The moment Su Bai finished speaking, Xiao Wu's face turned deathly pale. Her body trembled nonstop, and she did not even have the courage to turn around and look at him.
She had never imagined that just as she finally summoned the courage to open her heart, her identity as a soul beast would be exposed.
Su Bai was the first interesting person she had met after entering the human world, and he had left a profound impression on her back at Nuoding Academy.
Their reunion six years later had only strengthened Xiao Wu's resolve. She had set her heart on Su Bai.
Yet barely had they reunited when she heard those words.
For a moment, countless thoughts swirled through Xiao Wu's head, tangled into a mess like paste. In a panic, she said, "You... how did you know?"
Su Bai did not answer her question. Instead, he placed his hands on Xiao Wu's shoulders and turned her around.
"It's extremely dangerous for a soul beast to take human form. Before you enter the Mature Stage, you can't hide your identity from powerful experts at all. Didn't you know that?"
As he spoke, Su Bai felt thoroughly puzzled himself.
Logically, Xiao Wu should have known this. Yet she acted as though she knew nothing, daring to roam the entire continent alone and stroll around in front of all sorts of Titled Douluos.
If the first people she encountered had not been Tang San and Tang Hao, those two fellows with their peculiar tastes, Xiao Wu would probably have been captured and killed long ago. She had simply been lucky.
Later, she had even encountered Dugu Bo, arguably the weakest Titled Douluo of all. He had seen her face-to-face and still failed to recognize what she was.
All he could say was that the great hand of destiny was truly terrifying.
Listening to Su Bai, Xiao Wu froze on the spot. She had assumed he wanted to hunt and kill her just like other humans, but now it sounded as though that was not the case.
She lowered her head and murmured, "I only know now... so I was exposed a long time ago?"
"Then who knows what I am? Doesn't taking human form mean I'm human now?"
Hearing Xiao Wu's innocent words, Su Bai sighed and stroked her head.
It was hardly Xiao Wu's fault. After all, she had always lived in the Star Dou Great Forest with Da Ming and Er Ming, so she clearly would not have experienced much bloodshed. She was only twelve years old since taking human form. Calling her a child was no exaggeration.
"What are you thinking, silly girl? Right now, I'm the only one who knows your identity, and that's because my martial soul is rather special. Anyone else would have to be at least a Titled Douluo to notice anything unusual about you."
"Otherwise, do you think you could have lived so peacefully all this time?"
At those words, Xiao Wu raised her head and looked at Su Bai, fear in her eyes.
"Then... what do you mean?"
"Do you want my soul bone?"
A smile appeared on Su Bai's face. What he wanted was far more than just her soul bone, though he could not put it that way aloud.
"I want your soul ring, your martial soul, everything you have."
Hearing this, Xiao Wu's expression turned almost utterly despairing. She lowered her head again, without even a thought of resisting, her heart reduced to cold ashes.
Two trails of tears slid down her face as she murmured, "Are all humans this cruel?"
"I have nothing to say. In twelve years, I haven't encountered many things that truly made me happy. I thought all humans were so hypocritical, and only you were different. Being with you made me so happy, just like being in the Star Dou Forest, but..."
"Forget it. I have nothing to say. Please, get it over with."
With that, Xiao Wu closed her eyes.
Unexpectedly, what greeted her was not death, but a warm embrace.
Su Bai gathered her into his arms and said, "Don't overthink it."
"More than anything, I want you to be safe."
"As long as you form a contract with me, people won't be able to see through your identity as a soul beast so easily anymore, unless they're like me and already know you're a soul beast."
"You lend me your strength, and I keep you safe. How does that sound?"
Su Bai had initially wondered whether he should coax and deceive Xiao Wu, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. With his martial soul and his identity as a transmigrator, what kind of soul beast on the entire Douluo Continent could he not contract?
There was no need to stoop to deception.
And so, Su Bai chose to lay his cards on the table.
Hearing this, Xiao Wu abruptly opened her eyes. Her chest rose and fell so rapidly that even Su Bai found it a little hard to breathe.
"Really?"
"You'd better not lie to me. You already tricked me once last time!"
Xiao Wu huffed and thumped Su Bai's chest.
The corner of Su Bai's mouth twitched. This wretched girl certainly did not pull her punches. "When did I ever lie to you?"
"I said we'd meet again, and haven't we done just that?"
Xiao Wu rested one hand against her chin and thought for a moment, then nodded. With tears still glistening on her stunning face, she nodded again.
"I guess that's true."
"Then I'll trust you this once!"
As her words fell, Su Bai let out a long breath. Thankfully, he had finally succeeded. With Xiao Wu's martial soul, many of the plans he had prepared long ago could finally be put into motion ahead of schedule.
Just as he brought out his martial soul, Su Bai felt a faint breeze brush past him, carrying a hint of moisture and fragrance. Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose, blew a breath at him, and pulled a face.
Seeing Xiao Wu like this, Su Bai did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Then let's start forming the contract."
Xiao Wu nodded and looked curiously at the Spirit Pagoda that had appeared in Su Bai's hand, her eyes shining brightly.
"So this is your real martial soul? I thought you were lying to everyone when you said your martial soul was a tower."
The Spirit Pagoda had nine floors in total. Its lowest floor glowed blue and gold, and upon closer inspection, a plant shaped like Blue Silver Grass could faintly be seen rotating slowly inside.
The eight floors above were all pitch-black, and the entire pagoda radiated a profound, mysterious aura that made it impossible to look away.
"So, what do you mean by a contract?"
Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at Su Bai. "Does it mean subduing soul beasts or something? How come I've never heard of it?"
"Will I still be able to roam the continent freely?"
One important reason Xiao Wu had taken human form was that she wanted to see the dazzling human world with her own eyes. If forming a contract with Su Bai meant she could no longer go out and play whenever she pleased, it would be no different from being dead.
Hearing her machine-gun barrage of questions, Su Bai could not help raising an eyebrow. Fortunately, absorbing Ah Yin had upgraded the Spirit Pagoda, allowing the soul spirits inside to move freely outside.
If Ah Yin had not been so badly injured, he would have wanted to release her during his fight with Tang San earlier and unleash a genuine Mother's Entanglement.
At that thought, Su Bai felt a little regretful. Fortunately, Tang San was not dead yet, so there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Then he said, "Don't worry. Once the contract is complete, it won't affect you in any way. You just won't be as easy for others to detect as you are now."
"You can go wherever you want."
Xiao Wu nodded and placed her hand on the Spirit Pagoda.
"All right."
The moment she finished speaking, the Spirit Pagoda blazed with light, enveloping them both.
The contracting began!
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