Writing a diary in Douluo, all the heroines gave themselves away

Sweat mingled with cold sweat, dripping into the dirt in large beads.

Tang San dug his fingers into the ground, roaring and cursing wildly in his heart.

Zhao Wuji, you brainless, stupid bear. One day, I'll make you repay today's lash wounds a hundredfold.

And Xiong Shaoqing. If it weren't for dealing with that damned bastard, why would I have to suffer this physical torment in this wretched village to win people over?

Once I stir up Dai Mubai's fury, once his influence as a Star Luo prince comes into play, I'll have Xiong Shaoqing torn into ten thousand pieces.

Although the pain in his back seemed about to tear him apart, the abacus in Tang San's heart was clacking away.

Those eighty lashes were vicious, but he had traded these mere flesh wounds for Dai Mubai's and Ma Hongjun's absolute, unwavering loyalty. This deal had paid off spectacularly.

Chapter 47: Sowing discord

Watching the shocking bloodstains on Tang San's back, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai stood beside him, their hearts aching worse than if knives were cutting into them.

Ma Hongjun's plump face flushed crimson, his heart filled with guilt.

Because of the defect in his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, lust burned through his body. Cuihua had also broken up with him, and he had only wanted to leave the village because he truly could not hold out any longer.

Flender usually took him, but sneaking out without permission tonight would have earned him at least fifty lashes if he were caught. Third Brother alone had shouldered all the responsibility.

Third Brother is a real man. From now on, wherever Third Brother points, I'll strike.

Fatty silently swore this to himself.

Dai Mubai's eyes burned even more, his clenched fists cracking.

He had mocked Little San earlier for putting on a lofty act, never imagining that he was the real man: uninterested in beauty, loyal to his friends, and willing to risk even his life for his brothers.

As Dai Mubai watched Tang San's slender back, watching him grit his teeth and endure, every guard in his heart came down completely.

Little San, I, Dai Mubai, will remember this blood debt and this kindness.

From now on, here at Shrek Academy, your business is my business-Boss Dai's business.

As the eightieth lash landed heavily.

Tang San could no longer hold on. His eyes rolled back, and amid the venomous sneering in his heart and the pitiful disguise on the surface, he weakly passed out.

Inside the boys' dormitory at Shrek Academy, a dim oil lamp flickered, and the air was thick with the smell of blood and the pungent scent of Golden Wound Medicine.

Tang San lay facedown on the hard wooden bed, the flesh of his back torn open in a horrifying sight.

Dai Mubai sat beside the bed. Those hands, which normally knew only how to hold winecups and embrace women, had picked up medicinal cotton for once and were carefully cleaning the blood crusted around Tang San's wounds.

Beside him, Ma Hongjun was sweating with exertion as he brought a bowl of freshly cooked sugar water to the bedside, his plump face full of concern.

"Third Brother, here, have some sugar water while it's hot to get your strength back. After eighty lashes, even a man forged from iron would lose a layer of skin." Holding a spoon, Ma Hongjun blew it cool before carefully bringing it to Tang San's lips.

Tang San swallowed a mouthful of sugar water with difficulty, forcing a gentle, jade-like smile onto his pale face.

"Fatty, Mubai, stop looking so miserable. Since we're brothers, what difference does it make which of us takes the lightning?"

Tang San's voice was weak, yet carried the easygoing air of a wandering hero. He even chuckled and teased:

"Work out the numbers. According to the academy rules, if all three of us had been caught, we'd have taken at least a hundred and fifty lashes between us."

"Now I've taken all the blame myself, and even got a discount-only eighty lashes. When you work it out, we've come out way ahead."

Hearing this, Ma Hongjun's eyes burned, and he almost shed tears of gratitude.

Dai Mubai was deeply shaken too. He could not help laughing, his eyes full of admiration. "Little San, how does that brain of yours work? You took such a brutal beating, and you can still figure out a profit?"

"All right. As your older brother, I'll remember this kindness."

As Dai Mubai laughed, his hands pressed a little harder.

"Hiss." Tang San sucked in a breath from the pain, his brows drawing together slightly. With a wry smile and a mildly reproachful tone, he said, "Boss Dai, go a little easier with those hands. There isn't an uninjured patch left on my back."

"Oh, my fault, my fault. I'll be gentler, gentler." Dai Mubai hurriedly eased his movements, apologizing repeatedly.

The three joked and bantered in the shabby dormitory, the atmosphere wonderfully cheerful, as though they truly were brothers who had risked their lives for one another.

Yet beneath Tang San's gentle, generous exterior, he was sneering wildly inside, an indelible contempt hidden deep in his eyes.

Two idiots.

Tang San silently endured the intense pain in his back. His nostrils were filled with the cheap perfume and powder lingering on Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, making him feel a strong physical revulsion.

He, a dignified successor of the Tang Sect, pure as ice and jade and devoted to the Great Dao, actually had to call these lowly beasts ruled by their lower bodies his brothers.

Normally, people like these, steeped in the foulness of the red-light district, would not even qualify to come within three feet of him.

If not for his grand plan, if not for needing them as stepping stones and sacrificial scapegoats, he would have crippled their meridians with a few Bone-Piercing Nails long ago.

The more viciously he cursed inside, the weaker and more sincere Tang San's expression became.

Seeing that the timing was about right and Dai Mubai's and Ma Hongjun's trust in him had reached its peak, Tang San lowered his eyelids slightly, putting on a conflicted expression as though he wanted to speak but hesitated.

He sighed heavily, his brows tightly knitted.

"Little San, what's wrong? Are your wounds hurting again?" Dai Mubai immediately asked anxiously.

"It's not my wounds that hurt. It's my heart." Tang San shook his head bitterly, looking at Dai Mubai with eyes full of sympathy and hesitation. "Mubai, there's something I didn't want to tell you. I was afraid it would hurt you."

"But since we're brothers in life and death, hiding it from you would be far too disloyal."

"What is it? We're brothers. Speak freely." Dai Mubai patted his chest in assurance.

Tang San drew a deep breath, his tone turning indignant, with a measure of anguish. "Tonight, I originally went to the Great Soul Arena to watch some matches. But I saw a newly registered team."

"There were two stunning girls on the team. One of them... was the fiancée you mentioned, Zhu Zhuqing."

"Zhu Zhuqing?" The medicine bottle in Dai Mubai's hand shook abruptly, and his gaze instantly sharpened. "She actually went to the Great Soul Arena? Who else was on that team?"

"My dear little sister Xiao Wu, whom I met back at Nuoding Academy and spent years with." Tang San gritted his teeth, a humiliated glimmer of tears appearing in his eyes at just the right moment. "And the man who brought them together to form that team was that despicable, shameless Xiong Shaoqing."

Tang San clenched his fists tightly. "That Xiong Shaoqing is full of honeyed words. Bewitching people is what he does best. Xiao Wu is innocent by nature, so I could understand her being deceived."

"But Sister-in-law Zhuqing comes from a noble background. How could he have fooled her so completely too? She was actually exchanging flirtatious looks with him on the stage in full view of everyone, behaving intimately."

"Mubai, I truly couldn't bear watching it. Not only did that scoundrel steal the little sister who spent years by my side, he even dared lay his hands on your fiancée. He's simply gone too far!"

Crack.

Dai Mubai crushed the white porcelain medicine bottle in his hand to pieces.

He could indulge in revelry every night and hold a twin in each arm, but under the sway of his pathetic male chauvinism and aristocratic pride, Zhu Zhuqing belonged to his Star Luo Imperial Family in life, and would remain its ghost in death.

Now, his own fiancée had actually teamed up with another man for Soul Fighting, and was even behaving intimately with him.

This was simply grinding his, Dai Mubai's, face into the dirt and planting a solid green cuckold's hat on his head.

"Xiong! Shao! Qing!" Dai Mubai's eyes instantly turned blood-red, veins bulging on his forehead. Violent White Tiger Gang Qi erupted from his body, making the entire wooden bed creak. "What a bastard who doesn't know his place! You even dare touch my woman!"

Chapter 48: An unexpected visitor

Ma Hongjun stamped his feet furiously beside him too, waving his plump fists. "He's too arrogant! Third Brother is heartbroken over Sister Xiao Wu, and that brat has even cuckolded Boss Dai. If we don't avenge this, where can we put Shrek Academy's face?"

"Mubai, Fatty, don't act rashly." Tang San reached out at just the right moment to catch the corner of Dai Mubai's clothes, looking weak and as though he was "only thinking of them." "That brat is sinister and cunning. If you get hurt seeking revenge for me, even ten thousand deaths wouldn't absolve me..."

"Little San, stop saying that. You took eighty lashes for us. Your business is my business."

His eyes blood-red, Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and slapped his chest. "He didn't just deceive your Xiao Wu. He dared lay his hands on my Zhu Zhuqing too. With old grudges and new hatred added together, this feud has become a big one!"

"Focus on recovering. Once this period is over, the three of us will ask for leave and go to Suotuo City together. I want to see just how many lives this Xiong Shaoqing has for my White Tiger Fierce Light Wave to tear apart!"

Listening to Dai Mubai's murderous oath, Tang San buried his face deep in the coarse pillow as he lay on the bed.

In the shadows where no one could see, a savage smile of utter triumph instantly bloomed across his seemingly gentle face.

It worked.

Tang San roared with laughter in his heart.

Xiong Shaoqing now had to face not only his hidden weapons, but also the endless fury of a prince of the Star Luo Empire.

Let's see how he turns things around this time.

Several days later, the streets of Suotuo City bustled with people.

An understated carriage made from fine materials slowly passed through the city gates.

One corner of the carriage curtain lifted, revealing a handsome, refined face with the noble bearing of imperial blood.

This was none other than Qian Renxue, disguised as a man and assuming the identity of Xue Qinghe, crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.

On this incognito visit, she intended to see that fallen God King from the Diary with her own eyes.

However, as soon as she stepped out on the busiest street in the city center, Qian Renxue keenly noticed that the teahouses in the streets and alleys and the bookstalls were all surrounded by crowds. Even quite a few young nobles were heatedly discussing something.

"Hey, this 'Chinese Paladin' is brilliantly written! That part where Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru fought in the martial contest for her hand had my blood boiling!"

"Exactly! Just who is this author, Xiong Shaoqing? A newcomer actually wrote such a dazzling masterpiece. It completely obliterates all those stale romances about scholars and beauties on the market!"

"I hear the people demanding new chapters have almost trampled through Hanmo Publishing House's doorstep. This Xiong Shaoqing really is overflowing with talent."

At the name "Xiong Shaoqing," Qian Renxue's fingers abruptly stopped toying with her jade thumb ring, and a flash of incredulous astonishment crossed her golden eyes.

Writing fiction? Xiong Shaoqing?

Qian Renxue was secretly astonished. A formidable man with deep reserves, capable of instantly killing a Soul Elder twelve levels above him, was not cultivating diligently to restore his Divine Power, but had actually gone to a worldly publishing house to write fiction-and become this popular?

Driven by intense curiosity, Qian Renxue had a guard buy the latest collected edition of "Chinese Paladin" and entered a quiet private seating area in a teahouse.

Once she started reading, three full hours passed.

From the inn in Yuhang Town, to the first encounter on Fairy Spirit Island, to Lin Yueru's life-and-death vow to "eat until we're old and play until we're old."

Qian Renxue was completely immersed in this stirring yet exquisitely detailed world of immortals and heroes.

She turned to the last page, only to discover that the story stopped at its most crucial moment, with the words "To be continued" printed prominently below.

"It's actually serialized..." Qian Renxue drew a deep breath, closed the book, and took a sip of her thoroughly cold tea. Yet the shock in her heart surged like towering waves, refusing to settle for a long time.

What a Xiong Shaoqing. He could write a gallant hero like Li Xiaoyao, seemingly flippant but deeply devoted to love and loyalty, and portray the complexities of human nature and the bonds of emotion with such penetrating depth.

This was certainly not the breadth of experience an ordinary fallen man could possess. It seemed there was some possibility to his claim of being a God King cultivating anew.

Qian Renxue stroked the large gold-stamped lettering on the cover, the desire to investigate blazing fully to life in her eyes.

Decisive in killing, domineering in protecting his own, yet overflowing with talent and versed in all the romance of the world.

Xiong Shaoqing, just how many astonishing secrets did this man still have hidden away?

At that moment.

In a private window-side seating area on the second floor of Natural Residence, Suotuo City's finest restaurant.

Xiong Shaoqing was wiping his hands with a silk handkerchief, his face expressionless.

Across from him, Xiao Wu held a crystal pork hock and gnawed at it, her mouth glistening with grease, while Zhu Zhuqing elegantly picked the bones out of steamed bass.

Suddenly, a crisp system notification rang out in Xiong Shaoqing's mind:

[Ding! Detected that Qian Renxue has read "Chinese Paladin" and feels extreme shock at the host's talent and a deep desire to investigate him. Admiration has risen significantly!]

[System Feedback Mechanism activated]

[Host's Soul Power has broken through the level twenty-seven barrier!]

[Current Soul Power: level twenty-seven!]

Holy shit.

Xiong Shaoqing's heart gave a sudden jolt. Qian Renxue has come to Suotuo City.

And she's even read the book I wrote.

She can fucking read a novel and drop gold and experience for me? Level twenty-seven already! At this leveling speed, Tang San couldn't catch up even if he wore out all the rocks in that lousy village carrying them.

Wild joy surged through his heart like a flood bursting through a dam, and the corners of Xiong Shaoqing's mouth wanted to rise uncontrollably.

But his powerful reason instantly kicked in. He forcibly suppressed the goofy grin about to bloom and held his facial muscles stiffer than stone.

Steady. The God King persona absolutely cannot crumble.

Since Qian Renxue is here, she might be secretly watching from some corner of the city.

Since she likes watching, I'll give her a live diary performance and properly bait this golden dragonfish of the Heaven Dou Empire.