Shrek Academy
Ever since Er Ming came to Shrek Academy and joined them, Tang San felt as if he had been wearing an invisible hat on his head.
One day, he saw Xiao Wu walking into Er Ming's room. Another day, he saw Er Ming coming out of Xiao Wu's room.
A sharp pain twisted in Tang San's heart. He forced himself to approach Xiao Wu and asked, "Xiao Wu mei-mei, aren't you getting a little too close to Er Ming? It might give people the wrong idea."
Hearing Tang San's questioning tone, Xiao Wu furrowed her brows and retorted, "Ah-San ge-ge, Er Ming is my little brother—and also your little brother. Why would you think like that about your own brother?"
"I-I didn't mean it that way, I was just saying—"
"Besides," Xiao Wu continued, "Er Ming and I have a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Is there anything strange about us training together?"
Tang San: "…"
"You're his big brother. How could you view our pure relationship this way? Are you even still my ge-ge?" Xiao Wu scolded him with moral indignation.
"S-sorry, Xiao Wu… I shouldn't have seen it that way." Tang San had no choice but to bow his head and admit his mistake.
"Hmph! If you say stuff like that again, I'm not talking to you anymore!" Xiao Wu gave him a sideways glance, a flash of contempt in her eyes, then proudly walked away with her arms crossed.
At that moment, Tang San felt incredibly stifled inside, but of course, he didn't dare complain about Xiao Wu.
He didn't want Xiao Wu to get too close to Er Ming, but having a Martial Soul Fusion Technique and training together was perfectly justifiable. Even Shrek Academy encouraged students with compatible martial souls to cultivate together.
Not to mention, Er Ming and Xiao Wu were in a pure sibling relationship, so Tang San really had no grounds to argue.
In his previous life, he had never heard of Er Ming and Xiao Wu having a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Well, that made sense. In that life, Er Ming had remained a gorilla and never took human form, so a fusion technique wouldn't have existed.
Damn you, Er Ming. You should've just stayed quietly in the forest and waited for Spirit Hall to come hunt you down. Wouldn't it have been better to sacrifice yourself to me? If it weren't for me in that past life, you wouldn't have revived. You wouldn't have become a divine officer. You wouldn't be swaggering in front of Di Tian and the others. You ungrateful beast—you've already chosen your path to death!
With a heart full of suppressed rage, Tang San walked away.
Our poor Ah-San didn't even know…
Xiao Wu by day belonged to Er Ming, and Xiao Wu by night belonged to Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar.
Shrek Academy's method for training students involved using the Great Spirit Arena in Soto City. There, students would participate in combat matches to improve through real battle. That hadn't changed in this life either.
Tang San was very much looking forward to it, because in his past life, he and Xiao Wu had formed the San-Wu Duo, which became famous across the land.
This time, if everything went smoothly, it would be a golden opportunity to improve his relationship with Xiao Wu and bring them even closer.
So, with a shameless smile, Tang San went up to Xiao Wu and asked expectantly, "Xiao Wu mei-mei, would you be willing to partner with me for the upcoming matches? I already thought of our team name! I'm Tang San, you're Xiao Wu—so we'll be the San-Wu Duo!"
Upon hearing Tang San's team-up proposal, Xiao Wu's face showed a troubled expression. She said, "Sorry, Ah-San ge-ge. I can't agree to that."
"W-why not?" Tang San's heart ached.
Suddenly, a hulking figure stepped between him and Xiao Wu. Tang San looked and saw that it was Er Ming. Er Ming said coldly, "Tang San, Xiao Wu-jie has already agreed to form a team with me. Our team is called the Ming-Wu Duo. You can just stay out of the way."
"You—" Tang San was furious. The sleeve dart on the back of his hand was already loaded. He could barely restrain himself from shooting this meddling bastard.
"Ah-San ge-ge, it's not that I don't want to team up with you," Xiao Wu said as if it were only natural. "It's just that I already promised my little brother Er Ming. And you're his ge-ge too—you should give way to your little brother, right?"
Tang San: "@#￥%*"
At that moment, Tang San wanted nothing more than to kill Er Ming, but after calming down, he realized… there wasn't much he could do.
First, Er Ming was Xiao Wu's younger brother. If he actually did something to Er Ming, Xiao Wu would definitely hate him. And Tang San loved Xiao Wu, so of course he didn't want her to hate him over something like this.
Second, Er Ming was meant to become a soul ring for his Hao Tian Hammer. Killing him now would waste a valuable spirit ring. So even though Tang San was boiling with hatred inside, he had no choice but to endure it.
Just you wait, Er Ming. When the day comes for you to sacrifice yourself to me, we'll see if I bother reviving you again.
Soto City Great Spirit Arena
Tang San sat in the audience, staring at the stage as Er Ming and Xiao Wu displayed flawless teamwork, defeating one powerful opponent after another. His heart was roiling with anger.
In one of the matches, Er Ming and Xiao Wu, both at level 31, faced off against a tough team of Spirit Elders at level 38 and 39. The battle was intense. Xiao Wu was targeted and injured due to her teleportation ability. In the end, it was Er Ming who displayed the overwhelming power of the Titan Giant Ape and reversed the level gap to claim victory.
After the match, Er Ming even held Xiao Wu in his arms like a princess.
In the audience, the crowd erupted in cheers at the romantic sight:
"Ming-Wu Duo! Ming-Wu Duo! Ming-Wu Duo—!"
The thunderous chants pierced Tang San's ears, more unbearable than ever.
Especially when he saw Er Ming carrying Xiao Wu on stage, Tang San finally snapped.
No more tolerance. No more patience.
Tang San erupted like a volcano:
"Er Ming! How dare you touch my Xiao Wu! You've chosen the path to death! If I, Tang San, don't kill you—I'm not even human!"
He furiously loaded his sleeve dart, ready to charge in and fight Er Ming to the death—
—but the Shrek Trio sitting beside him quickly stopped him.
The three Shrek bros each placed a hand on Tang San's shoulders, forcing him back into his seat.
"Tang San, calm down. Calm down."
"Calm down?!" Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, his breath heavy like a bull's. "Er Ming is already hugging Xiao Wu—how the hell am I supposed to calm down?!"
Dai Mubai, keeping his hand on Tang San's shoulder, said, "Tang San, are you seriously planning to rush up there and fight Er Ming to the death? Don't forget—Er Ming is Xiao Wu's younger brother. If you kill him right in front of her, how do you think she'll see you? She'll only see you as her enemy."
Hearing Dai Mubai's reminder, the redness in Tang San's eyes slowly faded. His breathing became steadier as reason returned to his mind.
"Yeah, Tang San," Oscar chimed in. "Blindly rushing in will only ruin your image in Xiao Wu's heart. You can't be that impulsive."
"But Er Ming is hugging Xiao Wu! How can I tolerate that?!" The moment he said it, Tang San's eyes began turning red again, his breath growing rougher.
"Tang San, did you forget what their relationship is?" Ma Hongjun countered. "Er Ming is Xiao Wu's little brother. Is there something wrong with a brother hugging his sister?"
Deep down, Tang San had long seen Xiao Wu as his own, a forbidden treasure. Naturally, he didn't want any other man touching his woman—not even a little. But from an ethical standpoint, Er Ming was Xiao Wu's younger brother. They were both only twelve. The sister was injured—what's wrong with the younger brother holding her?
"Tang San," Dai Mubai added, "Fatty has a point. Xiao Wu and Er Ming are siblings. Xiao Wu's hurt—you can't stop her little brother from comforting her."
"And besides," said Ma Hongjun, "There's nothing unusual between them. Tang San, don't assume the worst about people. Don't be so dirty-minded."
"Th-then what am I supposed to do?" Tang San asked, realizing he didn't have the moral high ground in this.
"You need to learn to endure," Ma Hongjun said, patting his shoulder. "Tang San, you have to learn to endure what others can't.
If you kill Er Ming now, what's that going to solve? It'll only make Xiao Wu hate you. She chose to team up with Er Ming, not you—that's not his fault.
As a neutral bystander, I have to say: you and Xiao Wu haven't even established a relationship yet. Meanwhile, she's lived with her little brother for over 100,000 years. After that long together, it's only natural they'd be close. You need to endure."
"You need to accept it," said Oscar, also patting his shoulder. "Er Ming and Xiao Wu aren't lovers—they're siblings. So what if a sister and brother are close? Tang San, you sometimes lose your composure too easily. Just this tiny thing sets you off? Xiao Wu is a free spirit—does being close to her mean she can't even talk to her own brother anymore? Thinking like that will only make her start resenting you. You need to understand: you're not the only man allowed in her life!"
"You need to be tolerant," Dai Mubai added, also patting him. "If you love someone, you must accept all of them—tolerate all of them. As a neutral outsider, I'll just say this: Er Ming is her little brother. So what if they're close? Can't you even accept your future brother-in-law? A real man should have a heart as wide as the sea! A prime minister's belly should be big enough to row a boat in!"
Tang San stayed silent. Everything they said made sense. But for some reason… he still felt burning rage inside.
A month flew by.
A guard opened the door to a prison cell. A gust of rhododendron-like odor hit him. Inside, lying weak and haggard on the bed, was a man with a buzz cut.
"Yu Xiaogang, you're being released," the guard said.
Upon hearing those words, Yu Xiaogang's lifeless eyes slowly regained focus. He trembled as he asked, "R-Really?"
"Yes. Now get out." The guard waved his hand, signaling others to carry Yu Xiaogang out—like taking out trash.
And so, Yu Xiaogang was dumped outside the gates of Spirit Hall City, wriggling on the ground like garbage. Flies buzzed around his body, drawn by the stench of rot and filth.
Tang San's appearance had once filled the dejected Yu Xiaogang with hope and allowed him to forget his humiliation. But over this past month, Yu Xiaogang had suffered far more degradation than in his entire life combined.
These memories—his most shameful, darkest days—would forever haunt him like a nightmare. He didn't want to remember. All he wanted now was to go back—back to Shrek—so he could cry his heart out to his disciple about all he'd endured.
As he crawled out of Spirit Hall City, Yu Xiaogang turned his head, his eyes burning with hatred as he stared toward it.
"Bibi Dong, for someone like you to completely disregard our past… And Spirit Hall! Just you wait. Once I finish training my precious disciple, the day of Spirit Hall's downfall will come. I'll make everyone who ever looked down on me grovel at my feet and tremble!"
With Tang San's figure in his mind, Yu Xiaogang crawled faster.
"Tang San… I miss you so much. You're my only hope. Whether or not I can rise again in this life—it all depends on you."
From a bird's-eye view, Yu Xiaogang looked like a wriggling worm inching its way across the ground.