Blazing Gel Scheme Exposed, Han Ruoruo Appears Beyond the Wall

Wu Ming's breath hitched.

"You mean..."

Use your brain to think about it.

Ma Xiaotao held up one finger.

"Who is Huabin? He never does anything without a plan. He brought a whole block of Blazing Gel. If he knew from the beginning that only half a block would be enough to help me evolve, why did he bring the whole block?"

Wu Ming's train of thought was led astray by Ma Xiaotao.

"Because..."

"Because he originally planned to use two portions."

Ma Xiaotao made her point very clearly.

"Give me one, and keep one for yourself. Besides me, who else in Shrek Inner Court needs one?"

Wu Ming was completely stunned.

She had never thought of it that way before. She had assumed that the half piece of Blazing Gel was simply used separately because the medicine was too strong, and it was purely a safety consideration.

But after Ma Xiaotao's analysis...

"Wait a minute." Wu Ming snapped out of her daze. "How do you know he deliberately left half? What if the medicine was just too strong?"

"The medicine is really too strong."

Ma Xiaotao nodded.

"But do you think Huabin wouldn't have calculated the dosage beforehand? He even planned out when to cut it open and had me absorb it in two batches. Would someone like that bring an extra half-dozen of useless things?"

Wu Ming opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a rebuttal.

Does she know Dai Huabin?

To be honest, I don't know much about it.

But based on the limited contact we had, Dai Huabin controlled the rhythm from beginning to end during their Soul Fighting Arena that day, and every step he took was precise. It's indeed unlikely that someone like him would do something unprepared.

Moreover, when they sparred in the Soul Fighting Arena before, Dai Huabin personally told her to "show her sincerity."

Looking back at that sentence now, it seems to have a deeper meaning.

"Xiaotao..." Wu Ming's voice was a little weak, "Do you think he was already... back in the Soul Fighting Arena?"

She stopped herself mid-sentence, because Ma Xiaotao was unaware that she and Dai Huabin had sparred privately in the Soul Fighting Arena.

"The Soul Fighting Arena?" Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing." Wu Ming quickly changed the subject. "I mean, did he already plan this before coming to the Inner Academy to find you?"

"Most likely."

Ma Xiaotao nodded firmly.

"Think about it, the first day Huabin came to the Inner Academy to find me, he first helped me deal with the Evil Fire, then he sparred with me on the arena, and then publicly said 'There will be a reward if you win'."

He was telling everyone that he had close ties with the Inner Academy. And that half of the Blazing Gel was most likely left for the next fire-attribute Soul Master."

Wu Ming fell silent.

She leaned back against the stone bench, pressing her burning cheeks with both hands.

"Then wouldn't I be...?"

"Isn't that what?"

"Isn't this the person he's already chosen?"

Ma Xiaotao smiled.

I think so.

Wu Ming buried her face in her hands.

She felt a mix of joy, nervousness, and an inexplicable sense of shame.

The good news is that if Ma Xiaotao's guess is correct, it means Dai Huabin isn't indifferent to her; the bad news is, how should she face Dai Huabin next? The bad news is...

"Xiaotao, I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"You mean that half piece of Blazing Gel... is that the 'sincerity' he mentioned as a reward?"

Ma Xiaotao blinked.

"What sincerity?"

Wu Ming almost let it slip again. Dai Huabin told her in the Soul Fighting Arena that "it depends on her sincerity," but Ma Xiaotao had no idea about the context of that statement.

"It's nothing, I was just imagining things," Wu Ming quickly waved her hand.

Ma Xiaotao glanced at her suspiciously, but didn't ask any further questions.

"Alright, whatever he thinks, your top priority right now is to seize the opportunity."

Ma Xiaotao clapped her hands.

"Huabin is about to leave the academy for further training. He'll definitely come to me to collect that 'reward' before he leaves. You can stay with me then."

"But what if he sees me and thinks we two conspired to frame him?"

"He's not stupid, of course he can see it."

Ma Xiaotao waved her hand dismissively.

"But so what? He's holding half a piece of Blazing Gel in his hand, and he knows perfectly well who that half is for. Your going just goes along with it."

Wu Ming remained silent for a long while.

Ma Xiaotao didn't urge her. She took out a candied fruit, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it slowly.

After about half a cup of tea's time, Wu Ming finally spoke.

"Good."

Just one word, very light, but very decisive.

Ma Xiaotao tilted her head to look at her.

Wu Ming had already taken her hand off her face; her cheeks were still red, but her eyes held a more serious look.

"I'll go. I'll be there when he arrives."

"That's more like it." Ma Xiaotao nodded in satisfaction.

"But..." Wu Ming held up one finger, "If I mess this up, you'll have to clean up the mess for me."

"If you mess this up, you'll never get married, so what? What does that have to do with me? Hahaha!"

"Ma Xiaotao!!!"

The yard started making noise again.

Ma Xiaotao was chased by Wu Ming and ran around the stone table twice, laughing so hard she almost fell over.

Although Wu Ming was so angry that her face turned red and her neck bulged, she couldn't help but laugh after running a few steps.

After playing around for a while, they were both tired and sat back down on the stone bench to catch their breath.

"Oh, right."

Ma Xiaotao suddenly remembered something, turned her head to look at Wu Ming.

"When exactly did you say that Huabin told you to 'show sincerity'?"

Wu Ming's smile froze.

"We just bumped into each other in the hallway and chatted for a bit."

"He started expressing his sincerity after just a few casual words?" Ma Xiaotao narrowed her eyes.

"Stop overthinking it, okay!" Wu Ming stood up. "I'm going back now; I have team training tomorrow."

"Why are you running away? Feeling guilty?"

Wu Ming walked towards the courtyard gate without looking back, but paused when she reached the gate.

"Xiaotao, thank you."

Ma Xiaotao leaned against the stone table and waved to her retreating figure.

"Don't thank me, you should thank Huabin."

Wu Ming didn't reply, pushed open the courtyard gate and walked out.

The evening breeze blew in through the cracks in the courtyard gate, ruffling the cloth on the stone table. Ma Xiaotao sat alone in the courtyard, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Huabin, oh Huabin," she muttered to herself, "Just how many people have you promised them a piece of the pie?"

Ma Xiaotao shook her head. "Never mind, I'll stop thinking about it now."

She stuffed the last piece of jerky into her mouth, got up, and walked into the house.

As I approached the gate, I suddenly heard a familiar, lazy voice coming from outside the courtyard wall.

"Xiaotao, what were you saying to Wu Ming just now? I could hear you two laughing like crazy even through the wall."

That voice belonged to Han Ruoruo.

Ma Xiaotao paused for a moment as she chewed the jerky.

When did you arrive?

"Just arrived," Han Ruoruo's voice came from the other side of the wall. "I was going to come in and have a drink with you, but I heard you two chatting, so I didn't want to disturb you."