Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

The more he looked at her, the more he was aware of what an anomaly she was.

When he was 6 years old, he didn't notice a single dirty joke, forget about even saying something dirty. He was simply a normal child like most people.

The reason people usually act the way they do is because of experience they gain through life. One could say she's been through a lot of different events through birth, but that wouldn't really make sense.

Knowing what her martial souls were, he was sure that her family belonged to one of the nobler ones. Unless she has an incredibly strict or abusive household, she should've been more of a spoiled child or an arrogant one, yet she was this mischievous yet experienced kid.

There was more that bothered him. The cold look she gave him when he got emotional. It was something that a 6 year old shouldn't have.

Even if one experienced death at such an age, a lot of children don't even understand the concept behind it yet. Is it possible that this world makes children grow up in a different way? He didn't really think so, there was nothing in the novels that would imply that.

Tang Wulin, the protagonist of Soul Land 3, had a harsh upbringing as he was poor. However, while he grew up faster, he still acted like a child; if a child filled with determination.

Honestly her actions could only mean one thing, she wasn't mentally a child. He stopped treating her as one since the sparring sessions. He could also see that she didn't treat him as a kid either. But just straight up asking her… He only knew her for three days now. He'd probably have to reveal himself as well. 

There was a high possibility that she is just like him, that she's either reincarnated or she somehow regressed, was possessed by someone else. He was thinking about all the isekai novels and what different scenarios they offered. In his opinion, it was most likely reincarnation since he knew it existed in soul land. Tang San being the obvious example.

Yet there was still one question that wasn't answered. She knew him too well.

As he was deep in thoughts, a small yawn could be heard. Bright grey eyes opened up and looked straight at him. Her eyes were sleepy, her curly hair a mess.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't fall asleep on the bed?" She said lazily.

Karni chuckled. "Technically, your head was on the bed… Thanks. And I'm sorry for yesterday."

"Mm." She only nodded softly. "I won't pry into why you were like this yesterday, but you owe me now." She pretended to be serious about it, but Karni could now recognise her mischievous nature after being exposed to it for three whole days without break.

Her cheekiness honestly made him feel better at this very moment.

"Well what do you want me to do then?" He asked her, a curious look in his eyes. He decided to play along. Questions later. He did owe her.

"How about taking me out to eat, I don't really feel like going to school today." She looked at him as if deep in thought.

They were already late yesterday, is it really okay to just be skipping class on the third day of school already? Karni wasn't quite sure if he should agree.

As if knowing what he was about to ask, Wu Siduo already answered. "Don't worry. At most we'll get a little scolding from the academy since we are both the talents of our generation."

This calmed Karni down for a bit, it was true that they will, for sure, get preferential treatment. Though he wasn't quite sure how he felt about abusing that to such a degree. Well, this was an unfair world after all.

"That and after treating me to some solid food I need you to come with me to my parents." She looked at him innocently.

"You what?" Excuse me??? You want me to meet your parents???" He had a sudden urge to spar with her again, only to immediately throw it away. He wasn't sure he'd consider it sparring anyway. More like her teaching him one-sidedly.

"Let me explain first, dumbass." She said while still having an innocent look on her face. It was an odd combination. Child's face and rude words. Thinking about it. Children were often rude, actually.

She continued. "I was away from home for two days because of you, I can't explain this without you, you should take some responsibility for this don't you think?" 

"And who's the fucking reason for that?" He simply rebuked her words.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" It felt like her eyes grew even bigger in hope of sympathy. Karni was getting flashbacks to a certain cat in a movie with a green monster by the same name as the most famous academy of this world.

He sighed. "Fine, but over food, you and I have some things we should talk about." There was no convincing her anyway.

It was now Siduo's turn to be surprised. "Eh? I didn't expect you to agree so easily?"

"Meh, there's a first for everything. You said it yourself, I owe you." He said honestly.

She felt a bit guilty and looked away in shame. "Now I feel like a bad guy."

Karni imitated her previous surprise. "Eh? You weren't a bad guy?"

"Oh shush." She said as she slapped his shoulder. "I'll go get ready, we've got a breakfast date after all." She gave him a smile as she started walking towards his bathroom.

"It's a lunch date." He answered without rebuking. Two could play that game. "It's already noon, you know?" He continued what he was saying.

"Ah?" She looked at him again. "Well that's okay, let me get changed. Oh and I'll borrow your uniform again." She went in without returning a look and closed the door.

She started giggling to herself. "Looks like I was right. I am 'that' Wu Siduo after all." There was both hope and helplessness on her face.

When she finished showering, she told Karni to shower as well, before seeing he already did. "Good, you can't present yourself in front of my parents all shabby."

They were soon roaming the streets of Star Luo City. The City was truly big. The main thing Karni noticed was the difference between districts. Some exuded the vitality of the Old World, while the others were completely modern. The city was split up naturally, the biggest divider between the two looks being the river running through it.

While surfing through shops in one of the Old Districts, they came upon a shop. The shop's name was Huo Yuhao's Grilled Fish. A testament to Huo Yuhao's many other talents.

"Want to go here? I know that the Spirit Ice Douluo was quite famous for his cooking skills, no?" He asked Siduo.

"Yep, and this shop's name is quite deserved as well." She answered back. Her eyes seemed to be shining and her mouth was filled with saliva as she thought about the food she was about to eat.

They entered the shop and it was full, despite the day only being around noon time. Most people were at work, yet the shop only had a few seats left.

A receptionist received them at the door. She saw the uniform they were wearing and was a bit surprised that two children were wandering around like this.

"Excuse me children, are you lost?" She asked with a professional, yet kind smile.

Siduo was the one to answer. "No, we came to eat, we would like a table for two please." She was straight forward and didn't really leave room for questioning.

The receptionist decided not to pry into why the kids weren't in school and simply led them to their table. She gave them the menu and left them on their own so they could peacefully decide what to order. Despite being an adult that should question children, she recognised those uniforms. They were soul masters, she couldn't meddle in this sort of stuff.

They soon decided on their dish, but Karni was having a headache as he saw the prices of the meals. It truly was a reputable shop. 

As they waited for their food to arrive Siduo started asking questions before Karni did. "You know, I won't pry into your private life. But are you sure you should leave feelings that make you so emotional all bottled up?"

What she was saying made perfect sense, but it wasn't so easy to trust someone with his reasons. If anything he felt he shouldn't trust her, but aside from her constantly annoying him, her actions clearly took care of him.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? Honestly, you probably won't understand what I'd say anyway… Or you might."

Siduo shook her head. "Do you have anyone else you could talk to? You don't have to talk to me if you feel uncomfortable."

Karni shook his head. Perhaps, teacher Yi Lan. But he could alway tell that the teacher treated him well so he'd be awarded as well. He heard him say it when he awakened after all. 

"Alright… I come… From… very far away? You could say… And I want to find my way back to my friends and family. To my mom. I want to see my mom again, I want to see my dad, but the only way I can do that is to grow strong. However even if I become a Titled Douluo someday I still have doubts of having the power to return to my family." He stopped a bit here. 

Siduo answered with silence. She was simply listening, not here to question anything he was about to say.

He continued quietly. "While I am here, I don't have any idea what's happening to them, maybe they consider me missing, maybe I might appear dead to them." 

He clenched his fists tightly. "I'm most scared of what would happen to my mom. I know that she might react in a really bad way if she thought something happened to me. So… I want to go back as soon as possible."

Siduo simply quietly listened to what he was saying and after he finished he was quiet for a bit. "I get why you are so pushy for training now."

To this Karni's eyes immediately lit up. "Then will you please-"

She put up her hand and stopped him from continuing. "However, that doesn't mean I will help you with that mindless training." She was firm.

When Karni heard this a desperate look flashed across his face. Before he could even argue she continued. "Karni. If you want to become truly strong you have to take this path one step at a time. If you will get emotional every time something happens, if you will simply train mindlessly until you tire out… you will never reach the top, don't even mention becoming a Titled Douluo." There was no hint of teasing in her voice. 

At this point Karni shut up and waited for her next words. "If you continue with arduous training it will actually have negative consequences at some point. One has to have both a steady mind and a steady body to become truly strong. Right now you have neither. And not to mention that there will also always be an element of luck. If you are truly unlucky it simply isn't meant to be."

She then gave a soft look. "You might get to see your mom and dad again, Karni, but you have to listen to me. You have to train steadily as well, the kind of training you think of can be good for a short period of time, but doing it for too long will only damage you. Even with the help of an expert, after achieving quick results, one has to reestablish their foundation. And guess what. Those take time."

At this point Karni didn't know what to say. So his chances would be null for what he tried to do? Wasn't it so that with great suffering comes great success? Looks like this world, while having 'magic', wasn't a simple fairy tale or story after all.

As they both got quiet a sound of walking interrupted them. The employee had brought them their food.

The food was frankly incredible. Even in his previous life, he had not tasted something as good as this before, it also felt like his whole body was feeling warm and invigorated, looks like the price of the food was worth it in the end.

While eating Karni's mind cleared up a bit. He understood that no matter how hard he worked there was a limit to what he could accomplish with only hard work. He wasn't even the kind of person who'd usually work hard anyway, he was a chronic procrastinator. It was simply that the motivation he had for cultivating came from his heart. To truly become strong he needed a suitable environment as well. Perhaps that place. 

While filling himself up Karni also began to think about Siduo's words in general. The way she spoke, it was like it was coming from personal experience, yet again his suspicions were aroused. It was about time he asked some questions.

"Say, how do you know about all of these things? Sounds like you were there." Karni gave his best 'interrogator' face on.

Siduo choked on the food. Tried to avoid his gaze a bit.

"And how did you exactly know what my ability is? Don't even start with the amount of predictions I saw when I was emotional yesterday. When we were sparring for the first time, there were already multiple predictions. How?"

Siduo had a weird look on her face right now. She fell into thought.

"It was indecision." She answered after a while.

Karni was confused.

"The reason for all of those predictions you saw. It was extreme indecision, or complete decision to be indecisive even with you being decisive. To always be indecisive no matter what."

He has heard that theory from Yi Lan before, but he didn't think that it could be taken to that extreme.

"But how did you know it would have that effect?"

"I knew someone who had the same predictive abilities as you. So I guessed how they worked."

"You knew someone? Who?"

"Well his martial soul was a giant sword, but its skills were similar to yours."

"From your past life?"

Siduo just gave him a small smile.

Fine. Karni thought. She might as well have confirmed it. But this still didn't explain everything.

"Then how did you know I even had that ability? This is the first time I even mentioned to you that I see predictions. What about me? How do you know me? Why'd you act the way you did?"

Siduo's eyes went a bit wide, as if she realised her fuck up.

She was quiet for a second. She was clearly deciding what to answer. Truth or lie? Eventually though, she sighed. Karni had the feeling he was about to hear the truth.

"I don't really know if it's okay for me to even say it. It might fuck everything up… I… ugh… you'll understand when you hear it but… well… here goes nothing."

"I know y** **** ** ******* ****." A head splitting headache suddenly hit Karni. He could not comprehend a word she just said. The sound was muffled. Everything around him was eerily quiet. Yet he could tell she was speaking something. With the silence came a weird ringing in his very mind.

"Karni? Karni?" Siduo shook him softly. A clear worried look on her face. Karni was pale all over, like his very life was drained out of him.

"I… I couldn't hear a word you said." Said Karni defeated.

"Can you… try again?" A determined look appeared.

"No. It was probably what I said that caused this in the first place. What happened?"

"A giant headache. Ringing noise. As if something didn't want me to hear what you said… please. Just one more. To be sure it wasn't something else."

Siduo's face clearly disagreed with him. But she sighed. "Just once. As soon as you show signs of anything weird I'll stop explaining."

Karni nodded.

"I kno** *** ***********." This time the headache came even sooner. Yet it disappeared just as quickly. Siduo stared at him in silence. A bit of a frustrated look on her face.

Karni was now sure. No. He felt it. Whatever it was. He wasn't supposed to hear it. Something didn't want him to. He could tell it was some weird force from within him. It felt like… It reminded him of that endless void with the golden river. It was the same mellow feeling that accompanied it.

Yet the source closest to him was familiar as well. The Bo Staff. Could it really have to do with his martial soul?

Karni looked at Siduo. Her eyes were in deep thought. He could notice it now. Those clearly weren't the eyes of a child. Those were of someone who had an inkling of what was happening yet some reason still eluded them.

Karni decided it would be better to change the topic. They still haven't finished eating. "Don't worry about it too much. You told me a lot. And at least I know you know something about me, though I don't know how. So let's just enjoy the food. It would be a waste not to finish all these delicacies."

Siduo still looked at him a bit solemnly.

"Besides. You're paying. I don't have any money."

"Oh I'm definitely taking you to my parents now." She finally chuckled again.

There it was. That felt much more natural than her brooding self.

… … …

They both finished their food and left the restaurant. Siduo began to lead them toward her home.

Thankfully his mind has calmed by now. He was ready for this meeting. For some reason he felt like he was going to a meeting with his in-laws. Despite their appearances, Karni has now removed any semblance of her child version that was still left in his mind.

She simply told him to relax and to tell the truth about what happened once the time comes. Though leave the stuff about the dinner out.

They arrived in front of a modern looking mansion. The walls were modernly white, while the entrance was decorated in some gold as well. The rest of the house was on the minimalistic side instead. He could tell that there was a massive backyard behind the house even from the entrance.

As the guards saw the two of them approach him they suddenly yelled! "Young miss! You're back! The masters have been worrying sick over you!" The two guards stepped toward her and almost tried to forcefully take her into the mansion, but stopped themselves when they noticed Karni.

She explained the rough situation and who Karni was. They were a bit confused, but it wasn't something for them to worry about. They were not to question their young miss about her adventures.

Only 30 seconds passed since the guards left when what seemed like a whirlwind charged through the door and two figures dashed straight for Siduo.

She was simply sitting there expressionless as the two figures sat down next to her hugging her tightly. There was a beautiful woman on her right that seemed to be in her 20s. She, like Siduo, had bright auburn hair with slight curls. 

On Siduo's left was a man with golden-white hair. He was also very handsome with a big muscled build. It was clear that Siduo had inherited the best of both worlds in her genes.

"My god Sisi we were so worried, you didn't even notify us at all! Are you okay, nothing happened right?" The woman started as she grabbed Siduo and began checking every part of her body.

"Haha, I knew our Sisi wasn't in danger, she isn't weak after all! What did I tell you, our Sisi is the genius of this household after all!" The man answered boastfully to the woman.

She gave him a stare while still caressing Siduo's face. "Don't bother with him, he woke up crying three times tonight because he was worried."

The man looked at the woman as if she betrayed him. "Wifey! You promised!"

"Pha, it's your fault for acting so tough in front of our Sisi." The woman huffed and turned back to snuggling up to Siduo.

Seeing the interaction between them made Karni feel nostalgic, he also had a loving relationship with his family. At this moment he felt both sad and happy. Happy for Siduo to have such a wonderful family and sad as he was reminded of his own.

Siduo didn't react to their shenanigans and answered in a simple manner. "Dad, Mom this is Karni, he's my first friend in school." Only at this point did the two parents notice that there was another person in the room.

"My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Wu Jianguo. Thanks for looking out for our daughter." The man stood up and introduced himself as he offered a handshake, though the look in his eyes seemed a bit violent.

Karni took the handshake, pretending not to notice the hostility. "It's nice to meet you sir, my name's Karni Val, ah… I mean Val Karni. Val is my family name. Really, it's your daughter that's been looking out for me." 

The mother also stood up. "It's nice to meet you Karni, my name is Ta Siyu, I'm happy that my daughter brought home a friend." She gave him a warm look and also shaked his hand. While giving Wu Jianguo a side eye.

Siduo suddenly chimed in. "Sorry that I didn't message any of you, I was busy hanging out with Karni here." She secretly stuck out her tongue towards Karni.

The two parents were taken aback for a second before looking at Karni seriously. The dad looked especially distressed. "Young man, I think you have some explaining to do." 

Karni could only look at Siduo sideways, as she pretended that she had nothing to do with this. Karni was bombarded with a ton of questions and he had to answer all of them with honesty.

The parents eventually quieted down as they listened to his answers, every now and then they looked at Siduo who was simply sipping tea on the side not saying a word. This cheeky daughter of theirs really knew how to rile them up.

When they were satisfied with what they got, both welcomed Karni into their home. Wu Jianguo's attitude shifted a bit. They offered a tour of the place.

"No need for that, I'll show him around myself." Interrupted Siduo at that moment.

"But Sisi, we haven't seen you for two days." The father protested. He wanted to hang out with his daughter. It was unusual for her to be away from home without them.

"It's only right that a friend shows him around, I'll talk with you guys later." She stood up and took Karni's hand before walking out of the room. Two helpless looks followed them.

As soon as he was free, Karni noticed his chance. "So, 'Sisi', what are you gonna show me today?"

"Shut it!" She said, embarrassed. She was really hoping that he would ignore the nickname. Her dad just had to say her name one last time on the way out.

"Oh come on, it's a cute nickname. I think I'll call you that from now on too." He said with a small smile on his face.

She stopped and turned to look him straight into his eyes. "I'll let you call me that, but you would have to become my boyfriend in exchange." She gave him a small smile back.

However, Karni was prepared for a retort this time. "Hm… we are only six, so that can't happen. How about instead we get betrothed?" He looked back at her with a serious face.

She snapped back. "Ha? What kind of bullshit are you spouting?" She kicked his leg while continuing. "If you want to get betrothed to me you first have beat me fair and square." She said with a proud look.

Karni made his eyes look sad as he said. "But then I won't get to call you Sisi now will I?"

His answers seemed to be hitting just the right buttons. "You're an idiot. Call me Sisi all you want, but every time you do, I'll fight you!" Despite her anger the blush on her cheeks could not be concealed.

Baaah! She shouldn't have so openly told him she's mentally older! She was regretting it. But really, it's not like denying it would help her.

"Hehe, glad you can show me around Sisi!" Karni said with a clear happy voice.

"Let's get you to the training grounds!" She answered, "You'll love it there since you're a masochist!" She smiled at him and Karni felt a chill run down his spine. "You owe me four spars already!"

"Wait, I only said Sisi three times though?"

"My house, my rules. Also, that's a fifth."