"Hey! What are you doing?"
Ye Qiu gently nudged Xiao Wu's shoulder, but she didn't respond.
She seemed bewitched, staring straight into his eyes with an infatuated expression. Her originally fair and rosy cheeks burned bright red.
As her face drew closer and closer, Ye Qiu had no choice but to slap her lightly on the cheek.
"Ah!" Xiao Wu cried out, covering her face and staring at him with evasive eyes.
"Ye Qiu! Why did you hit me?!"
"If I didn't, you'd have been glued to my face already, you little rascal!" Ye Qiu retorted.
"I—I'm not a naughty rabbit!" Xiao Wu protested angrily. "Don't call me that!"
"You still deny it? You were clearly trying to take advantage of me!" Ye Qiu quickly took a few steps back, putting a safe distance between them.
"You're talking nonsense!" Xiao Wu shouted. She didn't know why she had suddenly lost control, but she felt that Ye Qiu looked far more handsome just now.
Touching her flushed cheeks, she stomped her foot in embarrassment and waved her small fist at him.
"Anyway, you're not allowed to call me that! Or Sister Xiao Wu will teach you a lesson!"
"Whatever. I'm going to wash the dishes." Ye Qiu waved his hand dismissively.
A good man doesn't fight with women—mainly because he didn't want to get beaten up.
"Hmph! At least you know your place…" Xiao Wu snorted twice and took another bite of her carrot.
Seeing that Ye Qiu was ignoring her, she could only walk over to the door and tease the little white rabbit in the cage.
What happened to her just now? Was she affected by some kind of illusion?
Ye Qiu was also puzzled. He hadn't consciously activated anything, yet Xiao Wu had suddenly acted strangely.
Looks like I can test it again later…
He glanced at his reflection in the water, then at Xiao Wu outside, and murmured softly to himself.
---
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.
The two gradually got along quite well. The once unruly rabbit had become noticeably more obedient.
During this period, Ye Qiu focused on strengthening his body and improving his mental and spiritual power through meditation.
Although his Sharingan hadn't visibly changed, Xiao Wu's perception confirmed that his soul power had reached Level 4.
Ye Qiu speculated that the three-tomoe Sharingan represented full innate soul power.
As for higher forms like the Mangekyō, he had no clues yet.
That morning, as usual, Ye Qiu gently pulled the rabbit off him.
Instead of doing his morning exercises, he prepared carrots and waited at the dining table.
"Ye… Ye Qiu, good morning."
A moment later, Xiao Wu's clear voice reached his ears, making him feel slightly awkward.
"Good morning. Come eat breakfast," Ye Qiu replied calmly.
"Mm." She avoided his gaze and nodded lightly.
Watching Xiao Wu—who had gone from an energetic rabbit to an ostrich burying her head while eating—Ye Qiu couldn't help but facepalm.
This was entirely his fault.
After numerous experiments, he had confirmed something troubling: his Sharingan was not entirely normal.
When eye contact occurred, it seemed to create a fatal attraction toward the opposite sex.
Xiao Wu, his test subject, would blush, lose composure, and experience a racing heartbeat.
Yesterday, before Ye Qiu could react, she had grabbed him and nibbled him several times—resulting in today's unusually obedient rabbit.
Whether this effect would strengthen as the Sharingan evolved, or whether it was temporary or permanent, remained unknown.
Seeing Xiao Wu's current behavior, Ye Qiu felt compelled to say something.
"There's no need to dwell on what happened yesterday. It was just an accident…"
As he spoke, he casually handed her a bowl of porridge.
"I understand…" Xiao Wu accepted the bowl and raised her flushed face, her brows drooping as she pouted slightly.
"Sister Xiao Wu doesn't take things like that to heart."
"That's good," Ye Qiu sighed in relief.
But Xiao Wu suddenly slammed the bowl onto the table.
Thump!
"What's good about that?! Humph!"
"I'm full! I don't want to talk to you!"
After saying that, she stormed out of the stone house, dragging the rabbit cage with her and leaving Ye Qiu completely baffled.
"It was fine just a moment ago…" Ye Qiu scratched his head, utterly confused.
Looking at the carrots on the table, he noticed that half of them were still untouched.
She wasn't full at all.
He didn't chase after her. He was already used to this kind of tantrum. Every time, she would be the first to give in and come back.
---
With Xiao Wu temporarily "running away from home," Ye Qiu had no sparring partner.
Left with no choice, he completed his daily training and then sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate.
After all, martial spirits were the foundation. Reaching the three-tomoe stage as soon as possible would significantly improve his cultivation speed.
---
"Ah! My little white!"
One morning, Xiao Wu let out a shocked cry when she saw scattered rabbit fur in the cage. The carrot in her hand suddenly lost all flavor.
"Ye Qiu! Where's my Xiaobai?!"
"Look—it's in the pot," Ye Qiu replied calmly, pointing at the small stove under the eaves.
"What?!" Xiao Wu exploded.
"Ye Qiu! You've gone too far! Rabbits are so cute—how could you eat one?!"
"We're leaving for Notting City tomorrow," Ye Qiu said calmly while squatting by the fire and adding firewood.
"There's no one to take care of it here, and it's inconvenient to bring it along. So I dealt with it."
Tears welled up in Xiao Wu's eyes. She lunged at Ye Qiu, baring her teeth.
"Ahhh! Ye Qiu, I'm going to kill you!"
"Hey—want some lychees?!" Ye Qiu shouted desperately as he was pinned to the ground and scratched.
Left with no choice, Ye Qiu activated his martial soul.
His eyes turned blood red as he leaned closer.
The moment their gazes met, Xiao Wu froze.
Her movements stopped. Feeling Ye Qiu's breath so close, her face slowly flushed again—whether from anger or something else, even she didn't know.
"I don't want to talk to you anymore!"
She kicked Ye Qiu away and ran back into the house.
"Phew…" Ye Qiu exhaled deeply, smiling bitterly.
The Sharingan really lives up to its name—the eye that reflects the soul.
And I swear, I don't have any evil intentions!
_______
Ye Qiu stood up, dusted himself off, and listened to the muffled complaints coming from inside the house with a faint smile.
It was just a rabbit that hadn't seen much of the world—she didn't even know how to curse properly, only how to hit and bite.
He transferred the fragrant rabbit meat into a jar, extinguished the stove, and lit a few sticks of incense beneath the peach tree as an offering.
"Xiao Wu, I'm going out for a bit. Clean up the table properly!"
"I hate you! Sister Xiao Wu doesn't want to listen to you!"
"Alright then~"
Hearing her response, Ye Qiu felt slightly disappointed. He understood her feelings and didn't press further.
Looks like I'll have to wait until I get back.
Picking up the rabbit meat and some money, Ye Qiu headed toward Old Zhang's house.