He recalled the details of his previous life.
At this point, Tang San should have just started school. He was so broke he couldn't afford even bedding.
Right!
This was the perfect opportunity!
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up.
"In my previous life, I helped him, and he remembered my kindness. This time, things may have gone a little differently, but if I help him again, he'll surely come around!"
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
"Su Mo?" He sneered. "He's nothing but a butterfly effect caused by my rebirth. He was a nobody in my previous life. What kind of waves could he possibly make?"
He straightened his clothes and puffed out his chest.
"Just you wait, Tang San. Your master is coming to save you."
"When I ascend to the Divine Realm, I'll make sure you—"
"Achoo!"
The sneeze sent snot spraying all over his sleeve.
Yu Xiaogang: "..."
He silently wiped his sleeve and continued on his way.
His retreating figure radiated tragic resolve.
Su Mo suddenly shivered.
He looked up and glanced out the window.
The sun was shining brightly. It hadn't gotten colder.
Oh well. Never mind.
The two little ones in front of him were still arguing.
"I'm going to be your master's wife!"
"No! Master is mine alone!"
"What do you mean, yours alone? Master isn't your personal property!"
"Master?"
Xiao Wu nodded, looking perfectly matter-of-fact. "Of course. It sounds so affectionate."
Tang San's face flushed red. "Y-You can't just call him that!"
"Why not? I'm going to be his wife." Xiao Wu blinked. "Isn't it perfectly normal for a master's wife to call him that?"
Tang San couldn't argue with her and stamped his feet in frustration.
He looked to Su Mo, his eyes full of pleading.
Su Mo sighed and stood up.
"Enough. Stop arguing."
They both fell silent and looked at him.
Su Mo looked at Xiao Wu.
The more he looked at her face, the more it resembled Lin Xiaowu's.
Her features, her expression, the way she smiled...
It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.
He needed to find out.
Was there any connection between this world's Soul Beast Xiao Wu and Lin Xiaowu from his previous life?
Su Mo took a deep breath.
"Xiao Wu, I can take you as my disciple."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Tang San panicked. "Master!"
Su Mo raised a hand to stop him. "But there's one condition."
Xiao Wu nodded. "Tell me, Master!"
Su Mo said, "From now on, just call me 'Master.' Don't add that extra 'dear.'"
Xiao Wu tilted her head and thought about it. "Master-dear... Master... All right."
Su Mo nodded in satisfaction.
Xiao Wu immediately sprang up and grabbed Su Mo's arm. "Yay! I'm Master-dear's—no, Master's disciple now too!"
She let go and turned to Tang San, looking smug.
"From now on, you can call me Senior Sister."
Tang San froze. "What Senior Sister? You joined later than me!"
Xiao Wu blinked. "So what if I joined later?"
But he wasn't convinced. "If you joined later, you should call me Senior Brother! Those who join first rank higher!"
Xiao Wu waved a hand. "Oh, come on. We're in the same sect. Why fuss over little things? Call me Senior Sister. Be good."
Tang San's face reddened. "No!"
Xiao Wu leaned toward him, smiling sweetly. "You won't? Then I'll go chat with Master-dear every day and leave you out."
Tang San: "..."
He took a deep breath and forced the words through clenched teeth:
"Se-Senior Sister."
Xiao Wu nodded, satisfied. "Good boy, Junior Brother."
Tang San's face turned black as the bottom of a pot.
Watching them, Su Mo couldn't help grinning.
There weren't many people who could get the better of Tang San.
Xiao Wu was one of them.
Su Mo turned to Xiao Wu and corrected her, "You joined later than Tang San. You're his Junior Sister."
Xiao Wu readily nodded. "Oh, all right then, Senior Brother."
Tang San curled his lip. "Hmph, you pig-headed fool!"
Xiao Wu blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Tang San said with a straight face, "It's what you call the second junior sister."
Xiao Wu murmured, "Oh," and nodded, seemingly accepting this explanation.
Just then, Xiao Wu suddenly remembered something and turned to Su Mo again. "Master, when can I get promoted to your wife?"
Su Mo's smile froze on his face.
"What?"
Xiao Wu counted on her fingers. "Look, I'm a Junior Sister now. Above Junior Sister is Senior Sister. And above Senior Sister is... what?"
"There's nothing above Senior Sister," Tang San cut in irritably. "Above her is Master."
Xiao Wu shook her head. "No, that's not right. My mother said that in a group, a mate ranks higher than an ordinary member. So a master's wife should rank higher than a Senior Sister, right?"
She looked at Su Mo, her face full of anticipation. "Master-dear, if I keep working hard, can I become your wife?"
Su Mo: "..."
He looked into those bright eyes.
That familiar face.
That "Master-dear."
He suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Tang San gleefully chimed in, "Master, you took her as your disciple. You figure it out."
Su Mo glared at him.
Tang San immediately lowered his head and pretended to sort through his luggage.
Xiao Wu was still waiting for an answer.
Su Mo took a deep breath and forced out four words:
"We'll talk later."
Xiao Wu tilted her head, thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. For now, I'll work hard to be a good Junior Sister."
She clenched her little fists, brimming with fighting spirit.
"Once I've got my Senior Brother under control, I'll think about getting promoted!"
Tang San: "???"
What did she mean, "under control"?
How was he the one who needed controlling?
Xiao Wu had already turned to him and started assigning chores. "Junior Brother, you fetch the water. Junior Brother, you sweep the floor. Junior Brother, you—"
Tang San was utterly dumbfounded.
Only then did he realize—
He'd been played.
Watching them, Su Mo shook his head.
This disciple was beyond saving.
But...
He watched Xiao Wu's busy figure—her familiar face, her familiar smile.
A thought suddenly came to him.
Whether or not she had any connection to Lin Xiaowu, he'd keep her by his side. He could think of it as making up for breaking his promise in his previous life.
However, there was still the matter of bedding.
Su Mo and Tang San both had some—Su Yuntao had thoughtfully prepared a brand-new set for each of them.
Xiao Wu had none.
She'd arrived empty-handed. She hadn't brought bedding, let alone more than a few changes of clothes.
Seeing this, Wang Sheng hurried over eagerly. "Sister Xiao Wu, why don't you use mine? We're both Work-Study Students, so our tuition is waived, but they don't give us free bedding too. Mine's a little old, but it's still pretty warm."
Xiao Wu glanced at him and shook her head.
Then her gaze fell on Su Mo's bed.
It was a little bigger than the others—after all, it needed to leave room for Su Mo to transform—and the bedding was spacious and looked very comfortable.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"Master-dear's bedding is so big."
She went over, measured it with her hands, and nodded in satisfaction.
"There's enough for two people. And the beds can be pushed together, so there's plenty of room to sleep. It should be fine for Master and me to sleep together, right?"
"Master-dear, let's try and see!"
Su Mo froze.
Tang San reacted a hundred times faster.
"No!"
He darted over and planted himself between Su Mo and Xiao Wu, spreading his arms like a mother hen guarding her food.
"How can you sleep with Master?! Men and women shouldn't be so intimate!"