The dust from the Tailed Beast Bomb's shockwave drifted lazily through the clearing, coating the forest in a fine gray powder.
Xiao Wu stood frozen, her hands trembling over her mouth. She looked at the boy standing before her. He was taller than she remembered, his black robes fluttering in the settling wind.
"Arthev?" she whispered, the name feeling heavy on her tongue.
It brought back the memory of the empty dormitory room. The silence after he left. That strange, hollow ache she had felt in her chest when he walked away to chase his squawking destiny.
Arthev held the mask in his left hand. He didn't glare at her. Instead, a small, weary smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Xiao Wu," Arthev said, his voice calm. "Or did you think the big bad sand monster ate me too?"
"You..." Xiao Wu took a hesitant step forward. "That monster... the sand... was that you?"
"Shukaku gets a little dramatic when he's cooped up," Arthev sighed. "I told him to keep it low profile. He interpreted that as blow up a mountain."
Arthev walked forward toward the Titan Giant Ape. Er Ming let out a low, rumbling growl, trying to shift his massive, injured body between Xiao Wu and the human.
"No, Er Ming! Stop!" Xiao Wu cried out.
"He's... he's a friend."
Arthev stopped five paces away. He looked up at the towering ape. The beast's right shoulder was badly scorched.
"Let's fix the mess my friend made," Arthev said flatly.
He raised his hand. White, wood-like roots burst from his palm, pulsating with immense healing energy, the power of the Divine tree.
"Heal."
The roots latched onto Er Ming's burned shoulder. The ape roared, but the pain vanished instantly, replaced by a cool, soothing sensation. Within seconds, the angry red burn knit together, leaving fresh pink skin.
Arthev retracted the roots. "That should keep the infection out. Go, big guy. The Core Area is safer."
Er Ming hesitated, looking at Xiao Wu. She nodded. With a final, confused glance at the terrifying boy, the Titan Ape leaped away into the forest.
Xiao Wu turned to Arthev, her heart pounding. "Arthev... how? That power..."
Arthev didn't answer immediately. His gaze dropped to her neck. There, resting against her pink dress, was the light green crystal pendant shaped like a dagger, the one he had pressed into her hand years ago.
"You're wearing it," he noted softly.
"You said it was a souvenir," Xiao Wu said, her fingers instinctively curling around the cool stone. The dull sorrow in her chest returned, that confusing mix of comfort and loss.
"I... I felt like I shouldn't take it off."
Arthev stepped closer. His expression became serious, his voice dropping to a whisper so only she could hear.
"Do you know why I gave that to you, Xiao Wu?"
She blinked, confused. "Because... we were roommates? Because you were leaving?"
"Because you smell like a rabbit," Arthev said bluntly.
Xiao Wu froze. The blood drained from her face. Her pupils contracted into vertical slits. The secret she had guarded with her life, the secret that could get her hunted and killed by the entire world, he just said it.
"I... what?" she stammered, terror gripping her throat.
"A 100,000 year-old soft-bone rabbit, to be exact," Arthev continued, his tone casual. "I've known since the day we met in Dormitory Seven."
Xiao Wu took a step back, trembling. "You... you knew? All this time? Then why..."
"Relax," Arthev said, raising a hand to calm her. He pointed at the pendant.
"That necklace isn't glass, Xiao Wu. It's made from the crystallized sap of my Martial Soul. It suppresses aura naturally."
He looked her dead in the eye, his dark gaze intense.
"As long as you wear that, no one can smell you. Not even Titled Douluos. You can walk right into the Pope's Palace in Spirit Hall, and they will just see a human girl."
Xiao Wu gasped. The world seemed to tilt.
She looked down at the green pendant. For years, she had worn it just because... because he gave it to her. Because when he left that day, the room felt too quiet, and this stone was the only thing that felt loud.
But he hadn't just given her a decoration. He had given her a life. He had protected her from the shadows, ensuring she was safe even when he wasn't there.
'He knew,' she thought, a wave of emotion crashing over her that she couldn't name. It wasn't just gratitude. It was deeper. 'He left without saying a word about it. He just... protected me.'
Tears welled in her eyes. "You... you saved me? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I told you," Arthev gave a faint, crooked smirk, putting his mask back on. "Destiny squawks. I just made sure it didn't squawk at you."
The humor didn't deflect the weight of the moment this time. Xiao Wu reached out, wanting to grab his hand, to ask him to stay, to understand why he cared this much.
But Arthev pulled back.
"Hold your breath," he commanded. "Your boyfriend is probably tearing the forest apart looking for you."
"He's not my—" Xiao Wu started, flustered, but Arthev grabbed her shoulder.
Blink.
The world blurred.
Arthev used the sheer physical speed of his body to execute a Body Flicker technique.
The trees became a green tunnel.
In seconds, they covered the distance that would have taken Shrek Academy an hour.
Arthev skidded to a halt on a high branch overlooking a clearing below.
The scene was chaotic. The Shrek Seven Devils were battered.
Oscar was on his knees, his face pale, frantically producing sausages that no one was eating. Ma Hongjun was pacing, kicking at the dirt, smoke rising from his nostrils. Ning Rongrong sat by a tree, hugging her knees, her usually pristine dress torn.
But in the center, a furious, red-eyed Tang San was preparing to rush into the forest alone, ignoring Zhao Wuji's distant shouts.
"Brother San!" Xiao Wu shouted from the branch.
Tang San's head snapped up. Relief washed over his face, instantly replaced by sharp vigilance. "Xiao Wu!"
Arthev pushed her gently. "Go."
Xiao Wu landed gracefully in the clearing. Tang San rushed to catch her, checking her for injuries. "You're safe! How... the Titan Ape..."
"I escaped," Xiao Wu stammered,
breathless. "But... someone brought me back."
"Brought you?" Tang San pulled back, his Purple Demon Eye scanning the perimeter instantly.
He looked up.
On the branch, sixty feet up, a figure in black robes and a white, ripple-patterned mask looked down at them.
Tang San's body stiffened. The aura coming off this figure was heavy, like a sword that had seen too much blood.
"Who are you?!" Tang San shouted, his hand instinctively going to the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night belt. "Step away from her!"
Oscar scrambled to his feet, shielding Ning Rongrong behind him. "Is that... is that the guy who caused the explosion earlier?"
"Careful, Third Brother!" Ma Hongjun yelled, fire flickering in his palms. "He feels dangerous!"
Arthev tilted his head. "Is that how you greet the delivery guy, Tang San?"
But Tang San, fueled by the residual terror of losing Xiao Wu and the adrenaline of the moment, didn't listen. He saw a masked threat who had been holding Xiao Wu.
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
Tang San blurred, moving in a strange, rhythmic pattern, flanking Arthev. His hand flicked.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Three armor-piercing willow leaf blades shot toward Arthev's throat and joints.
Arthev didn't even turn his head. He simply raised two fingers.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
He deflected the hidden weapons with precise, minimal movements, knocking them out of the air.
"No way..." Oscar whispered, his jaw dropping. "He deflected hidden weapons with his bare hands?"
Tang San's eyes widened. 'He saw through the trajectory?!'
"You're sloppy when you're emotional,"
Arthev commented dryly.
Tang San grit his teeth, charging forward for close combat, his hands turning jade-white with Mysterious Jade Hand. He aimed a palm strike at Arthev's chest.
Arthev sighed.
He simply stepped inside Tang San's guard.
"Too slow."
Arthev pivoted and delivered a simple, brutal side kick to Tang San's midsection.
CRACK.
It wasn't the sound of bones breaking, but the sound of air being forcibly expelled from Tang San's lungs. The force was overwhelming.
Tang San's eyes rolled back into his head instantly. He folded around Arthev's boot like a wet towel.
THUD.
Tang San was launched backward like a cannonball, crashing through three thick trees before slamming into a boulder. He didn't move or groan. He was out cold before he even hit the ground.
"Third Brother!" Ma Hongjun screamed.
"Tang San!" Oscar yelled, fumbling for a recovery sausage, his hands shaking so hard he dropped it.
Ning Rongrong gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Her eyes darted from Tang San's crumpled form to the masked figure.
"He... one hit? He took down Tang San in one hit?"
Dai Mubai roared, summoning his White Tiger spirit instantly. "You bastard! You dare attack us?!"
"White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
He charged, his muscles swelling, ready to maul the intruder. But as he got closer, he saw the masked figure raise a hand, palm open, fingers slightly curled.
Dai Mubai froze mid-step. Cold sweat broke out on his back.
He recognized that stance. He recognized the arrogance. It brought back a vivid, humiliating memory of a stranger in Notting City, a boy who had beaten him into the ground with a spinning blue orb while protecting Zhu Zhuqing.
"You..." Dai Mubai stammered, his aggression replaced by wariness. "It's you."
"Fatty, wait!" Oscar grabbed Ma Hongjun's arm as the Phoenix Spirit Master prepared to unleash a fire stream.
"Look at Boss Dai! He's terrified!"
"Terrified?" Ma Hongjun blinked, the fire in his hands sputtering out. "Boss Dai is never terrified."
"STOP!" Xiao Wu screamed, throwing herself in front of Arthev, spreading her arms. "Don't attack! It's Arthev!"
The name hung in the air.
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. "Arthev? The one Zhuqing talks about?"
Zhu Zhuqing, who had been silent, stepped forward from the shadows of the trees. Her cold eyes widened slightly. She looked at the masked figure, remembering the boy who had saved her life, the one who had treated her with respect when no one else would.
"Arthev?" Zhu Zhuqing asked softly, her voice trembling slightly.
Arthev reached up and unclasped the mask. He let it hang by his side, revealing his face.
"Hello, geniuses," Arthev said, dusting off his robe. He glanced at the unconscious Tang San.
"He'll be fine. Just a winded stomach. Tell him to aim better next time."
He turned his gaze to Dai Mubai. His eyes were cold, mocking.
"Still rushing in like a headless tiger, Dai Mubai?" Arthev asked dryly. "I see you haven't learned much since our last... meeting."
Dai Mubai grit his teeth, his fists clenching, but he didn't dare advance. The kick that took out Tang San was proof enough of the gap between them.
"Who is this guy?" Ma Hongjun whispered to Oscar, hiding behind the food spirit master. "He's talking down to Boss Dai like he's a child."
"I don't know," Oscar whispered back, "but he's handsome. And scary. A bad combination."
"You..." Zhu Zhuqing walked past Dai Mubai, stopping a few feet from Arthev. She bowed her head slightly, a sign of deep respect that shocked the others. "You came back."
"I was passing through," Arthev said, his tone softening imperceptibly for the cat girl. "You look stronger, Zhuqing. Less... burden in your eyes."
Zhu Zhuqing flushed slightly, nodding. Dai Mubai saw the interaction, and jealousy flared in his chest, but he swallowed it down. He knew he couldn't win this fight.
"Well," Arthev said, putting the white mask back on his face. "I returned the rabbit. My job is done."
"Wait!" Xiao Wu stepped forward. "Arthev, where are you going? You can't just leave again! Join us! Shrek Academy would—"
"I have my own path, Xiao Wu," Arthev said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming serious. "And it's not a path for rabbits.Or tigers."
He flickered, reappearing on a high branch, looking down at them one last time.
"Keep getting stronger,"Arthev called down, his silhouette framed by the moon. He glanced at the unconscious Tang San, then at the fearful Ma Hongjun and calculating Ning Rongrong.
"Because the world is about to get a lot more dangerous. And frankly... you're not ready."
Body Flicker.
Arthev vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but swirling leaves and a stunned Shrek Academy behind.
And leaving Xiao Wu clutching her necklace, staring at the empty sky, feeling that familiar piece of her world slip away once again.
To be continued.....