Yu Xiaogang: No More Pretending—I'm Coming Clean

Just as Xiao Wu was wallowing in self-pity in Xue Tianyu's bathroom, thinking of making a clean break with Tang San to protect him, Tang San finally realized that Xiao Wu was missing.

At first, he thought Xiao Wu had merely been delayed on the road and would soon return from Spirit Hall.

After all, for all these years, he had always let Xiao Wu go collect the money by herself.

There had never been any problems.

But now, it seemed the problem was huge.

Even at a slow pace, counting from when he ran into Xiao Wu that morning until now, one could have made seven or eight round trips between the hotel and the Spirit Hall branch.

Yet Xiao Wu still had not returned!

This made no sense.

There could only be one reason.

Xiao Wu had disappeared!

Tang San could no longer sit still. He immediately dragged everyone from Shrek Academy out of bed at the hotel.

"Mubai! Did any of you see Xiao Wu this afternoon?"

Tang San stared intensely at Dai Mubai, his anxious gaze blazing.

It was the first time they had seen such a look in Tang San's eyes.

Dai Mubai was dumbfounded as well.

"Huh? Xiao Wu?"

"Wasn't she supposed to be resting in her room?"

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "If she were in her room, would I need to wake all of you up?"

Only then did Ning Rongrong realize that Xiao Wu was missing.

"That's not right. Wasn't she perfectly fine this morning?"

"I ran into her when I came back during the day," Tang San quickly explained.

"You ran into her?"

Zhu Zhuqing rested her chin on her hand as she walked up to Tang San. "Did she say where she was going?"

Zhu Zhuqing had gone out during the day.

So she had not seen Xiao Wu all day.

Now that she heard Xiao Wu had disappeared, Zhu Zhuqing was anxious as well.

"She said she was going to Spirit Hall to collect her money," Tang San sighed.

Everyone looked at one another. How could collecting money make a person disappear?

Oscar cautiously offered his thoughts. "Did no one check Xiao Wu's room? Maybe there's a clue there?"

"I already did."

Tang San shook his head. "Nothing in Xiao Wu's room had changed. It didn't look like she was planning to leave for long, either."

"Then that's strange..." Ma Hongjun frowned deeply.

At this point, Tang San still had one concern he had not voiced.

Although Xiao Wu had told him that her injuries were nearly healed, no one knew exactly how she was doing.

Could Xiao Wu have accidentally suffered a relapse?

At that moment, Master Yu Xiaogang, whom Tang San had contacted, arrived at the hotel lobby with Liu Erlong.

"What happened?"

The moment Liu Erlong arrived, she raised her voice at Tang San. "Xiao San, your message said Xiao Wu had disappeared. What's going on?"

"It means exactly what it says." Tang San shrugged. "Xiao Wu went out during the day and still hasn't returned."

"Maybe she got carried away playing around, or saw something tasty and couldn't resist?" Oscar offered another suggestion.

But the moment he said that, Ning Rongrong snapped at him.

"She couldn't have just stayed there eating forever, could she? Wouldn't she come back after she was full? Where's your brain?"

Oscar was left unable to refute Ning Rongrong's three rapid-fire questions.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were also chattering away, discussing the matter.

The entire lobby was rather noisy.

Yu Xiaogang frowned and coughed heavily.

"Enough. Quiet down!"

Master's words still carried weight.

Everyone fell silent and looked toward Yu Xiaogang.

"Tang San, tell me what exactly is going on." Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San solemnly.

Tang San nodded and recounted everything concerning Xiao Wu that had happened that day.

"When I returned to the hotel from outside during the day, I happened to run into Xiao Wu as she was leaving."

"She said she was going to Spirit Hall to collect this month's money and would be back soon."

"And then Xiao Wu disappeared?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

"Yes." Tang San nodded heavily. "I even went to that branch, but they said they had never seen Xiao Wu come to collect money..."

As he spoke, Tang San's heart suddenly trembled.

Could Xiao Wu have been captured by Spirit Hall?

After all, Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. If her identity had been exposed, Spirit Hall might very well have imprisoned her.

With that thought, Tang San immediately voiced his guess to Yu Xiaogang.

"It's very likely Spirit Hall made a move. Xiao Wu might be in Spirit Hall."

Tang San was frantic.

Spirit Hall had always coveted Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Now that they had a chance to capture one, wouldn't they torture her to death?

Yu Xiaogang could see Tang San's state of mind, and he was somewhat conflicted himself.

But for the sake of his disciple, he sighed.

"I have a way to deal with Spirit Hall."

"Teacher, you have a way to save Xiao Wu from Spirit Hall?" Tang San excitedly grabbed Yu Xiaogang's hands.

Yu Xiaogang nodded, then gave a light cough. "Do not spread this matter around. I'm coming clean."

He deliberately glanced around and continued only after confirming that no one was eavesdropping. "I am an Honorary Elder of Spirit Hall. With an elder's authority, as long as Xiao Wu is truly at that branch, I can definitely get her back."

An Honorary Elder of Spirit Hall!

Tang San was stunned. This was the first time he had learned that his teacher possessed such an identity.

It was not just him. The other Shrek Five Monsters were equally shocked, their mouths hanging open.

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun in particular had known Master far longer than Tang San and Xiao Wu, yet Master had never revealed his identity.

Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing looked at Yu Xiaogang with admiration.

No wonder Ning Fengzhi had not worried at all after Ning Rongrong came to Shrek Academy.

Ning Rongrong understood her father's thinking now.

Liu Erlong looked at Yu Xiaogang, surrounded by the others and shining like the moon among stars, her eyes filled with little stars.

This was the man she loved.

Yu Xiaogang then instructed Tang San and the others, "I'll go to that Spirit Hall branch right away. Stay here and don't go anywhere."

"Just wait for my good news."

"Mm-hmm!"

Tang San quickly nodded in gratitude.

With Master's crucial identity as an Honorary Elder, if Xiao Wu was in Spirit Hall, she would definitely be fine.

However, after watching Master leave, Tang San suddenly thought of a problem.

What if Xiao Wu was not in Spirit Hall, but had encountered danger somewhere else...

Wouldn't they be waiting here for nothing and wasting the critical window for rescue?

Tang San thought so hard his head was about to split, yet he still could not figure out what kind of danger Xiao Wu might have encountered.

Then suddenly, a spark flashed through his mind.

There seemed to be someone who truly could threaten Xiao Wu, and that person also had a grudge with her.

Of course, to be precise, it was Xiao Wu who held a grudge against that person.

But given Xiao Wu's rather vengeful nature, it was entirely possible that she had gone looking for him.

The leader of the Skywater Team, Xue Tianyu!

Had Xiao Wu really gone to seek revenge on him?