Moreover, judging by Tang San's various actions in the original story, he couldn't personally interfere in the lower realm for quite some time. It would be at least several years before he could descend in person.
What's more, Tang San's main target was sure to be Huo Yuhao. With Huo Yuhao drawing Tang San's attention, Song Mu was relatively safe.
Song Mu stopped thinking about Tang San and turned his attention back to Wang Dong'er.
She had a soul but no body. Could he still release her? Song Mu wondered.
He tried, but sure enough, he couldn't release her. A prompt appeared, telling him to heal the Soul Beast first.
He could heal her, too? Song Mu searched through the options and found the healing function at the very bottom.
He selected it, and a prompt appeared: Spend 710 Locke Berries to heal?
Locke Berries must be the exclusive currency of this Martial Soul. Song Mu tried selecting confirm, and the healing succeeded.
That was unexpected. He decided not to rush into releasing Wang Dong'er just yet. First, he'd find out what this panel could do.
In a room decorated in shades of pink and blue, a young woman lay quietly on a large bed. She had long, pale blue hair and wore a white dress, just like the model shown on the panel.
The young woman was Wang Dong'er.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. She seemed on the verge of waking.
"Mm..."
Wang Dong'er slowly opened her eyes and gazed blearily at the room around her.
She propped herself up, sat up, and rubbed her eyes, thinking drowsily, Why am I in bed? Wasn't I supposed to fight that new roommate of mine?
Looking around again, Wang Dong'er was surprised to find herself in a room in the Clear Sky Sect.
"Why am I home? Wasn't I going to Shrek Academy to study?"
Her mind filled with questions. Wang Dong'er decided to find Big Uncle and Second Uncle and ask what was going on.
As she passed a mirror, the figure reflected in it caught her eye.
She spun around and stared at her reflection in disbelief. It was a face she had never seen before.
"This is... me?"
Wang Dong'er's hand trembled as she touched her face. The sensation was real. She wasn't dreaming.
The succession of shocks made fear rise swiftly in her heart. But the instant it surfaced, it vanished completely.
A voice appeared in her heart, telling her this was her true appearance, the real her.
Her true self? Wang Dong'er's fear turned entirely into confusion.
Just then, Wang Dong'er sensed something outside the door calling to her.
Perhaps the answer to her questions lay beyond it.
Following her instincts, Wang Dong'er slowly walked to the door and pushed it open.
A flash of white light swept over her, and she instinctively shut her eyes.
When she opened them again, she found herself in a new place.
A blond boy about her age sat cross-legged on the bed in front of her. For some reason, he felt familiar.
Wang Dong'er looked around the room and realized that its furnishings and layout looked very much like a dormitory at Shrek Academy.
She turned back to the boy and said nothing.
Song Mu watched Wang Dong'er standing in place. First, she noticed him. Then she looked away to take in the dormitory, before turning her gaze back to him.
From the panel alone, Song Mu had already thought Wang Dong'er was beautiful. Seeing her in person, he found she was even more stunning.
Their eyes met, and Song Mu spoke first.
"Ahem. Let me introduce myself. My name is Song Mu. My Martial Soul can capture Soul Beasts, and you're the first Soul Beast I've captured. In other words, I'm your master."
After he said that, Song Mu clearly saw Wang Dong'er's eyes tremble, but she still didn't speak.
She probably didn't believe at all that she was a Soul Beast, Song Mu thought.
"Your memories probably still stop at the moment you were about to fight your roommate."
"The truth is, you're a Light Goddess Butterfly. You're still in human form because you're a Humanoid Spirit Beast."
"Your body was destroyed, and someone stuffed your soul into the body of that pink-and-blue-haired boy, where you temporarily took control. When I captured Soul Beasts, I captured your soul, too."
"And the body you have now is one I recreated for you. This is what you really look like." As he spoke, Song Mu took out a mirror and held it up for Wang Dong'er.
To Song Mu's surprise, Wang Dong'er showed almost no reaction when she looked at her reflection.
Had she accepted who she was? That quickly?
It would be best if Wang Dong'er believed him. If she didn't, there was plenty of time to convince her.
Song Mu put away the mirror and continued, "You're my first Soul Beast. You might also be the most talented one, and the one with the most potential. I'm telling you all this because I don't want anything between us. We'll be fighting side by side from now on."
"Now, you can ask me anything you like. If I know the answer, I'll tell you."
Wang Dong'er finally spoke, asking Song Mu her first question.
"Have you ever been to the Clear Sky Sect?"
"Hm? No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"
Song Mu was taken aback by the unexpected question.
"When I woke up, I found myself lying in a room with the exact same layout as mine. My home is in the Clear Sky Sect."
Hearing this, Song Mu thought for a moment and quickly understood why.
"You were inside my Martial Soul just now. My Martial Soul creates an environment based on the place you're most familiar with living in. That's also where you stay whenever I put you away."
Song Mu took out the King Ball and showed it to Wang Dong'er.
"Any other questions?"
Wang Dong'er was silent for a moment, then asked, "Can I go back?"
"Of course."
Song Mu snapped his fingers. Wang Dong'er once again felt that familiar pull. When she opened her eyes the next moment, she was back in her room.
She walked to the bed and sat down, thinking over everything Song Mu had told her. His words inspired a strange trust in her, making her truly believe she was a Soul Beast.
However, she knew she couldn't blindly accept that inexplicable trust and let someone else lead her around. She had to calm down and think it through carefully for herself.
Watching Wang Dong'er vanish from the dormitory, Song Mu let out a long breath.
He'd thought their first meeting might go badly, but it seemed they'd gotten along all right.
Perhaps Wang Dong'er had acted that way mostly because his Martial Soul had made her feel no hostility toward him.
All she felt was wariness toward the unknown.
How they would get along from now on depended on Wang Dong'er's attitude toward him.
While figuring out his Martial Soul earlier, Song Mu had discovered how he'd managed to heal Wang Dong'er.
Once his Martial Soul had fully awakened, ten thousand Locke Berries had appeared in his inventory as starting funds. There was nothing else.
His Martial Soul had quite a few functions. He'd have to spend some time learning more about it.
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