Comforting Xiao Wu

"She's just a soul beast, a tool for Brother Gu En to increase his strength. How could you be jealous of a rabbit?"

Ning Rongrong frantically tried to reassure herself in her heart.

But...

But Xiao Wu's human form was truly beautiful!

Those pitiful eyes, that slender waist, especially those long, straight legs...

What if?

What if Brother Gu En lost control in that dark basement while looking at such a delicate girl?

The more Ning Rongrong thought about it, the more panicked she became.

She leaned forward, wanting to quietly follow him down and peek.

But after taking just one step, she abruptly pulled back.

"No!"

"I'm the young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the wife Brother Gu En will properly marry in the future."

"If I stalk him like some resentful wife and he finds out, he'll definitely think I'm narrow-minded and immature..."

Ning Rongrong anxiously stomped her feet on the spot, unable to move forward or retreat. Her eyes were even beginning to redden.

Just then, a fair, slender hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.

"Oh my, whose vinegar jar has been knocked over?"

"The sour smell has drifted all the way to the front courtyard."

Ning Rongrong jumped in fright and whipped around.

Dugu Yan stood against a wall not far away with her arms crossed, looking at her teasingly.

"Y-Yan'er, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not jealous!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Ning Rongrong's little face instantly flushed red. She hurriedly hid the pastries in her hand behind her back.

Dugu Yan walked over, unceremoniously pinched Ning Rongrong's cheek, and chuckled.

"Enough, stop pretending."

"Your eyes are practically glued to the basement door."

"Aren't you just afraid your man will have his soul stolen by that little fox spirit... no, that little rabbit spirit?"

"I'm not!"

Ning Rongrong stubbornly denied it, but her voice grew softer and softer.

"She's a soul beast. Brother Gu En would never take a liking to her..."

"If you know she's a soul beast, why are you still lurking around here and craning your neck?"

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes irritably, grabbed Ning Rongrong by the wrist, and forcibly dragged her outside.

"Come on, come on. Go train in the back mountain with me."

"You're the inheritor of the mighty Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the future Sect Master. You need to carry yourself like the principal wife!"

"What skill is there in watching a man all day?"

"Once you're strong enough, just stomp that rabbit beneath your feet and see if she still dares cause trouble!"

"Yan'er, slow down, my pastries are going to spill..."

Ning Rongrong was dragged out of the corridor by Dugu Yan.

At the final turn, she still could not help looking back, casting a deep glance at the tightly shut basement door.

"Brother Gu En... don't let that rabbit deceive you..."

Behind that heavy stone door, Gu En's footsteps had already begun to echo slowly through the empty, gloomy prison cell.

Clank—

Hearing those familiar footsteps, Xiao Wu, curled up on the stone slab, suddenly raised her head. The Spatial Chains around her wrists and ankles rang out with a crisp collision.

She stared fixedly at Gu En as he approached. In her eyes, once dull and lifeless after surrendering a soul beast's bottom line, extreme terror and vigilance now blazed anew.

"Y-you... what are you here for again?"

Xiao Wu's voice trembled as she instinctively shrank farther into the corner.

"I already told you every single word about how a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast condenses a Soul Core! I have no more value to you. What else do you want?!"

As she asked that question, Xiao Wu felt as though an icy hand had clamped tightly around her heart.

Discarding the mule after it had finished grinding.

Killing the rabbit for its bones.

Those eight words whirled wildly through her mind.

She understood human greed all too well, especially that of the youth before her, who was more cunning than a demon.

He had definitely come to take her Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone!

Liar... humans really are all liars who never keep their promises! Xiao Wu cursed despairingly in her heart.

Yet Gu En did not summon his martial soul as she had expected, nor did he reveal a greedy, savage grin.

He merely calmly pulled over the grand chair, smoothed his robes, and sat down leisurely.

"Don't be so nervous, little rabbit."

Gu En looked at Xiao Wu, who faced him as though confronting a great enemy, a hint of amusement flashing through his violet-gold eyes.

"If I really wanted to kill you for your bones, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak to me now. I came today not to kill you, but to give you a little 'benefit.'"

"A benefit?" Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then bit down and sneered. "You'd be that kindhearted?"

"Of course."

Gu En shrugged noncommittally, then abruptly changed the subject. "Before that, let me ask you something. Are you familiar with Yu Xiaogang?"

Upon hearing that name, Xiao Wu was visibly stunned.

She never would have expected Gu En to suddenly mention that man at a time like this.

"Yu Xiaogang? That guy who calls himself 'Master'?"

The fear in Xiao Wu's eyes faded somewhat, replaced by undisguised contempt and disdain.

"Of course I know him. A Soul Grandmaster who could never break through level thirty in his entire life, a piece of trash whom the whole continent treats as a joke."

As though even mentioning that name dirtied her mouth, Xiao Wu snorted.

"He puts on airs all day, waving around theories copied from who knows where as he cheats people everywhere."

"If Tang San hadn't insisted on taking him as his teacher, I'd find it disgusting to even look at a weak and hypocritical human like him!"

Listening to Xiao Wu's merciless mockery, Gu En smiled in satisfaction.

The Xiao Wu of the original story had never liked Yu Xiaogang much to begin with. She had only called him Master out of consideration for Tang San's sake.

Now that Tang San's rose-colored filter had shattered, Xiao Wu's true attitude toward Yu Xiaogang naturally stood exposed.

"You put that very aptly."

Gu En lightly applauded.

"However, this piece of trash you speak of has an identity enough to shake the entire Douluo Continent."

"What identity?" Xiao Wu curled her lips disdainfully.

"No."

Gu En leaned slightly forward, stared into Xiao Wu's eyes, and spoke each word slowly and clearly.

"He is the man the current Pope of Spirit Hall—Bibi Dong—has loved most deeply in her life, and the only man she has ever loved."

Boom!

Those words were like a bolt from the blue, viciously striking Xiao Wu atop the head.

Her large eyes instantly widened round, her lips parted slightly, and her face filled with disbelief.

"Y-you're talking nonsense!"

Xiao Wu struggled violently, wrenching the chains until they clattered loudly.

"Bibi Dong is the lofty Pope of Spirit Hall, a Peerless Douluo who kills without blinking! How could she possibly fall for trash like Yu Xiaogang, who isn't even as good as a pig?! That's absolutely impossible!"