Comforting Xiao Wu

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

Ning Rongrong frantically tried to talk herself through it.

But...

But Xiao Wu's human form was truly beautiful!

Those pitiful eyes, that slender waist one could encircle with one hand, especially those long, straight legs...

What if?

What if Gu En saw such a delicate, lovely girl in that dark underground chamber and couldn't restrain himself?

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

She leaned forward, wanting to sneak downstairs and take a look.

But the moment she took a step, she abruptly pulled back.

"No!"

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

"If I follow him around like some bitter woman and he catches me, he'll definitely think I'm petty and childish..."

Ning Rongrong anxiously stamped her feet on the spot, unable to move forward or back, her eyes even beginning to redden.

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

"Oh my, whose vinegar jar has tipped over?"

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

Ning Rongrong jumped and spun around.

Dugu Yan stood there with her arms folded, leaning against a wall some distance away and watching her with a teasing expression.

"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 as she hurriedly hid the pastries in her hands behind her back.

Dugu Yan stepped forward, unceremoniously pinched Ning Rongrong's cheek, and chuckled.

"Alright, stop pretending."

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

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

"I'm not!"

Ning Rongrong stubbornly refused to admit it, though her voice grew softer and softer.

"She's a soul beast. Gu En would never be interested in her..."

"If you know she's a soul beast, then why are you peeking around here?"

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

"Come on, come on. You're going to the back mountain to train with me."

"You're the heir to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the future sect master. You need to carry yourself like the principal wife!"

"What kind of skill is watching a man all day?"

"Once you're strong enough, just stomp that rabbit beneath your feet and see if she still dares to 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 resist looking back, casting one deep glance at the tightly shut basement door.

"Gu En... don't let that rabbit fool you..."

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

Clatter—

Hearing those familiar footsteps, Xiao Wu, curled up on the stone floor, 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 dim and lifeless after she had surrendered a soul beast's bottom line, extreme terror and vigilance now flared 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 last word of the method for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to condense a Soul Core! I have no more value to you! What else do you want?!"

As she asked that question, it felt as though an icy hand had viciously clenched around her heart.

Discard the donkey after it has finished pulling the millstone.

Kill the rabbit and take its bones.

Those eight words spun madly through her mind.

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

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

Liar... humans really are all faithless liars! 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, ferocious grin.

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

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

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

"If I truly wanted to kill you and take your bones, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak to me now. I didn't come to kill you today. On the contrary, I came to give you a little 'benefit.'"

"A benefit?" Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then sneered through gritted teeth. "You'd be that kindhearted?"

"Of course."

Gu En shrugged noncommittally, then abruptly changed the subject. "Before that, let me ask you something. Do you know Yu Xiaogang well?"

At the mention of that name, Xiao Wu visibly froze.

She had never expected Gu En to suddenly bring up that man at a time like this.

"Yu Xiaogang? That fellow who calls himself 'Grandmaster'?"

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

"Of course I know him. A Grand Soul Master who could never break through Rank Thirty in his entire life, a piece of trash who has become the laughingstock of the entire continent."

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

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

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

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

The original Xiao Wu had never thought much of Yu Xiaogang to begin with; she had only called him Grandmaster for Tang San's sake.

Now that Tang San's halo had shattered, Xiao Wu's true attitude toward Yu Xiaogang naturally revealed itself without reservation.

"You've judged him quite fairly."

Gu En lightly applauded.

"However, this piece of trash you speak of possesses an identity powerful enough to shake the entirety of Douluo Continent."

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

"No."

Gu En leaned forward slightly, stared into Xiao Wu's eyes, and said each word distinctly.

"He is the man Bibi Dong, the current Pope of Spirit Hall, 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, striking Xiao Wu squarely on the crown of her 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 fancy trash like Yu Xiaogang, who's worse than a pig?! That's absolutely impossible!"