Xu Ran, You Played Me

"An Auspicious Beast has auspicious Qi protecting it. Ordinary toxins can't hurt me. But this poison is rather troublesome for me. It's incredibly potent. Tang Hao probably gave it to him."

"Fortunately, I'm strong enough to force these toxins out," Xu Ran said, his voice so quiet that only he and Xiao Wu could hear. For now, he did not want Tang San to know that his father was a Titled Douluo.

"Then what do we do now?" Hearing Xu Ran say he was all right, Xiao Wu immediately sighed in relief, but she still asked somewhat anxiously.

"I'll force the poison out first," Xu Ran said. He found somewhere sheltered from the rain, sat cross-legged, and pretended to circulate his power. Then Xiao Wu saw waves of steam rising from Xu Ran's body, with black gas seemingly being forced out from within him.

"Tang San, why haven't you left yet? What are you trying to do? Do you still want to attack us?" Xiao Wu asked warily, watching Tang San with apprehension. Tang San had just sneaked out a hidden weapon and nearly killed her and Xu Ran. She did not dare underestimate him, or she might not even know how she died.

"Xiao Wu, Xu Ran isn't injured at all. He's been playing me all along. And I never even thought of hurting you. Xu Ran has been setting us up, all to destroy our relationship," Tang San said. Seeing the guarded look on Xiao Wu's face, he felt his heart shatter. Xiao Wu, who had once been inseparable from him, now guarded against him as though he were a villain. How could that not hurt?

"Playing you? Heh, Tang San, do you think I'll still believe your lies? Did Xu Ran make you fire the hidden weapon in your hand too?"

"I knew it. Why were you such a genius, so talented it was almost unnatural? You could make something this intricate at six years old. Did you think I would really be naive enough to believe you?"

"These things in your hands were meant to kill me, weren't they?" Xiao Wu sneered, her voice turning cold and merciless. Tang Hao had given Tang San this hidden weapon precisely so that he would be able to kill her if something unexpected happened. Even if he could not take her Soul Ring, he could take her Soul Bone.

Today, Xu Ran had exposed Tang San's true face. Tang San had feared they would slip away, leaving him with nothing. That was why he had wanted to kill her and the Auspicious Beast and take their two Soul Bones.

Everything Tang San had done was seamless, without a single gap, yet every one of his actions was so clear and plain before her eyes.

"Kill you? No, no, Xiao Wu, you should know how I feel about you. I've treated you so well. I can't cherish you enough, so how could I bear to kill you?"

"I only wanted to kill Xu Ran. Ever since Xu Ran arrived, he's been tearing our relationship apart. My feelings for you have always been sincere. Xu Ran is the one who's been acting all along! Xu Ran is a despicable, shameless bastard," Tang San said frantically as he walked toward Xiao Wu.

It was raining, and he wanted to take Xiao Wu home.

"Don't you dare talk about Xu Ran like that. You're the despicable, shameless one, yet you're splashing dirty water on him. Even after your true face has been exposed, you're still acting. How can someone like you exist in this world?" Xiao Wu snapped, flying into a fury when she heard Tang San slander Xu Ran. Xu Ran was a man who would risk his life for her, the person she valued most now. How could Tang San deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as him?

Her eyes reddened, and she instantly released her Martial Soul. Two yellow Soul Rings rose and circled around her. Her body shot forward in an instant, charging toward Tang San.

She raised her slender, long leg and kicked at Tang San's head.

"Ah!" Tang San cried out in pain. Caught off guard, he was sent flying by Xiao Wu's kick.

"Xiao Wu, what are you doing? You actually attacked me?" Tang San lay on the ground, clutching the cheek her lower leg had struck, feeling a searing pain. Xiao Wu had not held back at all.

"Attacked you? Heh, if I didn't have something to worry about, I'd truly want to kill you right here," Xiao Wu said icily, looking at that familiar figure before her with a hatred that cut to the bone.

If not for her fear of Tang Hao, of how killing Tang San would enrage him, she would have killed Tang San the moment she learned the truth. Why else would she have let him live until now?

"Xiao Wu, there must be some misunderstanding between us. That Xu Ran..." Tang San looked at Xiao Wu in panic, wanting to explain, but Xiao Wu planted a foot on his face, blocking his mouth.

Tang San's eyes widened, and his face flushed scarlet. He tried to struggle, but Xiao Wu pinned his hand beneath her foot as well.

Looking at that familiar figure, at the killing intent gleaming in her icy eyes, he felt his heart ache. Xiao Wu, who had been so gentle and sweet just days ago, had now become like this. She showed no mercy at all, grinding the tip of her foot hard against his cheek.

He saw hatred in Xiao Wu's eyes.

Had Xiao Wu already begun to hate him?

Did she hate him now simply because he had hurt Xu Ran?

Treated like this by Xiao Wu, Tang San could no longer bear it. Two streams of clear tears flowed from his eyes.

Nothing in this world was more painful than this.

Being attacked by the one he loved most truly made Tang San feel his heart break.

He desperately wanted to tell Xiao Wu the truth, but he did not know where to begin. He did not even know why Xiao Wu had become like this. Just what was Xiao Wu's identity? Why was she so adamant that he had come to get close to her and harm her?

For roughly an hour, Tang San remained beneath Xiao Wu's foot, his body growing stiff against the cold ground. He looked at Xiao Wu with lifeless eyes, without a trace of light in them, like a cat that had just been neutered.

He had the ability to get up; his strength was no less than Xiao Wu's. But at this moment, he was utterly disheartened. Only feeling the rain soak his body could make his heart feel a little better.

Meanwhile, Xu Ran had finished forcing all the "toxins" out of his body. He came to Xiao Wu's side and looked down at Tang San.

"Tang San, I knew you would attack us once your sore spot was exposed, so I've been on guard against you all along. But I never imagined you could bring yourself to attack even Xiao Wu. If I hadn't noticed in time, Xiao Wu might have been killed by you. What a vicious heart you have," Xu Ran said, looking at Tang San with contempt.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph." Seeing Xu Ran approach, Tang San's previously ashen, despairing face instantly flushed red. His body began struggling wildly as he tried to climb off the ground and attack Xu Ran.

Xu Ran was too despicable. Xu Ran had intervened, passing falsehood off as truth and fabricating the illusion that he had wanted to kill Xiao Wu.

That hidden weapon had originally been aimed at Xu Ran, but only as Xu Ran slowly shifted position with Xiao Wu in his arms had it ended up pointing straight at Xiao Wu.