Punishment

Huo Yuhao's thoughts returned to when he was six. He had obtained the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Electrolux, and the Life Carver one after another, and he had been so full of confidence.

By all rights, with so many advantages, his cultivation should have progressed quickly.

But after Electrolux merged the Life Carver into his body, things hadn't gone that way.

Electrolux had told Huo Yuhao about the combined effects of the Life Carver and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

The quantity and quality of Huo Yuhao's Soul Power, as well as his physical abilities, would all be far greater than those of his peers.

But this also placed a restriction on Huo Yuhao: he needed to accumulate several times more Soul Power before he could advance his cultivation.

Even now, Huo Yuhao hadn't expected that five years later, he would still be facing the same predicament.

After cultivating for who knew how long, Huo Yuhao came out of meditation and realized it was morning.

After taking a short nap and washing up, Huo Yuhao went downstairs to wait for Wang Qiu'er and Wang Dong'er.

The two of them didn't show up, but Huo Yuhao did spot someone familiar: Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao had tied her hair into a cute braid that day. The Shrek Academy uniform looked even more lively and youthful on her.

The girls' uniform at Shrek Academy featured a knee-length skirt.

Xiao Xiao's slender little legs, paired with her white ankle socks, unconsciously caught Huo Yuhao's eye.

As soon as Xiao Xiao stepped out of the dormitory, she ran into Huo Yuhao, someone she'd been thinking about these past few days and had fought alongside just the day before.

Girls tended to feel a little shy around someone they admired, and Xiao Xiao was no exception.

"Yuhao, what a coincidence! Why are you standing outside the dorm so early? Are you waiting for someone?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "I am. Want to know who I'm waiting for?"

Xiao Xiao looked completely innocent. "Your roommate? He's still sleeping in."

Huo Yuhao shook his head, then said earnestly, "I'm specially waiting for you!"

Xiao Xiao was caught completely off guard. She couldn't match Huo Yuhao's boldness, and her fair cheeks instantly turned red.

"Y-you... You're joking, right? We've only met..."

Huo Yuhao leaned closer to Xiao Xiao. "All right, I won't tease you anymore."

"I was thinking about what happened yesterday. I got so caught up in it that I lost track of everything."

Xiao Xiao calmed down, but for some reason, a trace of disappointment crept into her heart.

Fortunately, what had happened the day before had been so overwhelming that the disappointment in Xiao Xiao's heart was washed away within seconds.

"What do you think the school will do to us? Yuhao, do you think they'll expel all of us?"

Xiao Xiao was rather traditional in her thinking. The teacher had acted completely inappropriately, but they had also been wrong to resort to violence. She couldn't help feeling worried.

If they really were expelled, Xiao Xiao would be very disappointed.

Huo Yuhao patted Xiao Xiao's head. "Don't look so worried!"

"We were in the right yesterday, and by the end, even the senior students had come to help us."

"Expelling somewhere between one and a dozen students at once isn't unheard of."

"But expelling more than a hundred students at once would have a huge impact, even for the continent's number one academy."

"The school won't expel us outright. You can relax."

Xiao Xiao looked up. "Really?"

Huo Yuhao twirled her soft braid. "It's very likely."

"By the way, Xiao Xiao, you haven't had breakfast either, have you? Let me treat you today!"

"Consider it an apology for bringing this up so early in the morning."

"That doesn't seem right!" Xiao Xiao wanted to refuse, but even if she didn't think about what had happened, she would have to face it sooner or later.

"It's fine. It's just a meal. Don't turn me down!"

"Th-that's fine! But if we get through this safely, I'll treat you to a meal, Yuhao."

"Sounds good!"

The two chatted as they walked farther and farther from the dormitory building.

"He really is popular! This is all your fault for lazing around in bed. Yuhao's been whisked away by that woman." Wang Qiu'er walked out of the dormitory entrance.

Wang Dong'er looked astonished. "What does that have to do with me? Isn't he the one with no self-control? He can be led off by just any woman."

Wang Qiu'er folded her arms. "Then why was he led off by a woman? Because I had to wait so long for you to come out."

"If you'd gotten up earlier, this wouldn't have happened! We could've just taken Yuhao with us!"

Wang Dong'er snorted. "Flies don't gather around an egg without a crack. We can hold on to him once, but what about next time? And the time after that?"

"Have you even thought about that?"

Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er kept arguing.

Mu En lay nearby, watching the two girls, who looked like twins, bicker.

Mu En remembered how, when he was young, he had flirted with a pair of girls who looked remarkably alike. They had fought over him just like this.

It was good to be young!

Meanwhile, after breakfast, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao hadn't gone far when they saw a large group of students gathered around a bulletin board.

Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao curiously made their way over.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?"

"The school's decision about what to do with us is out!"

"Can someone up front read it out? Those of us in the back can't squeeze through!"

"Sure thing, brother!"

"It says that old hag Zhou Yi has been fired, and as for us... nothing's going to happen to us!"

"Oh, we won!"

"We won! We got rid of that old hag!"

Taking advantage of her small stature, and with Huo Yuhao clearing the way for her, Xiao Xiao managed to squeeze to the front and read the notice for herself.

After reading it, Xiao Xiao couldn't help throwing herself into Huo Yuhao's arms.

Compared to Huo Yuhao's sturdy frame, Xiao Xiao seemed tiny.

Only when Xiao Xiao realized she was practically nestled against Huo Yuhao did the little girl notice that something was amiss. Blushing, she hurried off to her class.

The smile on Huo Yuhao's face lasted less than three seconds.

"Oh, she's pretty cute and petite, isn't she? No wonder you went off with her!"

"Someone's never satisfied, even after swallowing an elephant whole. Having us isn't enough—you still want to go looking for other girls!"

Huo Yuhao heard the cool and soft voices and slowly turned around.

Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er stood behind him. They were still as beautiful as ever.

But their dangerously sweet smiles made Huo Yuhao break out in a cold sweat.

Two days later, on a weekend when the school was closed, in a forest beside Sea God Lake.

Wang Qiu'er and Wang Dong'er pinned Huo Yuhao against a large tree. Dangerous glints shone in their eyes.

"So that's how you met that girl!"

"So, according to you, we wronged you, and you're just friends!"

Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously. "We're just friends, nothing more. I only think of her as a little sister."

"You looked at her and started calling each other 'darling,' did you? You've got a slippery tongue!"

Wang Qiu'er had read plenty of illustrated books before coming to the human world, especially ones about human emotions.

She knew that as long as two people weren't actually siblings, that sort of brotherly or sisterly affection would probably turn into something more.

Wang Qiu'er licked her lips. "Yuhao, you're being very dishonest. Looks like I'll have to punish you!"

Wang Qiu'er crouched down and untied her shoe, revealing a delicate foot clad in a white ankle sock.

She faced Huo Yuhao and kicked him.

Wang Dong'er followed her example, took off her shoe, and kicked him from the other side.