Writing a Diary in Douluo, All the Heroines Fell for Me

[I could only put on this cold mask and be this stern, unfeeling teacher.]

[I would rather they sweated under my watch, cried out in pain, and even resented my cold-bloodedness in their hearts than allow them to suffer the slightest harm in the storms to come.]

The golden words slowly unfurled in the void, carrying restrained tenderness and profound protectiveness.

In the courtyard.

The same passage from the Diary appeared in the minds of Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who were meditating with their eyes closed.

Both their bodies shuddered violently. Tears instantly welled up despite themselves, slipping down their faces along with their sweat.

"Big Brother... his hands were trembling not because he was angry, but because it hurt him to see us suffer..." Xiao Wu covered her mouth to keep herself from crying aloud.

She recalled Xiong Shaoqing's cold, stern gaze from earlier. Looking back on it now, that had clearly been concern suppressed to its utmost limit.

Zhu Zhuqing gripped the hem of her clothes even tighter. Mist filled her cool eyes, while the sense of safety from being cherished and the love in her heart grew wildly like vines.

He refused to let her become a flower in a greenhouse because he knew how cruel this world was.

He forced her to sweat so she would have enough strength to face the cutting winds and frost-bladed swords of the future.

How could she not fall for a love so profound that he disdained even taking credit for it?

Meanwhile.

Heaven Dou Imperial City, the Eastern Palace.

Morning sunlight spilled across the desk. As Qian Renxue read the words appearing in her mind, the teacup in her hand stopped in midair.

"I would rather you resented my cold-bloodedness in your hearts than allow you to suffer the slightest harm..."

Qian Renxue murmured to herself, deep loneliness and undisguisable yearning appearing in her beautiful golden eyes.

She had struggled through this palace full of scheming and cold blood, long accustomed to teachers, disciples, and companions exploiting one another for profit and stabbing each other in the back.

When had anyone ever put themselves in her shoes like this, willing to play a detestable villain for the sake of her safety?

"Brother Xiong, how fortunate those two girls beside you are..." Qian Renxue sighed softly, the light in her eyes growing gentler. "If only I could shed this disguise as the crown prince and go to your courtyard to hear you scold me a little."

Spirit City, the Papal Palace.

Seated high upon the papal throne, Bibi Dong held a gemstone-studded scepter.

Upon seeing the contents of the Diary, her lips curled into a mocking sneer.

Excuses. Inflicting pain in the name of doing what is best for you. Every man under heaven wears that same hypocritical face.

Bibi Dong scoffed disdainfully in her heart.

She remembered Qian Xunji's almost perverse demands of her back then, remembered those torments that could never see the light of day. She instinctively rejected all so-called "stern teachers."

Yet when she read the words, "I fear that my softness today will become the blood they shed beneath an enemy's blade tomorrow," her fingers abruptly tightened around her scepter.

An irrepressible pang of sorrow pierced her scarred, ravaged heart like a fine needle.

Although she mocked him fiercely aloud, her keen intuition told her that every word this man named Xiong Shaoqing had written in his Diary came from a sincerity willing to risk his life to protect them.

Such pure favoritism, asking for nothing in return, was an extravagant wish that she, Bibi Dong, had never obtained even in her dreams throughout her life.

I have no need for such laughable pity.

Bibi Dong abruptly closed her eyes, forcibly suppressing that absurd trace of envy in her heart, and struck her scepter heavily against the floor.

A cold, sharp crash immediately echoed through the great hall, frightening the knights standing guard outside into utter silence.

Shrek Academy, the boys' dormitory.

Hum. A thick, unbroken surge of Mysterious Heaven Skill inner power rippled out from Tang San, making the tables and chairs in the room tremble slightly.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Tang San abruptly opened his eyes. A rich flash of purple Qi crossed their depths, and at last, the wild joy he had suppressed for days spread across his lips.

Level 40. The Mysterious Heaven Skill has finally broken through its bottleneck.

Tang San clenched both fists, feeling the power surging within him, but a layer of venomous malice soon covered his eyes.

The crushing defeat in the Black Market's dark alley that night was like a poisoned thorn embedded deep in his heart.

That Xiong Shaoqing had actually crossed the gap in rank to severely injure a Soul Ancestor elder of the Poison Shadow Sect. Such cultivation had made Tang San, who considered himself a genius, feel humiliation unlike anything before.

"Third Brother, you broke through! That's wonderful!" Ma Hongjun pushed open the door and entered, with Dai Mubai close behind him, both looking delighted.

"Yes, I just broke through that barrier." Tang San rose and took a deep breath, his gaze unfathomable. "There's no time to lose. Let's report to the dean right now."

"Since I've reached Level 40, the academy will certainly arrange a team as soon as possible to head into the Star Dou Great Forest and hunt down my fourth Soul Ring."

"Fantastic! Once you get your fourth Soul Ring, Third Brother, our Shrek will have a genuine Soul Ancestor. Then let's see how that Xiong bastard keeps acting so arrogant." Ma Hongjun viciously waved his fist.

Tang San did not join in. Instead, he walked to the window and looked toward Suotuo City, his delicate features looking particularly twisted in the shadows.

"No. A head-on clash is ultimately an inferior strategy." Tang San lowered his voice, a viper-like cold gleam flashing in his eyes. "That scoundrel Xiong Shaoqing excels at honeyed words, putting on the appearance of an upright gentleman to bewitch Xiao Wu."

"To rescue Xiao Wu from her sea of suffering, I must tear off that hypocritical mask completely and let her see that demon's true face, worse than a beast, with her own eyes."

Dai Mubai frowned. "Little San, what are you planning to do? That fellow's physical defenses are downright monstrous. Even your Godly Zhuge Crossbow might not penetrate them."

Tang San sneered and retrieved an exquisite little red medicine bottle from deep within Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night.

"The hardest things in this world to guard against aren't hidden weapons, but the human heart and instinct." Tang San's voice carried a chilling calculation. "This is a potent drug I formulated. Colorless and odorless."

"As long as he comes into contact with even the tiniest speck, no matter how strong his self-control, he'll lose all reason within an hour and turn into a beast that knows only how to vent its primal desires."

At this point, Tang San adopted the sanctimonious face of a compassionate savior, full of anguish and pity, and spoke with affected innocence. "I would ordinarily disdain using such a despicable poison. But to save Xiao Wu, to let her see that demon Xiong Shaoqing's true face, I have no choice but to resort to this."

"Just imagine how desperate Xiao Wu will feel if the drug takes effect and Xiong Shaoqing tries to rape her like a madman."

"When that moment comes, I'll appear like a divine warrior descending from heaven and save her. Not only will she give up on that demon completely, but she'll also understand who is truly willing to protect her with his life."

"What a brilliant way to pull the firewood from beneath the cauldron!" Ma Hongjun's eyes shone as he listened, and he even swallowed.

Chapter 86: Xiao Wu Is Dosed with Aphrodisiac Powder

Dai Mubai slapped his thigh in excitement. "Little San, your plan is absolutely brilliant. As long as that pretty boy loses his reputation and reveals his true, beastly face."

"Zhu Zhuqing will definitely see through his hypocrisy too and obediently return to my side. After all, I, Dai Mubai, am the only man truly worthy of her."

Tang San gripped the medicine bottle tightly in his palm, his eyes filled with a sick madness.

Xiong Shaoqing not only stole Xiao Wu, but repeatedly ruined my plans.

Once I obtain my Soul Ring this time, I must find an opportunity to ruin Xiong Shaoqing's reputation and make his life worse than death.

While Tang San and the other two hid in their dormitory, smugly plotting their poisonous scheme.

In the lobby of the Listening Snow Inn in Suotuo City.

Xiong Shaoqing was holding a bowl of plain congee and drinking it leisurely when a crisp system notification rang out in his mind without warning.

[Ding! Detected profound malice and pathological scheming directed at the host by the Child of Fortune, Tang San!]

[Villainous Malice Feedback Mechanism activated!]

[Congratulations, host! You have received 5,000 face-slapping points!]

[Currently available face-slapping points: 40,000!]

"Pfft, cough, cough, cough."

Caught off guard, Xiong Shaoqing nearly choked on a mouthful of congee. He quickly took out a spotless white handkerchief, covered his mouth and nose, and coughed violently several times.

"Shaoqing, are you all right?" Zhu Zhuqing, sitting opposite him, immediately put down her chopsticks and handed him a cup of warm water, her face full of concern.

Xiao Wu also leaned over nervously and gently patted his back.

"I'm fine. The congee was a little hot, that's all." Xiong Shaoqing accepted the cup, unobtrusively taking the opportunity to enjoy the little kitten's and little rabbit's thoughtfulness before swiftly restoring his icy wooden expression, unchanging even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

In truth, however, the soul inside him was almost convulsing with laughter.

Hahaha! That bastard Tang San really is a model worker.

I'm just sitting here quietly drinking congee. I haven't so much as touched a hair on that fellow's head, yet Tang San eagerly sent me a five-thousand-point experience package from afar.

The system only mentioned malice and scheming, without saying what the actual plot was.

But I could figure it out with my toes. That hypocrite must be brewing up some nasty trick behind my back again.

Xiong Shaoqing lifted his teacup, a dangerous, mocking gleam flashing through his deep black eyes.

Want to play dirty? Sure.

With my current strength, I'm a humanoid tyrannosaurus among those at my level.

Whatever plots and tricks Tang San uses, they're all paper tigers before absolute power.

He'd better pray he doesn't walk into my line of fire. Otherwise, I'll turn his own scheme to my advantage and dig a monstrous pit of eternal damnation for that pure-as-ice-and-jade Tang San.

Xiong Shaoqing set down his teacup and looked at the two stunning faces before him, his vigilance rising to its highest level.

It did not matter if Tang San came after him, but if he dared set his sights on these two girls, Xiong Shaoqing would make certain that viper died without a place to be buried.

"Eat faster." He gathered his thoughts, his tone returning to its usual sternness. "Continue cultivating after you finish. Suotuo City won't be peaceful these next few days. Your own strength is the foundation on which you stand."

Time flew, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.

At Shrek Academy, under Zhao Wuji's leadership, Tang San successfully hunted a Man Faced Demon Spider of an excellent age in the Star Dou Great Forest. Not only did he successfully dispel the frustration left by the dark alley incident, but he also officially entered the realm of a Level 40 Soul Ancestor.

With his strength greatly increased, Tang San's confidence swelled to its limit once again.

The moment he returned to Suotuo City, he impatiently began putting his vicious plan into action.

That evening, at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Suotuo City's finest restaurant.

Xiong Shaoqing had reserved the most luxurious private window-side seating area on the second floor and brought Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing there for dinner.

The intense body-tempering cultivation of recent days had left both girls utterly exhausted, so naturally, he wanted to bring them out for a good meal to replenish their Qi and blood.

Meanwhile, in a dim alley diagonally opposite the restaurant, a pair of viper-like eyes stared fixedly at the second-floor window.

Tang San had come alone.

Before he left, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had wanted to tag along for the excitement, but he had politely refused, saying, "More people mean more eyes. We could easily expose ourselves."

In truth, Tang San did not trust those two fools, whose heads were filled with nothing but women, to handle such delicate work.

When Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun heard they did not have to do any work, they happily enjoyed their freedom. They immediately slung their arms around each other's shoulders and headed into Suotuo City's red-light district to have fun, which suited Tang San perfectly.

Using his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San took in every movement within the private seating area.

An icy curve rose at the corner of his mouth, and his fingertip silently flicked out a faint gust of force.

Carrying a speck of colorless, odorless powder, that gust landed with perfect precision inside the soup bowl held by a waiter carrying a tray toward the second floor.

Xiong Shaoqing, enjoy this generous gift.

Tang San sneered in the shadows. As long as Xiong Shaoqing went berserk in public, Xiao Wu would finally see his true face, worse than a beast.

With a drug this potent, he wanted to see how Xiong Shaoqing would clean up the mess.

Inside the private seating area.

The waiter respectfully arranged the dishes on the table one by one. Finally, he placed a bowl of soft, fragrant, sweet "snow frog and lotus seed soup" before Xiong Shaoqing.

"Ladies, these pastries are our house specialty. Please enjoy. Young master, your snow frog and lotus seed soup."

Xiong Shaoqing nodded expressionlessly and waved the waiter away.

He picked up the bowl of translucent lotus seed soup and was just about to scoop up a spoonful.

Suddenly, a slender, fair little hand reached over from beside him.

"Big Brother, your bowl smells so good! Even better than my sweet soup." Blinking her large, ruby-like eyes with a trace of girlish artlessness, Xiao Wu snatched the bowl straight out of Xiong Shaoqing's hands.

Xiong Shaoqing's brows knitted slightly. He was just about to scold her, but Xiao Wu had already tilted back her fair neck and gulped down more than half of it.

"Wow, it's delicious." Xiao Wu licked her lips and smilingly pushed the remaining half-bowl back to Xiong Shaoqing. "Big Brother, I only drank half. You can have the rest back."

Watching Xiao Wu's playful behavior, Zhu Zhuqing shook her head helplessly, though a faint smile she had not even noticed herself curved her lips.

Yet in the very next second.

The smile on Xiao Wu's face suddenly froze.

"So hot..."

The chopsticks in her hand fell onto the table with a clatter. In the blink of an eye, her fair, rosy face turned as crimson as fire-lit clouds.

She panted heavily, her gaze beginning to turn hazy and unfocused as a fine layer of sweat beaded on her forehead.