Tang San's Loss

"How come my heart feels a little hurt?"

"Could it be that I'm sick?"

Outside the Seventh Dormitory, Tang San stared blankly at the harmonious scene of Hu Jiu and Xiao Wu working together to tidy up the beds. He had no idea what was happening, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something extremely important was about to leave him.

"Little San, didn't you say you'd come find me? Why did you come over yourself?" Hu Jiu's words interrupted the complicated emotions that had suddenly welled up in Tang San's heart.

"I saw that you hadn't come looking for me after so long, so I came to see what was going on." Tang San was stunned for a moment before quickly recovering. He smiled at Hu Jiu as he spoke.

Actually, he was just a little worried that Hu Jiu had run into some trouble. Instead, he had found him happily playing with a little girl. How irritating.

"Oh, it's nothing. Let's go. It's already noon, so let's get some lunch!" After tidying up the bed, Hu Jiu clapped his hands and turned to Wang Sheng. "You know where to eat, right? Tell me about it."

"Great, we're going to eat! I want to eat your carrots too." Xiao Wu excitedly jumped up. The two carrots she had just eaten had whetted her appetite, and she felt that she could eat three bowls of rice today.

"Yeah, we were just going to eat too, so let's go together!" Wang Sheng nodded and called for the other students to leave with them.

"Xiao Jiu, I'm not going. You go by yourself!" Tang San shook his head. He had used all his money to pay his tuition and had no money left for food.

Besides, he had brought dry rations with him, so he wasn't afraid of going hungry.

"Come with us. I'll treat you." Seeing this, how could Hu Jiu not know what was going on? He didn't give Tang San any chance to refuse, hooking an arm around his neck and walking off with him.

Since I stole your Xiao Wu, Tang San, you're my brother from now on.

"By the way, does eating cost money? Soul coins or something?" Xiao Wu, who had been walking beside Hu Jiu with an excited bounce in her step, suddenly stopped. She felt that things were about to go badly again.

"It's fine. Just follow along. I have money." Hu Jiu waved at Xiao Wu to show her that it was fine. As the Village Chief's grandson, he didn't have much money, but as long as he didn't spend recklessly, he had enough to eat and live.

"Thank you!" Hu Jiu's generosity immediately increased Xiao Wu's favorable impression of him.

Compared with Tang San, Hu Jiu was slightly more handsome. Although he dressed simply, he was still handsome enough to count.

Because of this, Xiao Wu didn't have any particular feelings toward Hu Jiu's fellow villager, Tang San. Apart from nodding at him when they met, she didn't even look at him the rest of the time.

Hu Jiu was more than happy with that. He had no intention of introducing Tang San to Xiao Wu while standing beside them.

It was also easy for him to chat with Tang San and Xiao Wu separately. He simply spoke with each of them about different things without interfering with the other conversation.

"Aren't these Wang Sheng's bunch of poor wretches?" As soon as they entered the cafeteria, an obnoxious voice rang out.

They looked up to see a group of Senior Academy students standing on the stairs between the first and second floors, looking down at them from above.

The speaker was a Male Student of about twelve or thirteen. He pointed at Wang Sheng, who stood in front of Hu Jiu. "Poor wretches will always be poor wretches. I'm afraid you'll never be able to eat on the second floor."

On the way to the cafeteria, Wang Sheng had already told Xiao Wu about the Seventh Dormitory's leader standing up for others. When Xiao Wu saw the provocation, she immediately stepped forward. "What are you supposed to be? What's so great about the second floor?"

The moment Xiao Wu appeared, the Male Student upstairs' eyes lit up. He nearly drooled. "What a pretty Little Loli. Hehe, I'm going to eat now, so I'll let you off this time."

"Damn it, who are you calling 'your old man'?" Hu Jiu hefted his hammer and moved his feet, ready to go up and argue with him.

This was a perfect opportunity to make an impression, so how could Hu Jiu let it pass? Even if he couldn't win, Xiao Wu and Tang San were still there. He believed they wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

Sure enough, the moment Hu Jiu moved, Xiao Wu moved as well. From Hu Jiu's words, she had already realized that "your old man" was not a nice thing to say.

At the critical moment, however, Tang San let them down. He quickly stepped forward, turned around, and stood between Hu Jiu and Xiao Wu. He shook his head at them. "Forget it. We're here to eat."

"Hey, why are you so afraid of trouble? Look, even your brother isn't afraid." Xiao Wu was extremely dissatisfied. She looked at Tang San with disdain as she spoke.

Tang San remained silent.

"Fine, then let's forget it. We'll have plenty of chances to teach them a lesson later." Hu Jiu waved his hand. Fighting wasn't important; one's attitude was. His performance just now had definitely earned him some points with Xiao Wu.

"Then fine. We definitely have to teach them a lesson next time." Seeing that the group had already disappeared, Xiao Wu lost interest as well.

"Oh, Little San, your Master is here." Hu Jiu's five senses were exceptionally sharp. He suddenly sensed a familiar presence.

Tang San turned around, and sure enough, it was Grandmaster.

"Master!" Tang San hurried over and bowed respectfully.

"Have you finished tidying up your dormitory?" Grandmaster asked.

"It's all tidied up!"

"Then come eat on the second floor with me. Afterward, I'll take you to my place so you can become familiar with it," Grandmaster said.

Tang San hesitated when he heard this. He was a little worried about Hu Jiu. He felt that Hu Jiu had become much more hot-tempered after arriving at the academy, and he was afraid Hu Jiu would cause trouble.

"Master, I'd rather eat with my friends." After thinking it over, Tang San shook his head and refused.

"Hey, are you stupid? The food upstairs is obviously better. Go eat it!" Hu Jiu pushed Tang San and smiled at Grandmaster. "Grandmaster, take Little San to eat. He doesn't know any better."

Although Tang San didn't have much of Xiao Wu's goodwill left in her eyes, to be safe, Hu Jiu still decided to keep Tang San as far away from Xiao Wu as possible.

In the end, after Hu Jiu's persuasion, Tang San followed Grandmaster to the second floor to eat.

"Looks like you're really good to that Tang San!" Xiao Wu stared at Hu Jiu curiously, guessing at their relationship.

"Haha, of course. Little San is my brother. We grew up together." Hu Jiu made it sound nice, but he felt a little guilty inside. It seems like I've stolen Tang San's future wife.

No, how can something that hasn't happened yet count as stealing?

Besides, in this world, Tang San's wife might not be Xiao Wu!

Hu Jiu desperately tried to hypnotize himself, refusing to let his thoughts remain confined to the Original Work.

"Has that Tang San taken Grandmaster as his master?" Wang Sheng came over and asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Hu Jiu asked.

"No way. That Grandmaster's strength isn't anything special. I heard he's already over fifty and still only Level 29. He can't even break through to the Soul Grandmaster realm. Your brother didn't get tricked, did he?" Wang Sheng looked regretfully at the backs of Tang San and Grandmaster as they left together.

"Enough. Why are you sticking your nose into other people's business? Remember, don't say that in front of Little San again. Otherwise, don't blame me for not showing you any respect." Hu Jiu waved his hand, unwilling to explain anything to this ignorant bunch.

Although Hu Jiu didn't have much need for Grandmaster's knowledge, he had to admit that Grandmaster's theoretical knowledge was indeed extremely rich. Grandmaster might not be able to compare with him when it came to novel ideas, but in the Douluo World, when it came to understanding Soul Beasts, no one could surpass him.

At the very least, when it came time to choose his First Soul Ring, he might have to consult Grandmaster through Tang San.