" Tang San, why doesn't he have to pay for food, but I do!"
Xiao Wu puffed her cheeks angrily as she watched Qian Jue look for a seat.
"Uh, because Brother Jue is a special recruit. He has many special privileges."
"Why? I want to be a special recruit too. I want special privileges!"
Xiao Wu pouted.
Tang San quickly paid for her meal and led her to sit opposite Qian Jue. Wang Sheng and the others had gotten some simple vegetarian dishes and sat at the table beside them.
Xiao Wu ate with her cheeks puffed, glaring at Qian Jue enjoying his food across from her. Somehow, her carrots and cabbage didn't taste quite as good anymore.
While eating, she suddenly remembered that earlier, Qian Jue had shown some kind of badge to the canteen auntie, which let him get whatever he wanted. She leaned forward tentatively:
"Um… ahem… Brother Jue, that badge of yours, could you lend it to me for a couple of days?"
Qian Jue chuckled at her. "Weren't you the one who wanted to be my Big Sister Boss? Why are you suddenly calling me Brother?"
"T-That's because… ahh!"
She stammered, unable to explain herself.
Qian Jue stopped teasing her. "This badge isn't much use, really. It just lets me eat here for free. But don't you already have Xiao San paying for you? Look—if you let him cover your meals, and he eats with me, isn't that the same thing? Works out just fine, doesn't it?"
"Hm? Oh, that makes sense! Okay!"
She turned toward Tang San and slapped his shoulder hard.
"From now on, Xiao San, you're my badge! Every time I eat, you pay! Perfect!"
She clapped her hands in delight, and suddenly her cabbage and carrots tasted much better.
Tang San gave Qian Jue a questioning look, confused why he was treating Xiao Wu so well, even borrowing his hands for it.
It wasn't until Qian Jue winked at him that he understood, staring helplessly at his senior.
'Come on, we're only kids right now. How could you think like that? I'm not some beast!'
Tang San grumbled in his heart.
*Smack!*
Suddenly, a loud slap on a table came from nearby.
"Wang Xiaosheng, why are you eating only vegetables again? Isn't your spirit the Battle Tiger? Since when does a tiger eat vegetables? Oh, I see—it's because its master is a pauper! Hahaha!"
The group turned and saw an arrogant boy, eleven or twelve years old, pointing at Wang Sheng and laughing.
Xiao Wu immediately exploded. Wang Sheng was her very first little brother—the one who called her Big Sister Boss! How dare someone bully him!
She slammed the table, jumped to her feet, and shouted at Wang Sheng, "Wang Sheng! What kind of trash is this, barking around here?!"
Her crisp voice immediately drew the boy's attention. "Eh~ what a cute little loli."
But then he noticed the cabbage and carrots on her plate.
" Tch, what a pity—turns out you're just another pauper."
His scornful tone made Xiao Wu's temper flare. She slammed the table again and was about to leap at him to deliver a waist-throw.
Tang San quickly grabbed her. "Xiao Wu, don't be rash!"
"Exactly. If you hit him, you'll just dirty your hands. Don't worry—scum like that always gets what's coming. I heard, if you're too shameless, your butt starts to hurt."
Qian Jue continued eating calmly, adding fuel without even glancing up.
"Hey, who says that's shameless? This is just the rich mocking the poor!" The boy grew even more arrogant, seeing no one dared cause trouble.
"And so what if it's shameless? Better shameless than poor! I'd rather be shameless than—"
Before he could finish, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his buttocks. Waves of agony made his body stiffen, legs clamping together as he clutched his rear, screaming:
"Ahh! My butt! Who bit me?! It hurts, it hurts so much!"
Xiao Wu blinked in surprise at first, then burst out laughing so hard she bent over the table.
"Hahaha! See? You really were too shameless. Even the heavens couldn't stand it and came to punish you! Hahaha!"
Wang Sheng and the others, along with many onlookers, couldn't help but laugh as well.
Tang San hid a grin, quickly shoving food into his mouth to cover it. Of course, he knew what had happened—being bitten by the Wolf Spirit was no joke.
Even though he told himself, 'He's just a brat, I should be magnanimous,' seeing him punished still brought Tang San a certain glee.
The arrogant boy's companions rushed over, asking what happened.
Seeing everyone laughing—especially Xiao Wu, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe—the boy snapped at his friends:
"How should I know?! Just carry me away, I can't walk! Get me out of here!"
Though his friends looked unhappy at being yelled at, they endured and carried him out of the canteen.
Only after they disappeared did Xiao Wu finally calm her laughter. She threw herself onto the table, grabbing Qian Jue's arm and shaking it eagerly.
"Brother Jue, tell me! How did you do that? You just said his butt would hurt, and it really hurt! Teach me! Then I can make anyone's butt hurt if they dare to mess with me!"
This time, her cries of "Brother Jue" flowed much smoother than when she'd tried to borrow his badge.
Wang Sheng and the others stared at Qian Jue too, obviously curious. If they could learn this trick, no one would dare bully them again.
Qian Jue glanced at the sweet-and-sour pork he had just picked up, now dropped back on the table from Xiao Wu's shaking. With a helpless sigh, he lifted his head—and met her bright, expectant gaze. He couldn't bring himself to scold her.
He sighed. "You can't learn it. This is the effect of my martial spirit."
Hearing this expected answer, Wang Sheng and the others sighed in disappointment. But then they remembered—Qian Jue was Tang San's senior brother, and Tang San was one of them. Surely, they wouldn't just watch their fellow work-students be bullied again. With that thought, their appetite grew, and even plain vegetables tasted better.
Xiao Wu pouted at his reply, stabbing at her carrots in silence.
Seeing her look so down, Qian Jue couldn't help comforting her:
"Don't worry. No one will dare bully you. They won't get past Xiao San."
He pointed at Tang San with his chopsticks.
"And besides, you can always come to me. Since you call me Brother Jue, of course I'll protect you. I'll make their butts hurt for you. Even Xiao San."
He gestured at Tang San again.
Tang San sighed helplessly.
"Deal!" Xiao Wu cheered, closing one eye and pointing her finger like a gun in several directions. "If anyone bullies me, I'll make them all have sore butts!"
Some students nearby who had been watching paled instantly, shifting their gaze and pretending to eat.
"Hehe~"
Xiao Wu smirked triumphantly, then stabbed into her carrot and ate happily again.
Tang San glanced at her, then at Qian Jue, his eyes full of doubt.
'Why are you so good to her? You'll spoil her.'
Qian Jue lowered his head, guilty as he shoveled food into his mouth. She was Tang San's destined one—he really shouldn't treat her this well.
But he couldn't help it. Xiao Wu was just too cute. Her pure innocence as a spirit beast turned human made people instinctively want to protect her.
Now, Qian Jue even found himself looking forward to meeting the other two Shrek girls—spoiled little witch Ning Rongrong, and the cold beauty Zhu Zhuqing.
After finishing, Qian Jue got another meal to take to Grandmaster, who hadn't shown up—likely lost in his research again. This time, he paid with his own allowance from Deng Sheng.
Then he took Tang San and Xiao Wu to see his dorm room, which only made Xiao Wu even more envious. But honestly, if she had to live alone on the fourth floor, she wouldn't want to. She had come into human form to experience emotions and interactions, not to be isolated. Living alone would be worse than returning to Star Dou Forest.
The next day, Qian Jue and the others attended the new student ceremony. Though called a grand ceremony, including teachers there were only about fifty people. Finally, Qian Jue met the principal of Nuoding Academy—a vigorous spirit master in his fifties, already over level forty.
With strong spirit power, the principal announced that the children were now officially part of the spirit master ranks.
After the ceremony, he even called Qian Jue aside, telling him he was Grandmaster's friend and that Qian Jue could come to him for any needs.
Indeed, Qian Jue was like a prized treasure here.
After that came their first official class. Even though Grandmaster had mentioned much of it before, Qian Jue still found he learned a lot. Clearly, study was essential no matter the subject.
Thus, his days passed in a fulfilling rhythm: classes in the morning, martial spirit control training in the afternoon, studies with Grandmaster at night, and cultivation at midnight.
In this way, two fruitful years went by.