Her mother had been brutally hunted down by the cold-blooded woman before her while protecting her, becoming that scarlet hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.
The hatred for her mother's killer could not coexist beneath the same sky.
It was her... I'll kill you!
At that moment, hatred completely swallowed Xiao Wu's reason. She let out a shrill roar brimming with murderous intent, kicked hard against the ground, and recklessly tried to leap past Xiong Shaoqing to attack Bibi Dong.
Yet, at the very instant her killing intent rose and her Soul Power was about to erupt.
[Severe warning] [Absolute law triggered: Instance holders are strictly forbidden from harming one another. Violators shall suffer divine punishment, their souls and spirits utterly annihilated]
Hum. An irresistible, majestic heavenly might slammed into the depths of Xiao Wu's soul like a hammer weighing billions of tons.
Xiao Wu shuddered as though struck by lightning. A trace of blood spilled from her lips, her raging Soul Power was forcibly pressed back into her body, and she trembled uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, as Bibi Dong looked at the friend notification that had appeared in her mind, a flicker of astonishment crossed her exquisite face before turning into utter disdain.
Adding friends? A gossip group? How absurd.
She could not even be bothered to acknowledge Xiao Wu, who had collapsed on the ground, and abruptly raised her right hand.
Terrifying purple-black Soul Power gathered in her palm. The Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor's lethal poisonous gas instantly locked onto Xiao Wu as she ruthlessly moved to kill her.
Boom.
The same absolute law slammed into the depths of Bibi Dong's soul, a hundred times more violently than before.
Pfft.
Bibi Dong's face abruptly turned as white as paper. Blood surged straight up her throat, and she forcibly swallowed it back down.
She felt as though an invisible cosmic hand had gripped her soul tight. If she dared take even half a step forward, she would instantly turn to dust.
Bibi Dong forcibly cut off her Soul Power, her chest heaving.
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, when had she ever suffered such a grievance in silence? Her prey was right before her, yet she could not even touch it.
Xiao Wu watched the scene in despair and astonishment.
She finally understood that as long as this absolute law existed, she would never be able to seek vengeance against Bibi Dong in this lifetime.
Helplessness, pain, frustration... all these emotions tore at Xiao Wu's heart like venomous snakes.
Since she could not kill her, Bibi Dong, the iron-fisted Pope, would not waste time persisting.
With the Soul Ring out of reach, the "five percent Soul Power purification" mentioned by the system and its other functions became the only benefits she could currently extract.
Bibi Dong narrowed her phoenix eyes. Her immense Spiritual Power instantly became an invisible thread and slipped directly into Xiao Wu's mind.
A private voice transmission.
Xiong Shaoqing's Soul Power was currently only rank ten, while Xiao Wu's cultivation was already approaching Soul Ancestor, rank forty. With Bibi Dong deliberately concealing it as well, Xiong Shaoqing heard nothing but the wind and snow, utterly unaware that the two were secretly connected.
"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast." Bibi Dong's arrogant, icy voice rang out in Xiao Wu's mind. "Accept the request. Add me as a friend. Now."
Xiao Wu bit down hard on her pale lips, not even noticing the blood spilling from their corner.
Adding her enemy as a friend-what humiliation.
Yet she understood even more clearly that, even without this law, charging at her with her current strength would only mean throwing her life away.
For her big brother, and for her future self, she trembled as she selected [Accept] in her Sea of Consciousness.
[Ding! Instance holders Xiao Wu and Bibi Dong have successfully added each other as friends] [Soul Power purification buff distributed] [Automatically joined "Xiong Shaoqing's Notes Instance Gossip Group"]
Hearing the notifications, Xiao Wu immediately transmitted her voice through Soul Power, warning solemnly, "Hey, I don't care what kind of Pope you are. Big brother has no idea we can see the diary he writes. You absolutely must not reveal this secret."
Bibi Dong coldly replied with a single word in her mind: "Mm."
Chapter 20: This Acting Could Win an Oscar
The voice transmission ended.
Without so much as another glance at Xiong Shaoqing, Bibi Dong abruptly unfurled the Six-Winged Purple Light Wings behind her, becoming a streak of purple light that vanished into the depths of Star Dou Great Forest in the blink of an eye.
Watching Bibi Dong's retreating figure as she fled.
Xiong Shaoqing took a convincing deep breath, deliberately putting on the air of someone who had narrowly escaped death and was forcing himself to remain composed.
"She had clearly locked onto you just now, her killing intent completely exposed, yet she forcibly withdrew her Soul Power. It looks like some law of heaven and earth in this forest restricted her."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xiao Wu sitting collapsed in the snow, trembling all over, but he knew exactly what was going on.
Her mother's killer was right before her, yet the system's rules wouldn't even let her touch her. This girl's heart must taste ten thousand times more bitter than bitterroot right now.
No, if I don't untie this dead knot now, it'll become a buried mine sooner or later.
Pretending that his earlier vigilance had exhausted his mind, Xiong Shaoqing sat cross-legged in the snow and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
In truth, his thoughts raced as he furiously poured words into the Destiny Diary:
[She left.]
[The instant that woman arrived, I could barely breathe.]
[Dong'er... I never imagined that our first meeting after my rebirth would take place with swords drawn like this.]
[In our previous life, you did not hesitate to make an enemy of all of Spirit Hall to keep me safe; to win me a sliver of hope for survival, you endured the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring your heart in the Rakshasa God Trial, forcibly taking that fatal blow for me... I could never repay all the love you owed me.]
[But why must fate toy with people like this?]
[Watching Xiao Wu collapse in the snow just now, forcibly enduring her hatred and humiliation, hurt as though my heart were being torn apart. The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast you hunted back then to achieve your breakthrough was none other than Xiao Wu's mother.]
[One is my beloved Dong'er, who burned her soul to ashes for me, and the other is the foolish girl I swore to protect with my life... the palm and the back of my hand are both flesh. What can I possibly do to resolve this blood-deep hatred? How much more sin can this broken body of a God King bear?]
The instant the diary entry was finished.
Sitting in the snow, still mired in the swamp of hatred, Xiao Wu saw the words appear in her Sea of Consciousness and froze completely, as though struck by lightning.
Dong'er? His beloved?
Xiao Wu covered her mouth, tears welling up once again.
They were both her big brother's beloved. Neither was wrong; only this cruel fate was to blame.
She raised her tearful eyes toward Xiong Shaoqing, who sat cross-legged in the snow.
This man was clearly hurting until his heart bled, yet he had still pretended they were strangers just now, shielding her firmly behind him.
Big brother's acting really was good. If she couldn't see the diary, he would almost have fooled her.
Since big brother wanted to act, she would play along to the very end.
Xiao Wu wiped away her tears, forced her weak legs to support her, and walked over to Xiong Shaoqing.
Xiong Shaoqing happened to open his eyes just then.
He rose, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Wu's pale little face before abruptly fixing on the shocking trace of blood at the corner of her lips.
Xiong Shaoqing's heart clenched. That genuine ache of concern nearly broke his control over his expression.
Hold it in. I have to stay cold to the end.
Xiong Shaoqing roared inwardly, forcibly suppressing the worry in his eyes.
His brows knitted tightly, and his deep eyes seemed coated in a layer of ten-thousand-year-old black ice.
He took a clean handkerchief from his wide sleeve and casually tossed it into Xiao Wu's arms. His voice was as cool as ever, even carrying a stiff, unfeeling edge.
"Wipe it off. You coughed up blood? Is it serious?"
Xiao Wu caught the handkerchief, her fingertips still able to feel its lingering warmth. Hearing that stiff tone, she felt no grievance; instead, waves of aching sweetness rose in her heart.
He was clearly worried to death, his heart almost torn apart in his diary, yet on the surface he still had to pretend to be so cold and restrained.
Xiao Wu secretly grumbled inwardly that his awkward disposition really made her both annoyed and tenderhearted.
She hastily wiped the blood from her lips and directly revealed the woman's identity. "I'm fine, big brother. She's Spirit Hall's supreme ruler, Pope Bibi Dong."
Upon hearing the name, Xiong Shaoqing's control over his expression was worthy of a textbook.
His pupils contracted slightly, his faintly furrowed brows instantly locked together, and a wary, cold gleam abruptly gathered in his eyes.
"Spirit Hall, the Pope..."
He lowered his voice, his tone conveying the immense pressure of being targeted by an unparalleled foe. Rather than uttering any sweet, affectionate nonsense, he reached back, seized Xiao Wu's arm, and forcibly pulled her behind him.
"No wonder her presence was so terrifying." Xiong Shaoqing stared coldly into the depths of the wind and snow, his tone carrying unquestionable severity and resolve. "Since she's from Spirit Hall, we absolutely cannot linger here. Can you still walk? Stay close. Don't fall behind."
"If she comes back, in my current condition, I might not have the strength left to protect a burden."
Hearing that grating word, "burden," then looking at the figure standing before her, as steady as a deep pool and a towering mountain, Xiao Wu was moved beyond measure.
He was lying again. His diary clearly said the palm and the back of his hand were both flesh, and he had clearly sworn to protect her with his life, yet he insisted on calling her a burden, on pushing her away with this awful attitude.
Xiao Wu silently swore to herself and reached out to clutch Xiong Shaoqing's wide sleeve tightly.
Don't worry, big brother. She would never be a burden.
One day, she would try, for her big brother's sake, to bury this hatred deep in her heart.
Meanwhile, feeling the little hand gripping his sleeve so tightly, Xiong Shaoqing let out a long inward sigh of relief and laughed wildly in smug delight.
The Oscar for Best Actor belongs to none other than me.
This damned cold-but-caring persona, served alongside the diary, has absolutely off-the-charts destructive power.
I've finally managed to forcibly contain the nuclear fusion crisis in this harem.
Above Star Dou Great Forest, the wind and snow raged.
Bibi Dong became a brilliant streak of purple light, speeding toward Spirit City just above the forest canopy.
Although the Heavenly Laws had suppressed and humiliated her earlier, sensing the "five percent Soul Power purity" that had appeared in her body out of nowhere still brought a strange glimmer of satisfaction to her icy face.
Such a method of purification was unheard of.
Saving years of arduous cultivation simply by adding a friend-this was no losing deal.
Just as she was calculating how to use the system to extract benefits in the future, the Diary updated in her Sea of Consciousness.
Bibi Dong's arrogant purple eyes swept over the diary's contents. Her flying figure suddenly lurched, nearly plunging headfirst from midair into the snowy forest below.
Dong... Dong'er?
Bibi Dong bit down hard on her red lips, her exquisite face instantly flushing scarlet.
It had been a long time since anyone in this world dared address her so brazenly.
She forcibly suppressed the urge to tear the Diary apart and continued reading.
Chapter 21: This Grand Show Was Getting More and More Exciting
[To keep me safe, you did not hesitate to make an enemy of all of Spirit Hall... endured the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring your heart in the Rakshasa God Trial, taking that fatal blow for me...]
Utter nonsense. The most ridiculous absurdity under heaven.
Bibi Dong sneered inwardly.
As the mighty Pope of Spirit Hall, she could sever every bond in the world for power and revenge.
Make an enemy of all of Spirit Hall? To save a man?
The image of Xiong Shaoqing facing her in the forest as though confronting a formidable enemy surfaced in her mind.
Him? A useless fool with rank-ten Soul Power who needed a rabbit to stand guard just to absorb a mere five-hundred-year Soul Ring?
Deep suspicion surfaced in Bibi Dong's eyes. Would I have to be blind to fall for a man like this, and even throw my life away for him?
Xiong Shaoqing, these so-called memories of a previous life are probably nothing more than a grand dream dreamed by this down-and-out God King.
Although she inwardly disparaged Xiong Shaoqing as utterly worthless, when she saw the line "the palm and the back of my hand are both flesh" in the diary, a strange ripple spread across the depths of Bibi Dong's heart, unnoticed even by herself.
Ha, ridiculous. I'll just see how this fellow makes good on that mouthful of devotion in the days to come.
Before you continue