Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

She appeared somewhat thinner, and her eyes revealed signs of exhaustion. Tang San was sweeping the floor when he saw her, but Pretty Girl was walking straight toward him.

"Come with me," she said directly as she approached him, then headed toward a small grove nearby.

The moment he saw her, Tang San felt as though the whole world had burst into vibrant colors, and his mood greatly improved. Even his dimmed divine consciousness seemed to perk up a bit.

He followed Pretty Girl into the small grove beside them.

"Pretty sister," Tang San called out with a smile.

Pretty Girl turned to look at him and said, "I\'m going to leave."

Those four simple words almost instantly froze the smile on Tang San\'s face, as an overwhelming sense of loss surged uncontrollably from within him.

"Where are you going?" he blurted out almost reflexively, almost adding the second half of the sentence: I\'ll go with you.

Pretty Girl shook her head and said, "I won\'t leave Jiali City, but I am going to enter closed-door cultivation. I will be cultivating with my father. I don\'t know how long it will take, but it shouldn\'t be short. Today, I came to say goodbye to you."

As soon as he heard she was only going to cultivate in seclusion and would not leave Jiali City, Tang San breathed a sigh of relief. He also thought of something else.

"How is your father doing? The battle that day..."

"He\'s seriously injured. Don\'t ask too much; there are things you\'re better off not knowing. Focus on your own cultivation, understand? When I come back, I will check on you," she said.

As Pretty Girl spoke, what echoed through her mind, however, was that moment of intense loss that he had just shown.

Tang San nodded; he had guessed something. For Pretty Girl, this was not bad news. However, his rationality couldn\'t defeat the emotional turmoil in his heart, and the strong sense of reluctance still circled within him.

"I\'m leaving now. Work hard, and if you don\'t pass my inspection when I return, hmph!" Pretty Girl glared at him, then quickly walked out of the grove.

Tang San\'s mouth twitched a bit; this was the first time they had snuck into the grove together! Well, the previous time in the Jiali Mountains didn\'t count, that was Asura, not him.

He turned and quickly followed her out, not knowing when he would see her again. It was good to watch her leave for a few more moments!

It seemed as if she felt his gaze, for Pretty Girl, already walking towards the academy gate, stopped, turned back, and waved vigorously to him.

Tang San hurriedly waved back. His lips buzzed, silently saying something to her.

Pretty Girl appeared to have seen it, paused for a moment, but then quickly turned and continued on her way out.

I will miss you, Tang San repeated silently in his heart.

After leaving the academy, Pretty Girl took a deep breath of fresh air, but a heavy sense of oppression still clung to her. Was it because of him? Why did it seem that every time she saw him, she would be affected by his emotions?

She took a cup of milk tea out of her storage space; actually, it was just an empty milk tea cup, but she still held it in her hand, standing at the entrance of the academy, silently waiting.

However, today seemed different from usual, the waiting time was unusually long.

Only when the sky was gradually darkening and evening was approaching did a familiar voice finally ring out from behind her.

"Sorry for being late," Asura said, clad in black with a mask, appearing silently in a corner not far away.

Pretty Girl suddenly turned her head and felt a sense of relief at the sight of him.

Ever since their separation that day, she had been filled with unease. Facing a God level strong like the Dark Crow Monster King and being on the verge of defeat, she was ultimately still rescued by Asura. Did he possess the strength to confront a God Rank adversary? She was certain he was not at God Rank, but, in the end, she had been saved.

After returning, her heart brimmed with questions, yet she found no answers. Later, she learned from her mother about the final outcome of the great battle; only under the unexpected deterrence of the Sea God did the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor and the Peacock Demon King avoid a mutually destructive fight and flee.

Where had this Sea God come from? A God level strong? For some reason, upon hearing the words "Sea God," she felt a strong resonance, as if she knew him.

During these days, she had many speculations, including that this Asura was connected to the Sea God.

There were only a few possibilities for her being saved. Either Asura was hiding his true strength, able to contend with a God level strong, or even suppress that hard-to-deal-with, blood-sucking Dark Crow Monster King. The other possibility was that he had a powerful backer; at the critical moment, a God level strong stepped in and defeated the Dark Crow Monster King to save them. With Zhang Haoxuan\'s assurance, he couldn\'t be an enemy, but who was supporting him? Why couldn\'t even Zhang Haoxuan clarify? Her mother had inquired but only received ambiguous answers. The only certainty was that Asura, a human, was an ally.

Asura was also looking at her, his gaze inexplicably familiar to Pretty Girl. It lacked his usual ease and confidence; instead, there was a special emotion. It somewhat resembled the gaze she had seen before, similar to Tang San\'s.

Asura obviously had the stature of an adult, quite different from Tang San, so they couldn\'t be the same person. His gaze was...

Asura silently watched her as if to memorize every detail. In fact, he had been watching her since she first stood outside the academy, until now, just wanting to see her more because he didn\'t know how long it would be before he could see her again after this departure.

"What did you want to see me for?" asked Asura in a low voice.

Pretty Girl said, "The hunting operation has been temporarily halted. I will be leaving for a while to enter training seclusion."

"How long will it be?" Asura asked.

Pretty Girl shook her head, "I don\'t know how long it will be. But it should be a considerable amount of time."

Asura nodded silently, "Are you here to say goodbye? Can\'t you come out during the seclusion?"

Pretty Girl said, "I can\'t."

Asura took a deep breath, "I understand. If you come out of seclusion, come here and wait for me with milk tea. I will show up in front of you within three days at most."

Pretty Girl felt an inexplicable sense of relief. To her surprise, she found herself somewhat worried that she might never see the man before her again after her seclusion was over. Perhaps because he had saved her that day. That\'s what she thought in her heart.

"Okay," Pretty Girl nodded earnestly.

Asura was silent; he just continued to look at her.

She put away her milk tea cup, "Then I\'m leaving now."

Asura suddenly felt his heart stir, "Could you give me your milk tea cup from before?"

Pretty Girl froze for a moment, looking at him with a bit more wariness in her eyes. After a pause, she still shook her head, "Sorry. That\'s not possible, I drank from it."

The corners of Asura\'s mouth tightened slightly. Didn\'t he know whether she had drunk from it? He had been watching her for several hours. No doubt, she was still wary and suspicious of him, and a sense of loss couldn\'t help rising in his heart.

"Alright." He still didn\'t leave because he just wanted to watch her longer.

"I\'m leaving now. See you after seclusion," she seemed to remember something, waved her hand, and then quickly walked down the hill.