Hunting Xiao Wu

The next day.

Lin Ye had just stepped out of the hotel.

He saw Xiao Wu skip past him.

At the same time,

Xiao Wu felt his icy gaze.

"Well, well—"

"Three people sharing a hotel room."

"Students from Heaven Dou Royal Academy aren't much better, are they?"

Mockery laced Xiao Wu's voice.

She might have been a rabbit, but she had lived among humans long enough to understand what went on behind closed doors.

Dai Mubai, for example!

He had once brought a pair of twins to the Rose Hotel to get a room.

"You damned rabbit."

"You've got some nerve."

Lin Ye glanced around.

He saw no sign of anyone else from Shrek Academy.

Xiao Wu dared taunt him openly while she was alone. That damned rabbit must have had a death wish.

"So what if I do?"

"Sister Xiao Wu has important business today."

"Next time, I'll show you what I can do."

After that parting threat, Xiao Wu took to her heels.

Tang San was right.

They were no match for Lin Ye right now.

Hmph...

Just wait!

One day, she would show Lin Ye what a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit could do.

Watching Xiao Wu flee, Lin Ye said, "Want to go after something big?"

He did need a Sixth Soul Ring.

But compared with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, it suddenly seemed far less important.

"Something big?"

Shui Bing'er and Ye Lingling were both puzzled.

They were sure it had something to do with Xiao Wu, who had just provoked him.

Could it be...

Lin Ye wanted to take his anger out on Xiao Wu?

That hardly sounded as big as he'd made it out to be.

"Come with me."

Lin Ye had made up his mind.

He was going after Xiao Wu!

The reason was simple.

He had just seen how brazen she was.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had not even reached maturity had dared make a scene in public.

After all,

Titled Douluo frequently passed through Heaven Dou City.

If Xiao Wu did not learn to keep a low profile, one of them might set their sights on her at any moment.

Why wait for another day?

If he did not kill this rabbit today,

the next time he heard news of Xiao Wu, she might already have become someone else's Soul Ring.

"Hey—"

"What's going on?"

"Can't you tell me first?"

Shui Bing'er was completely baffled.

Hadn't they agreed last night to go to the Frozen Forest and hunt for a Soul Ring?

She was utterly at sea, with no idea what Lin Ye planned to do next.

"Enough questions. Just come with me."

Shui Bing'er pouted.

Hmph—

Fine, she would go.

Why did he have to be so fierce about it?

His tone stopped both women from asking more questions, and they followed close behind him.

Before long,

they reached the road Xiao Wu had to take back to Blue Tyrant Academy.

They waited until sunset.

Only then did Lin Ye spot Xiao Wu heading back, her arms full of more than a dozen things to eat, drink, and play with.

His assessment had been right.

With Xiao Wu behaving so conspicuously,

it would not be long before some Titled Douluo noticed her.

"See her?"

"That damned rabbit is our target."

"Give her a thorough beating, and you'll get a hundred Gold Soul Coins."

Lin Ye was no fool.

In the original story, Tang Hao had not appeared to rescue Tang San when Dugu Bo abducted him. That did not mean Tang Hao was not lurking nearby.

So...

Lin Ye hired two fighters to test the waters first.

Both were Soul Masters who made their living through Soul Fighting at the Great Soul Arena.

When Lin Ye told them they could earn a hundred Gold Soul Coins just by roughing up a young girl,

what was there to discuss?

The two brothers gladly took the job.

"Hey—"

"What are you trying to do?"

Shui Bing'er was now completely bewildered.

If Lin Ye wanted Xiao Wu beaten up, why bother hiring two fighters?

"I don't understand either."

Ye Lingling had thought she understood Lin Ye better.

She had known him longer and spent more time with him, after all.

But...

She was just as confused.

While the two women were puzzling over it,

the fighters Lin Ye had hired cornered Xiao Wu in a secluded alley.

One stood in front of her and the other behind.

Their burly bodies blocked every way in and out.

"Who are you?"

"I don't think I've ever done anything to either of you."

Xiao Wu was certain she did not know these two hulking men, much less have a grudge against them.

"Then blame that lousy memory of yours."

One of the men laughed.

In truth...

They had no idea what grudge their employer held against Xiao Wu. They did not even know his name.

All they needed to recognize was money.

For a gleaming hundred Gold Soul Coins,

the two burly men charged at Xiao Wu almost simultaneously.

Both were level-forty-eight Soul Ancestors hardened by years of Soul Fighting at the Great Soul Arena. In strength, endurance, and experience, they outclassed Xiao Wu.

A heartbeat later,

a fierce fist tore through the air.

Xiao Wu twisted at the waist and leaned back, narrowly evading it.

She sprang into the air, ready to counterattack, but the other man's thick leg swept toward her.

There was nowhere to dodge.

She could only cross her arms and take the blow.

The powerful sweep sent her flying more than ten meters.

Then,

the first man's iron fist came at her again.

"Second Soul Skill—Charm!"

Xiao Wu had one fewer Soul Ring than her opponent, but her mental attack still worked.

While he stood dazed,

she rolled into the open space beside him.

At the same time,

his fist slammed into the ground, instantly cracking the hard granite.

Before she could catch her breath...

The other man leaped high and brought his leg down like an axe.

At the last possible instant,

Xiao Wu unleashed her third Soul Skill and narrowly escaped.

But...

She had barely landed

when an iron fist the size of a wine jar came straight for her.

Bang—

Xiao Wu flew backward.

She struck the alley wall and sank more than two inches into it.

"Urgh—"

She spat out a mouthful of blood.

That punch had nearly cost Xiao Wu half her rabbit life.

"That's enough."

"No!"

"What more do you want?"

"That rabbit scratched me. My damn face is ruined!"

The burly man refused to stop.

He lunged forward like a wild beast.

Boom—

The savage charge sent Xiao Wu crashing through the wall and more than ten meters farther.

Then,

Lin Ye stepped out.

He could now be sure Tang Hao was nowhere nearby.

The man's last charge was enough to leave Xiao Wu with internal injuries that might never heal. They might even kill her someday.

If Tang Hao truly had been watching from the shadows,

he would have appeared to save Xiao Wu just then.

"You can go."

Lin Ye tossed the men a hundred Gold Soul Coins.

At that moment,

the man with the scratched face looked at him greedily. "That little brat scratched my face. Shouldn't you pay me another hundred Gold Soul Coins for treatment?"

"Get lost," Lin Ye said coldly.

He despised scum who went back on their word.

"Kid."

"Don't push your luck."

"See that little girl lying on the ground?"

"If you don't cough up another hundred Gold Soul Coins today, you'll end up worse than her."

"Just pay up..."

"And I swear I'll take what happened today to my grave."

Before he could finish speaking,

the two men instantly turned into ice sculptures.

Bitter cold poured through their nostrils and froze their hearts in an instant.

The two thugs died before they even knew what had happened.

"Only the dead take secrets to the grave."

Lin Ye hadn't intended to kill them, but those two had threatened him.

Especially with that last line.

Even if he paid another hundred Gold Soul Coins, those bastards would still let the truth slip.

After dealing with the two thugs,

Lin Ye turned his gaze to Xiao Wu...