Toward Star Dou

"Stinky Little Chu. You said you'd only be gone a little while, but it's been hours and you still haven't come back. You're like this every time. Hmph, I can't stand you."

In the Soul Hunting Forest, Xiao Wu, who had already formed her Second Soul Ring, paced back and forth. Now and then she peered in the direction Qin Muchu had gone, her lips pursed so high an oil pot could have hung from them.

"Well, well. Who's made our Sister Xiao Wu angry this time? Tell me, and I'll teach him a lesson." The familiar, laughing voice came from the trees behind her. Xiao Wu spun around, hands on her hips, ready to demand an explanation. But when she saw how filthy Qin Muchu's clothes were, she swallowed her reproach and ran over to inspect him. "How did you end up like this?"

"I ran into a nasty Soul Beast. It tried to ambush me while I was relieving myself, so I fought it. Luckily, it wasn't very strong, and I chased it off. I'm fine now." Qin Muchu waved it off. "Come on. Let's get your Soul Ring as soon as we can."

Xiao Wu checked him over again. Only after confirming he was all right did she relax. Then she averted her eyes. "Um, there's no need. I've already obtained my Second Soul Ring."

"What? You've already obtained your Second Soul Ring?" Qin Muchu said, feigning shock.

"Mm. Two Soul Beasts were fighting nearby. When I got there, one ran away, and the other was badly hurt and couldn't fight anymore. It was just right for me, so I absorbed its Soul Ring. What are the chances?"

"Something like that actually happened? What a coincidence." Qin Muchu played along. "How old is your Second Soul Ring?"

"About two thousand three hundred years. Impressive, right? Second Soul Skill: Charm." A strange light flashed through Xiao Wu's ruby-red eyes, and Qin Muchu's mind went blank. When he came to, Xiao Wu was laughing at him, the yellow and purple Soul Rings around her impossible to miss.

"Huh? This little rabbit's aura..." As Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu were playing around, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

Qin Muchu's heart jolted. He hurriedly replied in his sea of consciousness, "Brother Sky Dream, you can tell what Xiao Wu is? Does the Soul Tool I gave her not work?"

"Oh? So you know what she is too. That Soul Tool really does conceal her aura, but I'm a million-year spiritual-type Soul Beast. Of course it can't fool me. Don't worry, though. No one else in the world can see through her identity. What, have you got your eye on her Soul Ring and Soul Bone?"

Qin Muchu breathed a sigh of relief. "You've got it wrong. Xiao Wu is one of the most important people in my life. How could I want her Soul Ring? But the human world is too dangerous for her, so all I can do is hide her aura as best I can."

"You're willing to be friends with us Soul Beasts? Little Chu, I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

Qin Muchu shook his head. "Human or Soul Beast, it doesn't matter. I only know she's Xiao Wu, someone I want to protect. That's enough. By the way, Brother Sky Dream, from what you said just now, did you know Xiao Wu before?"

This time, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sounded a little uncertain. "I sensed her aura once. She lived in the northwest corner of the Lake of Life back then. It was only when she used her Soul Skill just now that I remembered: the Soul Beast fighting Di Tian had a faint trace of an aura very similar to this little rabbit's."

"What? That Soul Beast had Xiao Wu's aura?" Qin Muchu's face drained of color.

"Little Chu, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu asked, noticing something was off.

"Nothing." Qin Muchu said no more. He needed to confirm it with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled his eyes. "I said it was similar. Do you know what similar means? If I said similar, then it wasn't this little rabbit's aura."

Qin Muchu gave an embarrassed laugh. "I just thought it was too unbelievable."

"Still," Sky Dream Ice Silkworm went on, "since you're with the little rabbit, you'd better have her return to the Lake of Life. The two Soul Beasts who used to live with her were both badly injured this time."

Da Ming and Er Ming? Qin Muchu knew exactly which two Soul Beasts Sky Dream Ice Silkworm meant. But he didn't remember the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python being injured at this point in time. "How did they get hurt?"

"When that Soul Beast was battling Di Tian and the others, those two little fellows suddenly went mad and charged at it. I don't know what came over them, but a battle at that level was no place for them. You can imagine how it went. If that big brute hadn't been focused on Di Tian, and Bi Ji hadn't been there to heal them afterward, they'd probably be dead by now."

After hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's account, Qin Muchu fell into thought. To be honest, after something so serious had happened at the Lake of Life, he didn't want Xiao Wu risking a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest. But the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape had grown up with her, and the bond between the three of them ran deep. No matter how he looked at it, Xiao Wu needed to go. Otherwise, she would blame herself for the rest of her life.

He was torn, unable to make up his mind. His expression shifted again and again.

"Little Chu, what's wrong? You're acting so strangely today. If something's happened, you have to tell me. I'll always be here with you."

Looking into Xiao Wu's concerned eyes, Qin Muchu suddenly saw things clearly. He had always thought about how to protect her and keep her out of danger. But each time, he had considered things only from his own perspective, never from hers. He had never thought about what she needed.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to protect Xiao Wu. But keeping her by his side in the name of protection and hiding everything from her showed her no respect. Such affection was too selfish, too narrow. Xiao Wu was herself first, before she was anything else. She did not exist for anyone's sake. She was the one and only Xiao Wu.

With that realization, Qin Muchu's spirits lifted. He took Xiao Wu's hand and strode forward. "I'm fine. Come on, we're not going back to the academy. We're going to the Star Dou Great Forest. I'm close to level twenty myself, so I can obtain my Second Soul Ring there."

"Oh. But couldn't you get a Soul Ring in the Soul Hunting Forest? Why go to the Star Dou Great Forest?" Xiao Wu gazed at their joined hands, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

"Because I want to see the sights along the way with you."