"Is this... is Xiao San absorbing a Soul Ring?"
Seeing a huge spider lying beside Tang San, Chen An asked curiously.
Ning Rongrong answered irritably, "Yes! Who knows what dogshit luck Tang San stumbled into? Not only did he break through to level thirty, he even ran into another Man Faced Demon Spider. Though it doesn't seem as old as the last one."
Chen An fell silent after hearing Ning Rongrong's words.
He thought Tang San's opportunities really were like grass that wildfire could never burn away, sprouting again with the spring breeze.
But Chen An enjoyed tormenting Tang San little by little.
He would let him almost struggle free of the mire, then send him sliding back in, until his mind collapsed completely.
"Rongrong, where are we going later?"
Ning Rongrong frowned, a trace of disgust flashing through her eyes. "Heh, what do you think? If we don't go back to Shrek, are we supposed to live in Star Dou Great Forest?"
"Hiss... but we still haven't found Xiao Wu?" Chen An voiced his question.
Ning Rongrong laughed. "Haha... so you still remember we're supposed to find Xiao Wu? Tell me, how are you any different from Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun? Trash among scum!"
Boom!!!
Chen An blinked, his brain tingling as though lightning had struck it.
Holy fucking shit!
How was Ning Rongrong's little mouth so slick and so good at talking, as if smeared with honey?!
And another thing...
Who was a whoremonger like them? Your Brother Chen never paid for it, and relied entirely on winning hearts.
Compared with forcing himself on someone, Chen An preferred the other person taking the initiative.
"Don't think I've wronged you. Someone stayed behind just now, chatting about who knows what with Meng Yiran."
Ning Rongrong poked Chen An's chest, continuing her relentless barrage.
"Sister Rongrong, I call you 'sister' out of respect, understand? Keep spreading rumors about me, and I won't mind getting rough with you!" Chen An caught Ning Rongrong's slender little hand and said coldly.
"What a joke. You disgusting thing. I really regret dancing for you!" Ning Rongrong stared fixedly at Chen An, showing him none of that so-called respect.
Chen An had intended to fly into a rage on the spot.
Suddenly.
An evil idea sprang into his mind.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's proud little princess, Ning Rongrong-once your Brother Chen wins you over, I'll have you kneeling beside the bed singing "Conquest"!
"What are you two doing?"
Hearing that familiar voice, both their hearts jolted.
Chen An hurriedly let go, while Ning Rongrong lowered her head without a word, her face flushed.
"Ah, Xiao Wu, I was just discussing something with Sister Rongrong..."
Chen An turned and saw Xiao Wu's furious gaze, instantly getting a fright.
"What's wrong? Who made you angry?"
Xiao Wu put away her earlier emotions and looked at Chen An very calmly.
"Go back and wait for me at the usual place!"
Just then.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others noticed the commotion around Chen An.
"Oh, Xiao Wu's back..."
"Sister Wu, how did you get back?"
"Tell us, tell us! How did you escape from the Titan Giant Ape?"
Xiao Wu patted Chen An's shoulder, then walked over to everyone with a smile and began explaining in detail...
After hearing her account, everyone couldn't help feeling astonished.
What did she mean, she had slipped away while the Titan Giant Ape was resting?
And what did she mean, she had secretly picked up a thousand-year soul beast, a Bone Rabbit, that the Titan Giant Ape's shock waves had killed?
That was simply too heaven-defying!
"Sister Xiao Wu, I'm jealous!" Oscar said.
"Sister Xiao Wu, I'm jealous too!" Ma Hongjun said.
Chen An stood in the distance, watching quietly.
He knew perfectly well that none of it had happened.
Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form; she had no need for Soul Rings at all.
Once everything was settled, Dai Mubai led the group as they prepared to return to Shrek Academy...
Shrek Academy, after nightfall.
Beneath the big tree in front of the girls' dormitory.
Chen An was combing Xiao Wu's hair.
Neither spoke, each silently enjoying the moment.
This went on for a few minutes.
Xiao Wu broke the silence first.
"Xiao An, do you like Ning Rongrong?"
Chen An thought for a moment and said, "No. Why would I like her?"
Xiao Wu knitted her brows. "Is it because she danced for you, or do you like that sort of personality?"
"No, stop guessing." Chen An was trembling now.
"Xiao An, look into my eyes!"
"Swear to me that you have absolutely no improper intentions toward Ning Rongrong!"
Chen An raised his hand and solemnly swore, "I, Chen An, have absolutely no... improper intentions toward Ning Rong... Sister Rongrong!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Wu gave Chen An a look for him to interpret himself. "Why are you stumbling over your words? Say it again!"
"I... when did I?"
Chen An truly felt wronged.
Why was this hooligan rabbit getting so serious?
Xiao Wu handed Chen An a water bottle. "Have some water first. Rest a little before you swear!"
"Xiao Wu really does treat me best!" Chen An took it and drank a mouthful. A faint metallic taste gradually turned bitter in his mouth.
He stared at the water bottle for quite a while.
How strange.
Why did Shrek's water have this strange taste every day?
Boom!
Suddenly.
Dragon Duke Meng Shu's words kept echoing in his mind.
The Shared-Life Symbiosis Contract formed its connection through the blood of friends or relatives.
Thinking it over carefully, he realized blood might have been secretly added to the water he had just drunk!
Could Xiao Wu be the one sharing my life through symbiosis?
Damn it!
She actually wanted to turn me into her servant, then secretly siphon away my luck, and suppress me if I resisted?!
I trusted her so much.
Sob, sob, sob... was this the fate of a simp?
Chen An felt his heart ache and sank into deep thought.
"Wait!"
He realized something was fishy here. Going by the plot, this was impossible, absolutely impossible.
Chen An pondered for a moment.
He still chose to keep trying to win Xiao Wu over.
If his earlier suspicions were true, he would have to conceal them and seek the truth.
If his earlier suspicions were false, he had all the more reason to find the culprit behind it.
"Hmm? Hurry up and swear!!!"
Xiao Wu seemed impatient, her voice rising noticeably.
Chen An yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, Xiao Wu. I'm a little sleepy."
"Huh?" Watching Chen An walk away, Xiao Wu frowned. "This is the first time he's left me of his own accord. Why? Am I really too possessive?"
Chen An returned to his dormitory.
Lying in bed, his mind was a complete mess.
He had transmigrated, but it seemed this wasn't such a simple transmigration.
Everything differed little from the plot and was progressing very smoothly.
The only unexpected incident had been someone taking control of his body in Star Dou Great Forest.
Of course, there was also Old Laike's letter and his own origins.
Chen An kept wondering.
If Old Laike was also a transmigrator.
Then could there be other transmigrators in this Douluo World?
"Ah!!!"
Chen An was lying there thinking about his future when he suddenly felt a wrenching pain in his brain.
He hurriedly sat up to meditate.
His Martial Soul, Lone Bamboo, slowly appeared in his right palm, followed by three white Ten-Year Soul Rings circling his body.
"Has Lone Bamboo mutated?"
Chen An looked at the pitch-black Lone Bamboo in his hand and almost mistook it for a stove poker.
"Poison? There's actually poison on it?"
He closed his eyes and carefully examined his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul, discovering an additional section of space inside it, with a Man Faced Demon Spider resting within.
How had this little thing come alive?
Chen An was somewhat astonished. His Soul Power had actually risen to level thirty-five. This was even faster than cheating!
Suddenly.
The Man Faced Demon Pearl ran straight out of Lone Bamboo and scurried up his body to his forehead.
"What... what's it trying to do?"
Looking at the Man Faced Demon Pearl on his forehead, Chen An was too frightened to move.
"Ah!"
"It hurts!"
As the Man Faced Demon Spider burrowed inside, he felt intense pain in his back, as though something were drilling its way out.
At a certain instant, Chen An suddenly felt incomparably comfortable.
"My... my Soul Power went up another level?"
"No!"
"What's going on?!"
Eight purple-black Spider Spears were evenly distributed across Chen An's back.
He forced himself to calm down.
After thinking it over, he had no choice but to accept that he had stolen Tang San's cheat, the External Soul Bone known as the Eight Spider Lances.
Oh no.
That meant Meng Yiran's Thousand-Year Soul Ring was basically useless.
Chen An laughed as he thought about it.
He had originally planned to give the Man Faced Demon Spider to Meng Yiran to increase her affection for him.
Yet through a twist of fate, it had ended up on him instead.
And not only had the Meng Family given him fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins, they even owed him a huge favor.
What a profit, what a profit-he'd profited beyond feeling!
Chen An felt great now.
He even had the illusion that he could go thrash Bibi Dong and kick Qian Renxue around right now, making mother and daughter kneel at his feet and sing "Conquest."
Chen An slept soundly that night.
Although the contract business dampened his mood a little, he remained optimistic.
Because Chen An had figured things out.
If Xiao Wu really had done it, he would simply win her over, or coax the solution out of her bit by bit.
If Old Laike had done it, he would grow stronger at any cost and have one hell of a fight with him.
Early the next morning.
With a bang!
The door to Chen An's dormitory was kicked open again.
This time, the visitors weren't Dai Mubai, but Yu Xiaogang and Tang San.
"Teacher, should I wake him?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Chen An is lazy by nature, refuses discipline, and defies his teachers and classmates. He doesn't deserve to attend my classes at all!"
"Who's there? All that noise-are you going to let anyone sleep?"
Chen An slowly opened his eyes.
When he saw Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, he froze.
"Why is it that trash Gangzi?"
"Am I still half asleep?"
Seeing that Chen An had woken up, Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and said sternly:
"Chen An!"
"Since you've been late so many times, don't come to my classes anymore!"
Chen An scratched his head.
He yawned, thinking he was still dreaming, and wore a completely indifferent expression:
"Sure!"
"I couldn't ask for more. I've long wanted to stop attending that trash Yu Xiaogang's classes!"