Early the next morning, Chen Mo was woken by a knock at the door.
He opened his eyes and saw a tendril of the Blue Silver Emperor poking out of the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, its leaves waving toward the door as though telling him-someone was outside.
This Blue Silver Emperor, approaching six thousand years old, was growing more and more intelligent. It was practically turning into a little alarm.
"Who is it?" Chen Mo got up to open the door.
When the door opened, the person standing outside made him pause.
It was Xiao Wu.
The little girl wore a scorpion braid and clean pink clothes, a cloth bundle cradled in her arms. The palm print on her face had faded, leaving only a faint trace of red.
A small bundle sat at her feet, too.
Chen Mo looked at her, then at the bundle.
"What's all this?"
Xiao Wu's face was a little red, but she still plucked up her courage and tilted her head back to look at him.
"Brother Chen Mo, I've thought it through." Xiao Wu took a deep breath and spoke at a rapid clip. "The conditions in Dorm Seven are terrible. Boys and girls share a room, and the stink of feet is so strong I can't sleep."
"Don't you have spare rooms in this courtyard? I want to move in."
"I have money! I can pay rent!" Afraid Chen Mo would refuse, Xiao Wu hurriedly pulled a few Silver Soul Coins from her cloth bundle and held them out in her palms.
Chen Mo: "..."
Why did those lines sound a little familiar?
He looked down at Xiao Wu's nervous, expectant face and more or less guessed what was going on.
Xiao Wu must have read yesterday's diary entry.
Sacrifice, Da Ming and Er Ming, Tang San's double standards...
This rabbit probably really didn't want to stay with Tang San anymore and wanted to cling tightly to his thigh.
Chen Mo leaned against the doorframe and deliberately teased her.
"Say, classmate Xiao Wu, how long have we even known each other?"
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "You're a girl, moving into a boy's courtyard. Aren't you afraid people will gossip if word gets out?"
Xiao Wu's face reddened further. Her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, and her voice was as quiet as a mosquito's whine.
"I... I'm not afraid." She lifted her head, her gaze earnest. "You're a good person."
Chen Mo was amused by her "good person" remark.
She was already handing him a good-person card.
"All right." Chen Mo stepped aside. "The west wing is empty. You can stay there."
"No rent needed. How much money could a work-study student like you have?"
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. Like a little bunny who had just gotten candy, she hugged her bundle and ran inside.
After two steps, she stopped, turned back, and gave Chen Mo a great big smile.
"Thank you, Brother Chen Mo!"
Then she skipped off to tidy her room.
Watching her retreating figure, Chen Mo shook his head.
This rabbit certainly wasn't shy around new people.
The Blue Silver Emperor poked a tendril out of the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse and waved its leaves in front of Chen Mo's eyes, as though enjoying the show.
"What are you looking at?" Chen Mo flicked it. "This has nothing to do with you."
The Blue Silver Emperor drew its leaves back aggrievedly, then wound itself around his waist again.
On the first day Xiao Wu moved in, Chen Mo discovered a problem.
This rabbit really didn't consider herself an outsider.
When Chen Mo basked in the courtyard's morning sun, Xiao Wu brought a little stool over to sit beside him, hugging a carrot as she gnawed on it and looking up at him every couple of bites.
When Chen Mo wrote in his diary, Xiao Wu lay over the stone table, propping up her chin as she watched him write. Although she couldn't see a single word, she watched with great interest.
The Blue Silver Emperor extended a tendril from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse and curiously touched Xiao Wu's braid.
Xiao Wu jumped. "Ah! What's that?"
"Blue Silver Grass." Chen Mo didn't even look up.
"How old is this Blue Silver Grass? It can actually move?"
"Mine is a little special."
Xiao Wu extended a finger and gingerly touched the tender green tendril.
The Blue Silver Emperor's leaves rubbed affectionately against her fingertip.
Xiao Wu giggled. "It's so cute!"
The Blue Silver Emperor waved its tendril as though feeling smug.
Chen Mo glanced at it without speaking.
This Blue Silver Emperor was drawn to the presence within his bloodline, but it barely paid anyone else any attention.
It was unusual for it to nuzzle Xiao Wu of its own accord today.
Perhaps it was because Xiao Wu herself was a Soul Beast and had a more congenial presence.
That afternoon, Chen Mo remembered something.
"Xiao Wu."
"Hmm?" Xiao Wu immediately looked up, half a carrot still held between her teeth.
"That move you used when you fought Xiao Chenyu yesterday-was it your First Soul Skill?"
Xiao Wu nodded. "Yes, Waist Bow."
"Show me."
Although puzzled, Xiao Wu obediently stood up and walked to the middle of the courtyard.
A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring lit up. Her waist arched like a spring, and her whole body shot upward, her legs snapping into a scissor lock in midair. The movement was fast and vicious.
After watching, Chen Mo rubbed his chin.
"Good power, and it's fast, too," Chen Mo commented. "But there's a problem."
"What problem?" Xiao Wu landed and tilted her head.
"This soft technique of yours is a close-combat technique. It has you pressing right up against people all the time." Chen Mo stood and walked over to her. "Think about it. You're a girl."
Xiao Wu froze.
Chen Mo continued, "That last move you used against Xiao Chenyu yesterday-you clamped your legs around his neck and hung your whole body on him."
Xiao Wu's face flushed bright red.
"Th-that was a Soul Skill!"
"I know it was a Soul Skill." Chen Mo looked perfectly serious. "But have you ever thought about what happens if you have someone you like in the future, or a husband?"
"And then he sees you fighting another man with your legs wrapped around that man's neck, your whole body hanging on him. How do you think he would feel?"
Xiao Wu opened her mouth, her face crimson, but couldn't get a word out.
She had never considered this issue.
As far as she understood, soft techniques were for fighting. Whatever won the fight was what she used.
But with Chen Mo putting it that way, she suddenly realized-
It seemed... that really wasn't quite appropriate?
"Th-then what should I do?" Xiao Wu was a little flustered.
"Simple," Chen Mo said. "You can use the Soul Skill, but you need to improve it."
He walked to the middle of the courtyard and casually snapped off a tree branch.
"The core of your Waist Bow is an explosive burst of power from your waist. That burst doesn't have to take the form of a close-range strangling hold. You can use your waist strength to drive your kicks and attack from farther away."
Holding the branch, Chen Mo demonstrated a few movements.
"Look. After activating Waist Bow, you don't have to wrap yourself around someone. You can put that power into your legs-"
Chen Mo turned sideways and twisted his waist. The branch lashed out like a whip with a rush of wind.
"Sweeps, side kicks, rear kicks-they can all draw on Waist Bow's strength. That way, you can keep your distance while still bringing out its explosive power."
"Keep that close-range strangling move as a trump card. Don't use it unless you have absolutely no other choice."
Xiao Wu watched, her eyes fixed on him.
She had practiced Waist Bow for so long and had never imagined it could be used this way.
So Waist Bow didn't have to involve pressing up against someone!
So she could unleash its power like this, too!
She tried following Chen Mo's instructions, activating Waist Bow, twisting her waist, and sweeping her right leg outward.
With a whoosh, the wind from her kick was considerably sharper than before.
"Right, just like that." Chen Mo nodded. "Again."