Time flowed like a babbling stream, and a year passed.
Somewhere on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, a gigantic gray gorilla, as massive as a small mountain, slowly bent down. A little girl with a scorpion-tail braid and a pink dress, sitting on its shoulder, stood up and hopped down its arm to the ground.
The little girl then turned to face the gray gorilla. One human and one ape looked at each other in silence.
"Er Ming."
After a while, Xiao Wu was the first to speak.
"I'm leaving. I have to leave."
"Sister Xiao Wu, you..."
Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape, opened his mouth, still intending to make one final attempt to persuade her to stay.
"Actually, Sister Xiao Wu, you could follow Aunt Rou's example and find an ordinary village near the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to live in for a while. That would support your Soul Power cultivation while avoiding the risk of being exposed by human experts. It would also make it easier for me to look after you whenever necessary."
"Once you become a Titled Douluo, we can go find those people and take revenge together."
Upon hearing the word "revenge," Xiao Wu lowered her head slightly. A faint red gleam flashed through her eyes, and she said in a low voice, "Revenge... Er Ming, just the two of us can't do it."
She abruptly raised her head and looked toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. Bloodshot veins suddenly appeared in her eyes.
"If only... Damn it... Idiots!"
"Hey, hey!"
Er Ming hurriedly bent down and shielded Xiao Wu beneath him, as if trying to cover her voice through this clumsy gesture. At the same time, he nervously looked around, seemingly wary of something.