Zhu Lu kept her head down, kicking at the little stones beneath her feet, while her hand clung tightly to Dai Huabin's sleeve.
That feeling of uncertainty still wouldn't leave her.
"Huabin, you really... won't change back, will you?" She couldn't help asking again, her voice filled with a humble plea.
Dai Huabin stopped.
He turned to look at the silly girl.
"I'm Dai Huabin."
Dai Huabin raised his hand and gently smoothed the strands of hair the wind had ruffled at her temple.
"When I give my word, I keep it. And besides..."
He bent down, leaning close to Zhu Lu's ear, his tone turning a little playful.
"And besides, I've realized that how well the Hell White Tiger suits us has a lot to do with how deep our feelings for each other are.
"If we want to be able to throw our weight around at the Academy in the future, shouldn't we deepen those feelings a little more?"
Zhu Lu's face turned bright red again.
"You... You're still only doing it for cultivation!"
She shot Dai Huabin a reproachful look, but the smile in her eyes and at the corners of her mouth was impossible to hide.
As long as he cared about her, what did the reason matter?
"Cultivation and loving you don't conflict."
Dai Huabin said shamelessly.
"Come on, let's head back to the dorm. They'll be assigning classes in a few days. I hear there are quite a few monsters among this year's freshmen, so we'd better get plenty of rest."
"Monsters?"
Zhu Lu gave a disdainful snort, her pride returning.
"How could any monster be stronger than our Hell White Tiger? We can already use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
"Of course."
Dai Huabin smiled, though a glint flashed in his eyes.
Monsters?
Of course there were.
Huo Yuhao, the child of destiny whose opportunity he'd stolen.
And Wang Dong, who was disguised as a boy.
But Dai Huabin wouldn't let Wang Dong keep pretending to be a boy.
If Wang Dong didn't share a dorm with Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao would make slower progress in cultivation without the boost from their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Dai Huabin wouldn't let that happen.
"By the way, Lulu."
"Hmm?"
"The dormitory buildings are separated by gender, but the old man at the front desk doesn't seem to keep much of an eye on things. Should I come find you later?"
"Huabin! No boys allowed!"
"I'm not just any boy. I'm your fiancé."
"That still doesn't make it okay! You'll get expelled!"
Their playful bickering faded into the night.
After parting from Zhu Lu, Dai Huabin returned to the Freshman Dormitory Building alone.
Although he was the young master of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, at Shrek Academy, even the Jade Emperor himself would have to stay in the dorms.
It gave him a strangely familiar sense of college life.
Dai Huabin held the copper key engraved with "103." As he passed down the corridor, he suddenly stopped.
His gaze fell on the tightly shut, dark-brown wooden door across from his.
The room number was 108.
It was the dormitory where Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had stayed in the original story.
"No one's moved in yet?"
Dai Huabin glanced at the thin layer of dust on the doorknob and understood.
It seemed Huo Yuhao was still on his way.
If things had followed their original course, Huo Yuhao would probably have already joined the Tang Sect by now.
Dai Huabin gave a quiet laugh and turned the key to open his own door.
Meanwhile.
By a campfire at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, hundreds of miles away.
The fragrance of cumin mingled with sizzling fat and drifted through the forest.
The grilled fish over the fire sizzled with oil, its skin golden and crisp.
"That smells amazing! Little Yuhao, I never would've guessed you had a talent for this!"
Tang Ya squatted beside the fire without a trace of decorum, her big eyes fixed on the grilled fish, a glistening thread of drool seemingly slipping from the corner of her mouth.
She still clutched a twig she'd just gnawed clean, clearly unable to wait any longer.
Across from her, Huo Yuhao shyly turned the wooden skewer in his hand. The firelight illuminated his young face, making him look especially simple and honest.
"Teacher Xiaoya, Senior Brother, just a little longer. It'll taste better once it's cooked through."
"Gulp."
Tang Ya swallowed loudly, showing no restraint at all. Then, as if she'd remembered something upsetting, she dropped onto the grass and let out a long sigh.
"Ah... This grilled fish smells wonderful, but when I think about that top-quality junior who got away, even the meat in my mouth doesn't taste good anymore."
Bei Bei, who had been drinking from a waterskin, shook his head helplessly and set it down.
"Xiaoya, don't get so hung up on it. He's from the Duke Mansion, after all. How could he possibly be interested in the Tang Sect as it is now?"
"Call me Teacher Xiaoya! Hmph, so what if he's from the Duke Mansion?"
Tang Ya huffed, unconvinced, and plucked a blade of grass from the ground.
"The Tang Sect was the greatest sect on the continent ten thousand years ago, you know!
"And besides, Dai Huabin might have a foul temper and be a little arrogant, but he's an eleven-year-old Soul Elder with three rings! Three rings!
"Even in the Shrek Inner Court, talent like that would be monstrous, wouldn't it?"
Huo Yuhao, who had been concentrating on sprinkling seasoning, suddenly jolted his hand.
Too much chili powder fell onto the coals, raising a choking cloud of smoke.
"Cough, cough..." Huo Yuhao choked and coughed twice. He lowered his head, using the smoke to hide his expression as it stiffened in an instant.
That name was like a red-hot steel nail, driven deep into his ears.
Dai! Hua! Bin!
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm. "Senior Brother, Teacher Xiaoya, were you just talking about... someone from the White Tiger Duke Mansion?"
"Yes."
Bei Bei nodded and accepted the skewer of grilled fish Huo Yuhao handed him, his voice tinged with admiration.
"We ran into him in the forest this afternoon.
"His name is Dai Huabin. He looks about your age, but his Soul Power is as high as level thirty-two.
"His Martial Soul is the top-tier White Tiger, and his combat instincts are exceptional. Teacher Xiaoya and I both think his future is limitless. He has the talent to become a Titled Douluo."
"Crack."
A dead branch in Huo Yuhao's hand snapped without him realizing it.
Level thirty-two.
Also eleven years old.
That woman's son—the young master who had lived in luxury since childhood and always looked down on everyone—was already a three-ring Soul Elder.
And what about him?
Huo Yuhao looked down at his own rough hands.
With Innate Soul Power of only level one, he had worked himself to the bone for eleven years, enduring scorn and humiliation, and had only just barely reached level eleven.
If he hadn't been lucky enough to meet Brother Sky Dream, he would probably have died at the hands of that Wind Baboon long ago.
The gulf between them pressed down on Huo Yuhao like a great mountain, leaving him barely able to breathe.
Was it jealousy?
It was more than jealousy.
More than anything, he felt a hatred and resentment that ran deep into his bones.
Why?
Why could the son of the woman who had killed his mother have everything?
Huo Yuhao lowered his eyes and clenched his teeth so hard that the taste of blood spread through his mouth.
"Yuhao? Yuhao, what's wrong?"
Tang Ya noticed something was off with the boy. With fish still in her mouth, she asked indistinctly,
"Did the smoke get in your eyes?"
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