Interest Before Revenge

As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu walked into the Rose Hotel, the first thing they felt was a wave of rose fragrance rushing toward them. The air was thick with the scent of hormones, and the entire hotel was permeated with an ambiguous, suggestive atmosphere.

Dai Huabin reached out and wrapped his arm around Zhu Lu's waist, drawing a coquettish protest from her, though she ultimately did not shake his hand off.

The two arrived at the front desk, and Dai Huabin said impatiently, "Give us a room."

The receptionist, seeing their luxurious attire, dared not be negligent and said, "Please wait a moment, guests."

After a short while, the receptionist handed a card to Dai Huabin, and the two walked upstairs, arm in arm.

"Huabin, did you know there's been big news at Shrek Academy lately?" Zhu Lu asked suddenly on the way to their room.

"Hm? What news?" Dai Huabin became slightly interested.

"It's said that the Black Tortoise Sect's young sect master, Xu Sanshi, known as one of the 'Twin Stars' of Shrek's outer courtyard, was actually defeated outside the school by an unknown first-ring soul master. Many people in the outer courtyard saw it, and they say the person who beat him was even admitted to Shrek's outer courtyard as a special case. He's in our year—maybe even our class," Zhu Lu sneered.

Dai Huabin gave a disdainful laugh. "Hmph, what a waste. A senior student of the outer courtyard actually getting beaten by a first-ring soul master from outside the school? It seems this so-called Shrek Twin Star doesn't live up to his reputation. What's the name of this first-ring soul master who got the special admission?"

Zhu Lu tried hard to recall, then hesitated. "I heard... I think his name is Huo Yuhao?"

Dai Huabin froze. Upon hearing the name, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"Huo Yuhao?" He released his grip on Zhu Lu's waist, stopped in his tracks, and frowned, muttering to himself.

Distant memories suddenly surged in his mind, reminding Dai Huabin of a certain person.

That little bastard, dressed in rags, whom he loathed so intensely.

"What's wrong, Huabin?" Zhu Lu also stopped and looked back at him.

"Nothing, it's just a name I find very annoying." Dai Huabin's expression turned gloomy.

Of course, he knew it was impossible for them to be the same person. How could a piece of trash like that ever reach Shrek City, let alone defeat a student of Shrek's outer courtyard?

It was simply a fantasy.

It was just that the sudden recollection of that detestable name had ruined his good mood, leaving him feeling disgruntled.

"Let's go!" Dai Huabin put his arm back around Zhu Lu, though his movements were much rougher this time.

"Huabin, be gentle, you're hurting me." Zhu Lu twisted her body with slight dissatisfaction.

Just as the two were flirting, a young man walked toward them from the stairs ahead.

He was a boy who looked to be about eleven or twelve, with a well-proportioned build. He wore simple, clean grey cloth robes, and his features could be described as delicate. Most striking were his deep blue eyes, which were unforgettable to anyone who saw them.

The three brushed past each other. Dai Huabin happened to glance at the boy's face, and it felt as if an electric current had passed through his brain, causing his body to jolt.

He hurriedly turned his head to look back, but the boy's figure had already vanished around a corner.

Dai Huabin frowned. "How is this possible? Why would he be here? This is impossible!"

Seeing Dai Huabin stop his advances and wear an expression as if he had seen a ghost, Zhu Lu asked in confusion, "Huabin, what's wrong with you?"

Dai Huabin looked utterly incredulous. Upon hearing her question, he handed the room card to Zhu Lu and said, "Lulu, you go to the room and wait for me. I have something to take care of; I'll be there in a moment."

He then hurried off in the direction the boy with the deep blue eyes had just disappeared, leaving Zhu Lu to stomp her foot in frustration.

A hint of malice crossed Dai Huabin's face as thoughts raced through his mind.

"The person who defeated the Shrek outer courtyard student shares the same name as that piece of trash. Could it be the same person?"

"Impossible. How could that trash ever accomplish such a thing?"

"But, if that person just now really is that little bastard, then things would be simple."

Dai Huabin made a silent decision in his heart.

He would completely eradicate this hidden threat.

This was the tradition of the White Tiger family: when two tigers fight, one must be injured.

Only the one who survives to the end is the best heir.

Of course, the Dai Family was no longer the royal family of the Star Luo Empire, and they had long since abandoned the custom of heirs killing one another.

However, Dai Huabin was just that narrow-minded. Huo Yuhao had become a thorn in his side, and he would never be at peace until it was pulled out.

Strangely, however, the figure seemed to have evaporated into thin air after turning the corner. No matter how much Dai Huabin searched the entire floor, there was no sign of him.

Dai Huabin's brow furrowed tightly. His volatile temper was reaching its limit, and just as he thought he had been mistaken and was about to give up, the boy's figure appeared before him once more.

Dai Huabin watched with his own eyes as the figure, so similar to Huo Yuhao, stood before a door at the end of the corridor, pushed it open, and walked inside.

This time he saw it clearly: the boy's profile was identical to that stubborn face he had loathed so much in his childhood!

"Little bastard, it is your misfortune to let me see you in a place like this." A cruel smile played on Dai Huabin's face.

He strode forward to the door, his right hand forming a claw. A phantom image of a white tiger claw flickered over his hand, and he slammed it violently into the door.

"ROAR!" A tiger's roar erupted.

Crack. The fragile wooden door of the hotel room shattered into pieces almost instantly and fell to the floor.

Dai Huabin's eyes narrowed as he slowly stepped into the room.

The room was decorated quite elegantly, with pink as the primary color. A large pink bed sat in the center, and the room was adorned with special floral decorations, giving it a very romantic atmosphere.

However, the room was completely empty. There was not a soul to be found.

"Hmm?" Dai Huabin looked around in disbelief, but he could not find the figure from a moment ago anywhere.

"Is it really haunted?" He furrowed his brows, a trace of fear suddenly rising in his heart.

"Huabin? What happened here?" Zhu Lu's figure appeared abruptly at the doorway and walked slowly to Dai Huabin's side.

Seeing Zhu Lu's familiar face, Dai Huabin breathed a sigh of relief and was about to answer.

But in the very next second, a sudden change occurred!

"Zhu Lu" actually pulled a dagger from her embrace and plunged it into Dai Huabin's lower abdomen with lightning speed.

"Ah!" Caught completely off guard, Dai Huabin was struck solidly by the blade. An agonizing sensation washed over him, and he stared at Zhu Lu in disbelief.

"Why?" Dai Huabin's face was filled with confusion.

Following that came monstrous rage and hatred.

The next second, Dai Huabin endured the pain, and a majestic White Tiger began to manifest behind him.

However, something Dai Huabin never expected happened: a sharp, piercing pain suddenly erupted in his mind.

This pain felt as if a chopstick were stirring his brain into a mess.

The Martial Soul he had intended to possess him dissipated at that very moment.

He felt as though his brains had turned into mush, and the intense agony made him wish he were dead.

"Pfft!" Dai Huabin vomited a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and his body tilted backward, causing him to pass out instantly.

"Zhu Lu" pulled out the dagger, flicked it to clear the blood, and stored it away in a storage ring.

Then, with a "pop" amidst a puff of white mist, "Zhu Lu" transformed from a hot-bodied girl in black into a cold-faced, handsome youth with black hair and black eyes!

It was none other than Huo Yuhao!

"Before the official revenge against the White Tiger Duke Mansion, collecting a little interest isn't too much to ask, is it, Dai Huabin?"

Huo Yuhao stared expressionlessly at Dai Huabin, who lay on the floor with his life hanging in the balance, and muttered to himself.

Immediately after, Huo Yuhao's right ear twitched slightly. His powerful spiritual perception, comparable to that of a Soul Ancestor, told him that several people on the same floor seemed to have noticed the commotion and were rushing toward their direction.

"You got off easy." Huo Yuhao was about to leave.

Just then, he suddenly noticed the soul tool storage ring on Dai Huabin's hand.

Huo Yuhao's face lit up with joy; he unceremoniously snatched it off, and then his figure flickered, vanishing from the spot.

Two minutes after Huo Yuhao left.

Zhu Lu, dressed in a black dress, cautiously arrived at the room's entrance and peered inside.

She saw a scene that terrified her to the core.

Dai Huabin lay on the ground in a pool of blood, his life unknown!

"Huabin!" Zhu Lu's terrified scream echoed throughout the entire hotel.