Xiao Wu had been in a good mood, but the moment she saw the plate of rabbit meat, her mood immediately turned sour.
Several rabbit heads, drenched in sauce, were facing her directly, causing Xiao Wu's blood pressure to spike.
She loudly questioned Tang San,
"I'm asking you!"
"Where did this rabbit come from?" Xiao Wu demanded, hands on her hips as she glared at Tang San.
Tang San still didn't understand why Xiao Wu was reacting this way and replied honestly,
"I went outside today and used a hidden arrow to hunt them. There were several rabbits in one nest! I personally skinned and bled them, so they're definitely fresh…"
Ye Qiu covered his face, already sensing that something was wrong.
As expected—
"Shut up! You still dare to stay here…!" Xiao Wu couldn't bring herself to say anything more after hearing those words.
"Whoosh!"
Xiao Wu flicked her hair, and her scorpion braid instantly wrapped around Tang San's neck.
"Xiao Wu? Oh no—!"
Slap!
Tang San didn't even understand what was happening. He only felt himself being thrown into the air before slamming heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.
Xiao Wu lunged forward again and stepped on him.
"Ouch—Xiao Wu…" Tang San winced in pain, staring at her in confusion, unable to understand why she had suddenly attacked him.
Seeing this, Ye Qiu felt a chill run through his heart. Luckily, he hadn't been thrown like that when he was stewing rabbit meat. Otherwise, with his small body, he wouldn't have been able to get out of bed for half a month.
"Xiao Wu, let it go!" Ye Qiu quickly stopped her when he saw she still wanted to fight. If things escalated further, the other party's parents would come knocking on their door.
He grabbed Xiao Wu's hand and pulled her aside, then turned back to help Tang San up.
"Tang San, are you okay?"
"It's nothing… cough, cough! Really, it's nothing…" Tang San clutched his chest, occasionally glancing at Xiao Wu with lingering fear.
"Hmph! This is infuriating!" Xiao Wu glared at Tang San, then turned to look at the food box on the table, growing angrier the more she stared at it.
"Wang Sheng! Wang Sheng? Wang Sheng!"
"Ah? Ah—Sister Xiaowu, I'm here, I'm here…" Wang Sheng, who had been completely stunned, finally snapped back to reality and rushed over.
"What are your orders, Sister Xiaowu?"
"Take that box of cute little bunnies outside and bury it!"
"Huh?" Wang Sheng was confused. Cute? Weren't they supposed to be delicious?
"What do you mean 'huh'?! Go and do it right now!" Xiao Wu glared at him fiercely.
Wang Sheng didn't want to follow in Tang San's footsteps. He quickly nodded, picked up the food box, and rushed out.
Still worried, Xiao Wu added a warning,
"Wang Sheng, if you dare steal even a bite, I'll kill you!!"
"I understand, I understand!" Wang Sheng replied in panic as he ran away.
"You'd all better remember this," Xiao Wu said coldly. "If Sister Xiaowu finds out anyone dares to eat rabbit meat again, get out of Dormitory Seven! Understood?"
"Understood!" the henchmen replied in unison.
Satisfied, Xiao Wu nodded, then turned her gaze toward Ye Qiu and the person beside her.
"And you two as well!"
"Especially you—Tang San!" She raised her index finger and pointed it right at his face, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Hehe…" Ye Qiu rubbed his nose and chuckled, surprised that she still remembered something from so long ago.
Tang San, however, was completely different. As Xiao Wu stood so close to him, her flushed cheeks and reddened eyes filling his vision, he froze on the spot.
"Especially me?" Tang San carefully processed her words. The doubt in his eyes vanished and was replaced by excitement. Everything that had just happened suddenly felt unimportant.
Most importantly—
He, Tang San, was the most special person in Xiao Wu's heart!
"I understand, Xiao Wu. I will never eat rabbit meat again," Tang San declared solemnly. After coming to this realization, even the pain in his body felt insignificant.
Standing beside him, Ye Qiu rubbed his reddened eyes beneath his black stockings. They stung slightly; hypnotizing Tang San with his two-tomoe Sharingan was far more difficult than expected.
Ye Qiu hadn't done much—only planting subtle psychological suggestions, urging Tang San to ignore the changes that had occurred between him and Xiao Wu that night.
Otherwise… if things continued like this, Tang San would soon make a move against Ye Qiu.
The path to death was no joke.
Whether it would work or how effective it would be was beyond Ye Qiu's control. He needed to play it safe—and he needed time.
However, if Ye Qiu knew what Tang San was thinking, he would definitely exclaim,
"Truly worthy of being called Third Brother! Top-notch comprehension!"
That night's farce came to an abrupt end. Dormitory Seven—and the entire Notting Academy—fell into silence.
Moonlight streamed through the window. After beating Tang San, Xiao Wu's anger had long since dissipated.
By the pale glow of the moon, she glanced at Ye Qiu, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed beside her, cultivating. Thinking of what he had said earlier, she suddenly felt that letting Ye Qiu eat rabbit meat a few times wasn't such a big deal.
Later…
This silly rabbit was already prepared for anything that might happen to her.
While cultivating, Ye Qiu sensed something. His eyes flickered with a red glow as he turned to look at Xiao Wu—only to find that the rabbit's head had already disappeared beneath the blanket.
...
The Next Morning
Ye Qiu still didn't go to class.
After a night of recovery, Tang San was nearly fully healed and remained attentive, while Xiao Wu paid him little attention.
Ye Qiu arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Hall branch, holding paper and pen in his hands, his Sharingan quietly activated.
The pattern drawn on the paper was identical to the chrysanthemum engraved on the palace gate. With the enhancement of the Sharingan, the drawing looked astonishingly lifelike.
Beneath it were the words:
"Immortal Herb: Miraculous Chrysanthemum Reaching Heaven—consuming it grants an indestructible body…"
Next, he drew a tulip from memory and wrote beside it:
"Fairy Herb: Beautiful Tulip—edible…"
He continued painting various flowers, some real and some fake.
This was the key to obtaining information about the immortal herbs.
Everything now depended on whether Tang San would take the bait.
However, Ye Qiu believed it was unlikely. Since ancient times, even heroes had found it difficult to resist the allure of beauty—let alone someone who could hardly be called a hero.
That evening, Ye Qiu handed the booklet to Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Qiu, what are these? They're drawn so beautifully!" Xiao Wu sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs as she carefully flipped through the booklet.
"By the way, are these flowers and plants really as magical as you described?"
"Some of the information is true, and some is false," Ye Qiu replied calmly. "But the real medicinal herbs are just as effective—if not more—than what I wrote."
Ye Qiu was well aware of the value of these immortal herbs. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were the very foundation that allowed the Shrek Seven Devils to ascend to godhood.
"Is the 'Heartbreak Red' mentioned here real or fake?" Xiao Wu asked, staring intently at the page and savoring the story written on it before looking at Ye Qiu expectantly.
"It's real," Ye Qiu said after a brief pause. "But I don't know exactly what it looks like."
"Oh… I see~" Xiao Wu sounded slightly disappointed.
"However," Ye Qiu added, "Tang San knows."
"Does Tang San really know?" Xiao Wu immediately understood what Ye Qiu wanted.
"Yes. Tang San knows a lot of detailed information about immortal herbs. The favor I need from you is to get that information out of him."
"Okay! No problem!" Xiao Wu agreed without hesitation. Though she was curious about where Ye Qiu had obtained this knowledge, it didn't matter.
She trusted him.
"Xiao Wu, if everything goes smoothly in the future, I will—"
"Xiao Qiu~"
His words were cut off by Xiao Wu's voice. She already knew what he was going to say, but none of it mattered.
Xiao Qiu was her true love. That flower was just a flower.
"Hm? Uh…"
Ye Qiu looked at the rogue rabbit who had suddenly come so close. Although she had no sense of boundaries, the taste was undeniably sweet and soft.
Another day of waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump…
---