A new mission: Snatching Ah Yin first

"All right, I should go." Xu Ran patted the delicate shoulder of the girl in his arms, waking her from her sleep.

"Are you leaving now?" Xiao Wu opened her drowsy eyes and asked softly. She had actually woken up long ago, but had kept pretending to sleep. She knew that once she woke up, Xu Ran would leave.

"Yes. The sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back," Xu Ran said. He still had many things to do. Moreover, he had to finish them and return to Shrek Academy before Tang San and Yu Xiaogang arrived. He knew that when Tang San came, Tang Hao would come too. By then, he needed something that could keep Tang Hao in check, or Xiao Wu would be in grave danger.

Xu Ran himself would be fine. Although he had a Qilin Form, as long as he did not transform into a Qilin himself, no one except soul beasts who had taken human form and entered the human world would notice anything unusual about him. There was still a vast difference between him and Xiao Wu, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who had taken human form.

"Then remember to come back soon. If you never come back, I'll hate you," Xiao Wu said emphatically. She was afraid that once Xu Ran left, he would never return.

"Don't worry. I'll come find you within a month or two. As for you, once I'm gone, you're not allowed to dress so prettily. Only I'm allowed to see you in a dress." Xu Ran smiled faintly and spoke somewhat overbearingly. Naturally, he could not let others look at his girl. He was very selfish.

"Mm." Xiao Wu gently clenched her teeth. At first, she thought Xu Ran's demand seemed far too shameless, since they were not even a couple yet. But when she thought of how he was about to leave, she could no longer concern herself with anything else. She merely gave a soft hum of agreement.

"I'll be off, then." Xu Ran smiled, planted a firm kiss on Xiao Wu's forehead, then turned and left.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, on receiving a new mission. Go deep into the forest and dig up the Blue Silver Grass seedling into which the hundred-thousand-year soul beast Ah Yin transformed. Note: Ah Yin left behind a seed after her sacrifice that year. It has now taken root and sprouted, and is no different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

"Considering that this mission is relatively simple, but Ah Yin is an important figure on the Douluo Continent, the reward is four hundred skill points. In addition, the host will receive system-produced Plant Cultivation Solution and several books on cultivating plants."

"The host need only keep Ah Yin in his possession and water her day and night with the concentrated Plant Seedling Cultivation Solution rewarded by the system to make her grow extremely quickly," the system reminded him.

"If I water her day and night with this concentrated liquid, how long will Ah Yin need to regain her strength, become a hundred-thousand-year soul beast again, and take human form?" Xu Ran could not help asking.

"About ten years," the system said. Anything produced by the system was guaranteed to be top quality. A treasure that could allow Ah Yin to take human form in just ten years was enough to drive every plant-type being in the world mad. In particular, if the immensely powerful plant-type soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, the Myriad Demon King, learned that such a treasure existed, he would absolutely come searching like mad, then try to curry favor with Xu Ran.

But human greed was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Xu Ran did not want to wait that long. Ten years was far too distant.

"If the host thinks that's too slow, an enhanced version of the Plant Cultivation Solution has now been added to the Gold-Level Draw and Diamond-Level Draw pools. Using the enhanced solution would take only one year to restore Ah Yin's hundred-thousand-year cultivation. The drop rate is one in ten thousand for a gold-level draw and one in a hundred for a diamond-level draw," the System Lady said, baiting him with a radiant smile. Of course, if the host really wanted to draw these items, the drop rate would not be that low. After all, she was her dear host's precious system. How could she keep letting him suffer setbacks? How would she serve him then?

"With those drop rates... I probably won't get it without spending tens of thousands of skill points. And if my luck is rotten, it'll be even worse," Xu Ran could not help saying, his face instantly darkening.

"Damn it, forget about that for now. I'll find Ah Yin first," Xu Ran could not help saying. He would deal with future matters in the future. He barely had any skill points on him now, so there was no use overthinking it.

"Oh, right. System, how does Tang Hao feel about Ah Yin now?" Xu Ran suddenly asked. He realized that he seemed to have found Tang Hao's weak spot, though he was not yet certain. After all, Tang Hao had once schemed to kill Ah Yin. Who could know what he felt toward her?

"Tang Hao deeply regrets what he did back then. Even though no one knows that he plotted Ah Yin's death, he is in great anguish inside. All these years, he has spent his days drunk and living in remorse, trying to numb himself and forget that he once caused Ah Yin's death. So yes, the host can use Ah Yin to threaten him."

"Human emotions are always changing. The flaws in Tang Hao's love for Ah Yin gave rise to malicious thoughts, and he plotted to kill her to obtain her soul bone. But everything that happened afterward-the Clear Sky Sect refusing to acknowledge him, Spirit Hall constantly pursuing him-the experiences following Ah Yin's death have long since made him see through the pursuit of strength. Even I, as the system, don't know exactly how Tang Hao feels about Ah Yin. On one hand, he loves her deeply and desperately wants her to come back to life. On the other, he planted her in a damp cave with only a little sunlight and left her to live or die on her own. Because Ah Yin is now the knot in his heart, he also dares not let her come back to life."

"So Tang Hao's feelings toward Ah Yin are extremely conflicted now. He loathes his own actions, yet is unwilling to make amends. The reason he doesn't keep Ah Yin planted beside him and care for her is that seeing her reminds him of his sins and leaves him plagued by nightmares. He planted Ah Yin in the cave because he also wanted the Blue Silver Grass she had become to wither away, turning everything he had done into the past."

"Ah Yin has always been the nightmare in Tang Hao's heart. He loves her, fears her, feels remorse toward her... Those countless emotions have left his heart somewhat twisted. But the host can indeed use Ah Yin to threaten Tang Hao."

"Good. In that case, Tang Hao is no longer worth worrying about. A Titled Douluo whose weakness has been seized is no different from a docile cat or dog." Xu Ran nodded, his expression turning cold.

As the saying went, one day as husband and wife brought a hundred days of affection. What Tang Hao had done could be called the behavior of a beast.

After Ah Yin's death, he had even deliberately planted her in an extremely damp cave that never saw the light of day. What was he trying to do? Did he want heaven to decide whether Ah Yin lived or died?

Someone like that was utterly hateful.

No matter how Xu Ran tormented him, it could not make up for the harm he had inflicted on Ah Yin.

Once he dug Ah Yin up, he would devise a way to make Tang Hao reveal the truth of what had happened back then. What would Ah Yin think then?

After Tang Hao had done something so outrageous, would Ah Yin still forgive him?

By then, even if Tang Hao truly repented, Ah Yin would not believe what he said. Having been deceived once, how could she easily fall for it again?

"Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao. The mighty Clear Sky Douluo, master of the Ring Detonation Secret Technique, with an illustrious reputation throughout the Douluo Continent. But in my hands, you still won't be able to stir up any waves."

By now, Xu Ran already had a whole set of plans in mind to thoroughly ensnare Tang Hao. With Ah Yin under his control, Tang Hao would probably walk straight into the trap even if he knew what it was.

Tang Hao owed Ah Yin a life, and Xu Ran would collect that debt on her behalf.

(Happy New Year)