Seven days later, at the hillside cemetery.
"Grandfather, it's time for me to go now."
Kneeling before the tombstone, Zhu Wu whispered softly, marking the end of the traditional mourning period according to continental customs.
After a long silence, he bowed three times, knocked his head against the ground thrice, then stood up and walked down the mountain.
Returning home, he packed his things simply and called over Uncle Jerry. He distributed everything in the house—excluding the furniture—to the neighbors. The preserved meat and similar food items were given to Old Jack's family and to Old Wang's household, whose daughter-in-law had nursed him as an infant.
After saying his goodbyes one by one, Zhu Wu stepped out of the village under the warm spring sun, with the villagers watching him go.
First he strolled alone through the fields, then broke into a run, eventually vanishing into the distant green horizon formed by the vast plains.
That afternoon, he walked into Notting City, bought supplies for his journey—tent, food, cooking utensils, porcelain bottles, inexpensive jade boxes, and more. After dining at an inn, he headed toward Notting Academy. Stopping at a small nearby grove, he quietly meditated and waited.
Around three or four in the morning, he got up and moved toward the academy's back wall.
"Martial Soul Possession."
Summoning his martial soul, Little White, he was instantly bathed in white light and transformed into a sparrow. With a flap of his wings, he flew toward Dormitory Seven.
Having lived there for seven months, Zhu Wu was intimately familiar with its layout. It was early spring, and for ventilation, a corner room's window was always left open in the mornings and evenings. The little sparrow easily flew inside.
And indeed, as expected—
Flutter flutter flutter—
With a light flap of his wings, Zhu Wu entered the dorm and gently landed in the shadows on the floor.
Using the corner wall for cover, a soft light flashed between his brows, and a small black snake appeared, slithering silently toward the beds.
Before long, it reached the side of Tang San's bed.
Bathed in dim moonlight, Zhu Wu looked up to see a small wooden stool, upon which lay clothing—including pants—and a belt partially pressed under them. The belt was jet black with a milky-white jade inlay.
Clearly, no one would sleep wearing a belt—Tang San wasn't the type.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhu Wu straightened the snake's body and touched the pants. A multicolored light flickered, and everything vanished.
"Didn't expect it to really work..."
As a spatial-type storage soul tool, he had thought it might resist being stored.
"Looks like my Dragon God Parasite Martial Soul really is top-tier."
"So then, Tang San..."
Zhu Wu cast a cold glance at the sleeping Tang San. Feeling the still-brimming soul power within himself, a murderous intent surged forth. This was undeniably the perfect chance to kill Tang San—his unnoticed entrance proved that Tang Hao wasn't guarding him.
In fact, it seemed no one was watching at all. After all, it was the middle of the night—everyone needs to sleep.
"But... is Tang San really worth it?"
His gaze flicked to the other beds—dorm mates who had lived with him day and night and treated him decently. In his mind appeared the image of the Dean, who had once patiently introduced soul beasts to him in the beginner soul hunting forest and helped him obtain his first soul ring.
In his past life, there had been many cases where parents stirred up trouble at schools just because their child fell or got hurt.
So, in this world—if Tang San died at the academy, would Tang Hao let Notting Academy off the hook?
Thinking this, he fell silent, staring intently at Tang San. A vertical pupil in his eyes shimmered with dangerous light.
Then suddenly, Tang San's brows furrowed, as though he were about to wake up.
Zhu Wu snapped out of it instantly. Without a trace of hesitation, he darted under the bed and slipped swiftly toward the bathroom.
"Who's there?!"
Tang San abruptly awakened, sitting up in an instant.
Glancing around quickly, he immediately noticed that his clothes and soul tool belt were missing. His expression darkened, and he hurriedly got out of bed.
At that moment, a noise came from the bathroom. He activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, accelerating toward the sound.
"BANG!"
He kicked open the bathroom door.
Flutter flutter—
The sound of flapping wings echoed in his ears.
Tang San's violet eyes snapped upward. Through the small window's crack, he caught a glimpse of a sparrow, no larger than a palm, vanishing into the night.
His hidden weapons were stored in the soul tool. Even if he wanted to strike it down, he had nothing to use. His brows furrowed. The window gap was clearly too small for a person to escape through. Looking down, he noticed snake-like trails on the ground.
"Did a snake come in to hunt the sparrow?"
He speculated inwardly, then quickly turned and dashed out of the bathroom.
Outside, Xiao Wu had already gotten out of bed and was running toward him. Several nearby dorm mates were also awake, looking confused—clearly awakened by the commotion and his instinctive shout.
"San-ge, what happened?"
Xiao Wu asked with a frown as she reached him.
"My school uniform and the belt Teacher gave me were stolen!"
Tang San said grimly.
In both his lives, he had always been the one taking from others—no one had ever stolen from him right under his nose. The loss wasn't just a belt, but a precious storage soul tool filled with all his hidden weapons and treasured items. It was an unbearable blow.
"Shameless thief! To dare steal from me is truly seeking death! If I ever catch you, I, Tang San, will tear you limb from limb!"
He swore internally.
"What? Someone actually snuck in and stole from you?!"
Xiao Wu was shocked.
The dorm mates were equally stunned. Their reactions were genuine—they instinctively checked to see if they had lost anything too.
Tang San glanced coldly at them, but he knew his roommates weren't capable of such a feat—they didn't have the skills. They definitely weren't the culprits.
"I must've been targeted long ago."
He clenched his fists and voiced his suspicion.
A storage soul tool was undeniably valuable. But he couldn't even tell when he had been marked—it had happened without his notice.
No doubt about it—the thief was an expert!
"Damn it... If I catch him, I'll make him pay!"
Xiao Wu's eyes blazed with fury.
"Tang San, let's notify the teachers first and search together."
Wang Sheng, now out of bed, suggested.
At this point, Tang San couldn't think of a better plan and nodded slightly.
He had a gut feeling—the thief had only just left. That instant when he awoke must've been because he sensed the intruder. As a disciple of Tang Sect, skilled in hidden weapons, his perception and reaction speed had always been excellent.
Especially his instinct for danger.
In that split second earlier, he had distinctly sensed a surge of murderous intent.
If I had been a second slower to react...
Just thinking about it made his heart race. He quickly said, "Xiao Wu, you and Wang Sheng go inform the teacher. I'll search around the dorm to see if the thief left any traces."
"San-ge, I'll go with you! If we run into him, at least we'll have each other's backs."
Xiao Wu said quickly.
Someone who could sneak in silently was obviously formidable—she didn't think it was safe for Tang San to go alone.
"Alright."
Tang San agreed without hesitation,then dashed toward the dormitory door.
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( End of Chapter )
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