"Oh~ a beautiful gentleman."
At the word "beautiful," the soul power in Chrysanthemum Douluo's hand dispersed with a boom. He decided that the little brat before him had some discernment after all.
"May I ask your esteemed name?" Lu Yuan asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"Since you know how to behave, I'll tell you. I am Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo. Well? I've come personally to invite you to join Spirit Hall Academy. That shows enough sincerity, doesn't it?"
Lu Yuan's eyes darted back and forth.
He still had plans to carry out in Fasino Province, and he had hardly spent any time being friends with Xiao Wu. At the very least, he could not go to Spirit City right now.
"So you're the illustrious, awe-inspiring Chrysanthemum Douluo! It's truly an honor to meet you in person."
Lu Yuan's mind raced as he frantically searched for a way out.
"Your Excellency, of course I'd love to join Spirit Hall Academy, the strongest academy on the entire continent. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Soul power gathered in Chrysanthemum Douluo's hand again. He had seen through it now: this slippery little brat definitely would not obediently follow him to Spirit City.
His world-shaking wisdom told him that it was time to use his world-shaking strength.
Sweat covered Lu Yuan's forehead, and his breathing quickened.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. His nose stung, and tears welled in his eyes.
Chrysanthemum Douluo watched, utterly bewildered. Brat, I haven't even made a move yet. What are you getting so upset about?
"It's just... Your Excellency, I... have an older sister."
At the words "older sister," Chrysanthemum Douluo's hand and eyes trembled at once, and his soul power abruptly dispersed.
"I grew up without a father or mother. My sister and I only had each other. To support me as I grew up, she went off somewhere to work. I don't even know where she is now."
"We promised to reunite at our home in Little Mountain Village at the end of this school year. Spirit Hall is a long way from Nuoding City, isn't it? I... I just want to see my sister one more time before I leave my hometown."
Lu Yuan poured out his sorrow, tears streaming down his face.
"See your sister... one more time?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo recalled the figure with long orange hair who had stood protectively before him in his childhood, and his resolve wavered.
"Your Excellency, I promise you. Next year, as soon as I've seen my sister again, I'll report to Spirit Hall Academy in Spirit City."
Chrysanthemum Douluo hesitated.
In truth, Chrysanthemum Douluo could simply have swept Lu Yuan up and left immediately, then arranged for people to take him swiftly and conveniently back to his supposed hometown when the school year ended and the holidays began.
But Chrysanthemum Douluo's mind was not that nimble.
And with Lu Yuan's targeted strike precisely plucking the heartstrings tied to his sister, in the end... Chrysanthemum Douluo relented.
His Holiness the Pope only told me to invite this brat to join Spirit Hall Academy. He never ordered me to bring him back immediately, did he?
At the thought of a loophole he could slip through, Chrysanthemum Douluo smiled. Plan successful!
"Brat, you can report to Spirit Hall Academy in a year. However..."
Chrysanthemum Douluo revealed a mysterious smile. This time, it was Lu Yuan's turn to be puzzled.
"However what?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo waved his hand, sending a strand of his yellow soul power into Lu Yuan's body.
"?"
After the unfamiliar soul power entered him, Lu Yuan felt all over his body.
"Brat, stop looking. I'm a Titled Douluo. I only put that soul power inside you as insurance. If you don't come to Spirit City in a year, I'll detonate it and blow you to death."
"Don't even think about removing it. Only a Titled Douluo-level expert can extract my soul power from your body. Save your effort."
As Chrysanthemum Douluo explained, Lu Yuan's face turned green, as though he had eaten something unspeakable.
"Fuck!"
His freedom had been shackled outright. Was finding a Titled Douluo really the only way to undo it?
That was hardly realistic. With Lu Yuan's strength and trump cards, whether now or a year from now, negotiating with any Titled Douluo would be like walking a tightrope. He had nothing to give him confidence.
Alas, it looks like I really will have to brave Spirit City in a year.
Lu Yuan sighed regretfully to himself.
Having left himself a means of dealing with Lu Yuan and settled their agreement that he would report to Spirit Hall Academy in a year, Chrysanthemum Douluo personally wrote out a document and handed it to him, then turned and left Nuoding City.
That evening, only after seeing Xiao Wu return safe and sound did Lu Yuan relax, certain that Chrysanthemum Douluo had not discovered her.
More than half a year passed, and it was time for the new students' first annual holiday at Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.
Over those days, Lu Yuan laughed and played with Xiao Wu. Faced with her pleading eyes, he told her many classic love stories from Blue Star, spoke plenty of sweet nothings that were clichéd yet still novel on the Douluo Continent, and sang love songs that plucked at her heartstrings.
The bond between them grew ever deeper.
Fortunately, with Lu Yuan deliberately reminding her from time to time, Xiao Wu did not completely distance herself from Tang San. Instead, whether consciously or not, she maintained a friendship with him, one that still seemed to have the potential to develop further.
This left Tang San as frantic as a hooked fish.
The night before the holiday officially began, Lu Yuan applied to leave the academy early, packed his things, and said goodbye to Xiao Wu late that night.
The evening wind whispered. Beneath the clear moonlight, a boy and a girl held hands, bidding each other farewell with the moon as their witness.
"Brother Yuan..."
Xiao Wu used the affectionate name, her eyes brimming with tears.
Although Xiao Wu was a somewhat simple-minded soul beast, she knew that once she and Lu Yuan parted, there was no telling when they would meet again.
"Xiao Wu, don't cry."
Lu Yuan reached out and brushed the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Go back. Go back to the Star Dou Great Forest. That's your home, and only there can you truly be safe."
"Mm."
Xiao Wu nodded through her tears.
They stood in the large square before the academy gates, speaking so softly that only a high-level soul master whose martial soul granted exceptionally keen hearing could have heard them. Even Tang Hao could not have made out their words without showing himself.
"Xiao Wu, from now on, whether you meet humans or soul beasts, take the time to observe and think. Don't let anyone easily cheat you out of your money or your feelings."
Xiao Wu was still young and did not understand the hidden meaning in Lu Yuan's words.
Still, she nodded obediently and let Lu Yuan stroke her head a little longer before they finally said their goodbyes.
Early the next morning, Lu Yuan rode in a carriage. Listening to the clatter of wheels striking stones on the dirt road, he quietly gazed out the window at the wooded hills bathed in dawn light.
After a whole night spent trembling with apprehension, Lu Yuan let out a long breath, dark circles half the size of his eyes beneath them.
"Finally... I can sleep."
Lu Yuan closed his eyes, ready to enjoy a good, long sleep.
All night, he had been on guard against a sudden attack from Tang Hao. He had even prepared an argument that would make him stop by explaining that Lu Yuan was still useful.
Fortunately, Tang Hao was not yet so twisted that he would ruthlessly kill Lu Yuan to extinguish Xiao Wu's feelings merely because this hundred-thousand-year soul beast-the potential future "Ah Yin" belonging to Tang San-treated Lu Yuan a little better than she treated Tang San.
Of course, perhaps much of the credit also lay in the fact that Lu Yuan had consistently presented his relationship with Xiao Wu to others as that of "brother and sister," rather than "boyfriend and girlfriend." They were still children, and despite sharing a bed for so long, nothing physical had happened between them.
The carriage rolled slowly onward, but it was not headed for Douluo Village, where Lu Yuan had lived for six years. Instead, it was bound for Holy Soul Village, where the story of the Douluo Continent began.