Spirit Hall Takes Action, Pope Bibi Dong's Greed

The further you go in, the older the trees become.

Thick vines coiled tightly around the tree trunk like Giant Python.

The damp air smelled of earth and decaying leaves.

Er Ming stopped in front of an ancient tree with a diameter of several meters.

It stretched out two thick fingers and gently parted the drooping vines.

A natural tree hole hidden between the tree trunks was revealed.

"I reinforced it again."

Er Ming scratched the back of his head with a somewhat naive air.

"You used to say that the scenery here was beautiful, and that you could see the entire Lake of Life."

"I'll protect this tree every day."

The tree hollow was lined with the softest hay.

The cave entrance faces east, so the first rays of dawn tomorrow morning will shine right in.

Xiao Wu stood at the cave entrance and looked out.

Star Dou Lake is like a flawless piece of jade, nestled firmly in the heart of the dense forest.

"Er Ming..."

Xiao Wu looked at everything that had been carefully arranged before her.

My throat felt completely blocked by something.

This is what true family is.

There was no scheming, no exploitation, only the purest concern.

"Sister Xiao Wu, you should rest first."

Er Ming placed her on the soft hay, turned around, and strode off.

"I'll go catch you a fat fish in the lake."

"Look at you, you've become so thin you're unrecognizable. It must be because the human food you're eating is terrible."

The Da Ming emerged from the bottom of the lake with a huge head.

"We don't need you to catch fish."

"Just stay put and watch over Sister Xiao Wu. Don't get handsy."

Upon hearing Er Ming, Erming obediently turned around.

I plopped down under that ancient tree.

Its massive body lay across the tree hole, like an insurmountable mountain.

Xiao Wu lay in the warm haystack.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, I watched the light outside gradually dim.

The wound on my arm has stopped bleeding.

But my chest still feels suffocated.

Whenever I close my eyes, those days at the Nuoding Academy replay wildly in my mind.

She remembered the boy Tang San, and his earnest vow to protect her forever.

The vows made back then sounded so sweet, but reality has been a slap in the face ever since.

So this is what eternity is all about—it's so short.

So short that there's not even enough time to expose a lie.

"Sister Xiao Wu."

Er Ming's voice drifted in from below, sounding muffled.

"You're thinking about that Tang San."

The tone wasn't one of doubt, but rather one of absolute certainty.

Xiao Wu rolled over.

With their backs to the outside of the cave.

"No."

"Who are you kidding?"

Er Ming exhaled a heavy breath through his nostrils.

"Whenever you're thinking or feeling guilty, your feet unconsciously kick at the leaves."

"You lay here for a while and kicked a total of seventeen times."

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment.

She looked down and realized that she had unknowingly kicked up a pile of broken leaves at her feet.

She didn't even realize it was such an unconscious action.

But Er Ming seemed to be oblivious to everything, remembered it all clearly.

"It's not that I didn't see the flaw."

She said it softly, almost inaudibly.

"It's just... I don't really want to admit it."

It's always easier to deceive yourself than to face the bloody truth.

Er Ming remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, Er Ming's rough voice rang out again.

"I'll go and catch that kid once things have calmed down."

"Ask him directly in front of him."

"If he really dared to lie to you, he would keep you as a pet, like Soul Ring."

"I would absolutely strangle him to death right in front of you."

"If he dares to admit it, I'll..."

Er Ming's voice faltered for a moment, as if he were making some difficult concession.

I'll let you decide for yourself.

Xiao Wu poked half her head out from the haystack.

"Decid what?"

"The decision is to keep him as a useless person."

"Or should I just throw him into the lake to feed the fish?"

Er Ming spoke with utmost seriousness.

His large, bell-shaped eyes were filled with murderous intent and stubbornness.

Xiao Wu couldn't help but laugh.

The smile was faint and shallow, with even traces of undried tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

But this made Er Ming, who had been on tenterhooks, breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Just laugh."

Er Ming slapped his thigh with a dull thud.

"Sister Xiao Wu, you're the big sister of the Star Dou Great Forest!"

"Don't let a cunning human brat scare you."

Night had completely fallen.

The entire core area of Star Dou Great Forest was shrouded in thick darkness.

The chirping of insects in the grass rose and fell, weaving together a lullaby.

The Da Ming quietly coiled itself into a circle in the heart of Star Dou Lake.

Its two huge, crimson eyes were half-closed.

No matter how the water flow changed, its gaze remained firmly fixed on the direction of the treehouse where Xiao Wu was.

Spirit City.

The air Papal Hall felt frozen, oppressively heavy.

The hall was completely silent.

No one dared to breathe loudly.

A black-armored guard knelt on one knee on the cold marble floor.

Cold sweat dripped down his chin.

"Pope Holiness, the latest intelligence has been verified."

The guard's voice was extremely strained, almost trembling.

"Tang Hao has gone mad."

"He was like a mad dog, biting indiscriminately, and successively attacked three branch halls on the outskirts of our Spirit City."

"They ran rampant without any purpose, killing anyone they saw."

"He seems to be deliberately searching for something extremely important."

"But this old madman's whereabouts are unpredictable; our tracking teams can't catch a glimpse of him at all."

On the high platform.

The stunningly beautiful woman leaned languidly against the throne.

Bibi Dong.

The Pope of the Spirit Hall.

She didn't speak, but simply turned the scepter in her hand quietly.

The slender armor struck the gemstone, producing a crisp, clicking sound.

The sound, falling into the ears of those below, was like a death knell.

"And what about Tang San?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, who had been standing to the side, could no longer bear the deathly silence and asked a question.

The guard lowered his head even further. "Reporting to the elder, Tang San has completely disappeared."

"Ever since the turmoil in Heaven Dou City, this kid has vanished into thin air."

"We searched all the surrounding cities, but there was no trace of them."

"As for that Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast, Xiao Wu..."

The guard swallowed hard.

She hid in the deepest part of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"All the extensive search teams we dispatched failed miserably."

"Forget about catching her, we can't even find a trace of her."

Yue Guan kept her mouth tightly shut.

He kept his head down the entire time, not daring to make the slightest move.

He knew it perfectly well.

After a series of setbacks, the search made no progress, and three branch temples were even destroyed.

If the Pope were to become angry, those high-ranking officials standing below would be the first to be severely punished.

The guard gritted his teeth and, steeling himself, dropped one last bombshell.

"There's another extremely strange thing."

"The latest intelligence indicates that the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Titan Giant Ape, has appeared."

"It was extremely ferocious and killed several of our key tracking personnel."

"My subordinate suspects that this Forest is very likely deeply connected to that Soft Bone Rabbit."

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the Pope's furious rage.