Three Against Three with Scarlet King-Why Was I the One Getting Beaten Up?

Three-Eyed Golden Lion rolled over, rested her chin on the edge of the stone, and cast a sidelong glance at Lu Yuan.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not yet."

"Then why aren't you sleeping?"

"I just lay down..."

"Oh... oh..."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion buried her chin back into the stone.

It was quiet again for a while.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion could not help asking again, "Lu Yuan, you said a steward from Shrek Academy mistook you for an Evil Soul Master. Didn't that mean you were being hunted down?"

"You'd only just awakened your Martial Soul and didn't even have a Soul Ring. How did a little brat like you get away?"

Lu Yuan said, "He was only a Soul Grandmaster. Besides, I injured one of his hands afterward, so he couldn't use his Soul Skills anymore."

"While he was hesitating, I ran."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion said in surprise, "You, a level-ten Soul Scholar without a Soul Ring, injured a Soul Grandmaster?"

"My Martial Soul is good. Can't help it."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly rolled over, her golden fur puffing up in the darkness as her vertical pupils widened. "Why?!"

"What do you mean, why?"

"I'm a super Soul Beast too! But every time I fight Scarlet King and the others, I get beaten up!"

"Uncle Scarlet King and the others have hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, right? Today, you said you're only a little over ten thousand years old. You're a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast fighting them. Of course you'd get beaten up."

"What's wrong with being over ten thousand years old?"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion's fur bristled as she retorted, "I have three eyes! He only has three heads! Three against three, so why am I the one getting beaten up?"

"Those three heads are controlled in perfect sync and can breathe fire at the same time. What can your three eyes do besides see things?"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion froze for two seconds, then said something that nearly made Lu Yuan choke. "I can glare at him."

"..."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion explained solemnly, "When I glare at him, he gets distracted."

"I tried it once. When Scarlet King stared at me, he forgot he was fighting."

"That was because he was afraid of hurting you and didn't dare fight for real."

"Impossible. Scarlet King said he was serious."

"He lied to you."

"He didn't! Uncle Scarlet King is very honest!"

"A Ferocious Beast that's lived for hundreds of thousands of years, honest?"

"Anyway, he's more honest than humans!"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion grew flustered at his questioning and slapped the haystack with her paw, sending hay flying into Lu Yuan's face.

"Why do you talk so much? Sleep!"

"..."

Lu Yuan brushed the blades of grass from his face and obediently shut up.

After another stretch of silence.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion said, "What are you planning to eat tomorrow morning?"

"...Didn't you say you wanted to sleep?"

"Can't I ask before sleeping?"

"Shouldn't Sister Bi Ji prepare something for us?"

"No, she won't! Sister Bi Ji might prepare something for you, but not for me!"

"Why?"

"It's all Uncle Di Tian's fault! He said Soul Beasts respect my status and won't take the initiative to attack me, so I should return that respect by hunting my own food."

Lu Yuan turned over to face the wall of the tree hollow and said calmly, "I hope we can eat meat tomorrow."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice sounded behind him. "I want to eat a Cyclops's head!"

"Eat a head? What's so good about that?"

"You don't understand! The brain stores all of a Soul Beast's Spiritual Origin, Soul Power essence, and attribute origin."

"It's a tremendous tonic!"

Lu Yuan was not used to eating raw food. "Forget it. I couldn't bring myself to eat that."

"You just haven't eaten enough, so you think heads taste good. There are countless delicacies in this world. Why obsess over that?"

"When I get the chance, I'll show you my cooking!"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion said, "Cooking?"

Humans really were better than Soul Beasts at that. Their two hands were very nimble.

She had once seen Soul Masters cooking in the forest while hunting Soul Beasts. Once they finished, she had charged over, driven them away, and eaten the food herself!

It really had tasted quite good.

She eyed Lu Yuan suspiciously.

But... this guy was so small. Could he really cook well?

"Then I'll catch two rabbits tomorrow for you to try?"

"No problem!"

Another bout of silence followed.

Outside the tree hollow came the faint sound of Lake of Life's waters, while a light fragrance of grass and trees drifted in.

"Hey!"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly propped up half her body from the stone and asked, "Why are you sleeping so far inside?"

"It's warmer inside. And... you're so big. I'm afraid you'll crush me."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion said, "..."

How could that happen?

"Then why are you sleeping with your back to me?"

Lu Yuan turned around. "Should I sleep facing you, then?"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion thought about it and seemed to feel that plan would not work either, since her vertical pupils would be directly facing Lu Yuan's face.

If she accidentally touched him, that would be troublesome.

She asked another question. "Do you drool in your sleep?"

"No."

"I've seen Lord Bear drool in his sleep. His stone bed stank terribly!"

Lu Yuan could not help laughing.

So there was even something about Bear Two?

Three-Eyed Golden Lion's tone held genuine disgust. "If you drool too, I'll bite you to death."

"I promise I won't drool."

"What good is your promise? Once you're asleep, you won't know."

"If I drool, you can bite me."

A while later, Lu Yuan was nearly asleep when he vaguely heard Three-Eyed Golden Lion quietly say, "Are you going to cultivate tomorrow?"

"Mm."

He answered indistinctly.

"Then go to sleep early."

"Then stop talking!"

Hehe!

Three-Eyed Golden Lion secretly laughed.

Unlike other Soul Beasts, she neither needed to cultivate through meditation nor had to undergo the heavenly tribulation bottlenecks that ordinary Soul Beasts faced.

Her cultivation could only grow year by year. Unbound by the restrictions of fate, she could live forever as long as she wished.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion rolled over as well, turning her back to Lu Yuan and closing her eyes.

Suddenly, a golden tail swung over and landed squarely across Lu Yuan's waist.

It was fluffy.

Lu Yuan did not push it away. He curled deeper into the hay and closed his eyes.

Outside the tree hollow, the waters of Lake of Life murmured softly.

Inside Shrek Academy.

In the steward dormitory, the steward Lu Yuan had injured lay on his bed. His right hand was wrapped in thick bandages, and dark-red medicine seeped from beneath them, spreading into a gruesome stain across the white cloth.

His face was waxy yellow, his lips bloodless, and his whole body curled up on the bed. From time to time, he let out a suppressed gasp.

His Soul Power had yet to recover to its peak state.

He had seen one of the academy's healing Soul Masters, who said, "Your meridians are damaged. You need three months of rest."

Three months.

For an official steward of Shrek Academy, being unable to circulate Soul Power at full strength for three months basically meant being transferred away from a core position.

He had been lying there for over a day, and the more he thought about it, the less willing he was to accept it.

A brat who had only just awakened his Martial Soul, without even a Soul Ring, had beaten a two-ring Soul Grandmaster like him into this state.

If word got out, how would he ever hold his head up at the academy again?

After hesitating repeatedly, he finally forced himself up, gritted his teeth, and left the dormitory.

He was going to find the dean of studies, Du Weilun.

When he reached the office, the steward saw that the lights inside were still on.

He took a deep breath at the door and raised his hand to knock three times.

"Come in."

A steady middle-aged man's voice came from within.

The steward pushed open the door and entered.

Du Weilun was seated behind his desk.

"It's you. Why have you come to see me so late? What is it?"

"Have you finished the awakening work in the villages under your responsibility?"

"Yes, Director."

The steward walked up to the desk and stopped, lowering his head slightly.

"But there is something I believe I must report to you."

Du Weilun leaned back in his chair. "Speak."