Popsicle

A year later.

In a desolate clearing somewhere outside Heaven Dou City, two figures stood facing each other. Beside Huo Yuhao were more than a dozen large pits still radiating astonishing heat.

Watching Huo Yuhao, who could barely remain standing, Gu Yue Na stuck out her pink tongue and licked the popsicle continuously emitting cold air in her hand. Feeling the sweetness and chill spread from the tip of her tongue, her lovely eyes narrowed slightly as she asked softly.

"Do you want to continue?"

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. The brilliant golden Vertical Eye on his forehead had begun to flicker unevenly. He slowly raised the White Tiger Dagger in his hand and gradually closed his eyes.

"One last time."

Gu Yue Na said nothing more. With a gentle wave of her silver-glowing staff, a massive fireball half a meter in diameter appeared out of thin air and hurtled toward Huo Yuhao at high speed.

With Mental Detection, Huo Yuhao could still observe the fireball in minute detail even with his eyes shut. Yet what appeared in his mind at that moment was an entirely different scene.

Both the orange-red fireball and the entire world had turned gray and hazy. As Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Power was rapidly depleted, bright, vivid cracks finally appeared across the fireball.

In that instant, Huo Yuhao moved. He took two swift steps forward and thrust the White Tiger Dagger at the fireball without any protection, as though he did not care at all about the harm it could cause him.

Something bizarre happened. The fireball, which had been radiating terrifying heat a moment ago, abruptly disintegrated after the White Tiger Dagger sank into it, as if it had never existed. Even the scorching heatwave capable of warping the air vanished without a trace in an instant.

At the sight, delight appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. After countless attempts, he had finally succeeded.

The waves of stabbing pain darkened his vision, so he simply sprawled flat on the ground and gasped for breath as he stared up at the sky.

As approaching footsteps drew nearer, the hem of a pristine white dress entered Huo Yuhao's field of vision, carrying a faint fragrance like an orchid.

"An incredible ability."

The ethereal voice rang out. Gu Yue Na slightly lifted her skirt and crouched down, revealing the exposed section of her fair calf beneath her long dress, slender and straight.

Looking at Huo Yuhao sprawled there like a salted fish, she could not help reaching out with a pale finger to poke his cheek.

Hearing Gu Yue Na's assessment, Huo Yuhao tugged at the corner of his mouth, unable to hide his delight.

"I paid for it with a death, after all. How could it not be powerful? It wasn't easy. I finally succeeded."

With Gu Yue Na's help, his proficiency with Predestined Death had improved by leaps and bounds over the past year. Several months ago, Huo Yuhao had discovered that Predestined Death could affect more than living beings; it could also affect all kinds of energy. This meant he could use the ability to break apart attacks coming at him.

However, seeing those cracks required him to concentrate for a period of time, making it difficult to use directly in the rapidly changing flow of battle. So, over the following days, he kept training to shorten that time as much as possible.

And just now, he had finally become barely capable of using this skill in high-speed combat.

Gu Yue Na pursed her lips and looked up at the sun setting beyond the western hills before speaking softly. "It's almost time for dinner. Didn't you say we still had to visit the Medical Hall later?"

"Oh, right."

Only then did Huo Yuhao remember that he had something important to do. But feeling the aching soreness in his limbs, he swallowed and could not help showing an embarrassed smile.

"Ahem, we might have to wait a little longer."

Gu Yue Na said nothing. Instead, she held the popsicle in her hand out before Huo Yuhao. "Want some?"

"Hm?"

Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the popsicle, still stained with a little glistening moisture. Before he could react, it had already been stuffed into his mouth.

"You looked rather thirsty."

Carrying an indescribable fragrance, the cool sweetness spread through his mouth. Huo Yuhao instinctively sucked on it and indeed felt his condition improve quite a bit.

"Ahem, thank you."

At this point, he might as well suck on the popsicle first.

"No need to thank me. You bought it."

An hour later.

The two arrived at the Medical Hall once more. Three years had already passed since Huo Yuhao first came to Heaven Dou City. Since both Huo Yun'er and he had shown obvious improvement in their physical conditions, the frequency with which they bought medicine had decreased again and again.

As he entered, the middle-aged man who had received him before came forward to greet him. The man first glanced at Gu Yue Na, then looked at Huo Yuhao with an ambiguous expression and secretly gave him a thumbs-up from within his sleeve.

Nice one, kid! You never bring the same girl twice!

"Meeting you again, little brother."

Huo Yuhao's eyelids twitched. Pretending not to see the man's gesture, he handed him a slip of paper listing the medicinal herbs he needed.

"These are the herbs I need to buy this time."

Unlike the medicine used to treat hidden ailments before, these herbs were mainly for nourishing the body. After taking the paper and giving it a quick glance, the middle-aged man could not help looking up at Huo Yuhao. His understanding of the youth's medical knowledge deepened further.

He nodded. "We have all of these in stock. I'll fetch them for you."

While Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue Na stared at each other in silence as they waited, a commotion suddenly arose at the entrance to the Medical Hall.

Huo Yuhao instinctively turned to look and saw an anxious young girl hurry inside. After looking around, she stopped a Medical Hall apprentice and spoke urgently.

"Hello, where is my mother right now?"

The girl was plainly dressed but exquisitely beautiful, with brows like distant mountains and eyes like spring water. Her deep blackish-purple hair cascaded in waves down her back. Though she did not look very old, she was already quite tall, especially her long legs, whose slender length was apparent even through her trousers.

The apprentice froze for a moment upon seeing the girl, then seemed to recall who she was. He spoke as he turned to lead the way. "You're Jiang Nannan, right? Please come with me."

"You know her?"

Gu Yue Na's voice sounded beside him. Huo Yuhao nodded lightly. "You could say that. Though she probably doesn't know me."

His gaze followed Jiang Nannan's retreating figure, his voice carrying a trace of puzzlement.

"But why is she here?"

"That girl's mother has a heart problem."

Huo Yuhao turned toward the voice and saw the middle-aged man who had gone to gather the herbs walking toward him with several bags of medicinal ingredients. However, the man's gaze rested on Jiang Nannan's departing back as he sighed softly.

"Her mother was suddenly brought here by her a year ago. Her condition is very complicated. Many of the doctors in our Medical Hall have examined her, but all said there was nothing they could do. We can only try to ease her symptoms as much as possible."

At this point, the man paused and looked at Huo Yuhao.

"I can see that you have some knowledge of medicine, little brother. Are you interested in taking a look?"