Because Xiao Wu had gotten a copy of the "Zhao Ling Diary" early on, she was already well-versed in much of its content.
So, she silently scoffed at Zhao Ling's words, but for the sake of helping her mother avoid an early demise—and to hasten her own journey to the human world—she chose to remain silent...
At this moment, Zhao Ling noticed the slightly disdainful look in Xiao Wu's eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.
No way…?
He'd just fooled Xiao Rou, and the Da Ming and Er Ming brothers with that speech, but failed to deceive this girl?
That doesn't make sense. In the original story, even though Xiao Wu was smart and clever, she hadn't yet taken human form, nor had she witnessed the schemes and deceit of the human world.
Compared to himself—a seasoned old fox—she shouldn't be able to detect his true intentions.
Yeah, she must just be upset that she failed to avenge Er Ming earlier.
But it didn't matter. Once he brought her and Xiao Rou to the human world, he could properly "train" them.
Zhao Ling shifted his gaze away from Xiao Wu and focused on Xiao Rou's tear-streaked face. He softly comforted her:
"Miss Xiao Rou, please accept my condolences. Since Brother Rabbit entrusted you and your daughter to me before his passing, I will certainly honor that trust. I wish to take you both to the human world to care for you in his stead."
Hearing his words, Xiao Rou lowered her head and looked at her daughter. She bit her lip and hesitated slightly.
"Xiao Wu will take human form in a few years. I'm worried that if she does it in the human world, her identity might be exposed. Maybe... we should delay this for now?"
Delay? No way. Zhao Ling wasn't about to let these two stay in the Star Dou Forest indefinitely. What if Xiao Rou suddenly decided to go off to that forbidden land and ended up dead?
Even if she didn't, what if a party from the Spirit Hall or one of the three upper sects came to hunt spirit rings and wiped them all out? That'd be even worse.
Sure, the chances might be low—but it wasn't zero. To achieve his grand dream of creating a "warm, shared family of all the beautiful women of Douluo," Zhao Ling believed it was urgent to get this mother-daughter duo out.
So his eyes flicked with calculation, and he replied righteously:
"I think it's best if you both come with me to the human world first. When Xiao Wu is ready to take human form, I'll personally escort her to the Sunset Forest for it.
With my protection, that'll be far safer than anything Da Ming and Titan Giant Ape can provide. Or… what, Miss Xiao Rou? Don't you trust your husband's sworn brother?"
Zhao Ling's pointed question silenced Xiao Rou once again. She looked down at her daughter.
Xiao Wu felt her mother's questioning gaze and directly nodded.
"I also want to go to the human world early. Even though this human bullied Er Ming earlier, I can feel he doesn't mean us any harm.
Besides, with his strength, if he did mean us harm, he could have easily wiped us out. There's no need for him to bring us to the human world if he had ill intentions."
Xiao Wu's opinion eased Xiao Rou's mind. Personally, she wasn't against the idea of going with this man to the human world.
She lifted her eyes to Zhao Ling and was about to give her answer. But when her eyes met his, her heart skipped a beat. Oh no. She realized she was once again captivated by him.
She was suddenly at a loss for words, just staring blankly at Zhao Ling. Her heart was beating wildly. She couldn't understand why—this was clearly their first meeting.
She had never been someone who developed feelings for men so easily. Even her relationship with her late husband had developed over many years of acquaintance and bonding.
Yet now, after just one meeting with Zhao Ling, she couldn't stop staring at him—doing so for dozens of seconds straight.
If her daughter hadn't suddenly launched a flying kick at the man's face, she might not have looked away at all.
It baffled her. Sure, he was handsome—but not divinely handsome. Why couldn't she look away?
She began blaming herself. She must be a disloyal woman.
She had only just received news of her husband's death, and now she was already having strange thoughts about his friend? How could she face her late husband like this?
Meanwhile, Zhao Ling was inwardly quite pleased by Xiao Rou's gaze. He quietly gave a thumbs up to his passive skill "Lady killer Lv.1."
Sure, this passive attracted a lot of unwanted attention from women he didn't like and caused him trouble—but being stared at longingly by a beautiful widow like Xiao Rou? That felt amazing.
Her gaze almost awakened the "Prime Minister Soul" within him, and his lips curled up in a subtle smile.
Seeing that, Xiao Rou felt even more guilty. She instinctively reached to pinch the soft flesh at her waist, hoping pain would snap her out of this disgraceful state.
But instead of feeling pain, she heard her daughter yelp.
"Mom, why did you pinch me?!"
Fortunately, Xiao Wu's cry managed to snap Xiao Rou out of her daze.
Xiao Wu immediately squirmed out of her mother's arms and leapt onto Er Ming's shoulder.
Xiao Rou blushed with embarrassment. She hadn't expected her pinch to land on her daughter—it was mortifying.
She composed herself and said seriously to Zhao Ling:
"Since Xiao Wu wants to go to the human world early, then I'll take her and go with you."
However, she didn't dare meet Zhao Ling's eyes again. She felt this man was far too dangerous. Every time he looked at her, she felt completely disoriented. It was as if he had some natural charm.
Yes—charm. That was the word. Xiao Rou realized that the strange feeling Zhao Ling gave her was very similar to her own tribe's innate charm abilities.
For example, her second skill "Allure" could unconsciously make men of the same level or lower fall for her, and even some women would be entranced.
But Zhao Ling hadn't used any charm skill at all just now—it seemed like it was innate.
The only thing that puzzled her was why this ability didn't seem to affect her daughter.
Xiao Wu clearly wasn't attracted to him. Could it be that his charm only worked on human women or female humanoid creatures?
Xiao Rou couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. Either way, this man was just too dangerous.