"Be careful of Tang San?"
Hearing Xiao Se's words, it wasn't just Ning Rongrong, Shao Xin, and Li Yusong who were stunned—even Zhu Zhuqing showed a puzzled expression.
Taking in all four of their reactions, a sly glint flashed through Xiao Se's dark eyes. He turned to Ning Rongrong and asked seriously, "What do you think of Tang San as a person?"
"I enrolled into Shrek the same day he did, the day before yesterday. I don't really know him that well," Ning Rongrong said after organizing her thoughts. "I always feel like he's a bit too mature for his age—that part's kind of like you. But in some ways, he's also ridiculously childish, like a giant baby. Overall, I'd say he's a very outstanding soul master."
"Zhu Qing—" (ps: sounds the same as her alias "Zhu Qing," just a note, don't mind it) "—you say something too," Xiao Se said, looking toward Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and then spoke with undisguised disgust in her eyes. "He puts on airs and acts morally superior. 'I am justice.' He can hurt others, but if they fight back, they're evil. Petty and vengeful. In short, a hypocrite with a deep, scheming mind."
The moment she finished, Ning Rongrong stared at her as if looking at some kind of monster.
Scenes flashed through Ning Rongrong's mind: during the admission test the day before yesterday, Xiao Wu used her second spirit skill, Charm, on Zhao Wuji and got hit by the backlash, fainting on the spot—
Then Tang San lost it completely and tried to kill Zhao Wuji right there and then.
Poison, hidden weapons, flying everywhere.
Among them were even those needles that, once they pierced into the body, would curl up inside, and you'd have to scrape off a whole chunk of flesh to pull them out.
If Zhao Wuji hadn't been strong enough, he might really have died under those strange weapons.
Thinking back on it now, a chill crept up Ning Rongrong's spine. The more she thought, the scarier it felt.
Xiao Se's tone turned solemn. "What you said is all pretty accurate, but that's not what I'm asking. Have you ever considered that inside his body, there might be the soul of some old monster?"
"The soul of an old monster?" Ning Rongrong, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and even Zhu Zhuqing all froze, then looked at him in surprise.
"Yes. The soul of an old monster." Xiao Se nodded. "I once read something in an ancient text. When a person dies, if fate is right, something strange can happen. Their soul doesn't disperse—it drifts around. Once it finds a newborn that perfectly matches it, it clings to that infant, devours the baby's newly born, fragile soul, takes its place, and is reborn."
"In simple terms, that's called seizing a body."
(ps: Just to explain—like the main character and Xiao Yan, he reincarnated with his memories. As for Tang San in Douluo 1 that's harder to say, but the Tang San from Douluo 5 directly entered the body of a pregnant woman right before childbirth. That one is basically confirmed body-seizing.)
"Hiss—"
As soon as Xiao Se finished, Ning Rongrong, Shao Xin, Li Yusong, and even Zhu Zhuqing all sucked in a cold breath.
"You think I'm joking?" Xiao Se swept his gaze over the four of them, smiling faintly.
Ning Rongrong, Shao Xin, and Li Yusong nodded in unison.
Only Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "No. I believe you."
Xiao Se took her hand, his expression softening. Then he continued to fool—cough, explain to the others, "At first, I thought that ancient text was just some bored old man's fantasies. But yesterday, when I sensed the abnormality in Tang San's soul, I finally confirmed it. There really is an old monster living inside him."
"I've said my piece. Believe it or don't—that's up to you. But I suggest you don't question him directly. Like Zhu Qing said, he's the type to hold grudges over the smallest slight. If he knows you've learned his secret, it wouldn't be strange for him to want to silence you."
"Instead of asking him, it's better to go ask that good-for-nothing old man he calls his father. Or that 'teacher' he always talks about. Ask if Tang San has been weird since he was a kid. You'll know as soon as you hear the answer."
"Though I'd guess his useless old man already suspects something."
When Xiao Se finished speaking, the three of them sucked in a second wave of cold air.
Right now, it felt like their entire worldview was being overturned.
A "young genius soul master full of spirit and passion" possibly housing some greasy middle-aged uncle inside… Just imagining it made Ning Rongrong feel nauseous.
Shao Xin and Li Yusong weren't doing much better.
This student they'd placed such high hopes on… might actually be someone their own age—or even older. Thinking back to when they first met, when Tang San called them "Teacher" and "Senior," they both felt like last night's dinner was about to come back up.
"Wait… then Xiao Wu, doesn't that mean…" Ning Rongrong suddenly thought of something, her expression changing.
Hearing this, Xiao Se smiled and shook his head. "Who knows, maybe she has an even older soul inside."
The moment he said that, Ning Rongrong and the other two cried out in unison, "You mean Xiao Wu is also—"
Xiao Se shook his head again, deliberately keeping them hanging. "No. Xiao Wu hasn't been taken over. Her soul is original, just like ours."
"Alright, that's enough. We should get going." Xiao Se stood up and looked at Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhu Qing, let's go."
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing nodded gently. Under the stunned gazes of Ning Rongrong, Li Yusong, and Shao Xin, she followed Xiao Se out of the restaurant.
Watching their figures disappear into the street, Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and turned to the two instructors. "Teacher Shao Xin, Teacher Li Yusong… do you think there really is some old man living inside Tang San?"
Shao Xin shook his head bitterly. "I don't know. This is already beyond what we can understand."
"Let's go inform the dean," Li Yusong added. "Just when one storm finally passed, another one shows up. Xiao Se won't be troubling Shrek anymore, but now there's this mess with Tang San. Really is a troublesome time."
With their sighs lingering in the air, Li Yusong and Shao Xin hurried off toward Phoenix Village to notify Flender and have him return to Shrek.
As for Ning Rongrong, she contacted a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan spy, wrote down everything that had happened over the past few days, and sent it to her father, Ning Fengzhi.
Quietly, the legendary Shrek Seven Devils of the original story moved one step closer to falling apart. Even the remaining six were on the verge of crumbling.
After leaving the restaurant, Xiao Se and Zhu Zhuqing went to a map shop and bought a map.
Following its directions, Xiao Se took the little kitty into his arms and flew toward the Sunset Forest.
Up in the sky, Zhu Zhuqing wrapped both arms around his neck, her whole body nestled shyly against his chest as they sped through the air.
"Um… Xiao Se, there's actually something I lied to you about," Zhu Zhuqing said softly.
"You mean the part about denying that you're my girlfriend? It's fine, I forgive you," Xiao Se replied with a wicked grin.
The guilt she had just been feeling vanished instantly. Zhu Zhuqing shot him a glare. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what is it?" Xiao Se asked, pretending to be confused.
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and said seriously, "My name isn't Zhu Qing. It's Zhu Zhuqing."
"No problem. It's normal to be cautious the first time we meet," Xiao Se said casually.
"I'm a daughter of the Zhu Clan of the Star Luo Empire."
"No problem."
"Dai Mubai is the second prince of the Star Luo Empire."
"Still none of our business."
"I… have a marriage contract with Dai Mubai."
"No problem. We support free love. Parental orders and matchmaker's words are already outdated."
"I— mmph—"
(End of Chapter)
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