Immortal Herb

Xiao Wu lay sprawled before Ah Rou's body, her entire body trembling.

Her tears fell onto Ah Rou's fur, one drop after another, impossible to stop.

Nezha knelt beside Xiao Wu.

He had withdrawn all of his Three Heads and Six Arms, leaving only one head and two arms.

He knelt there, one hand tightly gripping Ah Rou's already cold forepaw, the other clawing desperately at the dirt, his nails packed with blood and mud.

Da Ming lowered his bull's head, his vertical pupils dim and lifeless.

Er Ming stood some distance away. He did not dare approach. He did not dare look.

No one spoke.

The only sounds between heaven and earth were the lake water gently lapping against the shore and their choked sobs, suppressed to the limit.

No one knew how much time passed.

Xiao Wu slowly raised her head.

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her eye sockets webbed with blood vessels.

But at that moment, beneath the grief in her eyes was a trace of resolve.

It was a resolve that made one's heart tremble.

"I want to undergo Transformation and become human."

Da Ming abruptly raised his head, his vertical pupils filled with disbelief.

Er Ming froze on the spot, his enormous fist hanging motionless in midair.

"Sister Xiao Wu, what did you say?" Da Ming's voice carried an unusual urgency.

"Do you know what it means to undergo Transformation and become human?"

"I know." Xiao Wu's voice remained soft, yet it was exceptionally firm.

"No, you don't!" Da Ming swept his tail violently across the ground, carving a deep furrow through the earth.

"When a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transforms into a human, if it cannot break through to God Rank above Title Douluo, it can only live for a mere hundred years! A hundred years! To us, that is no more than the flick of a finger!"

"Sister Xiao Wu, don't act rashly." Er Ming crouched down, bringing his enormous head close to Xiao Wu. His voice was full of anxiety. "Aunt Rou has just left us. If something happens to you too..."

"I'm not acting rashly."

Xiao Wu cut him off. She raised her head, her swollen eyes looking at Da Ming and Er Ming. There was no impulse in them, no madness—only clarity.

"Da Ming, Er Ming, you both know this. My talent is not outstanding among Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Mother chose to transform into a human back then because, with her aptitude, it was nearly impossible for her to survive the two-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation."

She lowered her head and looked at Ah Rou's body, her voice trembling slightly. "I inherited Mother's bloodline. My aptitude is even worse than hers. If I remain in the Star Dou Forest, what will I use to survive my two-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation when it arrives?"

Da Ming and Er Ming fell silent at the same time.

They knew better than anyone that Xiao Wu was telling the truth.

The Soft-Boned Enchanting Rabbit clan had never excelled in combat. Their gifts lay in speed and survival, not in resisting the Heavenly Tribulation head-on.

Ah Rou had chosen Transformation back then because she knew she could not survive it.

And Xiao Wu's talent was even slightly inferior to Ah Rou's.

"Besides..." The fire called hatred ignited in Xiao Wu's eyes.

"If I stay in the Star Dou Forest, how will I avenge Mother? Bibi Dong is the pope of Spirit Hall. She hides in Spirit City, guarded by Title Douluo and surrounded by countless soul masters. How can I, a Soul Beast, kill her?"

Her claws carved deep marks into the ground. "Only by transforming into a human. Only by cultivating as Mother did, reaching Title Douluo as a human, can I enter Spirit City and kill Bibi Dong with my own hands."

"But—"

Er Ming still wanted to say something.

"Er Ming." Xiao Wu interrupted him, her voice soft, as light as a feather. "Mother is dead. I can't do nothing."

In the end, Er Ming could not say a single word.

Da Ming remained silent for a long time.

His vertical pupils looked at Xiao Wu. Since when had Sister Xiao Wu, who had only known how to chase his tail and play, become capable of saying such things?

After a long while, Da Ming lowered his head.

"You've made up your mind?"

"I have."

"No regrets?"

"No regrets."

Da Ming slowly lowered his bull's head and closed his eyes. He did not try to persuade her again.

Because he knew that when Xiao Wu spoke in that tone, no one could stop her. In that regard, she was exactly like Aunt Rou.

"Fine." Da Ming's voice was hoarse.

"You undergo Transformation. Aunt Rou's vengeance is ours as well. We will remain in the Star Dou Forest. If you ever need us, just send a signal. Even if Er Ming and I have to tear down Spirit City, we will come to your side."

Er Ming nodded fiercely, his fist smashing into the ground and leaving behind a deep crater.

Xiao Wu's tears flowed again. Yet she did not cry aloud. She merely nodded hard.

Nezha had remained crouched beside Ah Rou's body without speaking.

As someone who had crossed over into this world, he knew better than anyone that Xiao Wu's Transformation was bound to happen.

In the original story, Xiao Wu had transformed into a human and entered human society after her mother was killed by Bibi Dong.

This was the beginning of the entire story of Douluo Continent, a script fate had written long ago.

But knowing was one thing; witnessing it with his own eyes was another.

He had watched Ah Rou turn into a Soul Ring and Soul Bone before him. He had watched Xiao Wu change from a carefree rabbit into someone whose eyes now held nothing but hatred.

He wanted to persuade Xiao Wu. He wanted to tell her how dangerous the road after Transformation would be, but he could find no reason to do so.

Because the same hatred burned within his own heart.

In the end, he merely stood, walked over to Xiao Wu, looked into her eyes, and said, "Xiao Wu, no matter what you decide, I will support you."

Xiao Wu looked at him.

Those swollen pink eyes looked at him, tears welling within them, ready to burst through at any moment.

Then she suddenly threw herself at Nezha.

She held him tightly, her tears soaking the clothes on his shoulder. Her voice was shattered. "Nezha, Mother is gone... Mother is gone... From now on, it'll only be us..."

Nezha said nothing.

He only wrapped his arms around Xiao Wu and held her tightly, tightly.

Da Ming coiled nearby, his bull's head lowered, silent.

Er Ming turned away, his huge shoulders trembling faintly.

After a long time, Xiao Wu's crying gradually quieted.

She lifted her head from Nezha's embrace and carelessly wiped at her face with her claws, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not wipe away the tear stains covering it.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Nezha's mind.

Like lightning tearing through the night sky, it instantly illuminated something he had forgotten in a corner of his memory.

Immortal Herb.

Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

In the original story, Xiao Wu's identity as a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had been exposed after the Soul Master Tournament, and Spirit Hall had hunted her because of it.

Before that, however, the petals of Lovesick Heartbreak Red had concealed the Soul Beast aura around Xiao Wu, allowing her to avoid having her identity discovered by Title Douluo.

Immortal Herbs could conceal the aura of a Transformed Soul Beast!

The instant that thought appeared, Nezha felt as though someone had fiercely gripped his heart.