Gangzi also sensed that something was wrong, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Mu Bai, how did you know Xiao Wu hasn't left the Star Dou Great Forest all this time?"
"It can't be easy to find out what's happening in that place, can it?"
At that, Dai Mubai smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, Grandmaster. Naturally, I have my ways."
"Enough talk. Let's set out right now."
"Xiao Wu is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who took human form. Her fighting strength is indispensable to us. Most importantly, without her sacrifice, Tang San couldn't possibly increase his strength so quickly."
With that, Dai Mubai headed off into the distance first, regardless of how the others reacted.
The others exchanged glances and followed. Ma Hongjun kept coughing, and after much deliberation, he still followed behind them.
The Star Dou Great Forest.
Xiao Wu sat beside a pond, her fair feet kicking up ripples, her eyes lowered.
"Er Ming, why do you think everything changed when we got to start over?"
Xiao Wu had spent these past few years cultivating in the Star Dou Great Forest, planning to leave once she reached maturity, but the more time passed, the more unsettled her state of mind became.
"Brother San and Boss Dai and the others were clearly such good friends before. How did things turn out like this?"
An enormous Titan Giant Ape kept Xiao Wu company beside her. After hearing her words, he let out several roars.
Xiao Wu listened quietly, her expression easing somewhat.
"That's true. Even you want to fight Da Ming over who gets to be the boss. It's normal for the others not to accept Brother San, too."
"But I don't understand. Do things have to be taken this far?"
That question strayed into territory beyond Er Ming's knowledge. He scratched his head, not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, as though remembering something, Xiao Wu cried out and stood up, sending water splashing as she stepped onto the bank.
"I completely forgot! It's time for our agreed reunion."
"This time, I have to talk some sense into them. We've all been through so much together. What is there that we can't talk out?"
"Er Ming, go on ahead. I'm going to a human city."
Hearing that, Er Ming looked at Xiao Wu with worry in his eyes.
Xiao Wu broke into a smile, full of innocence.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Hearing her say that, Er Ming could only grunt helplessly a few times and let her leave.
Xiao Wu made her way through the Star Dou Great Forest alone, heading outside. After walking for only a short while, she stopped and looked ahead, her face filled with delighted surprise.
"Boss Dai, Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing?"
"What brings you here? Oh, I know! Is it because I'm late?"
Xiao Wu looked at the people before her, initially as carefree as ever, but once she got a clear look at Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai's current appearances, she fell silent.
Dai Mubai swept her a glance with a smile that never reached his eyes. "Xiao Wu, we came looking for you because you never showed up."
"Our main problem now is that we don't know what to do next. You've been hiding in the Star Dou Great Forest all this time, but the rest of us haven't been doing well at all."
At that, Ma Hongjun nodded in wholehearted agreement, looking utterly woeful.
"Boss Dai is right, Sister Xiao Wu!"
"Look at me now, neither human nor ghost. I don't have anything left to hope for. We all want to know what you think."
Hearing that, Xiao Wu lowered her head, her eyes filled with panic. Unconsciously, she gripped the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, as though grasping something else, and steadied her resolve.
She raised her head and said slowly, "Why don't... you have a proper talk with Brother San and apologize, and let this matter pass?"
"After all, we went through so much toge-"
Before Xiao Wu could finish, Dai Mubai cut her off.
"Went through what?"
A vicious gleam flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes as he roared, "Tell me! What exactly did we go through together?!"
"When all is said and done, weren't we just accessories to the Great God King Tang, appearing only when he needed us?"
"Could he have become that bullshit God King without Oscar and Ning Rongrong's help?"
"Could he have succeeded without your sacrifice?!"
"What did we go through together? Think back. Was there anything besides him showing off everywhere?"
"Why? Just why was Tang San the one who succeeded, and not me?!"
Dai Mubai's heart was filled with jealous hatred, and the more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
"Who among the Shrek Seven Monsters wasn't a genius? Why was the Great God King Tang always the strongest? Why did we always have to bow beneath someone else? Did you think we really had no other ideas?"
"You say the Asura God King favored him in our previous life. Fine, I accept that. But in this life, we've all been reborn. I'm no worse than him!"
"Why can't I become a God King?! Tell me!"
"Xiao Wu, did you really go through anything with Tang San? Weren't you asleep the whole time after your sacrifice? What exactly did you do?!"
"What right do you have now to say such things, to tell us to be magnanimous and even apologize to Tang San? He's the one who should apologize!"
After that outpouring, apart from Dai Mubai, whose face had flushed red, the others' gazes flickered, each harboring their own thoughts.
Ning Rongrong wore a face full of cold mockery, while Ma Hongjun wanted to say something but closed his mouth again.
Zhu Zhuqing simply turned her head away.
Xiao Wu twisted her fingers together, her mind already in turmoil, not knowing what to say.
"Boss Dai, calm down..."
Dai Mubai laughed savagely a few times, glaring at Xiao Wu with wide eyes.
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?!"
"You keep calling me Boss Dai, but toward the end of our previous life, did I ever have the standing of a leader?"
"Ever since you joined Shrek Academy, I believe I treated every one of you well, didn't I?"
"But what about afterward? What place was there left for me?!"
"I'm asking you just one thing now, Xiao Wu. Are you with us, or with Tang San?!"
He vented those words like a barrage of cannon fire. Even Gangzi, who had a screw loose, sensed that something was wrong.
"What is Dai Mubai..."
The expression on Xiao Wu's face shifted repeatedly. Finally, she gritted her teeth and clutched the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
"I'm sorry, Boss Dai. I've always treated you as my own older brother, but I never imagined you thought this way."
"I... won't leave Brother San."
After she spoke, no one's expression changed except Dai Mubai's. They had already known Xiao Wu would say that.
Dai Mubai froze for a few seconds at her words, then covered his face and burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! I knew it!"
"Your heart really still isn't with us. Well, I shouldn't have gone softhearted."
As his words fell, countless sounds of rushing wind suddenly rang out around them. Soul Masters appeared one after another, emerging from every direction and surrounding Xiao Wu.
Spirit Hall!
Spirit Hall's people had surrounded this place at some unknown point.
The corners of Dai Mubai's eyes split slightly as he said with a savage grin, "Xiao Wu, I gave you a chance!"
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