She Has a Secret

�Chapter Her Secret

Inside Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the Grey Bead, which had remained dormant all this time, twitched.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cried out like a startled bird. "Who are you? Trying to steal my territory?"

"A mere meat worm, and you dare challenge me over territory?"

The old voice seemed utterly unimpressed with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, as if he had interrupted something important. He brushed him off with a perfunctory reply, then ignored him no matter how furiously Sky Dream shouted and ranted.

"Who are you?" Huo Yuhao asked, bewildered by the chaos in his Sea of Consciousness.

The voice turned to him. "Kid, don't be afraid. I don't belong to this world. I'm merely a wisp of lingering divine consciousness, temporarily residing here to recover. I mean you no harm. What that little cat said about the Soul Fragment interested me, so I woke up."

"You have some idea what's going on?" Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.

"An idea... Heh, perhaps not yet. It just feels familiar. I seem to have forgotten a great deal, and I'll need to slowly restore my divine consciousness before I can remember more. If that Soul Fragment acts up again, try calling for me."

"Unfortunately, I can't directly see what the Soul Fragment in that little cat's mind looks like... Hmm? Huo Yuhao, there seems to be something else in your Sea of Consciousness, too."

The Grey Bead suddenly spread out, covering Huo Yuhao's entire Sea of Consciousness. In this wholly gray world, several otherwise inconspicuous golden etchings stood out.

"What are those?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was just as confused. He had no idea when the etchings had appeared.

"A little worm like you naturally wouldn't see what's going on here," the old voice sighed.

"You!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was incensed.

"All right, all right." Huo Yuhao stepped in helplessly. "I think we can all get along peacefully. So, could you tell us what these are?"

The voice spoke to Huo Yuhao in a much gentler tone. "These etchings are probably also from another world. What's interesting is that the power they give off is highly similar to the power of your world—and even to your own power."

"My power?" Huo Yuhao was momentarily confused. "What does that mean? Could it be another version of me?"

"Probably. That's what makes it interesting."

Like a young calf unafraid of the tiger, Huo Yuhao cautiously manipulated his Sea of Consciousness, trying to use his spiritual power to touch the etchings. But the moment he made contact, his spiritual power was violently repelled, releasing a crushing shockwave. His entire Sea of Consciousness trembled violently.

The tremor in his Sea of Consciousness manifested in the real world as a sudden, splitting headache. Huo Yuhao's face turned deathly pale, and he nearly lost his balance. Luckily, Chi Qiu reacted quickly and caught him by the shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

While Huo Yuhao had suddenly gone blank and fallen silent, she had waited patiently. Through the attribute connection, she already knew that several guests lived in his Sea of Consciousness.

"I-I'm fine. Just a little mishap." Huo Yuhao smiled awkwardly.

As his consciousness was forced back from his Sea of Consciousness into his body, the old man's final words still echoed in his mind:

"Looks like the other you thinks it isn't time yet... Wait until you're strong enough, then try to uncover this secret."

"Are you really all right?" Chi Qiu studied his face. "Wang Dong's back."

"I'm really fine."

Huo Yuhao nodded to Chi Qiu, his resolve growing stronger.

With so many opportunities and so many people helping him, he had to become stronger!

He would avenge his mother—and he would find out the truth behind the secret left by another version of himself!

Just as he made up his mind, Wang Dong returned, clutching a mysterious black-and-gold envelope and sneaking around like a thief as he made his way through the woods.

Huo Yuhao watched as Chi Qiu quietly circled behind Wang Dong and, without changing her expression, tapped him on the shoulder!

"Ah! Who's there?" Wang Dong let out a startled shriek, just as expected.

If Huo Yuhao hadn't misheard... Why did Wang Dong's voice sound a little like a girl's when it went that high?

Once Wang Dong realized what had happened, he huffed angrily. "You two! I went to get your recommendation letters, and you teamed up to scare me!"

Huo Yuhao raised a hand innocently. "I didn't do anything!"

"Don't give me that!" Wang Dong grumbled, shoving one envelope into his arms before handing the other to Chi Qiu. "Huo was standing right there watching and didn't even warn me. He's an accomplice, plain and simple!"

"You were tiptoeing around like you were planning to ambush us first," Huo Yuhao said with a laugh, immediately firing back.

Their back-and-forth filled the woods with laughter.

By the time they were done, several more hours had passed. Night had fallen, and the lights of Shrek City rivaled the stars overhead. Wang Dong said she needed to return to the inn for the night.

Before leaving, she repeatedly reminded Huo Yuhao:

"Just hand this exemption letter to a teacher when you enroll tomorrow. Let them read it. You mustn't look inside, got it?"

"Why?" Huo Yuhao was displeased by her commanding tone at the end.

"You..." Wang Dong suddenly slapped Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "It's my secret. My secret, understand? Everyone deserves to have some secrets. I've already helped you this much!"

"Fine." Huo Yuhao readily accepted that reason. He had only been a little annoyed by the bossy way Wang Dong had said it.

"What about my letter?" Chi Qiu asked.

"Miss Chi, yours doesn't matter. I bought it off the street for seventeen Gold Soul Coins."

"..."

Wang Dong gave an awkward laugh. "I'm off! Huo, Miss Chi, see you at school tomorrow for registration! Don't forget my grilled-fish VIP status!"

With that, she disappeared into the bustling crowd beneath the night sky.

Only after Wang Dong had gone did Chi Qiu speak again. "Yuhao, there's something we can be sure of now."

"What?"

"That Wang Dong is a girl," Chi Qiu said coolly, dropping a bombshell.

"...Really? How do you know?" Huo Yuhao was so startled that his tongue seemed to tie itself in knots. "Wait. There were signs, weren't there..."

Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered how Wang Dong had yelped when Chi Qiu startled her. Her shriek had given her away; his simple-minded self just hadn't thought much of it at the time.

"Then why is she dressing as a boy?"

"That's something you'll have to ask her."

"But if she goes to school dressed as a boy, won't she be assigned to the boys' dormitory? That's too dangerous."

"Who knows?" Chi Qiu shook her head. "Maybe, like she said, it's a secret. Everyone has secrets."

After saying that, she gazed toward Shrek Academy, briefly lost in thought.

From this angle, they could still see the tops of the tallest Seven Devils statues. Tang San and Xiao Wu's statues stood close together. The lights around them cast a dazzling rainbow across their carved hair, yet Chi Qiu's heart turned cold as frost.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao was watching a group of people at the nearby inn. They wore the uniforms of Duke White Tiger Mansion and were escorting a blond boy inside with considerable fanfare.

As expected, Dai Huabin had come to Shrek... Huo Yuhao recognized his style at a glance.

Now that he could enroll too, he absolutely wouldn't lose to him!