The Rabbit Eats the Rabbit

The carriage traveled along the main road for the better part of the day, finally arriving at its destination as evening fell.

Star Dou Forest.

Su Mo lifted the carriage curtain, seeing this legendary paradise of Soul Beasts with his own eyes for the first time.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the forest, dyeing the entire sea of trees a brilliant gold. Towering ancient trees were layered one upon another, stretching endlessly beyond the horizon. Occasionally, birds swept across the treetops, letting out crisp cries. From the distance, the roars of Soul Beasts drifted over, low and echoing, adding a touch of mystery to the forest.

According to records, Star Dou Forest was one of the oldest and largest gathering places for Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent, spanning thousands of miles, with hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts lurking in its depths. Countless Soul Masters had come here to hunt for spirit rings, and countless others had remained here in eternal slumber.

Yet at this moment, bathed in the sunset, this forest with its fearsome reputation was as beautiful as a painting.

Xiao Wu was the first to dash out.

"Wow! Such big trees! So much grass! It smells so good!"

"Finally back!"

She skipped and hopped through the woods, her braid swinging wildly, looking exactly like a rabbit released from a cage.

No, she was a rabbit to begin with.

Tang San followed behind vigilantly, his eyes scanning the surroundings, his hand resting constantly on the hidden weapons at his waist.

Su Mo walked at a leisurely pace, the Big Black Ox by his side, also unusually relaxed, its tail swishing happily.

"Master," Tang San leaned in and asked in a low voice, "where are we going next?"

Su Mo glanced at him and said casually, "No rush. We have plenty of time, let's just wander around."

Tang San was stunned.

Wander around?

This was the Star Dou Forest!

A place teeming with Soul Beasts!

Just wander around?

He scratched his head, looking around warily, feeling as if something would charge out of the woods at any second.

But strangely—

They had been walking for a while, and nothing had happened.

Let alone Soul Beast attacks, they hadn't even seen more than a few shadows of Soul Beasts.

The few they did catch a glimpse of ran away from a distance, as if they had seen something terrifying.

Tang San became even more vigilant.

This wasn't right.

It was too quiet.

In the distance, atop a certain tree.

A Datura Snake coiled on a branch, shivering.

It was a mutated Datura Snake with a thin trace of auspicious beast bloodline in its body, allowing it to see things that ordinary Soul Beasts could not.

For instance—

Those four humans.

No, three humans and one ox.

But that little girl with the braid...

In its eyes, she was not a human at all.

She was a ball of soft white light, exuding a faint pressure—a suppression originating from the depths of its bloodline.

And that ox...

In its eyes, it was a mass of dense black light, as heavy as a mountain, pressing down so hard it couldn't catch its breath.

As for that fair and clean-looking child...

It couldn't see him clearly.

He was standing right there, but in its eyes, the area around him was blurred, as if separated by a layer of mist.

The more it tried to see him clearly, the more blurred he became.

And that child with the bump on his head...

There was a strange aura about him—cold, dangerous, as if he were hiding something sinister.

The Datura Snake curled itself into a ball, not daring to move a muscle.

It had lived for seven or eight hundred years and had never seen such a strange combination.

Especially that little girl—

When she glanced in its direction unintentionally, the Datura Snake felt a chill shoot straight from its tailbone to its crown.

It was not because of her.

It was because of what was behind her.

Deep within the forest, two terrifying consciousnesses swept across this place simultaneously.

Those two consciousnesses were so powerful that it nearly fainted on the spot.

One hundred thousand years.

It was definitely one hundred thousand years.

The Datura Snake buried its head into its own body, wishing it had never existed.

Leave, leave, leave...

Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me...

Su Mo suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He looked back.

There was nothing there.

Yet, he vaguely felt that something was watching them.

However, the gaze held no malice; it merely swept over them before retracting.

Su Mo withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

Bringing Xiao Wu along had indeed been the right choice.

With her here, the two "relatives" deep in the forest would look out for them from the shadows.

On this journey, it would be difficult to encounter any danger.

The sky began to darken.

Su Mo found an open space and prepared to set up camp.

"I'll go gather firewood," Tang San volunteered.

"I'll go find something to eat!" Xiao Wu hopped and skipped away.

The Big Black Ox followed her—mostly because it was afraid Xiao Wu wouldn't find her way back.

Su Mo remained where he was, starting to clear the ground to prepare a fire.

Before long, Tang San returned carrying a bundle of dry wood.

A while later, Xiao Wu and the Big Black Ox returned as well.

Xiao Wu was holding a pile of wild fruits, her face full of excitement: "Master! I found so many fruits!"

The Big Black Ox followed behind her, its gait looking a bit strange.

It was limping.

Su Mo glanced at it: "What's wrong?"

The Big Black Ox didn't speak, merely sticking its rear end out in front of him.

Su Mo looked down—

On the Big Black Ox's rear, there were two distinct, small tooth marks.

It was still bleeding.

Su Mo fell silent.

Tang San leaned in, examined it carefully, and concluded: "It was bitten."

The Big Black Ox rolled its eyes at him.

"Moo." (No kidding.)

Xiao Wu explained from the side: "We saw a rabbit earlier, and the Big Black Ox tried to catch it, but the rabbit suddenly turned around and bit it right on the butt."

Su Mo: "...A rabbit?"

Xiao Wu nodded: "Mhm, it was a really big rabbit."

Su Mo looked at the Big Black Ox.

A six-hundred-year-old demon king.

Bitten on the butt by a rabbit.

The Big Black Ox turned its face away, pretending to admire the scenery.

Su Mo took a deep breath, holding back his laughter.

"And that rabbit?"

Xiao Wu pulled a plump, large rabbit from behind her back: "Right here! I caught it!"

The rabbit was still kicking its legs, looking completely defiant.

Su Mo looked at the rabbit, then at the Big Black Ox's backside.

"How about we roast it?"

The Big Black Ox whipped its head around, its eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Moo?" (Are you talking about the rabbit or me?)

Su Mo ignored it.

The campfire was lit.

The rabbit had been cleaned and set over the fire to roast. As the fat dripped onto the charcoal, it hissed and crackled, and the scent gradually began to drift through the air.

Tang San stared at the rabbit, swallowing hard.

Xiao Wu was staring too, her eyes sparkling.

Su Mo glanced at Xiao Wu, suddenly struck by a question.

Xiao Wu was a rabbit.

Would a rabbit have any psychological hang-ups about eating a rabbit?

He asked tentatively, "Xiao Wu, do you... eat rabbit?"

Xiao Wu looked at him, bewildered. "Are rabbits not meant to be eaten?"

Su Mo: "...They are."

Xiao Wu nodded and went back to staring at the rabbit over the fire, muttering, "It would taste even better if we added some carrots."

Su Mo fell silent.

He recalled the debates from his past life—after a Soul Beast takes human form, do they eat meat? Do they eat the meat of other Soul Beasts?

It seemed the answer was yes.

And they ate it quite happily, at that.

However, he couldn't ask the original question directly, so he turned to the Big Black Ox and rephrased it.

"Old Ox, as a Soul Beast, do you feel angry when you see Spirit Masters hunting for spirit rings?"

The Big Black Ox lifted its head, looking puzzled.

"Moo?" (Why would I be angry?)

Su Mo was taken aback.

Xiao Wu laughed from the side. "Master, why would you ask that?"

Xiao Wu was also curious, as if Su Mo had asked a very silly question.