Returning to Dou-II

Ye Cangwu had lived in Guyan Village for over half a month.

Every morning, he would head to the wooden hut where Huo Yun'er and her son lived, either to check her pulse and adjust her prescription or to prepare a medicinal bath for the pair to soak in.

Huo Yun'er's constitution was not poor; she had simply been drained too much during pregnancy. With the healing of Ye Cangwu's Nine-Heart Begonia and the conditioning from the herbs, she had undergone a complete transformation over the past half-month.

Having left the White Tiger Duke Mansion and filled with hope for the future, Huo Yun'er had returned to being the girl who was once full of passion for life.

Huo Yuhao's changes were even more astonishing.

The Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood was inherently overbearing and vast, and with the assistance of Ye Cangwu's medicinal baths, the transformation of his body by the essence blood was accelerated.

The bloodline within him had long since completed its thorough reshaping.

On the surface, he remained the slightly thin six-year-old boy with heroic features, but his physical strength could already rival a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

To avoid attracting Ye Cangwu's attention, Huo Yuhao had not practiced his cultivation during this period.

Yet, likely due to the effects of the essence blood, his Soul Power had actually reached level ten long ago.

He was only one soul ring away from becoming a Spirit Master.

That morning, Ye Cangwu stood at the entrance of Guyan Village, bidding farewell to Huo Yuhao, Huo Yun'er, and the other villagers who had come to see him off.

Huo Yun'er bowed deeply to Ye Cangwu: "Doctor Ye, thank you for your painstaking care during these days. We mother and son have no way to repay such great kindness."

She had seen it with her own eyes these past few days; Ye Cangwu was not only a skilled physician but had treated them like family. Not only did he refuse any payment, but he even brought out precious medicinal herbs to treat them. This sentiment was something she would keep in her heart.

Ye Cangwu helped her up: "It was merely a small effort. I am traveling to provide free medical consultations, so I should naturally do my best to treat any patient I encounter. Now that both you and your son are in good health, it is time for me to continue my travels."

Watching Ye Cangwu's figure about to walk out of the village, Huo Yuhao suddenly took a few quick steps forward and called out: "Uncle Ye!"

Ye Cangwu stopped and turned to look at him: "Hao'er, is there anything else?"

Huo Yuhao ran up to him, tilted his small face, and looked at him earnestly: "Uncle Ye, if I ever find an Immortal Herb in the future, where should I look for you?"

Others had no clue about Immortal Herbs, but Huo Yuhao truly knew where they were.

Since he intended to intercept the opportunity at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, he might as well give the Aromatic Silk Beauty—which was of no use to him—to Ye Cangwu to help him out.

Hearing this, Ye Cangwu was stunned for a moment, then laughed, reaching out to ruffle Huo Yuhao's hair.

"If you truly manage to find an Immortal Herb, go to the main city of the Heaven Dou Empire. There is a medical clinic run by the Ye Family there. Just hand it over to them when the time comes."

Ye Cangwu handed a small jade pendant to Huo Yuhao.

The jade was warm and smooth, with a blooming begonia flower carved on the front and the character "Ye" in the center.

The back had no extra decorations, only a gilded "Cang" character, proving the identity of the pendant's owner.

"Your talent is excellent. Do not neglect your cultivation or waste your gift by focusing too much on Immortal Herbs in the future."

Seeing Huo Yuhao nod, Ye Cangwu waved to Huo Yun'er in the distance before turning to leave.

Back in the wooden hut, Huo Yun'er was busy sorting through the dried goods the villagers had brought.

These were tokens of gratitude intended for Ye Cangwu, but he had refused to accept them no matter what.

Unable to turn down the villagers' kindness, Ye Cangwu had accepted them only to gift them to Huo Yun'er and her son.

Huo Yuhao walked over and called out: "Mother."

Huo Yun'er stopped her work and said softly: "What is it, Hao'er?"

"My Soul Power has reached level ten, so I am planning to go obtain my first soul ring."

Huo Yun'er was merely an ordinary person; she did not understand the innate Soul Power of a Spirit Master or the speed of cultivation.

She also did not know the dangers one had to face when obtaining a soul ring.

Although Huo Yun'er felt reluctant, she knew this was something he had to experience.

She walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out a weapon from the very bottom.

It was a short blade with a scabbard, about one foot and two inches long. The scabbard was dark green and made of tough leather.

Looking at this token of love given to her by Dai Hao, Huo Yun'er felt conflicted, but ultimately, she handed it to Huo Yuhao.

"You must take care of your safety when you are out. This is the White Tiger Dagger; it was given to you by your..." She meant to mention Dai Hao, but remembering her son's resistance toward the Duke, she swallowed the second half of the sentence: "Take this to defend yourself."

The name of this dagger was truly improper.

As for whether it was really a token of love...

Anyway, Huo Yun'er had already left the Dou-II world and would never see Dai Hao again in this lifetime; whether it was or wasn't no longer mattered.

Huo Yuhao took the dagger.

Although he didn't need it, he really should get this troublesome thing away from Huo Yun'er.

Lest she see the object and think of the person; if she kept dwelling on it and became love-struck, that would be no good.

Don't treat this Love Continent as if it were joking with you.

Facing Huo Yun'er's instructions, Huo Yuhao only nodded without speaking.

Anything said at this moment felt like setting a flag; it was better not to speak carelessly.

"Do you want to take some dry rations?"

Huo Yuhao waved his hand quickly: "No need. If I get hungry, I will forage for food. I won't let myself go hungry."

He knew how to cook in his previous life. Although he couldn't be called a top chef, he had watched enough food videos that his skills were quite decent.

Now that his Martial Soul was the Spirit Eye, his control over heat and ingredients was even more precise.

The skill of grilling fish seemed to be a bound talent for the account of "Huo Yuhao." Whenever he grilled fish or meat, he could display a level near that of a God of Cookery, as if he had drugged the food, making people unable to stop eating.

When Ye Cangwu left, he had specifically taken a dozen fish Huo Yuhao had grilled, saying he would use them as rations on the road.

After saying goodbye to Huo Yun'er, Huo Yuhao walked briskly toward the outskirts of the village.

Just as he reached the village entrance, he ran into a neighbor uncle carrying a hoe to the fields. The uncle asked with a smile: "Little Hao, where are you headed?"

Huo Yuhao waved the jade pendant in his hand and replied loudly to the neighbor: "Uncle Ye left something at our house when he left, I'm going to return it to him!"

After walking a distance away from the village and confirming there was no one around, Huo Yuhao stopped.

With a thought, a towering bronze gate suddenly appeared on the open ground.

Huo Yuhao did not hesitate, pushed the gate open, and walked straight in. The gate closed slowly behind him, then turned into specks of light and vanished without a trace.

Dou-II world, the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A glimmer of light suddenly shone, the ancient bronze gate flashed and disappeared, and a young man appeared abruptly in place.

He had neat, short black hair and handsome features; it was Huo Yuhao, who had just traveled through.

That bronze gate could not only allow him to travel between Dou-I and Dou-II but also allowed him to choose the time and place of his return.

He had specifically set his return time to five years after leaving the White Tiger Duke Mansion, which was the year he turned eleven—the year the plot began.