Was It Really Just Healing in the Inner Chamber?

When Dong'er hurried back to the Abandoned Post Station, the old formation in the inner chamber had already gone dark.

The blood-soaked baleful aura outside had yet to disperse, while the Soul Beasts on the withered trees had already been rescued by Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan. The Soft Bone Rabbit curled up inside medicinal cloth, trembling. The Azure Jade Deer lowered its head to shield its young, and the White-Feathered Spirit Sparrow's wing tips were still dusted with charred ash.

Yet the first person Dong'er saw was Huo Yuhao standing at the entrance to the inner chamber.

His face was pale, and his clothes had clearly been straightened by someone. Yet there was still a pressed crease at his collar. A faint red mark lay beside his wrist bone, as though someone had gripped it hard. Wang Qiu'er stood at his side, her aura much quieter than usual, though heat that had not fully faded still lingered in the depths of her golden eyes.

Dong'er saw it.

And understood part of it.

She did not question him immediately.

Xuan Lao was returning from deep within the desolate forest. When he landed, the earth beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. The scent of alcohol around him was nearly overwhelmed by blood. His right sleeve had been torn open, and a dark red scorpion-lizard pattern still remained on his palm.

"Zhang Peng came in person." Xuan Lao's voice was low. "That old bastard was after Qiu'er."

Ma Xiaotao walked back from the ring of fire outside, her red robes fluttering fiercely. She swept her gaze over Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er, the corner of her lips lifting slightly, but said nothing. A wisp of undispersed Phoenix Fire still curled around her fingertips. She looked at Huo Yuhao, then at Wang Qiu'er, and the corner of her lips rose again.

"Junior brother, you're tough to kill."

Huo Yuhao's voice was slightly hoarse. "Thank you, Senior Sister, for sealing the outer formation."

"Don't thank me." Ma Xiaotao spoke lazily. "The one who truly doesn't value his life is you."

Her words were light, but her gaze was not. With the cultivation of a Soul Sage, Huo Yuhao had managed to take a Titled Douluo's killing move head-on. He truly was a monster, and certainly worth another look.

Wang Dong'er stepped closer. Her gaze first fell on the red mark on Huo Yuhao's wrist, then shifted to Wang Qiu'er's slightly disheveled collar. Her voice was soft, yet steady enough to ache:

"Yuhao, are your injuries... serious?"

"I'm fine now. The sea of spirit is already unharmed." Huo Yuhao's answer was brief.

Dong'er looked at Qiu'er. "She helped you?"

Huo Yuhao did not dare meet her eyes. He merely said, "Yes."

One word, without an explanation.

It was like a fine needle pricked Dong'er's heart. She lowered her eyes and reached out to straighten Huo Yuhao's collar. Her fingertips lightly brushed the red mark on his wrist bone before quickly withdrawing.

"Don't block it alone next time."

Huo Yuhao's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he only gave a quiet response.

Xuan Lao tossed a dark red scorpion-lizard scale onto the ground. "Zhang Peng got away, but I knocked this off him. It bears the blood seal of the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar, as well as Soul Tool conduction patterns from the Sun Moon Empire."

He Caitou crouched down to inspect it, his expression growing darker and darker. "There are also traces of an old Star Dou altar at its core."

Dong'er was puzzled. "This place isn't close to the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Which is why it isn't a natural remnant of the earth's veins." Huo Yuhao's voice was low but steady. "Someone stripped the altar remnants away and buried them beneath the old post road. Zhang Peng used the slaughter of Soul Beasts to lure Qiu'er out of the formation, then used the altar remnants to amplify the pull of Qiu'er's aura."

This had not been an impromptu ambush. Someone had calculated Wang Qiu'er's personality in advance and calculated that Huo Yuhao would save her.

Wang Qiu'er tightened her grip on the Golden Dragon Spear. "I went off course."

Huo Yuhao looked at her. "They used the lives of Soul Beasts as bait. If I were you, I would have rushed out too."

When Dong'er heard that, her heart felt even more sour. She knew Huo Yuhao was right.

Ma Xiaotao suddenly laughed, breaking the awkwardness. "Enough. Stop standing around probing each other. If Junior Brother keeps forcing himself to hold on, Zhang Peng won't need to come back. He'll wear himself to death on his own."

Xuan Lao nodded. "Withdraw to the academy. Take the captives with us, hand the Soul Beasts over to the inner academy for treatment, and seal the Abandoned Post Station."

Huo Yuhao looked toward the Soul Beasts. The Soft Bone Rabbit seemed to sense his gaze and curled up even tighter. Qiu'er walked over and crouched down. The aura of an auspicious beast gently descended. She said nothing, but her movements were far gentler than usual. The Soft Bone Rabbit trembled for a while before finally burying its head in her palm.

Watching this, Dong'er suddenly found herself unable to keep hating her. Wang Qiu'er had indeed taken something she least wanted to share, but she was not a bad person after all.

Before they withdrew, Huo Yuhao finally could not hold on any longer. Having overdrawn himself too severely, his vision went dark, and he fell forward. Dong'er hurriedly caught him, while Qiu'er supported his other side. Ma Xiaotao stood nearby watching, the amusement in her eyes deepening.

"Junior Brother, those injuries were well worth it."

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. Right then, he would rather Zhang Peng hit him with another palm strike.

After returning to the academy, Xuan Lao brought the two captured evil soul masters to the Sea God Pavilion. The two evil soul masters were bound by Soul Tool restraint rings. Their mouths were stubbornly tight, but they had failed to hide the formation patterns on their bodies completely. Huo Yuhao looked at them, preparing to open his Spirit Eyes and investigate.

Xuan Lao glanced at him. "Can you still hold on?"

"Against them, it's enough."

Huo Yuhao raised his hand, and his Spirit Eyes glimmered faintly. The Soul Tool Recording Formation spread across the floor, icy blue patterns slowly peeling open the lingering formation markings on the two evil soul masters' bodies. Ma Xiaotao folded her arms and leaned against the doorway, flames circling her fingertips once.

"Whoever dares self-destruct, I'll burn through his meridians first and make him a cripple for life." Her tone was disdainful, but the two evil soul masters both stiffened at once.

Huo Yuhao did not let himself be distracted. He stripped open the evil soul mark on the first captive, and three lines emerged upon the recording formation.

The first: an outer branch altar of the Holy Spirit Cult.

The second: a Soul Tool trade route along the Sun Moon Empire border.

The third: an old Star Dou altar.

"They've been to Star Dou," Wang Qiu'er said.

"Not merely been there." Huo Yuhao said, "They obtained fragments capable of imitating the aura of an auspicious beast."

Dong'er suddenly realized, "So the message from Star Dou may have been triggered by them as well?"

He Caitou poked his head in from outside. "The Sun Moon conduction patterns aren't complete military-standard models. They look more like simplified versions leaked from the black market. Someone is selling the technology."

A message from Tang Ya lit up at that moment as well. She had discovered in the old records that, three years ago, when merchant caravans disappeared along the abandoned post road, a white-robed judgment soul master had appeared. That person was suspected of later destroying Holy Spirit Cult altars along the Sun Moon border several times. There was no name in the archives, only an incomplete Holy Light Sword Sigil.

Qiu'er immediately said, "I want to go to the old Star Dou altar."

Dong'er looked at her. "If you go now, that's exactly what they want to see."

Wang Dong'er continued, "Don't let the Holy Spirit Cult lead you around by the nose."

Huo Yuhao glanced at Dong'er. Her analysis was accurate, and rare as well—she had not allowed Qiu'er to act impulsively, but stopped her from the perspective of the battle situation.

Qiu'er eventually nodded. Ma Xiaotao smiled. "That's more like it. Even if you want to fight, you have to pick the right time. Otherwise, before the enemy dies, you'll stab your own hearts to pieces first."

Huo Yuhao heard this and said helplessly, "Sister Xiaotao, say a little less."

"Fine." Ma Xiaotao raised her hands, though the amused smile of an elder sister watching a show remained in her eyes. "I won't say anything."

Her gaze swept across Huo Yuhao, carrying a trace of appreciation, a trace of teasing, and the lazy relaxation that came after battle. As an observer, she saw the tangled relationship among the three more clearly, which was why she insisted on lightly poking through that thin layer of paper.

"However, Junior Brother." Ma Xiaotao leaned against the doorway as the Phoenix Fire around her fingertips slowly faded, her voice lazy. "I'll ask this for them."

Ma Xiaotao smiled lightly. "Who exactly do you belong to?"

Dong'er said quietly, "It's too early for that question."

Ma Xiaotao looked at her. "Don't you want to know?"

"I do." Wang Dong'er raised her eyes. They were bright, and full of pain. "But I don't want him to lie to me now."

Something seemed to press down on Huo Yuhao's chest. Ma Xiaotao's smile faded slightly, and she did not continue teasing him. She knew the timing was enough. Going further would no longer be a joke, but would only create trouble.

Huo Yuhao said quietly, "Sister Xiaotao."

"Don't call me that." Ma Xiaotao turned around. "I only asked a question. The person who truly needs to answer isn't me."

She walked out of the Sea God Pavilion. Huo Yuhao remained where he stood, his fingertips cold.

Xuan Lao said, "This mission ends here. Leave the follow-up to the inspection corps. Return to the academy and rest."

Huo Yuhao put away the Soul Tool Recording Formation, but his fingers were slightly stiff. Dong'er turned to look at him and finally asked in a low voice:

"Just now, in the inner chamber, was it really only healing?"

Huo Yuhao's fingers froze.

He wanted to say that now was not the time to explain. He wanted to say that the Holy Spirit Cult's trail had not been cut off, that the roster for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament would be announced tomorrow, and that they could not let their feelings hold them back here. But he understood even more clearly that what held Dong'er back was not her feelings.

It was him.