An Excuse

They had been dismissed, but Flender still upheld the fine tradition of Shrek Academy—or rather, he was the one who had taught the upper beam to be crooked, leaving the lower one crooked too.

He left the other matters to Dai Mubai, such as explaining the academy's rules, and played the hands-off boss, heading back to his office first.

On the field, Dai Mubai glanced at Ma Hongjun, who was still running laps.

"If you're not in a hurry, how about we officially start once that fatty finishes?"

Although Ma Hongjun was an older student and didn't need to hear about the academy's rules, they'd all be classmates from now on. And since Shrek Academy was rather unusual, with so few students, it made sense for them to get to know one another.

Jiang Jiu and the others didn't mind, so they started chatting in small groups.

Zhu Zhuqing was with Jiang Jiu's little group, so Dai Mubai found it hard to strike up a conversation with her. He could only make small talk with Oscar, who had shaved off his beard.

Oscar was a little disappointed, too.

In the past, his clean-shaven, foxy face hadn't been irresistible, exactly, but it had at least attracted quite a few girls. Yet the few new junior schoolmates hadn't reacted at all.

Maybe female Soul Masters had higher standards, he told himself in consolation.

Once Ma Hongjun finished his twenty laps, a new round of introductions began.

Dai Mubai went first.

Fifteen years old, level thirty-seven, Martial Soul: White Tiger.

The others gave similarly brief introductions.

"How much?"

Ma Hongjun stared at Xiao Wu, stunned.

He'd spent all of yesterday out messing around, so when he suddenly heard that Xiao Wu was twelve and level thirty-four, he was practically stunned senseless.

They were the same age. How could the difference be so huge?

He'd always been quite pleased with his own talent. How could he even begin to compare?

Take Dai Mubai, for example. He was three years older than Xiao Wu, yet only three levels higher. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she surpassed him.

Who would become the big shot of Shrek Academy in the future was still up in the air.

"Fatty, the dean's taking us to Star Dou Forest tomorrow. Don't sneak out again today."

After explaining some of the academy's rules, Dai Mubai reminded Ma Hongjun, who hadn't been around when Flender spoke earlier.

"Star Dou Forest again? Oh, right."

Only now, after being shocked by Xiao Wu's level, did Ma Hongjun realize that there were two other students here who were level thirty.

And they were only twelve, too. What kind of monsters were they?

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong should be at a normal level, right? Wouldn't it be fine if everyone stayed around level twenty-six or twenty-seven?

"Star Dou Forest?" Xiao Wu paused.

At first, she looked a little excited, but then she seemed to remember something.

"Yikes—"

This was a bit of a headache.

Even after they were finally dismissed, Xiao Wu remained distracted.

Going back to Star Dou Forest was like going home, so that itself wasn't a problem.

The problem was Erming and the others.

She'd thought about going back to Star Dou Forest before. With her cultivation, she was confident she could travel through the forest, because Daming and Erming could sense her presence and would come out to meet her.

Going alone would be all right, but with Xiao Jiu there...

She didn't want to tell Jiang Jiu she was a Soul Beast just yet.

At least not until she reached maturity, right? By then, she'd be a real human, too.

She wondered whether Xiao Jiu could accept having two hundred-thousand-year-old younger brothers-in-law.

What a headache!

"Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You look so worried," Jiang Jiu asked on the way back to their dormitory.

"Huh? Do I?"

Xiao Wu patted her cheeks, then put on a bright, energetic smile again.

"You do," Ning Rongrong said firmly. She was heading the same way as Jiang Jiu and the others—Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San too.

"It's nothing. If something's wrong, I'll tell Xiao Jiu."

Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes.

"If you say so. Anyway, on to the next topic: do we have any plans today?" Ning Rongrong looked at Jiang Jiu expectantly. She knew that, in reality, Jiang Jiu was the one calling the shots here.

Although Jiang Jiu would probably agree to Xiao Wu's suggestions, Ning Rongrong didn't feel like talking to her right now.

"Cultivate, eat, cultivate, sleep, then go Soul Hunting," Jiang Jiu said without embellishment.

"That sounds so boring." Ning Rongrong stuck out her tongue.

But there was nothing she could do about it. She could only accept it.

"Remember to call me when you go eat." With that, she went back to her own room.

It might be boring, but when it was time to cultivate, Ning Rongrong still did her cultivation.

Once they'd returned to their home, only Jiang Jiu and Xiao Wu remained.

"Tell me. Is something wrong?"

Jiang Jiu had actually been thinking about Xiao Wu going to Star Dou Forest, too.

The main thing was that Flender would be leading them this time, and he wasn't easy to fool.

"Xiao Jiu, can I skip this Soul Hunting trip?"

Xiao Wu leaned against Jiang Jiu's chest, making what she thought was a rather willful request.

"That's all? Of course you can."

Jiang Jiu looked at the tall girl in his arms, who had lost most of her childishness. He had to admit, Xiao Wu had become a lot smarter.

That didn't necessarily mean her intelligence had gone up. It was more that he could sometimes see the traces of thought in her expression.

Whether someone thought about things—whether they reflected on the past, the present, and the future—was an important sign of maturity.

"Really? You're not mad at me?" Xiao Wu's voice rose.

"When you went to get your third Soul Ring, you didn't invite me."

"I will next time, I promise!" Xiao Wu smiled ingratiatingly.

As if that wasn't enough, she leaned forward and planted a hard kiss on Jiang Jiu's neck.

"Hiss."

"Mm, Xiao Jiu, don't push me."

"You don't know your own strength." Jiang Jiu touched the spot still wet with saliva. Had she left a hickey?

"Was that because I didn't kiss you enough? Xiao Jiu, you should let me practice on you more."

Xiao Wu had the nerve to sound righteous about it.

Then she added in a quiet voice, "You should practice more, too, Xiao Jiu. I don't mind."

"All right, all right." Jiang Jiu cut off Xiao Wu, who looked ready to keep going.

"Just telling me you don't want to go to Star Dou Forest won't help. We need a reason that can convince the dean."

"Uh, I'm not feeling well?" Xiao Wu recalled the excuse Jiang Jiu had just mentioned.

Jiang Jiu shook his head.

With Oscar around, and a food-type Soul Saint on top of that, Xiao Wu might really get special treatment from Flender because of her terrifying Soul Power cultivation. Talented students naturally got privileges from their teachers. Still, they needed to play it safe.

"That won't work? Then what should I do?"

Looking at Xiao Wu's admiring, trusting eyes, Jiang Jiu felt like a parent helping his own child come up with an excuse to skip school.

"Soul Power cultivation? Soul Power? Xiao Wu, how long until you reach level thirty-five?" Jiang Jiu actually came up with an idea.

At twelve years old and level thirty-five, Flender would probably be grinning from ear to ear. Skip going to Star Dou Forest to train with the others? What did that matter? Wasn't Xiao Wu reaching level thirty-five more important?

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up even more. She understood Jiang Jiu's idea.

"Xiao Jiu, you're amazing!"

This time, she pounced on Jiang Jiu and knocked him to the ground, pressing her whole body on top of him.