When Qin Chao woke again, it was already the following evening. All around him was silent, and the moonlight reflected in Lake Water shone especially brightly.
His head was still a little foggy. As Qin Chao struggled to sit up, a girl's voice rang out behind him.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Under the moonlight, a pretty little girl stood by the lake. The clear moonlight washed over her, lending her delicate face a rosy glow. Her long black hair was woven into a scorpion braid that hung past her hips, and her bright, watery eyes were particularly captivating.
"Xiao Wu?" Qin Chao blurted out the name instinctively...
"You know me?" Xiao Wu's eyes instantly lit up with excitement. "But I've never left Star Dou Forest. You're a human, so how do you know my name?"
Realizing his slip, Qin Chao hurried to cover it up. "Before I passed out, I heard someone calling you Sister Xiao Wu, so..."
"No wonder..." Xiao Wu had yet to encounter human society, making her especially easy to fool. She readily believed Qin Chao's explanation. "But someone calling me their big sister isn't necessarily human, you know~"
A trace of mischief crept into Xiao Wu's smile. "Want to call me Sister Xiao Wu too? As long as you call me your big sister, I'll protect you in Star Dou Great Forest from now on!"
Just as in the novel, Xiao Wu was particularly enthusiastic about the title of Big Sister at this point. For some reason, she felt a strange affection for this little boy, who looked about her age...
"Big Sister Xiao Wu~" Qin Chao promptly took the opening she offered. If it meant establishing a connection with Xiao Wu, what was calling her his big sister?
After all, in the novel, Xiao Wu was Tang San's forbidden treasure. Apart from the Little Monsters at Shrek Academy, anyone else who approached her seemed to meet a bad end, such as Bu Le, who had that sleazy martial soul...
"Good little brother~" Xiao Wu was very pleased with Qin Chao's obedience. "By the way, why did you come to Star Dou Great Forest when you're so young? Are you a soul master too, here to hunt for a soul ring?"
A six-year-old child suddenly appearing deep within Star Dou Great Forest was strange indeed. Xiao Wu was innocent, not stupid, so naturally, she could guess his identity.
Xiao Wu herself had undergone soul beast transformation, and her expression stiffened somewhat when she mentioned hunting for soul rings.
In this world, the strong devoured the weak. She could understand humans hunting for soul rings to strengthen themselves, but that certainly did not mean she liked it...
Qin Chao nodded and promptly revealed the Heaven and Earth Tower in his right hand. A deep yellow soul ring quietly encircled the little golden tower...
"Sister Xiao Wu, I am a soul master, but I didn't get my soul ring through hunting. I came here with my teacher to learn about medicinal herbs..."
Having lived two lives, Qin Chao could lie without so much as blushing.
"You didn't get it through hunting?" Xiao Wu repeated in surprise. In all her hundred thousand years of cultivation, this was the first time she had heard of obtaining a soul ring without hunting a soul beast. She immediately released her soul power.
Soul beasts could sense the energy contained within soul rings. Not only was the energy in Qin Chao's soul ring exceptionally pure, it also lacked the soul beast resentment attached to other soul rings. Had Xiao Wu ever visited Sea God Island, she would certainly have thought of a God-Given Soul Ring. Unfortunately, she was still only a child who had recently taken human form...
"It's true! There's no resentment in your soul ring. You're a good person!"
A soul ring obtained without killing thrilled Xiao Wu. At this point, she had little understanding of the distinction between boys and girls. In her excitement, she pulled Qin Chao into her arms and planted a firm kiss on his cheek...
"Smack..."
The kiss rang out loud and clear. Feeling the moist, soft touch against his cheek, Qin Chao's brain crashed completely, leaving him standing there in a daze.
Xiao Wu... kissed him?
He gently touched the spot the girl had kissed, his mind filled with nothing but the lingering memory.
The system's notification chimed at just the right moment. "Congratulations, host. You have successfully seized the protagonist's halo and obtained ten Luck Value points..."
Holy crap! Ten points?!
Qin Chao was ecstatic.
Sure enough, Xiao Wu was exceptionally important to Tang San. Merely winning a little of her affection had earned him ten luck points!
"Oh, right, I forgot to ask earlier. What's your name?" Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled, and she showed no awareness that anything about her earlier behavior had been inappropriate.
"I... my name is Qin Chao..." Unlike Xiao Wu's composure, Qin Chao was already red to the tips of his ears.
Xiao Wu was young and did not understand the distinction between boys and girls, but he was no youngster!
(Ahem, perhaps he was young now, but judging from his previous life, he certainly wouldn't be later...)
He recalled the scene in the book when Tang San and Xiao Wu first met. It seemed Xiao Wu had shared a quilt with Tang San precisely because she did not understand the distinction between boys and girls. What if she did understand?
A mischievous smile curled Qin Chao's lips. "Sister Xiao Wu, have you always lived in Star Dou Great Forest? Let me tell you about the outside world..."
Early the next morning, having finished his lesson on the differences between boys and girls, Qin Chao stretched luxuriously.
He had reaped a truly bountiful harvest that night. Not only had he won plenty of Xiao Wu's affection, he had also successfully taught her about the distinction between boys and girls.
Though Xiao Wu was still innocent, she would never again share a quilt with a boy.
Besides his progress with her affection, Qin Chao had earned twenty Luck Value points in total, enough for four full draws from the bronze prize pool!
With four attempts at a one-in-three chance, surely he could get a Growth-Type Soul Ring no matter how unlucky he was!
Looking at Xiao Wu's pretty sleeping face, Qin Chao summoned the system in his mind.
"Confirm prize draw?" The system's notification chimed again.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Chao nodded slightly. "Confirm!"
The pointer on the prize wheel spun rapidly, and Qin Chao once again chanted silently to himself.
Soul ring, soul ring, soul ring...
Unfortunately, Qin Chao's unlucky one halo remained in effect. The pointer stopped squarely on immortal herb.
"Congratulations, host. You have obtained one Supreme Immortal Herb, Lovesick Heartbreak Red..."
"Damn it!" Qin Chao was rather indignant, but it was fine. Spending could conquer bad luck. As long as he had enough Luck Value, one of his attempts would eventually give him what he wanted...
"Draw!"
The pointer spun again.
"Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Supreme Immortal Herb, aromatic silk beauty..."
"Draw!"
Qin Chao was getting rather exasperated...
"Congratulations, host. You have obtained a Growth-Type Soul Ring (great strength vajra bear)..."
After three consecutive draws, Qin Chao finally obtained the Growth-Type Soul Ring he wanted.
A white soul ring carrying a faint aura of power appeared in the air. It looked utterly ordinary, and was even just a white ten-year soul ring of the lowest grade.
Qin Chao had already witnessed this once, so naturally, he was not particularly surprised.
He took a deep breath and used his soul power to guide the soul ring toward his body. The instant the two touched, his expression twisted violently.
His flesh and bones all hurt. Qin Chao nearly fainted on the spot, but he kept gritting his teeth and enduring it. Based on his experience, the longer he held out, the higher the soul ring's temporary age would become. As the soul power within him circulated madly, the white soul ring's color quietly began to change...
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