Abusing... Xiao Wu Escapes...

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the fat man, frost in her eyes.

The fat man's mouth was full of filthy obscenities. He sized her up as if she were some brothel girl, making her skin crawl with disgust.

She wore a neat black combat outfit, wrapped up tightly from head to toe,

yet his lecherous eyes seemed capable of seeing straight through her clothes.

She wanted to gouge out his eyes!

Ning Rongrong noticed the fat man's gaze as well and followed it toward Zhu Zhuqing.

Those proud peaks, that slender waist, that perky curve...

A trace of bitterness rose in her heart.

She lowered her head and looked at herself.

Then she glanced sideways. Compared to the other girl's fullness,

hers were practically little buns.

No wonder that fat man was utterly bewitched.

She narrowed her eyes and sensed his Soul Power, yet she could not discern its depth.

She was secretly startled. This fat man was only twelve or thirteen, yet his level was above hers?

She was already a level-twenty-six Soul Grandmaster.

Suotuo City truly was a place where hidden talents lurked everywhere.

Zhu Zhuqing ignored the filthy remarks and turned to Fang Fan.

No matter how badly she wanted to tear apart that greasy mouth, she had to get his permission first. After all, he was stronger.

"Wine."

Fang Fan opened his mouth. Zhu Zhuqing skillfully pulled the stopper and fed him wine, amber liquid sliding down his throat.

Fang Fan swallowed, the corners of his eyes still lazy.

"Handle him however you want.

I'll bear any consequences."

[ Ding! Drunkenness +10! ]

"Alright."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and turned toward the fat man.

At the same level, the Hell Spirit Cat's advantage was speed. She had never feared anyone.

But Ning Rongrong spoke first, hands on her hips and willow brows raised in fury.

"You dead fatty, what kind of look is that?

She's so pure and noble. How could those vulgar brothel sluts compare to her? Get lost!"

Ma Hongjun lazily glanced at her. His gaze paused on her chest before shifting away dismissively, a look of disdain at the corner of his mouth.

"Flat chest, you're pretty cute too,

but Fatty Ma isn't interested in little buns. I prefer something I can't hold in one hand."

Then his gaze stuck to Zhu Zhuqing again.

Ning Rongrong's face flushed crimson, and her whole body trembled. After holding it in for a long while, she could only curse,

"You damn fat pig!"

Ma Hongjun remained unmoved, all his attention fixed on Zhu Zhuqing.

"This waist, these legs," he muttered.

"Fatty Ma's luck is really good today."

Zhu Zhuqing moved. Soul Power surged beneath her feet as the Hell Spirit Cat possessed her. Her body sank slightly before she shot forward like a pouncing spirit cat.

Whoosh!

A black afterimage stretched out.

She had already appeared at Ma Hongjun's left side, her five fingers curled into hooks as claws flashing with ghostly blue chill struck straight at his shoulder.

Ma Hongjun reacted quickly. His fat body abruptly leaned back, barely evading the claw blades. The blue claw wind swept past the tip of his nose, taking several hairs with it.

Rather than being afraid, he grinned, exposing yellow teeth.

"Yo, this little lady's got some spice!"

Two yellow Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet. Level twenty-eight, the same as Zhu Zhuqing.

A crimson phoenix phantom behind him spread its wings.

The sinister red light made his face flicker between brightness and shadow.

A mutated Martial Soul—the Evil Fire Phoenix.

Night fell over the Shrek Academy boys' dormitory.

Xiao Wu supported Tang San as they slowly returned, then gently laid him on the bed with careful movements.

Tang San's face was badly swollen. The palm print had deepened from dark red to purple, and the split at the corner of his mouth made his speech slurred.

Xiao Wu sat beside the bed, but her gaze drifted. Shadows clouded her lively eyes, concealing unease and resolve.

Her identity, her secret, her true form as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that could never be revealed...

Today, she had been closely scanned by two Titled Douluo at once.

That black-robed man, Tang Hao, had enveloped the entire area with Divine Slaughter's Domain.

She had felt his gaze linger on her for an instant. Just one instant was enough.

She could not stay any longer. Otherwise, like her mother, she would be killed and stripped of her Soul Ring and soul bone.

She would never forget the look in her mother's eyes before she died.

"Third Brother..."

Xiao Wu's voice trembled.

Tang San lay on the bed, groaning painfully. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something.

But his swollen tongue and split lips made him unable to express himself.

Flender pushed the door open, with Zhao Wuji following behind him.

Zhao Wuji wore an old cloth cap over his bald head.

The lowered brim, combined with his burly build, made him look even more ridiculous.

Flender adjusted his glasses.

"Xiao Wu, Tang San is fine. They're all superficial injuries; he'll recover after a few days.

Do you know who that Clear Sky Douluo was?"

"Who?"

Xiao Wu became alert.

"Tang Hao."

Flender's gaze rested on Tang San's face.

"Tang San's surname is Tang too.

His father is also named Tang Hao."

His tone was filled with barely concealed excitement.

The Clear Sky Douluo...

That legendary figure who had forced back several Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall all by himself was actually his student's father.

A genius among geniuses—level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, Twin Martial Souls, with limitless prospects ahead of him.

Unfortunately, the other three had left too, especially Fang Fan, who also had a Titled Douluo behind him.

That person's strength was even greater than Tang Hao's.

His heart was still bleeding over it.

"Should we go try to persuade them to stay?"

Zhao Wuji spoke in a deep, muffled voice as he tugged down his cap brim.

"They should be staying in Suotuo City tonight and won't leave until tomorrow. If we hurry over now, we can still make it."

Flender nodded, turned and called for Li Yusong. The three teachers hurried toward Suotuo City.

Only Xiao Wu and Tang San remained in the room, the candlelight flickering.

Xiao Wu's heartbeat quickened, and her gaze grew more sorrowful and resolute.

So that Titled Douluo truly was Tang San's father, secretly protecting him all along.

And she, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form,

had disguised herself as a human and stayed constantly by Tang San's side. Tang Hao must have seen through her long ago.

But why had he not exposed her or attacked her?

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became, as though an icy hand had clenched around her heart.

Tang Hao had kept her alive. Perhaps he was waiting for the day his son would need a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and soul bone.

Now that Tang Hao's attention had been drawn to Fang Fan,

that dark green figure and the Titled Douluo with three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings were the ones he feared most.

For the moment, he had no time to concern himself with her.

This was a fleeting window to escape.

Xiao Wu looked deeply at Tang San.

She remembered the first time they met, his dark brown eyes gentle and calm.

She remembered how he had stood up for her over the years, stayed up late making hidden weapons, braided her hair, and walked countless forest paths with her as they attended classes and cultivated together.

She called him "Third Brother," and he called her "Xiao Wu." They were as close as family.

But they were not family after all.

She was a Soul Beast.

He was human.

It was a chasm that could never be crossed.

Tears silently slid down, soaking her pink clothes and spreading dark wet marks across her white stockings.

Xiao Wu released his hand and slowly rose. She stepped back once, twice, three times. Her tears would not stop, but she did not wipe them away.

"Third Brother, farewell forever."

Her voice was as soft as a feather falling to the ground.

Tang San suddenly stiffened. His eyes, visible through the slits of his swollen eyelids, widened to their limit.

He desperately raised his hand, trying to grab her.

His trembling lips released muffled whimpers. At last, his fingers rose and reached into the air, veins bulging one by one.

Xiao Wu looked at that hand and cried even harder.

She knew he wanted to wipe away her tears, just as he had every time before, his warm fingers cradling her face and brushing away the tear tracks.

But this time, he could not. Never again.

She backed toward the doorway, stumbling and nearly tripping over the threshold.

After one last look at the person on the bed whose swollen face was almost unrecognizable, yet whose eyes were the most familiar to her, she bit her lip and forced herself to turn around.

Her tears flung a silver line through the air and fell onto the floor behind her.

Whoosh!

Xiao Wu rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and past Shrek's two blackened wooden pillars.

The night wind poured into her collar.

It blew her loosened braid into a wild dance.

She ran with all her strength, her shoes kicking up gravel from the dirt road.

She did not look back. She did not dare to, afraid that if she did, she would no longer have the courage to leave.

Fortunately, Shrek was not far from the Star Dou Forest.

Her home, the place where she had been born.

The bleak moonlight of the Star Dou illuminated

the shape the world was reluctant to leave in your eyes

Longing spread and grew through those days

Besides my vows, there was so much I never told you

Unforgettable

Though there was so much reluctance,

life mattered most...