"Er Ming, this is far enough. If you follow me any further, you'll easily attract the attention of others, and that will cause trouble."
"Hurry back. I'll come back to see you and Da Ming in the future."
Under the starry night, a faint stellar glow cascaded down.
In the depths of the Outer Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Xiao Wu concealed her aura, and the three Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—slowly faded away. She spoke softly to the enormous, pitch-black Titan Giant Ape behind her, signaling for it to leave.
Earlier that night, after Snake Grandma had left the forest with Zhu Zhuqing, Meng Yiran, and the others, Zhao Wuji had taken Oscar to hunt for other Spirit Rings. The Titan Giant Ape, sensing Xiao Wu's presence, had come to find her, leading her away from the Shrek group.
With this opportunity, Xiao Wu had also successfully condensed her third Spirit Ring.
The Titan Giant Ape was reluctant to leave, but at Xiao Wu's urging, it slowly lumbered back into the deep forest.
"Phew~ I wonder how Third Brother and the others are doing now. They must be very worried about me, right?"
"I have to hurry back and find them."
"No, if I go back looking this neat and tidy, they'll definitely get suspicious. Third Brother is so smart..."
"I've got it!"
Xiao Wu walked to the bank of a crystal-clear stream. The sound of the flowing water gurgled under the night sky, and the silver crescent moon was reflected in the stream, just like a scene from a fairy tale.
She scooped up some mud from the bank and smeared it on herself, making herself look dirty. Still feeling it wasn't convincing enough, she tore her clothes a little and then undid her scorpion braid, messing up her hair.
Using her long braid, Xiao Wu checked her reflection in the clear stream until she was satisfied that her appearance was consistent with someone who had just escaped a dangerous situation.
But just as she pulled her messy braid back, Xiao Wu froze. She seemed to have seen something incredible. She couldn't help but lower her head again, looking at a spot upstream from the same angle.
There, the clear water trickled over green stones. Under the faint silver moonlight, two ferocious thousand-year spirit beasts were tethered nearby, their eyes vacant, seemingly entranced by something.
And in the stream, not far from those two spirit beasts, a peerless young man with unparalleled handsome features and an exceptional figure, whose every move seemed to command the very fate of the world, was just emerging from his bath.
The youth's hair was still wet, and his sturdy, fair upper body was bare, revealing eight perfectly sculpted abdominal muscles that looked like a work of art. A white mist, as if from an immortal realm, swirled around him.
"So... so exquisite... What a handsome man..."
"Can a human possibly be this good-looking..."
Xiao Wu stood frozen on the spot, unable to move a single muscle. Her eyes were glued to him, completely unable to look away.
Drip~
Drip... drop~
Drip... drop—
In just a few seconds, Xiao Wu felt her face flush and her body heat up as a warm current surged through her.
She looked down and saw droplets of bright red blood dripping from the tip of her nose into the stream, staining the clear water red.
She was having a nosebleed!
Xiao Wu's eyes widened in panic. This was the first time she had ever had a nosebleed, and she didn't know what to do. She could only tilt her head back to stop the bleeding, using her other hand to scoop up stream water to clean herself.
But unexpectedly, the more she tilted her head back, the more uncomfortable she felt. Her breathing became difficult, and her entire nasal cavity felt blocked. She accidentally choked, sending her into a fit of coughing.
Am I going to die? Terror filled Xiao Wu's eyes.
"Lower your head. Pinch both sides of your nose with your fingers."
Just at that moment, a young man's voice, like a gentle breeze, sounded beside her ear, as if in a dream. At the same time, she felt a cool sensation on the back of her neck. It seemed to be a cold cloth that had been soaked in the stream.
Miraculously, she did as the voice said, and the nosebleed quickly stopped.
But when she came back to her senses and looked at the moonlit stream again, the young man and the spirit beasts were gone. There was only silence.
"Where did he go?"
"Who... who was he? His voice sounded somewhat familiar..."
"That person was just too good-looking, wasn't he?"
Xiao Wu took the white cloth from the back of her neck. It was a towel. She sniffed it and caught a clean, masculine scent. It was most likely what the young man had used to dry himself after his bath. She couldn't help but press it to her nose and sniff a few more times. The youth's face, his physique, his beauty—it was all peerless, a rare sight in the mortal world. He was simply too handsome.
For a moment, Xiao Wu was completely intoxicated. He wiped his body with this towel. If I wipe my face, and wipe my mouth... does that count as us having touched and kissed?
"I must find him!" Xiao Wu clutched the white towel, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination. This might be what Mama talked about, that human feeling of... love at first sight!!!
While Xiao Wu was still lost in the youth's peerless, immortal beauty, Su Ran had already led the two thousand-year spirit beasts away, running through the night until he reached the edge of the Outer Circle.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was following him.
He had spent a great deal of effort in the Star Dou Great Forest to find the two beasts he now had in tow: a 2,800-year-old Fierce Blood King Tiger and a 2,400-year-old Ghost Barrier Great Snake.
However, because he had been busy hunting Spirit Rings for Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong for the past few days, he had no time for himself. This time, while scouting for suitable spirit beasts for Meng Yiran and Wang Sheng, he had passed by a clear stream and decided to wash up on the spur of the moment to refresh himself. He never expected Xiao Wu to stumble upon him by a twist of fate, shattering his peace. The girl had even stared until she got a nosebleed, which left Su Ran at a loss for words.
"I hope that girl didn't recognize me."
Su Ran shook his head, swung himself onto the back of the Fierce Blood King Tiger, and, leading the Ghost Barrier Great Snake, galloped out of the forest.
The two thousand-year spirit beasts he had chosen for Wang Sheng and Meng Yiran were both extremely powerful, with bloodlines that could be considered hegemon-level among thousand-year spirit beasts.
But in front of Su Ran, they seemed to have lost their bestial nature. The shape of a peach blossom petal had appeared in their eyes.
This was Su Ran's first spirit ability, Illusory Branch, which could pull a living being's consciousness into a world of illusion. Now that its age had increased to the thousand-year level, not only had the duration of the illusion increased, but it could also merge the illusion with reality, allowing Su Ran to guide the target's actions. It was especially difficult for spirit beasts and Spirit Masters with low cultivation and spirit power to resist.
In the eyes of the Ghost Barrier Great Snake and the Fierce Blood King Tiger, their world was pink. The surrounding trees had all turned into beautiful, dreamlike peach trees. They themselves were no longer ferocious spirit beasts, but a seven-colored unicorn and a loyal wolfhound, and Su Ran was their master.
Of course, Illusory Branch was not permanent. As the color of the peach blossom petals in their eyes grew dimmer and eventually disappeared, it meant they were regaining their bestial nature and would become violent.
(End of Chapter)