Lin Xiao looked the other boy up and down. He did not look very old, with a scrawny frame and disheveled hair, but those deep eyes could not conceal his thirst for power.
"Who are you? What are you skulking around here for?"
Lin Xiao seized the initiative, his question leaving the boy completely stunned.
"This is the White Tiger Duke Mansion. I should be asking you that."
The boy shot back, his eyes sweeping their surroundings. Before Lin Xiao could even speak, he ran off.
Lin Xiao froze. That fast?
"This way, this way! That bastard ran this way!"
The boy had barely left when a furious group came rushing over.
Seeing Lin Xiao, their leader immediately demanded, "Little beggar, did you see someone about your size come this way?"
Lin Xiao instinctively shook his head. "No."
At his answer, delight immediately appeared on their faces. One of them said, "Boss, it'd be better if that bastard died out there."
"That's true. The first madam never intended to catch him anyway. If he dies out there, that'll take a load off her mind."
Their leader spoke with a face full of disdain.
While they were talking, Lin Xiao quietly slipped away, then immediately broke into a run.
"Boss, that kid ran off."
"Let him run. He's just a little beggar. He can't stir up any waves."
"Head back."
Lin Xiao chased in the direction Huo Yuhao had gone.
"Could that guy just now have been Huo Yuhao? They kept calling him a bastard."
"And he ran out of the White Tiger Duke Mansion."
The more Lin Xiao thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Whether he was right or not, he would go take a look first.
Lin Xiao rushed over, but even after searching for ages, he found no trace of him.
"He ran that fast?"
Just as Lin Xiao finished speaking, something cold pressed against his neck.
"You... were sent by that woman?"
The boy forced his frail body to hold firm through his anger. He had noticed Lin Xiao searching for him, but there was only so much space here. He had originally planned to wait until Lin Xiao left before leaving himself.
But he had not expected Lin Xiao to be so persistent, and finally could not hold back.
The next instant, Lin Xiao reached back and subdued the boy with a grappling move.
Lin Xiao waved the dagger in his hand and looked at him. "Are you Huo Yuhao?"
"Hmph. So that woman really did send you."
"Tie me up and take me back for your reward."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao was delighted. This really was Huo Yuhao. Since Huo Yuhao had only just escaped from the White Tiger Duke Mansion, the plot had just begun.
Good thing I awakened my martial soul so quickly. If I'd dragged it out any longer, I would've missed this tremendous opportunity.
Lin Xiao tossed away the dagger. "I'm not here to catch you. Those people were looking for you just now, so I got curious, that's all."
"You can go."
Lin Xiao spoke slowly.
Now Huo Yuhao was the confused one. "You... really aren't here to take me back?"
Lin Xiao nodded. "What? Want to thank me by letting me drag you back for the money?"
"If that's the case, I certainly wouldn't mind."
Huo Yuhao shook his head repeatedly and spoke in a fluster, looking rather bashful. "No, no!"
Having only just left home, Huo Yuhao still knew nothing of the world's treachery.
"All right, get going."
Lin Xiao urged him on.
He did not want to interfere too much with this world's development. At least, he would not interfere before snatching that opportunity for himself.
Once he got what he wanted, it would no longer matter.
Huo Yuhao did not hesitate. He nodded at Lin Xiao, gave him a grateful look, and left.
Watching Huo Yuhao's retreating figure, Lin Xiao did not follow immediately.
Lin Xiao was unsure whether the Holy Necromancer would still happen to appear at that location if Huo Yuhao was absent.
Compared with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Lin Xiao wanted the Holy Necromancer more. Electrolux would be far more useful than the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Little fellow, I sense a strange aura about that boy."
Old Medicine's voice reached Lin Xiao's ears.
Lin Xiao paused and spoke to the ring. "Teacher, is there something wrong with him?"
"Not wrong. Strange. His destiny is exceptionally powerful."
"But it's powerful in a rather eerie way, as though something is controlling it. Yet the influence is slight, like a single thread among countless tangled strands tugging him along."
"At my peak, I could have seen through it. But now, I can only faintly sense it."
Old Medicine pondered for a moment, but could not explain exactly what was amiss.
"Little fellow, follow him and see. With destiny that powerful, you might gain something."
With him here, they could escape even if they encountered danger.
The corners of Lin Xiao's mouth lifted slightly. Even without Old Medicine saying so, he would have followed.
As for the eerie destiny Old Medicine had mentioned, Lin Xiao had already guessed what was going on.
Tang San, that bastard, has already made his move. I never thought he'd act this quickly.
But even if you were quick, it won't help you now.
As the Douluo Continent's Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao was likely someone the plane consciousness had intended to use against Tang San. Yet in the original course of events, the plane consciousness had ultimately failed.
In the end, it had fallen to the ten thousand year grand plan of Tang San, who had attained godhood.
That single thread among countless strands Old Medicine had mentioned was presumably Tang San's influence. It had not taken complete hold, instead working imperceptibly, eating away at Huo Yuhao little by little.
And the Tang Sect was likely the trigger that would amplify that thread.
Once you got involved with the Tang Sect, it was like getting shit stuck to you. Even if you cleaned it all off, the stench would still follow you.
Disgusting, yet impossible to do anything about.
Lin Xiao would have nothing to do with a disgusting organization like the Tang Sect. Once he got entangled with it, breaking free would be extremely difficult.
"Teacher, can you sense that boy's aura?"
Lin Xiao spoke to the ring as he walked.
"Don't worry. I can sense him. We won't lose him."
If he lost track of a mere little fellow who did not even possess any dou qi, he would truly lose face as a teacher.
"To the left."
Lin Xiao followed Old Medicine's directions.
Huo Yuhao was not moving very quickly. Even with his rank-ten soul power, he still fell a little short of Lin Xiao.
If the two fought, Huo Yuhao definitely would not beat Lin Xiao.
Both had body martial souls, and neither had a first soul skill. If they fought, Huo Yuhao would be the one to lose.
Lin Xiao followed carefully behind Huo Yuhao.
He had to admit that Huo Yuhao truly deserved to be called the Child of Destiny. His powerful destiny far surpassed even Tang San's.
After escaping from the White Tiger Duke Mansion, Huo Yuhao had encountered virtually no danger along the way apart from meeting Lin Xiao. (PS: The protagonist is younger than Huo Yuhao here, by about five years. Just mentioning it here.)
It was the sort of destiny that turned calamity into good fortune and kept ten thousand demons at bay.
He had not encountered even a single bandit or Evil Soul Master along the road.
"Teacher, this guy really is just like you said. His destiny is powerful."
"When I'm out in the world, it's either danger or more danger."
"But look at him. Not only is there no danger, everything goes smoothly."
Lin Xiao could not help sighing. This probably counted as misfortune lurking beneath good fortune. It was precisely this destiny that had drawn Tang San's attention.
For a moment, Lin Xiao no longer knew whether to envy him or not.
Before you continue