Dong'er hurried back to the Abandoned Post Station, only to find that the old formation in the inner room had already gone dark.
The Blood Baleful Intent outside had yet to fully dissipate. The soul beasts on the withered trees had been rescued by Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan. The Soft Bone Rabbit curled up inside a medicinal cloth, trembling. The Azure Jade Deer lowered its head to shield its young, while the White-Feathered Spirit Sparrow's wingtips were still dusted with charred ash.
Yet the first person Dong'er saw was Huo Yuhao standing at the entrance to the inner room.
His face was pale, and his lapels had clearly been straightened by his own hand, though 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 a 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 Zi was returning from deep within the barren forest. When he landed, the earth beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. The smell of alcohol on him was nearly overwhelmed by the stench of blood. His right sleeve had been torn open, and a dark-red scorpion-lizard pattern remained on his palm.
"Zhang Peng came himself," Xuan Zi said in a low voice. "That old bastard was after Qiu'er."
Ma Xiaotao returned from the outer ring of flames, her red robes fluttering. She swept her gaze over Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er, the corners of her lips lifting slightly, but she said nothing. A wisp of undispersed Phoenix Flame still curled around her fingertips. She glanced at Huo Yuhao, then at Wang Qiu'er, and her lips curved again.
"Little Junior Brother, you really are hard to kill."
Huo Yuhao's voice was slightly hoarse. "Thank you, Senior Sister, for sealing the outer formation."
"Don't thank me," Ma Xiaotao said lazily. "The one who truly doesn't value his life is you."
Her words were light, but her gaze was not. A Soul Sage able to forcibly withstand a killing move from a Titled Douluo truly was a monster. He was certainly worth another look.
Wang Dong'er walked closer. Her gaze fell first upon 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 make one's heart ache.
"Yuhao, are your injuries... serious?"
"They're fine now. My Spirit Sea is unharmed," Huo Yuhao answered briefly.
Dong'er looked at Qiu'er. "Did she help you?"
Huo Yuhao did not dare meet her eyes. He merely said, "Yes."
One word, without explanation.
It felt as though a fine needle had pierced Dong'er's heart. She lowered her eyes and reached out to straighten Huo Yuhao's collar. Her fingertips lightly brushed over the red mark on his wrist bone before quickly withdrawing.
"Don't block things alone again next time."
Huo Yuhao's Adam's apple moved. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely gave a low response.
Xuan Zi tossed a dark-red scorpion-lizard scale onto the ground. "Zhang Peng escaped, but I knocked this off him. It bears the blood seal of the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar, as well as a Sun Moon Empire soul tool conduction pattern."
He Caitou crouched down to inspect it, his expression growing increasingly grave. "There are also remnants of an old Star Dou altar hidden in the deepest layer."
Dong'er was puzzled. "This place isn't close to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Which is why these aren't natural remnants from the earth's veins," Huo Yuhao said in a low but steady voice. "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 ran 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."
Hearing that, Dong'er's heart grew even more bitter. She knew Huo Yuhao was right.
Ma Xiaotao suddenly chuckled, easing the awkwardness. "All right, stop standing around probing each other. If Little Junior Brother keeps forcing himself like this, Zhang Peng won't need to come back. He'll exhaust himself to death."
Xuan Zi nodded. "Withdraw to the academy. Take the captives with us, hand the soul beasts over to the inner court for treatment, and seal the Abandoned Post Station."
Huo Yuhao looked toward the soul beasts. The Soft Bone Rabbit seemed to notice his gaze and shrank in 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. After trembling for a while, the Soft Bone Rabbit finally buried its head in her palm.
Watching this, Dong'er suddenly found herself unable to keep hating her. Wang Qiu'er had indeed taken something Dong'er least wanted to share, but she was not a bad person.
Before they withdrew, Huo Yuhao finally could not hold on any longer. Having overdrawn himself too severely, his vision went black, and he fell forward. Dong'er hurriedly caught him, while Qiu'er supported his other side. Ma Xiaotao stood nearby, the amusement in her eyes deepening.
"Little Junior Brother, those injuries were really worth it."
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. Right now, he would rather Zhang Peng hit him with another palm strike.
After returning to the academy, Xuan Zi brought the two captive evil soul masters to the Sea God Pavilion. The two evil soul masters were restrained by soul tool binding rings. Their mouths were stubbornly tight, but they could not completely hide the formation patterns on their bodies. Huo Yuhao looked at them and prepared to activate his Spirit Eyes to investigate.
Xuan Zi glanced at him. "Can you still hold up?"
"It's enough to deal with them."
Huo Yuhao raised his hand, and his Spirit Eyes glimmered faintly. A Soul Tool Recording Formation spread across the ground, its icy-blue patterns gradually peeling apart the residual formation markings on the two evil soul masters.
"Whoever dares to self-destruct, I'll burn through his meridians first and leave him crippled for life." Ma Xiaotao spoke disdainfully, but both evil soul masters stiffened at once.
Huo Yuhao did not let himself be distracted. He peeled away the evil soul mark on the first captive, and three lines surfaced within the recording formation.
The first line: an outer altar of the Holy Spirit Cult.
The second line: a soul tool trade route along the Sun Moon Empire border.
The third line: 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 simulating the aura of an auspicious beast."
Dong'er suddenly realized, "So the message from Star Dou was very likely triggered by them as well?"
He Caitou poked his head in from outside. "The Sun-Moon Conduction Pattern isn't a complete military-standard model. It looks more like a simplified version that leaked from the black market. Someone is selling the technology."
Tang Ya's message lit up at that moment. She had found in old records that, when the abandoned post road's merchant routes had been cut off three years ago, a white-clad adjudicator soul master had appeared. That person was suspected of later destroying Holy Spirit Cult altars multiple times along the Sun Moon Frontier. The records contained no name, 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 is exactly what they want to see."
"Don't let the Holy Spirit Cult lead you by the nose," Wang Dong'er continued.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Dong'er. Her analysis was precise, and rare as it was, she had not let Qiu'er act rashly. Instead, she had 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."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao said helplessly, "Sister Xiaotao, say less."
"All right." Ma Xiaotao raised her hands, though the smile of an elder sister enjoying the spectacle remained in her eyes. "I won't say anything."
Her gaze swept over Huo Yuhao, carrying a hint of appreciation, a hint of teasing, and the lazy relaxation that came after battle. As an onlooker, she saw the tangled relationship among the three more clearly, so she insisted on lightly poking through that thin layer of paper.
"Still, Little Junior Brother." Ma Xiaotao leaned against the doorway as the Phoenix Flame around her fingertips slowly faded. Her voice was languid. "I'll ask on their behalf."
Ma Xiaotao smiled faintly. "Whose are you, exactly?"
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, but filled with pain. "But I don't want him to lie to me now."
It felt as though something pressed down on Huo Yuhao's chest. Ma Xiaotao's smile faded slightly, and she did not continue teasing him. She knew the moment had reached its limit. Going any further would no longer be a joke; it would be causing trouble.
"Sister Xiaotao," Huo Yuhao said softly.
"Don't call me that." Ma Xiaotao turned away. "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 was, his fingertips turning cold.
Xuan Zi said, "This mission ends here. Leave the rest to the supervisory 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 her head toward him and finally asked in a low voice.
"Just now in the inner room, was it really only healing?"
Huo Yuhao's fingers paused.
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 severed, that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament roster 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.
Before you continue