Xiao Wu's thoughts

That night, Xu Ran and Xiao Wu arrived in Suotuo City.

The two found a hotel and rested for the night, then left Suotuo City through the southern gate and headed south.

Suotuo City lay within the Balak Kingdom, which was situated beside the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire. Whenever the two empires went to war, the Balak Kingdom became the Heaven Dou Empire's front line.

As the second-largest city in the Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City was neither particularly large nor particularly small. To Xu Ran, what mattered most was that it was not too far from Star Luo City, Heaven Dou City, or the Star Dou Great Forest.

From here, traveling back and forth between all three would be relatively economical.

After all, his current identity was that of a member of the Zhu Family, and he would inevitably have to make trips there in the future. Heaven Dou City, where powerful factions stood like trees in a forest, would be somewhere he visited even more frequently. Then there was the Star Dou Great Forest. Once his true identity as an Auspicious Beast was exposed, he would definitely have to make a few rounds there.

Most importantly, with his identity as an Auspicious Beast, building a harem in Star Dou would be considerably easier. Gu Yuena, Bi Ji, Zi JI, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were all living, breathing Skill Points. And if he won Gu Yuena over, ten thousand Skill Points would surely be his. As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she was also an Auspicious Beast, so winning her over would not be too difficult.

"Brother Xu Ran, where is this Shrek Academy we're going to? Isn't it in Suotuo City?" Xiao Wu complained. They had already walked for a long time since leaving Suotuo City, yet all around them were vast stretches of farmland without a single building. She did not believe there could be an advanced Soul Master Academy nearby.

No matter how poor an advanced Soul Master Academy was, surely it would not be built out in the countryside.

"You guessed right. Shrek Academy is in the countryside. That's precisely why I dare bring you here. How unsafe would a bustling city be? If you ran into a powerful expert, you'd be in trouble. But you'll be absolutely safe at Shrek Academy," Xu Ran said with a smile. Most importantly, the teachers at Shrek Academy all had fairly good temperaments. People who could freely set aside their status as Soul Saints and Soul Emperors to establish an academy in the countryside could not be too lacking in character.

"What do you mean, bring me here? Aren't you going to study at Shrek Academy too, Brother Xu Ran?" Xiao Wu could not help asking when she heard his words, growing somewhat agitated. What if Xu Ran brought her to Shrek Academy, then left her behind and went off on his own?

"I'll be coming to Shrek Academy too, just a little later. I still have some minor matters to take care of."

"Actually, you should already know that I'm much like you. I have my own human identity too. Not only that, I also have a fiancée. She's about your age and is currently in the Star Luo Empire. Her name is Zhu Zhuqing," Xu Ran said frankly, laying out his relationship with Zhu Zhuqing in full.

"A fiancée?" Xiao Wu's expression changed. She froze where she stood, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xu Ran. She had never imagined that Xu Ran already had a fiancée.

"Brother Xu Ran, you're awful," Xiao Wu said, pouting at him. Tears of grievance welled uncontrollably in her eyes, and her unhappiness was written all over her face. After spending these past few days with Xu Ran, she had come to regard him as the person closest to her now.

But the person closest to her heart already had a fiancée. How could that not upset her? Over the past few days, she had tacitly permitted certain things Xu Ran did, which was tantamount to acknowledging his place in her life.

"Why are you crying?" Xu Ran tenderly wiped the tears from the corners of Xiao Wu's eyes.

"Why do you think? It's because you're bullying me. If you already have a fiancée elsewhere, why are you so good to me?" Xiao Wu looked at him angrily, her fingers pinching hard at the soft flesh around his waist. Only after seeing his pained expression did she feel her anger ease.

"I'm so wronged. Is being good to you a crime too?" Xu Ran immediately protested his innocence. He had been very well-behaved lately and had not done anything to Xiao Wu.

"Hmph, no excuses," Xiao Wu said sternly, still looking somewhat unhappy. Brother Xu Ran is utterly shameless. He already has a fiancée, yet he's still so lecherous. He's even touched me, but he's pretending he doesn't understand a thing.

Now that he's left me like this, he doesn't want to take responsibility.

"I'm tired. I don't want to walk anymore. Carry me," Xiao Wu said haughtily, stamping her foot.

"All right." Xu Ran nodded and bent forward slightly, and Xiao Wu threw herself straight onto his back. She was very light and posed no burden to him.

"Brother Xu Ran, no dirty thoughts." Once Xu Ran was carrying her on his back, Xiao Wu immediately felt a little regretful. She and Xu Ran were not yet close enough for this. Hadn't she just been acting spoiled?

But whenever she thought of how Xu Ran already had a fiancée, anger surged through her. She raised her little fists and pounded his back with some force.

Carrying Xiao Wu on his back, Xu Ran continued south.

Xiao Wu blushed the whole way without saying anything, tacitly accepting Xu Ran's actions. Whether it was because learning that he already had a fiancée had given her a sense of urgency or because of something else was unclear.

Without her realizing it, Xu Ran had already come to hold an extremely important place in her heart.

Xu Ran had helped her expose Tang San's "true colors." He was an Auspicious Beast, and he would help her take revenge in the future. Whether emotionally or rationally, Xu Ran was currently the most important person to Xiao Wu.

After her relationship with Tang San broke down, Xu Ran became the only person who could fill the place Tang San had occupied as her emotional anchor. Moreover, in Xiao Wu's heart, Xu Ran was far more perfect than Tang San. Not only was he a Soul Beast like her, but as an Auspicious Beast, he could also help her avenge her mother.

Thus, under the influence of countless factors, Xu Ran had already become the only person Xiao Wu trusted and relied upon in the human world.

It was precisely with these factors reinforcing it that Xiao Wu and Xu Ran's relationship developed by leaps and bounds with each passing day. Although there had yet to be any substantive change, how many days had she even known him?

By the time Tang San arrived at Shrek Academy, everything would probably already be settled, the dust fallen into place. By then, Xiao Wu would love Xu Ran wholeheartedly. Whatever Tang San tried to do to win her back would be too late.

Under Xu Ran's interference, Tang San had already cast a shadow over Xiao Wu's heart.

When Tang San came to Shrek Academy, Xiao Wu might even warily believe that he had deliberately followed them there to keep watch over them, ready to strike at any moment and take their Soul Rings and Soul Bones.

That was the tragedy of Tang San's current situation.

No matter what he did, Xiao Wu would think the worst of it.