Prelude to the Meeting

"Yuhao, open the door!"

The footsteps suddenly stopped, and hurried knocking reached the two of them.

"My Second Father is here. Find somewhere to hide first."

Wang Dong's voice made Er Ming glare at Huo Yuhao with a livid expression. A heavy aura slowly pressed down on Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's body stiffened. Under that aura, he could barely breathe, and he groaned inwardly. Wang Dong, you've really gotten me into trouble this time.

Er Ming said nothing. He merely walked to the door, listened to the increasingly urgent knocking, forced an unpleasant smile onto his face, and opened it.

"Yuhao... Second Father, you're here too."

Wang Dong's hand suddenly grasped at empty air. Just as she was about to enter, she found a towering, iron-tower-like figure blocking her way. When she saw his face, her voice gradually grew quieter.

"Your teacher didn't know where you were either, so I came to the dormitory to look for you."

Er Ming suppressed the anger in his heart and cursed Tang San again.

"Second Father, you didn't do anything to Yuhao, did you?"

Wang Dong nervously craned her head inside. Only when she saw Huo Yuhao sitting obediently on the bed did she relax. Yet when she met Er Ming's eyes again, she felt somewhat guilty.

"Dong'er, do you know that you are..."

Er Ming was furious at her lack of awareness. Dressing as a boy and living with a male student was one thing, but how long had she even been enrolled? She was already so close to another boy. This was unacceptable! Er Ming's urge to take Wang Dong away grew ever stronger.

"Second Father~ You still haven't told me why you came."

Wang Dong acted coyly, gave her Second Father a meaningful look, then pulled him into the dormitory.

Wang Dong darted over to sit on her bed. Back when her First Father and Second Father had arranged for her to enroll disguised as a boy, they had acted strangely too, saying it was her father's decision.

She had always known that her Second Father had a terrible temper toward outsiders and disliked her doing this. If he found out she was living with Huo Yuhao and lost control of his temper, things could go badly.

After that run, Wang Dong felt that she and Huo Yuhao had become friends. She did not want to lose the first friend she had made.

"Yuhao, this is my Second Father. You two should have met already. His temper is a little explosive, but it's only because he worries about me. If he did anything wrong before, I'll apologize on his behalf."

Wang Dong's face was full of nervousness as she stared intently at Huo Yuhao's expression, wanting to know how he would react.

"It's fine, Wang Dong. Uncle has been very good to me. We got along quite happily."

Huo Yuhao smiled, showing Wang Dong that he was all right.

Though he was only eleven, after so many years of hardship, he had developed some basic acting skill and composure.

Besides, what else could he do?

Wang Dong would surely side with her Second Father in the end, and that Second Father was undoubtedly a powerful man. Huo Yuhao would gain nothing except resentment, so he might as well earn some goodwill.

Though young, Huo Yuhao, who had suffered through so much, had long understood how to seek greater benefits.

Wang Dong sighed in relief. When she had run into her teacher on the way back and heard that her Second Father was looking for her, she had hurried back at once. It seemed that nothing unpleasant had happened.

Listening to Wang Dong, Er Ming felt both gratified and heartbroken. He was gratified that Wang Dong was beginning to grow up, and heartbroken for the very same reason.

"By the way, Second Father, why did you suddenly come looking for me? School just started, didn't it?"

Wang Dong was deeply puzzled. Her First Father and Second Father usually never left home, and whenever anything needed doing, they simply arranged for Clear Sky Sect disciples to handle it.

"You know about the changes in the sky some time ago, right?"

Er Ming crossed his arms, his expression turning serious. He had not expected the Star Dou Great Forest to have so many problems as well. The Clear Sky Sect had few members, after all, and its intelligence network could not compare to those of the major powers.

"I know, but no one knows what exactly happened."

Wang Dong frowned slightly. Xiao Xiao had brought it up with her from time to time these past few days, and she had occasionally worried about where her family's future might lead.

"Because of those changes, we've temporarily lost contact with your father as well. So I left the sect to protect you, and while I'm at it, I'll take you around the continent to have some fun."

Er Ming's expression abruptly changed from solemn to cheerful. It was obvious that he was looking forward to spending time with Wang Dong.

"My father? Then why has he never come to see me before?"

Wang Dong raised her brows. Her First Father and Second Father had always said that her parents were busy. She had originally thought they had died long ago and simply did not want her to know, but from what her Second Father was saying, were her parents really still alive?

Huo Yuhao, standing nearby, was shocked as well. Then he felt a sense of shared misery.

He had wondered why she had two fathers. So neither of them was her biological father. Her parents were missing too, and she had never even met them. At least he had lived with his mother for a time.

"Maybe your father has something he can't get away from."

Maybe your father is just a bastard, Er Ming added inwardly.

Wang Dong shook her head, tossing aside her thoughts of the parents she had never met. At last, a smile appeared on her face.

"Even though I don't think I need your protection, Second Father, thank you for coming."

"Oh, right. There's a meeting coming up. Do you want to attend?"

"It seems that all the major powers will be sending people to Shrek Academy for a meeting about investigating the abnormal changes in the Star Dou Great Forest."

As if suddenly remembering something, Er Ming asked Wang Dong.

"It'll be a chance for the major powers to recognize you."

"You should go, Second Father. I can't be bothered to listen to all of you argue back and forth in a meeting."

Wang Dong curled her lips. She was no fool. She knew that meetings like this always involved endless arguments and wrangling. Her Second Father could just tell her the outcome afterward.

"All right. It doesn't matter if you don't go. There isn't much worth discussing anyway."

Er Ming did not mind Wang Dong refusing, or perhaps he had expected her to refuse from the beginning. He had merely mentioned it in passing, in case Wang Dong wanted to broaden her horizons.

But worry soon welled up in his heart again. He had once been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, so he knew what was hidden behind it.

After reading the intelligence Shrek Academy had given him, he had guessed that something had probably happened to the Soul Beast Sovereign. But no matter how severe that being's injuries were, it had once stood at the God King level. Even a single move from it was not something he and his elder brother could withstand.

Still, he did not particularly care whether humans lived or died. At his core, he was a Soul Beast; even after becoming a Divine Official, he was still a divine beast. He had only remained miserably on that mountain with his elder brother because he had feared Tang San's surveillance. They had not even returned to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Beside them, Huo Yuhao appeared to have been stunned by the news. In truth, he really was. Wang Dong's background was actually powerful enough to stand alongside the major powers.

But what interested Huo Yuhao most was whether that heartless man would come. Since the major powers were gathering at Shrek Academy to discuss matters, each of the great empires would have to take several seats. Huo Yuhao dearly wanted to know who the Star Luo Empire would send.

"The meeting will probably begin tomorrow. During this time, I'll be the one protecting you, Dong'er. I won't let anything hurt you."

Er Ming spoke with great confidence, but there truly were not many people in this world who could defeat him now. Even if he could not win, he could always flee with Wang Dong. At worst, he could lift the seal. The God Realm could not contact them now, nor could it observe the situation on the Douluo Continent.

As though he had thought of something, Er Ming's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

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