Withered Bones Bloom

"Xiao An, that child..."

Zhang Lexuan's eyes flickered slightly, clearly moved by pity.

There were also some bystanders nearby, but intimidated by the White Tiger Duke's status and authority, they merely hesitated and did not dare approach.

Ye An's heart settled slightly, and he immediately made his decision.

"Uncle Peng."

At Ye An's call, Jin Peng's terrifying pressure as a Super Douluo erupted instantly, sending the three guards who had been kicking Huo Yuhao flying.

The sudden turn of events immediately put a look of fear on Dai Huabin's face. The three guards were not seriously hurt, only suffering minor injuries at most.

Before long, the three guards hurried away, dragging the terrified Dai Huabin with them.

There was naturally no need for Jin Peng, a Super Douluo, to deal with three guards. Ye An and Zhang Lexuan could have handled them easily. But with Dai Huabin's temperament, even if he was driven away, he might still hold a grudge and find a way to retaliate after returning.

Ye An was not afraid, but fewer troubles were always better.

After Dai Huabin and his guards left, Huo Yuhao dragged his battered body up from the ground. He looked around, confusion showing in his bright eyes, as though he were searching for something.

After finding nothing, Huo Yuhao instinctively picked a direction at random and bowed, murmuring his thanks.

That movement made the wounds on his body ache even more.

He bared his teeth, then dragged himself over to the flatbreads that had long been crushed beyond recognition and bent down to pick them up.

They had been trampled so badly that they were obviously no longer edible.

Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together, his eyes trembling as though he were about to cry. But he quickly wiped at the corners of his eyes and forced the tears back.

His mother had told him that a real man must never cry easily.

Just then, a set of footsteps suddenly sounded before him.

Huo Yuhao instinctively looked up, and an exquisitely beautiful face immediately entered his view. Yet what caught his attention even more was the outstretched hand.

The hand was slender, with clearly defined knuckles. Resting upon it were ten flatbreads.

Huo Yuhao looked up blankly and met Ye An's calm, profound eyes. The beautiful woman he had seen earlier stood beside him.

"These... are for me?"

Huo Yuhao looked cautiously at the flatbreads, longing in his eyes, but his body unconsciously retreated half a step.

Ye An said nothing more. He merely reached out and placed the ten flatbreads he had just bought into Huo Yuhao's hands.

"Although I don't know what you've been through, take this food home and eat it."

Huo Yuhao stared blankly at Ye An's face. The tears he had not shed before suddenly rolled from his eyes and down his grimy cheeks without warning.

He had not cried when he was beaten.

He had not cried when the food he earned through hard work was thrown away.

He had not cried when he had to go hungry for another whole day.

But after feeling Ye An and Zhang Lexuan's kindness, Huo Yuhao's tears would not stop flowing.

Seeing this, Ye An sighed softly inwardly.

He took a lollipop from his pocket, carefully unwrapped it, and placed it directly into Huo Yuhao's mouth. "I can tell from your appearance that your life has probably been very hard. I can't change anything, but..."

"I hope this lollipop can let you taste even a little sweetness. Perhaps before long, you'll truly leave your hardships behind and live the good life you want."

That was a lie.

Ye An knew that Huo Yuhao's difficult days would continue for another seven years. Only after his mother, Huo Yun'er, died would he cultivate diligently, break through to level ten Soul Power, and head alone to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring. Only then would his hard life come to a temporary end.

But... thinking of everything Huo Yuhao went through after entering Shrek Academy, those days were not really all that sweet either.

Yet Huo Yuhao took Ye An's comfort to heart. He instinctively licked the lollipop he had never tasted before, and a thread of sweetness immediately stimulated his taste buds. At the same time, he unconsciously hugged the flatbreads Ye An had given him tightly to his chest.

Huo Yuhao's tiny action made Zhang Lexuan sigh inwardly as well. She could not help crouching down and rubbing his somewhat messy hair, her voice gentle. "Those people... must have hurt you badly, right?"

Huo Yuhao's reply came almost without hesitation. "It's fine. I'm used to it."

As his words fell, Ye An stepped forward and placed a hand on Huo Yuhao's body.

In that single instant, Ye An frowned unconsciously—Huo Yuhao only appeared to be fine, as though he merely had some external injuries. In reality, his bones had shifted and suffered minor fractures.

With such a living environment, it was already no easy feat for Huo Yuhao to survive until the day he awakened his Martial Soul at six years old.

"Your bones have shifted and suffered minor fractures. You may not feel that it's much, but this is already very serious for your growth."

Hearing Ye An's words, Huo Yuhao froze slightly.

But his first thought was not how he could be treated. Instead, he thought about how much it would cost to recover.

They simply did not have that much money.

But in the next instant, Ye An placed both hands on Huo Yuhao's body.

As Soul Power and Bone Shockwave were released simultaneously, an invisible force flowed into Huo Yuhao's body and slowly repaired the damaged bones within him.

This was also one of the Self-Created Soul Skills Ye An had developed through his understanding of his Martial Soul.

Through the dual effects of Soul Power and Bone Shockwave, it could mend bones, repair bone injuries, influence bone marrow's blood production, and even regenerate severed bones.

Of course, it was limited to healing bones. As for healing external injuries... that was not his specialty.

Ye An named this Self-Created Soul Skill Withered Bones Bloom.

At his current stage, regenerating severed bones was naturally impossible, but repairing Huo Yuhao's damaged bones was more than enough.

As Ye An acted, Huo Yuhao felt a faint vibration arise within his body. Then, the needle-like stabbing pain throughout him vanished completely, as though he had never been injured at all.