears instantly sprang straight up.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she shot to her feet.
The instinct of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast reborn in human form kicked in. She turned in midair and landed steadily, her body sinking into a crouch as she took up a defensive stance, ready to attack or flee at any moment.
Her watery eyes were wide open, her pupils contracting sharply in utter shock.
She stared at the boy before her, who looked no older than six, her gaze filled with wariness and horror unlike anything she had ever felt.
"Y-you're talking nonsense!"
Xiao Wu's voice trembled. She tried to mask her fear with anger, but her quavering tone gave her away.
Su Yu made no move in response to Xiao Wu's wariness.
He stayed crouched where he was, smiling as he looked at her. His golden eyes seemed to possess the power to see through everything.
"Don't be nervous."
Su Yu's tone was calm, as natural as if he were talking about the weather. "The air in Star Dou Forest really is much better than in the human world, and its lakes are crystal clear. What a shame that some people are always thinking about offering themselves as sacrifices, throwing away a hundred thousand years of cultivation for nothing."
Boom!
Xiao Wu felt a raging tide surge through her mind. All her reason and pretense shattered in an instant.
Star Dou Forest!
Sacrifice!
A hundred thousand years!
Those words were like sharp knives, stabbing straight into the most secret corners of her heart.
She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit reborn with the memories of her past life!
Her true identity and the tragic fate she had once suffered were the greatest, most closely guarded secrets she had in this world.
Even Tang San, that treacherous and cunning man from her past life, had only discovered her true form much later.
Yet now, this boy before her, dressed in rough cloth and looking utterly ordinary, had exposed her in a single breath!
He even knew all about her sacrifice in her previous life!
Xiao Wu stared blankly at Su Yu, feeling a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to her scalp.
She looked into his deep, tranquil eyes, and an indescribable terror rose within her.
Tang San had certainly been frightening in her past life. He was full of schemes and skilled in all kinds of Hidden Weapons and plotting, but his menace was still within the bounds of humanity.
If she was careful enough, she could always find a way to deal with him.
But this boy was different.
He was like a god high above, looking down upon all living things from the clouds.
It was as though he could see through every script and every trump card hidden deep within people.
In front of him, she was like a transparent glass jar, with no secrets at all.
The feeling of being seen through completely made Xiao Wu think Su Yu was ten thousand times more frightening than Tang San in her previous life.
The work-study students watched the two face off, utterly baffled.
Wang Sheng swallowed and muttered, "What kind of riddle are those two speaking in? Why does that girl suddenly look like she's seen a ghost?"
"Who knows? This new kid's way too strange. He said a couple of things and scared that crazy girl stiff."
The lackey beside him hunched his shoulders, not daring to speak any louder.
Su Yu slowly stood and brushed the dust off his clothes.
His smile faded, and his gaze turned deep and composed.
"You don't need to look at me like that. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd already be a corpse."
Su Yu spoke with the composure of someone in full control. "This world has been a mess for a long time. Since you were able to be reborn, you must have noticed, right?"
Xiao Wu froze at those words.
She thought back over the time since her rebirth. A lot of strange, incomprehensible things had happened.
The strangest of all was that Tang San, who should have been a man, had turned into a sweet, adorable, silly girl!
On top of that, on her way to Nuoding City, she had run into some people who acted extremely strangely.
Sometimes they talked to thin air; sometimes they fought to the death over something worthless. Their eyes were full of greed and madness, as though some invisible monster had taken control of their minds.
This world really was nothing like the Douluo Continent she remembered.
"Y-you... who are you, exactly?"
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and asked in a hoarse voice.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
Su Yu looked at her, his gaze resolute. "What matters is that you can't protect yourself right now. If you're still as naive as you were in your past life, then in this world full of monsters, you won't even know what killed you."
Su Yu held out his right hand to Xiao Wu.
"If you want to live, you'll have to listen to me."
Su Yu offered her a chance to work together. "I don't care what you went through in your past life or what plans you have for revenge. As long as you follow me and do as I say, I promise I can help you live safely in this chaotic world. I can even protect your friends in Star Dou Forest."
Xiao Wu looked at the hand held out before her.
It was the hand of a six-year-old boy. It wasn't large, and it was even a little rough.
But to Xiao Wu, it seemed to hold a power she couldn't resist.
She raised her head and looked once more into Su Yu's golden eyes, which seemed able to pierce her soul.
She knew full well that she had no grounds to refuse.
He already knew her greatest secret. If he meant her harm, he could simply spread the news that she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast reborn in human form, and every Titled Douluo on the continent would hunt her like a rabid dog.
Besides, Su Yu was right.
This world had become completely unfamiliar, full of people who acted like madmen.
With her current strength alone, she had no way to deal with those unknown dangers.
What's more, he had just mentioned her friends in Star Dou Forest: Da Ming and Er Ming.
Xiao Wu bit her lip, torn by an intense struggle within.
She looked at Su Yu's calm face, then finally took a deep breath and slowly reached out her hand.
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