Noon.
Something big seemed to have happened at Nuoding Academy. Many students were rushing toward the training grounds and quickly formed a circle around something.
At the very center of that crowd stood Xiao Wu, holding a lollipop of unknown origin in her mouth. Facing a tall and muscular senior student, she showed not a hint of fear.
She carried the imposing aura of "one rabbit standing guard, ten thousand men cannot pass."
Standing beside her were the working-students from Dorm Seven. Tang San, having just returned from his soul hunt, was also squeezing through the crowd.
At the same time—
Ye Qiu had just stepped through the gates of Nuoding Academy, walking like he didn't recognize a single person, with a calmness and joy that words could hardly describe.
This soul hunt had gone much smoother than he expected.
Shortly after entering the Soul Hunting Forest, he and Director Su encountered a nearly 500-year-old Formless Slug.
Among slug-type soul beasts, this one was rather peculiar. Normally it looked like a puddle of water, but when in danger, it could mimic the appearance of other soul beasts. It looked fierce, but it had almost no real attack power.
Although Director Su felt that the soul beast's age was too high and its ability wasn't impressive, and advised Ye Qiu to consider a different one—
Ye Qiu, upon seeing the Formless Slug's transformation, was instantly captivated by its roughly 1.5-meter-diameter mucus. He just felt an inexplicable connection between it and his Venom martial spirit!
Even if it was five hundred years old, Ye Qiu didn't back down. After all, although he might've been a bit undernourished, he had grown stronger after awakening his martial spirit. His body could now venomize—he should be able to handle it.
Seeing that Ye Qiu was dead set, Director Su could only reluctantly agree. Although the Formless Slug was tricky, Director Su wasn't Yu Xiaogang. When it came to fighting, he was quite reliable.
Ye Qiu's job throughout the whole thing was simply to go quack quack—
—And collect the final blow.
After absorbing the Formless Slug's soul ring, Ye Qiu had become a level 12 Battle Soul Master.
The soul skill he obtained was even more unexpected than he had hoped.
Ye Qiu was overjoyed, so excited that he couldn't wait to drag that mischievous little bunny Xiao Wu to try it out.
At this point, he had already completed his Soul Master appraisal at the Martial Soul Hall. He had even accepted an invitation from Matthew Nuo to become a casual affiliate of the Martial Soul Hall, receiving a member ID as proof.
This kind of status might come in handy someday.
And there were no responsibilities anyway.
With a pouch full of gold soul coins, Ye Qiu walked with a smile on his face. With this new stipend, he wouldn't need to work as a student laborer anymore.
Cleaning chores? Let whoever wants to do them handle it.
He sure wasn't going to do it.
Click!
Before long, Ye Qiu arrived at Dorm Seven and found it empty.
He wasn't surprised.
Along the way, he had more or less figured out what had happened.
He didn't need to get involved in that ruckus. Xiao Wu would have no problem handling Xiao Chenyu and the others. As for himself... he just needed to keep that rogue bunny in line.
Tang San had likely already acquired his life-long companion skill, Blue Silver Bind, and might even be at the scene already. So Ye Qiu had even less to worry about.
"Ahhh~"
Ye Qiu collapsed heavily onto the bed, turned over, and prepared to rest. He hadn't slept well the night before, got up early today, and had been traveling quite a bit—he was already feeling exhausted.
Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.
---
"Ye Qiu~"
Who knows how long had passed, when Ye Qiu, half-asleep and half-awake, heard a soft, girlish voice calling his name.
He instinctively rubbed his eyes and opened them, only to see Xiao Wu's cute little face right in front of him.
Xiao Wu was leaning over, looking at him. Her lips were pink and dainty, her face filled with excitement. She licked the corner of her mouth, then poked Ye Qiu's cheek with a finger. "Ye Qiu, you're sleeping this early? Will you still be able to sleep at night?"
Smack!
Ye Qiu swatted her hand away, yawned, rolled his eyes, and grumbled, "Do you think I can sleep well at night?"
Xiao Wu blushed. Every morning when she woke up, she always found herself having rolled over to Ye Qiu's side.
Seeing her flushed face, Ye Qiu suddenly had the urge to grab her and take a bite—maybe even offer up his first kiss and "stamp" this bunny as his.
But after thinking it over, he restrained himself.
That might be considered a crime…
Instead, he reached out and pinched her soft, smooth, and warm cheek, leaving a slightly red mark.
"Ye Qiu, what are you doing?!"
Xiao Wu smacked his hand away, glaring at him in embarrassment.
"Hm?"
Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow at her sudden bravado and slowly sat up. Looking around, it seemed that only Tang San was missing from the dorm.
He had probably gone to register at the Martial Soul Hall after the fight.
Xiao Wu knelt on the bed, hands on hips, proudly declaring: "Ye Qiu, I'll have you know—I'm now the official Sister Xiao Wu of the whole academy! Cool, right? So you're not allowed to touch me!"
Ye Qiu chuckled, "Even so, that's no excuse for you, little rogue bunny, to cross the line."
He pointed downward.
Xiao Wu was kneeling right on the line between their two beds.
"Ye Qiu! I told you not to call me 'rogue bunny'!" Xiao Wu twisted around angrily and clamped her hand over his mouth. "So what if I crossed the line? I'm a girl—you should be letting me! But you, you're definitely not allowed to cross it."
"Whatever you say."
Ye Qiu moved her hand away with a shrug. In any case, whether it was a boy or a girl, no one would say he was the one at a disadvantage—naturally, including himself.
But this little bunny was getting way too cocky. Totally not recognizing how amazing he was!
Ye Qiu was mildly annoyed.
He grabbed both of Xiao Wu's little hands, held them tightly in his palms, and slowly applied a bit of pressure. Then he leaned in close—so close that their noses were almost touching—and gave a soft sniff.
"W-What are you doing?"
Xiao Wu saw his suddenly serious face, felt his tight grip on her hands, and his head coming closer. She couldn't help feeling a bit afraid.
"Did you forget what you promised me before?" Ye Qiu's smile turned sly, his eyes filled with teasing threat.
"I-I didn't forget! Sister Xiao Wu will behave!" she stammered, her eyes darting around to see if Wang Sheng or the others were watching. She was terrified that her big-sister image might collapse.
"Is that so?"
Ye Qiu looked at the flustered, tear-eyed Xiao Wu in front of him—her little face red like a cherry. That "stamping" idea he had suppressed earlier was now rushing back uncontrollably.
"I'll definitely behave," Xiao Wu nodded frantically, just hoping Ye Qiu would let her go.
"Good."
Ye Qiu nodded with satisfaction, his tone softening. His gaze landed on her alluring pink lips—unable to resist, his curiosity took over.
He leaned in suddenly and lightly pressed his lips to hers.
Soft like pudding, with a faint fragrance and a touch of sweetness. There was even a subtle grassy taste. Ye Qiu, who had been quite pleased at first, suddenly frowned.
Why did that sweet taste feel… oddly familiar?!
Xiao Wu froze completely, her red eyes blank. As she felt Ye Qiu's breath and the warmth of his lips gently moving, her body trembled. Her face, ears, and even her neck turned rosy pink.
It was just a light kiss, barely leaving any trace. But Ye Qiu, having satisfied his curiosity, let go of her.
Xiao Wu stared dumbfounded at his retreating face. Her large, watery crimson eyes flickered, her lips trembling. It wasn't until that strange flavor hit her that she finally reacted.
"AAAAAH—!"
A delayed scream echoed through Dorm Seven.
Xiao Wu's petite chest heaved as she covered her lips, staring at Ye Qiu in disbelief. Her brain seemed to have short-circuited. The rabbit ears atop her head flopped around chaotically.
"You—Ye Qiu—why—what?!"
Looking at the even cuter Xiao Wu in front of him, Ye Qiu's eyes lit up with a bit of wonder, though his face flushed with a trace of embarrassment.
Good thing this was Douluo Continent.