Xiao Wu, Do You Want to Know Where Tang San Is?

Dugu Yan understood and nodded. "Yan'er understands."

Cao Kun watched Dugu Yan's graceful figure disappear through the doorway, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, as though basking in the warm sun once more.

Only the faint smile at his lips betrayed his good mood.

"Snake girl, cat girl, bunny girl..."

He murmured so softly it was almost inaudible. "Interesting. But this rabbit isn't nearly as innocent as she looks... A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, a Soft Bone Rabbit... I wonder what it would be like to keep her?"

Shrek Academy, dormitory area.

Xiao Wu's door and windows were shut tight, and the curtains were drawn, shutting out the warm afternoon sunlight.

The room was dim, its air heavy with grief.

Xiao Wu curled up in a corner of her bed, hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms.

Her once-bright eyes were swollen like peaches. Her gaze was empty and lost, her tears long since spent, leaving only a numb ache.

Two days.

Tang San and Grandmaster had been gone for two days without a word.

The dean had sent people to look for them, but they had found nothing. It was as if the two had vanished into thin air.

Fear, worry, helplessness, and anger at the uncertainty battered her fragile composure again and again.

She couldn't understand how things had come to this.

Why had Tang San suddenly gone blind?

Why had Grandmaster taken him away?

Where had they gone?

Were they in danger?

She missed Tang San so much. She missed the steady, dependable boy who quietly protected her and indulged her every whim.

Without him beside her, the whole world seemed to have lost its color and any sense of safety.

Knock, knock, knock.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

Xiao Wu flinched and jerked her head up, hope blazing in her eyes!

Was Tang San back?

Or was there news from Grandmaster?!

She scrambled to the door and yanked it open.

But the person outside was not the one she had hoped to see. It was a green-eyed young woman in a pale green dress, lovely but somewhat aloof: Dugu Yan.

The light in Xiao Wu's eyes faded at once, replaced by wariness and a trace of hostility.

She knew this girl. She was one of the people around that mysterious "Senior Brother Cao Kun."

"What do you want?"

Xiao Wu's voice was hoarse and dry, her rejection unmistakable.

Dugu Yan remained calm, unfazed by Xiao Wu's attitude. She got straight to the point. "Miss Xiao Wu, Young Master Cao Kun invites you to speak with him at the Back Mountain courtyard."

"Cao Kun?"

Xiao Wu frowned, her voice rising sharply with barely contained anger.

"I'm not going!"

"This is all his fault! If he hadn't spouted that nonsense, Tang San never would have... never would have lost control of his cultivation!"

"Why else would Grandmaster have taken him away?"

"He caused all of this!"

She poured days of fear and worry into blaming Cao Kun.

As she saw it, if Cao Kun hadn't said those strange things in class and pointed out the "errors" in Grandmaster's theory, Tang San would never have tried to change how he cultivated.

Maybe he wouldn't have lost control, gone blind, or been taken away by Grandmaster...

A chill flashed through Dugu Yan's eyes, but her tone stayed even. "Miss Xiao Wu, mind what you say. Tang San injured his eyes because something went wrong with his own cultivation and his Soul Power turned against him. What does that have to do with my young master?"

"As for Yu Xiaogang's theory..."

She paused, then lowered her voice, a hint of mockery slipping through. "Tang San's Martial Soul is clearly Plant-Type Blue Silver Grass, yet Yu Xiaogang insisted on forcing Animal-Type Soul Rings onto it to pursue some so-called 'poison control' path. That went against the Martial Soul's nature. His foundation was unstable, and the danger had been there all along.

"My young master merely pointed out the error out of goodwill. What did he do wrong?"

"Tang San was impatient and rashly changed how he cultivated. He couldn't control the clash in his Soul Power and lost control. Are you going to blame the person who pointed out the problem for that, too?"

Dugu Yan's words left Xiao Wu flushed and speechless. She wanted to argue, but she knew nothing about Martial Soul Theory and couldn't put together a rebuttal.

She simply felt, deep down, that everything had gone wrong because Cao Kun had appeared.

"I... I don't care! I'm not going to see him!" Xiao Wu turned her head away and spoke in a huff.

Dugu Yan looked at Xiao Wu's stubborn profile and sighed inwardly. It was just as the young master had predicted.

She stepped closer and leaned toward Xiao Wu's ear, speaking so softly only the two of them could hear:

"Miss Xiao Wu, if you truly want to know where Tang San is... Young Master Cao Kun may know something."

The words struck the tenderest, most anxious place in Xiao Wu's heart like a spell!

She whipped around, her swollen eyes wide as she stared at Dugu Yan. "What... what did you say? He knows where Tang San is?!"

Dugu Yan did not answer directly. She stepped back to her former position and said evenly, "The young master only asked me to invite you. Whether you go is entirely up to you. I've delivered the message. Farewell."

With that, Dugu Yan left Xiao Wu's room. She then went straight out of Shrek Academy and headed for Suotuo City.

She planned to visit Mount Buzhou's outpost in Suotuo City and order its spies to watch for Tang Hao, his son Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang.

Xiao Wu remained alone in the room, standing dazed in the doorway, torn over what to do.

He knows where Tang San is?

Does he really?

The thought spread through Xiao Wu's mind like weeds.

Reason told her Cao Kun was dangerous and mysterious, and that she couldn't trust him.

But her heart seemed to push her toward the one place she might learn something about Tang San.

Should I go?

Xiao Wu bit her lip and twisted the corner of her clothes between her fingers, struggling to decide.

At dusk, the setting sun painted the sky a brilliant orange-red before sinking below the horizon. Night slowly drew its curtain across the world.

On a path behind Shrek Academy, a petite figure lingered uncertainly. It was Xiao Wu.

She had wrestled with herself all afternoon, but in the end she could not resist the chance to learn where Tang San was. As darkness fell, she had slipped away alone to the Back Mountain.

The closer she came to the mysterious courtyard, the faster her heart beat, caught between hope and fear.

At last, she saw the courtyard, quiet and elegant in the twilight.

Its gate stood ajar, warm amber lamplight spilling from within.

She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and stepped forward to push the gate open.

In the courtyard stood a girl dressed in fitted black clothes. Beautiful and cool in bearing, she seemed to have been waiting there all along.

It was Cao Kun's maid, Zhu Zhuqing!

When she saw Xiao Wu enter, she gave a slight nod. Without a word, she gestured toward the main room, inviting her in.