Three Hugs

Outside the cave, sunlight slowly crept in. Just as it was about to reach Huo Yuhao's face, he opened his eyes and saw Little Fairy Doctor, who had not slept all night, her face filled with worry.

"Brother Yuhao, you're awake!" The instant she saw Huo Yuhao open his eyes, Little Fairy Doctor was overjoyed. She instinctively reached out to help him up, but Huo Yuhao gently pushed her hand away and sat up on his own, his voice carrying a trace of unfamiliar politeness.

"Thank you."

"Teacher, Xiao Yan, Brother Yuhao is awake!" Worried about Huo Yuhao's condition, Little Fairy Doctor failed to notice his change. She only cared about his body and spiritual sea. "Brother Yuhao, how are you? Your spiritual sea..."

Without answering for the moment, Huo Yuhao felt the surging emotions in his heart, emotions that nearly tore him apart. Slowly, he raised both hands and tremblingly formed a hand seal he had used more times than he could remember.

Heart of Undead Annihilation!

A hazy gray mist emerged from Huo Yuhao's hands and slowly spread, like an icy tide, merging into his soul.

Then Huo Yuhao looked at Little Fairy Doctor and revealed the same warm, radiant smile as always. "Xian'er, I'm fine. Go rest first."

"Yuhao! Did your soul come back on the seventh day after your death?" Hurried footsteps sounded from outside the cave as Xiao Yan practically tumbled in, his voice full of concern, though his words were as punchable as ever.

Thud! Xiao Yan clutched the back of his head and collapsed to the ground. Behind him, Yao Chen stood with a raised fist and an unfriendly expression.

"Don't block the sunlight." Yao Chen's voice was worried. "Yuhao, what exactly happened to you?"

Looking at the fooling-around man and ghost, Huo Yuhao's gaze softened. He tugged at the corners of his mouth and forced out a smile.

"Teacher, I'm fine..."

A flash of white light streaked past. A pair of hands tightly gripped Huo Yuhao's shoulders, the fingers squeezing so hard that a sharp pain shot through them. He looked up to find Yao Chen's face close at hand, those bright crimson eyes staring fiercely into the depths of Huo Yuhao's pupils.

At last, Huo Yuhao could no longer keep up the pretense of smiling. He lowered his head, his gaze losing focus. At that moment, he did not even need to sense emotions; it was as though he could directly hear Yao Chen's thoughts. A voice seemed to keep speaking to him:

"I'm worried about you!"

"I want to understand your past!"

"I want to help you!"

At some point, the sunlight had hidden away, and the wind howled outside the cliffside cave. Huo Yuhao and the others sat cross-legged together as they listened to him recount his past.

"At first, I was only an illegitimate child. He did not even know I existed. My mother was his maidservant..."

Huo Yuhao's voice continued. Listening to what should have been the life story of a protagonist favored by fate, the nameless fire in Xiao Yan's heart somehow burned ever hotter. Finally, when Huo Yuhao spoke of what happened just after he became a god, Xiao Yan could no longer hold himself back. He sprang up as though blasted by explosives, grabbed Huo Yuhao by the collar, and spoke in a voice that was nearly torn apart.

"Huo Yuhao! You fucking forgave them?" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth. "Huo Yuhao, do you know that whatever-the-fuck Sea God, he... he..."

Xiao Yan clenched his teeth and thought for a long while, yet still could not find words fitting enough to describe what he had done.

"I know. I always... knew." Huo Yuhao gently pried Xiao Yan's hand away. His voice was abnormally calm, but his empty gaze passed over Xiao Yan and stared straight at the sky beyond the cave. In a daze, he seemed to see phantoms of the past.

"Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er are actually both Tang Wutong."

"It's just that your girlfriend died. I'll make you another one."

"Tang Wutong is my daughter."

"Your girlfriend's soul is in my hands."

"I resurrected your mother."

"Your mother's soul is also in my hands."

"I think highly of you."

"Be obedient and be my dog."

"What... could I do..." His voice was almost too low to hear.

Coming back to himself, Huo Yuhao pressed his pale lips together and continued recounting his experiences.

Only when Huo Yuhao finished his final syllable did the indescribable suffocation and fury crash into Xiao Yan's mind. He viciously dug both hands into the ground, crushing the rocks in his grasp into powder, as though only this could vent the oppression in his heart.

The cave fell silent. Apart from the mournful wind outside, only the explosive cracks of the stones Xiao Yan crushed remained. Beyond the cave, dark clouds filled the sky as though they were about to come crashing down.

Huo Yuhao glanced at the weather outside and spoke softly. "It's about to rain. If we don't leave now, we won't reach Green Mountain Town today."

With that, Huo Yuhao prepared to stand.

Suddenly, a figure lunged at him. Arms like iron chains wrapped tightly around him, squeezing so hard that he could barely breathe.

Then Xiao Yan's voice, ground out from between clenched teeth, rang beside Huo Yuhao's ear.

"We'll kill him together! Huo Yuhao, one day, we'll kill him together!"

"Even if we kill him, what would—"

His voice abruptly rose, exploding beside Huo Yuhao's ear. "Killing him is the meaning! Huo Yuhao! Go kill him, go save your family. If not now, then later. If not later, then even later. You crossed time and space to come to this world, so you can definitely cross time and space again to go back and save them! If a Dou Saint can't do it, then become a Dou Emperor. If a Dou Emperor can't do it, then break through again!"

"One day! Huo Yuhao, one day it can be done!"

The crushing embrace loosened. Huo Yuhao looked up and saw Xiao Yan's chest heaving violently, his eyes bloodshot.

"We're not going back yet!" Xiao Yan's voice had changed pitch. "I'm pissed off. I'm going to kill magical beasts!"

His words still echoed in the air when that figure charged out of the cave and vanished from sight.

Huo Yuhao remained frozen in the posture of rising. Even though Xiao Yan had released him, he still could not breathe. It seemed as though every word and every sentence Xiao Yan had spoken was still holding him tightly, strangling his neck.

At that moment, another pair of hands reached over and slowly embraced Huo Yuhao. White hair brushed across his cheek, and Yao Chen's gentle yet resolute voice fell into the depths of Huo Yuhao's heart.

"Yuhao, believe in your teacher. Your teacher will definitely find a way!"

Those voices seemed to have cast some secret soul art. Wave after wave of dizziness flooded his mind. Huo Yuhao's lips moved as he tried to speak, but his throat was blocked, and he could not force out a single word.

In his haze, he did not know when the second embrace had ended. Yao Chen's figure had vanished from the cave.

After an unknown amount of time, a pair of tiny, trembling hands took hold of Huo Yuhao's hand and slowly climbed up his body. A moment later, Little Fairy Doctor's trembling body embraced Huo Yuhao. From beginning to end, she did not say a single word.

Rumble! Outside the cave, thunder roared and torrential rain poured down. Inside the cave, Little Fairy Doctor trembled yet held him firmly, tightly embracing him, never letting go.