The next morning, the Isolation Array in Soul Tool Experiment Laboratory No. 3 slowly faded away.
Dong'er woke first. When she opened her eyes, the sky outside had not fully brightened, and a thin white mist floated over the lake. The two of them were nestled together in a soft leather chair beside the experimental table. Their difference in size allowed her to curl up comfortably in his arms, while Huo Yuhao's arm rested lightly around her.
Dong'er watched him for a long time.
Last night, she had said she wanted Wang Qiu'er to know, but when dawn truly came, she did not feel as satisfied as she had imagined. She had indeed been the first to keep Huo Yuhao by her side, but she also knew that the crack Wang Qiu'er had forced open in Huo Yuhao's heart would not disappear after just one night.
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, he met her gaze.
"Dong'er?"
Wang Dong'er looked away.
"Hmph, I don't want to talk to you," Dong'er said coquettishly.
Thinking he had angered Dong'er again somehow, Huo Yuhao hurriedly sat up, looked at her seriously, and asked in a low voice, "Did I hurt you badly?"
Heat rushed to Dong'er's ears, and she immediately glared at him. "Huo Yuhao, are you asking that now because you want me to throw you out?"
Huo Yuhao choked on her reply. He stared blankly, utterly at a loss.
Seeing him like that, the faint sourness in Wang Dong'er's heart suddenly softened, and the smile in her eyes could no longer be restrained. She raised a hand to straighten the collar of his already rumpled undershirt, gently brushed through his bangs, cupped his face in her palm, and stared into his eyes. "Yuhao, when I look into your pupils, I see only myself."
Huo Yuhao looked at her, rubbed his cheek against her slender, soft palm, and replied, "It has always been that way."
Dong'er's fingertips paused. "I'm just afraid of losing you."
Huo Yuhao's chest tightened. He took her hand. "I know."
"No, you don't." Dong'er looked at him. "You think I'm only afraid that Qiu'er will take you away, but that isn't it."
Her voice lowered. "You shine too brightly. What I fear most is that every time, you can find a perfectly justified reason. Research, cultivation, saving people, healing injuries, fighting... Too many people gather around you to admire you and watch you. No one can blame you, but it still hurts me."
Huo Yuhao fell silent, and Dong'er did not press him for an answer.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Both of them fell quiet at once, swiftly straightened their clothes and hair, and stood up.
Qiu'er stood at the door with the Golden Dragon Spear in hand and said to the Isolation Array, "Xuan Zi is looking for you." Though she could not see them, she had long known that the two of them had spent the night entwined within. Dong'er waved a hand to undo the Isolation Array and walked out.
Qiu'er saw Dong'er's loose hair, their tightly clasped hands, the tenderness and indulgence in Huo Yuhao's eyes when he looked at Dong'er, and the lingering aura of light on his collar. Her golden eyes lowered, and the corners of her lips lifted faintly, as though she were mocking herself.
She did not ask directly as she had before. The three of them headed to Sea God Pavilion together, and the atmosphere was more rigid than after any of their arguments.
Xuan Zi sat at the end of the long table, where newly delivered border intelligence from the previous night lay spread out. After Zhang Peng retreated, the Holy Spirit Cult had not immediately stopped. Instead, it had left traces of three incomplete rituals on the outskirts of Star Dou. The Sun Moon Empire was not clean either. A batch of Simulation Soul Beast auras soul tool components had entered the black market, their engravings originating from the same source as the old array at the Abandoned Post Station.
"They didn't act on impulse." Xuan Zi tapped the tabletop. "Someone knows the secret of the Auspicious Beast taking human form, and they also know that Yuhao's spiritual attribute is special. They want to use the two of you as keys."
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes lit up as he connected the three coordinates into a line.
"They aren't three altars. They're a Pulling Formation. Zhang Peng personally acted that time to test Qiu'er's reaction and to test the limits of my Spirit Sea. The true core of the array has not revealed itself yet."
Ma Xiaotao stood off to the side with her arms folded. Seeing Huo Yuhao's slightly messy hair and the atmosphere between the two, she deliberately teased him with a faint smile. "Junior brother, you didn't sleep last night, yet you can still see so clearly?"
Heat rose to Huo Yuhao's ears, but Qiu'er could not laugh at all.
She looked at the Star Dou Great Forest coordinates on the sand table and suddenly said, "I'll investigate this route. That is my homeland. I should go and find out what is happening."
Xuan Zi frowned. "Alone?"
"I know that place better than any of you." Qiu'er planted the Golden Dragon Spear at her side, her golden eyes cold and clear. Huo Yuhao looked at her, a faint irritation rising in his heart.
Xuan Zi watched her for a moment, then sighed. "After the previous test, Zhang Peng will report the recent situation to the Sun Moon Empire. He will not continue pursuing you for the time being. Qiu'er, it is not a bad thing for you to return for a while."
Xuan Zi tossed her a black fragment and a signal flare. "There will be people from the academy waiting to meet you on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, in case evil soul masters set an ambush. If you encounter danger, don't force it. This is Shrek's special signal flare. If you are in danger, remember to signal the academy. Also, if you find traces of an altar or uncover clues, come back."
Qiu'er caught the fragment and the signal flare, then turned to leave.
Huo Yuhao hesitated before speaking, calling only, "Qiu'er." His hand was still tightly holding Dong'er's.
She stopped, but did not turn around. Huo Yuhao wanted to tell her to be careful, wanted to say that perhaps she should wait for everyone to go with her to the Star Dou Great Forest, but when the words reached his lips, he felt that he should not say them.
"You don't need to worry about me."
She paused.
"You should care more about the one by your side."
With that, she walked straight out of Sea God Pavilion.
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