Qiu'er and Yuhao's Private Heart-to-Heart: What Does Kissing Feel Like?

After Dong'er and Qiu'er finished sparring, Huo Yuhao was scolded alone by Xuan Lao for half a shichen. "You are the core of the new generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters, a genius rarely seen in tens of thousands of years. You know perfectly well how highly the academy values you, yet you went and acted as someone else's shield." Xuan Lao tossed him some medicine for external injuries, though there was a trace of helplessness in his tone.

Huo Yuhao's injuries were not severe, but Dong'er looked at him as if he had just escaped the gates of hell. Qiu'er said nothing. Before leaving, she merely stared at him for a long time, then turned and departed alone.

As night deepened, Huo Yuhao sat alone in his room cultivating. Yet his spiritual detection unconsciously sought out Qiu'er's whereabouts—she was alone at the academy's back mountain. Worried that evil soul masters might have targeted her again, Huo Yuhao decided to go find her. However, he ran straight into Dong'er, who had been about to knock on his door. Both paused in surprise. Dong'er broke the silence. "You're going to find Wang Qiu'er?"

Huo Yuhao did not lie. He only said softly, "Yes. Xuan Lao told me to keep an eye on her safety. I'll be back soon."

The night breeze on the back mountain was slightly cool. Qiu'er sat atop a bluish stone, moonlight outlining her slender back. When Huo Yuhao approached, she did not turn around, but said quietly, "You came."

Huo Yuhao sat beside her, deliberately keeping a little distance. Qiu'er glanced at that small gap. "You would still protect her without hesitation."

"Yes."

"Then why did you come to find me?"

Huo Yuhao looked at her. "Because you're here alone. I'm responsible for ensuring your safety."

Wang Qiu'er lowered her head and looked at her hands. Her voice was calm, yet faintly unsteady. "Me? What danger could there be for me? My cultivation can rival a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. In the Star Dou Great Forest, many soul beasts revere and cherish me, but they aren't looking for Wang Qiu'er. They're looking for the Emperor Auspicious Beast."

Huo Yuhao's chest tightened slightly. Qiu'er turned to look at him, her gaze blazing without the slightest attempt at concealment. "That's why I don't want to leave you."

The night wind swept past, and the air between them seemed to thicken. Huo Yuhao recalled her wild, powerful body in battle, recalled the burning warmth of that touch in his dreams. For a moment, he did not know how to respond. But he knew that he did not want Qiu'er to return to the Star Dou Great Forest either.

Wang Qiu'er suddenly asked, "When you're close to her... what does it feel like?"

Huo Yuhao was startled and, for a moment, even felt a little embarrassed. Wang Qiu'er continued, "I saw it. When she kissed you, your spiritual power softened, and your whole body was... different."

"Qiu'er." Huo Yuhao's voice was hoarse.

"I know that's between the two of you." She moved slightly closer. "But I want to know why kissing can make you different. If it were me, would you be like that too?"

The night seemed to suddenly press down around them. Her words were like a flaming arrow, piercing straight into Huo Yuhao's chest. Qiu'er was not trying to tempt him. She truly did not understand. Under the moonlight, he looked at her profile, his Adam's apple bobbing softly as the warmth and strength of her nearness involuntarily flashed through his mind.

He took a deep breath and said quietly, "Qiu'er... I can't give you an answer right now."

Wang Qiu'er's eyes flickered. "Why?"

"At first, I really only wanted to figure out why you appeared. Later, when I learned your background was far from simple and that someone had targeted you, I felt I had a responsibility to protect you."

Wang Qiu'er looked at him as though she intended to remember every word. Huo Yuhao lowered his voice further. "Perhaps I have selfish motives too. I can't bear to leave you here alone." Qiu'er's gaze changed, like an untouched forest receiving lamplight for the first time.

After a long while, she asked, "Is that liking someone?"

"I still don't know."

Qiu'er nodded. She was not disappointed. Instead, she seemed to have received an answer she could accept.

In the distance, the shadows of the trees swayed lightly. Dong'er stood there, having heard everything.

Huo Yuhao rose to his feet. "We should go back."

Just then, Huo Yuhao felt a faint heat between his brows. The black residual ripple he had left in the recording fragment suddenly resonated subtly with somewhere on the back mountain. His gaze turned icy. The Spirit Eyes Martial Soul spread out in an instant, and the grass blades, rocks, and tree shadows in the night unfolded layer by layer. Behind the bluish stone where Qiu'er had just been sitting, he discovered a nearly worn-flat grain of black sand. After sealing it with Ultimate Ice, an extremely faint evil soul pattern appeared within it. Dong'er ignored the bitterness in her heart and charged out from the woods, ready for battle.

"They came for us." Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked toward the southwest outside Shrek City. "This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. They set a net long ago and have been waiting for Qiu'er to come near."

The three looked at one another through the night. The lingering ambiguity and tension in the air were instantly washed away by hostility. After thinking for a moment, Yuhao continued, "The Holy Spirit Cult may have established an outer outpost at some hidden location outside Shrek City. If the three of us keep fighting among ourselves, we'll only bring the danger closer."

The tension between them remained complicated, yet for the first time, a shared threat forced them to stand on the same side.

And fate stood ahead, laying out a crueler answer for him.