"What, afraid to take the bet? Don't you have even that much backbone?"
As Huo Yuhao spoke, he thought about Zhu Lu and Dai Huabin's love story.
He had to admit, their relationship was pretty twisted.
Or rather, there were plenty of twisted relationships in the Douluo series.
The Zhu and Dai Families had arranged marriages between close relatives for generations, making their blood ties ever closer.
Suppose someone from the Zhu Family and someone from the Dai Family had a child. That child would have half Zhu Family blood.
If the child possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul,
then, once he came of age, that Dai Family descendant with half Zhu Family blood would marry a Zhu Family woman.
Generation after generation, the bloodline would grow purer.
Though there was no such thing as birth defects caused by close-relative marriages here—
after all, Soul Beasts and humans had no reproductive barrier—the practice still felt pretty strange.
It was basically a cousin marrying his cousin, and a kind of pseudo-incest.
But the most important thing was that Dai Huabin didn't like Zhu Lu at all.
The person Dai Huabin truly liked was Wang Qiu'er.
At the matchmaking event on Sea God Island, Dai Huabin had confessed his feelings to Wang Qiu'er and been rejected, but he had kept pursuing her.
During that time, Zhu Lu had been hurt again and again by Dai Huabin's attitude toward her.
Even in Qiankun Asking Love Valley, Dai Huabin had remained devoted to Wang Qiu'er.
Later, amid the complicated series of arrangements Tang San had devised to test everyone, Dai Huabin was accidentally caught up in them and ended up disfigured.
Perhaps out of helplessness, or perhaps after all the twists and turns, he finally settled for being with Zhu Lu.
But Zhu Lu's choice was just as hard to understand. The man she loved had kept pursuing another woman and rejected her time and again—even in Qiankun Asking Love Valley.
And now, with a single beckoning gesture from Dai Huabin, she went to him without hesitation, even though he was disfigured.
She chose Dai Huabin's love all the same.
It really made her seem utterly without self-respect.
To Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu was merely his second choice—in other words, a backup.
From that perspective, Zhu Lu's love was so cheap, so pathetic.
Yet things were just as Huo Yuhao had expected.
Dai Huabin might have had some feelings for Zhu Lu, but not many.
After thinking it over, Dai Huabin looked at Huo Yuhao and agreed outright. "Fine. I accept your bet."
Then Dai Huabin looked at Zhou Yi and Mu Jin.
He wanted the two teachers to witness the bet.
As for what he wanted Huo Yuhao to do—
if Huo Yuhao lost, he would have to kneel and apologize, break both his own arms, and shout, "My mother was a lowly maid, and I'm a bastard!"
Zhou Yi immediately rejected Dai Huabin's vicious demand.
Mu Jin shook her head as well.
As teachers, they had their own principles.
A bet that cruel went against their professional ethics.
At that moment, Zhou Yi glanced at Huo Yuhao, then at Dai Huabin, and said, "You two can settle this at the freshman assessment three months from now. Then it'll be clear who's stronger."
"As for the bet, either drop it now or tone down the terms. Otherwise, forget it."
Dai Huabin was immediately angered by her words.
But he knew there were some things he had to endure.
For one thing, Shrek Academy wasn't afraid of the White Tiger Duke Mansion. At most, the academy would show them a little courtesy.
And if this reached his father, his father wouldn't help him. Worse, if he found out about Huo Yuhao, that would be a disaster.
Left with no choice, Dai Huabin nodded.
But he couldn't swallow his anger over the bet. He looked at Huo Yuhao and eased up on the terms.
In the end, half an hour later,
Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin reached an agreement.
Three months later, at the freshman assessment, Huo Yuhao would face Dai Huabin.
If Dai Huabin won, Huo Yuhao would kneel, apologize, and admit he was a coward.
Huo Yuhao, in turn, made it clear that if he won, Zhu Lu would stay by his side for six months as his servant.
Dai Huabin agreed. As far as he was concerned, there was no way he could lose.
When Zhu Lu heard that Dai Huabin had used her as part of the bet, she felt a trace of sadness for some reason.
But she agreed too.
First, because she didn't believe Dai Huabin would lose.
Second, because, just as in the original story, Zhu Lu was extraordinarily tolerant of Dai Huabin.
She was willing to settle for being Dai Huabin's second choice, so she was willing to become part of the bet.
Looking at Zhu Lu's lovesick, self-deprecating view of love, Huo Yuhao didn't care in the slightest.
As far as Huo Yuhao was concerned, Zhu Lu wasn't anyone to him.
He had Xiao Wu and Liu Erlong, and he'd have plenty more in the future.
Besides, Dai Huabin had treated Zhu Lu like an object and used her as a bargaining chip.
And Zhu Lu had agreed.
If Dai Huabin didn't care, why should he?
As for what he would make Zhu Lu do three months from now—
Huo Yuhao had certain lines he wouldn't cross, but he would still teach Zhu Lu when she should speak and when she should keep quiet.
Besides, Huo Yuhao planned to teach Zhu Lu a lesson, at the very least turning her against Dai Huabin and setting off a huge public showdown...
Then,
Dai Huabin snorted and turned to leave.
But Huo Yuhao called after him, "Wait."
Dai Huabin stopped and glared at Huo Yuhao suspiciously. "What is it? Changed your mind? Taking back the bet?"
Huo Yuhao smiled unconcernedly. "I'm not backing out. I'm just curious about something. How did you know I was here? Why did you suddenly decide to come looking for trouble with me?"
Dai Huabin didn't hesitate. He snorted and said, "Your fight with Senior Sanshi spread all over the place. Then today, I heard you'd come to the academy, so I came straight here."
As he spoke, Dai Huabin remembered what he'd been thinking earlier and wished he could slap himself.
Dai Huabin had never heard of Huo Yuhao.
The reason was simple. In the original story, after Huo Yuhao's mother died, he clenched his fists and decided he would never use the Dai surname again. He changed his name to Huo Yuhao.
So when Dai Huabin heard the name "Huo Yuhao," it never occurred to him that it belonged to the White Tiger Duke Mansion's "illegitimate son."
Dai Huabin had even thought of doing what his older brother did: meeting him and seeing whether he could recruit him.
But he hadn't expected that the person who defeated Xu Sanshi was the illegitimate son he'd bullied and toyed with every day...
Dai Huabin changed the subject. "I'd originally planned to see what kind of person you were. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was you."
"You changed your surname and started calling yourself Huo Yuhao. But since I know who you are now, of course I'm going to mock you. What, don't like it?"
Huo Yuhao waved a hand. "That's enough. Get lost."
Dai Huabin flew into a rage, but finally gritted his teeth and left.
Seeing this, Zhu Lu glared hatefully at Huo Yuhao, then hurried after Dai Huabin.
Huo Yuhao watched Zhu Lu glare at him and let out a deep breath.
Then Zhou Yi's voice came from behind him. "Huo Yuhao, you've got some nerve, picking a fight the moment you get here."
Huo Yuhao felt a little awkward at that.
But Zhou Yi continued.
"Huo Yuhao, do you know your opponent is a three-ring Soul Master? If I hadn't noticed the commotion, what would you have done if something went wrong? Why can't you learn to hold back?"
Only then did Huo Yuhao realize that, although Zhou Yi was scolding him, her words were full of concern.
He nodded awkwardly. "All right, Teacher Zhou. I'll be more careful from now on."
In truth, Huo Yuhao had some idea of the consequences of his actions. He could be impulsive, but he always kept things within manageable limits.
Seeing Huo Yuhao say that, Zhou Yi finally shook her head. "All right. Keep running."
Then Zhou Yi left.
Mu Jin looked at Huo Yuhao but said nothing. She, too, turned and left.
Huo Yuhao immediately set off running again.
Seeing this, Wang Dong didn't hesitate. She fell into step beside Huo Yuhao and ran with him.
Before you continue