"Haha…"
Just as Xiao Wu was about to explain something, Ye Qiu suddenly burst into laughter. He slowly walked up to her and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"I was just joking. Why'd you take it so seriously?"
"You—you jerk! Why do you always bully me…"
Xiao Wu clenched her fists, her lips pouting. Her big red eyes blinked a few times, and tears were about to fall again.
"Aren't you always trying to beat me up too?"
Ye Qiu chuckled.
"But you're the one who kicked me first! And you always call me… call me Rabbit!"
Xiao Wu complained, looking increasingly wronged, her voice weakening as she went on. Tears were already pooling in her eyes again.
Ye Qiu rolled his eyes helplessly. Why had he kicked her again?
Wasn't it because she provoked him first?
If she hadn't picked a fight, would he have fought her?
But Ye Qiu still comforted her, saying,
"Alright, don't cry. I'll give you a carrot-flavored one later, okay?"
"No!"
Xiao Wu shook her head and sniffled. Under Ye Qiu's surprised gaze, she raised two fingers.
"I want two!"
Just as she made her demand, she froze, then pouted again, glaring angrily at Ye Qiu.
"Wait… You tricked me! You said earlier there were no more carrot-flavored ones!"
"Alright, alright—two it is! As long as you cooperate with me."
Ye Qiu shrugged without bargaining. He reached out and gently held Xiao Wu's soft little hand in his palm.
"T-Then… I want three!"
Xiao Wu gulped and tried to push her luck.
"No way! Dream on."
Ye Qiu firmly shook his head. Seeing that she was about to argue, he threw out a multiple-choice question with a teasing smirk:
"Do you want two carrot-flavored ones… or three barbecue-flavored ones?"
"Bar… barbecue-flavored?"
Xiao Wu stared blankly at him.
Ye Qiu nodded with a smirk:
"Yeah, roasted rabbit-flavored!"
"You—!"
Xiao Wu's face flushed red with anger.
She raised her other hand, wanting to smack him a couple of times, but when she saw the sly smile on Ye Qiu's face, she quietly lowered her hand.
Frustrated, she looked down and mumbled softly:
"Hmph… Two it is, then…"
"In that case… let's begin."
Ye Qiu looked up at the sky—no more delays.
"What should I do?"
Xiao Wu asked curiously.
"Just hold my hand and don't resist me."
Ye Qiu raised their hands—fingers tightly interlaced.
Ye Qiu looked normal, but Xiao Wu blushed slightly.
"Got it?"
Ye Qiu asked again.
"Mm~"
Xiao Wu nodded gently.
For the sake of those sweet lollipops, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
"Here we go."
Seeing that she was ready, Ye Qiu immediately activated the little bit of soul power he had.
He was actually a bit curious—what kind of power boost would he get after wrapping around Xiao Wu?
Even before his words finished…
Under Xiao Wu's curious gaze, Ye Qiu once again donned that black, muscular bio-suit. His entire body began to twist and flow like liquid…
Splat!
Suddenly, something wet and cold hit Xiao Wu's face.
"Ah!"
Xiao Wu let out a startled cry.
That liquid-like Ye Qiu suddenly enveloped her entire body in an embrace.
"Ah! W-What are you doing?!"
Xiao Wu felt countless hands brushing across her body, trying to pull her into some place.
"You'll be fine!"
Ye Qiu's voice sounded in her ear.
Xiao Wu gradually calmed down, slowly sinking into Ye Qiu's now stronger body.
Her limbs, her body—merged completely with Ye Qiu's.
Only her face remained exposed.
"So powerful! Sister Xiao Wu feels full of strength!"
Immediately after—
Two rows of sharp, gleaming fangs clamped down from above her head and below her chin…
It looked just like she was being swallowed whole.
Ye Qiu had completely 'eaten' Xiao Wu into his body, tightly wrapping her form and transforming it into skin that fit her petite figure.
As the skin covered her entire body, Xiao Wu also felt a surge of soul power pouring into her, nearly equal to her own original soul energy.
Buzz—
A strange aura radiated from Xiao Wu.
It felt like a warm cocoon wrapped around her—like being held in someone's arms.
In that alley,
Ye Qiu's figure had disappeared. In his place was Xiao Wu, now completely wrapped in the Venom symbiote.
It was as if the suit was tailor-made for her. Compared to Ye Qiu's muscular look, Xiao Wu's version had a softer, sleeker silhouette—less exaggerated.
As the two soul powers interwove and fused, the white patterns on the Venom symbiote turned pink.
The white patches at the eye area shifted a little—
Almost… expressive.
Possession: Xiao Wu — Complete!
Ye Qiu realized that his vision now seemed to sync with Xiao Wu's. He could clearly feel her warmth, her heartbeat—and even a faint, sweet fragrance.
From this moment on—
Before Ye Qiu could even react, a sudden jolt struck his heart.
His consciousness was being pulled out and mashed together with another awareness—as if being forcibly melded together.
His head went blank—
Random unfamiliar images flashed through his mind.
At the same time, Xiao Wu, who had just felt herself overflowing with strength and was celebrating inside, suddenly trembled.
She had read Ye Qiu's memories.
Not good!
Ye Qiu immediately snapped out of it.
He tried to control his martial soul and cut off the memory transfer to Xiao Wu.
If worse came to worst—
He'd have to end the possession, because his understanding of the plot was his biggest advantage!
But Ye Qiu quickly discovered—it was already too late.
However…
Ye Qiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he couldn't stop the process, his martial soul seemed to have a default setting: it only shared memories from the moment he awakened it.
In other words—Xiao Wu was only seeing the part of his life after his soul power awakening.
With that, Ye Qiu relaxed.
Various soul beasts began to appear in his memories:
In the misty, shimmering Lake of Life…
A massive Titan Giant Ape, towering like a small mountain.
A Sky Blue Bull Python, several times thicker than a water barrel, with a giant bull head!
If Xiao Wu could absorb all these memories, Ye Qiu dared to say—even Yu Xiaogang, the so-called soul beast expert, wouldn't match him!
Although Ye Qiu himself could only remember a portion after browsing once…
Still—
Before he could fully finish reviewing Xiao Wu's memories, he suddenly felt a wave of fear surge up in his heart.
Ye Qiu was stunned.
He quickly realized—that feeling wasn't from him, but from Xiao Wu!