The Sun Moon Empire's Hidden Manipulator, and Yuhao's Mistake After His Injury?

"You're awake."

Qiu'er sat beside his bed. She was not wearing her battle armor, only a simple dress beneath it, and the Golden Dragon Spear was nowhere in her hands. Her golden hair fell over her shoulders. She looked quieter than she had in the arena, yet somehow even more dangerous.

"Where's Dong'er? She still hasn't woken up?" Huo Yuhao's voice was hoarse.

Qiu'er's heart ached. The first thing Yuhao asked after waking was still about Dong'er, but she answered softly, "Mm. She hasn't woken up yet. Jiang Nannan is taking care of her."

"You shouldn't be here." Huo Yuhao turned his head away, hesitation in his tone.

"I know." Qiu'er continued looking at him quietly.

Huo Yuhao raised his eyes to look at her. The backlash from his Spirit Eyes made his vision darken in waves, but he still saw a streak of black-red ash on Wang Qiu'er's cuff—it was the bloody, baleful residue splashed out when the Evil Soul Nail had been shattered by the Golden Dragon Spear on the arena stage.

He vaguely sensed that something was off with the window lattice as well, but his injuries had greatly weakened his spiritual power. Unable to use Spirit Detection over its normal range, he swept his senses lightly over it and caught only a speck of silver dust, so fine it was nearly invisible, in the darkest crack of the lattice.

—But it was not dust at all. It was a piece of soul tool craftsmanship from the Sun Moon Empire, designed specifically to disrupt the human heart.

The room fell silent. The night wind blew past the window, and the soul lamp's light flickered slightly.

Wang Qiu'er did not notice that speck of silver dust at all. Her attention was entirely on Huo Yuhao. She raised her hand, and golden destiny power flowed from her fingertips. A slender, utterly pure pulse of spiritual energy slipped beneath Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes.

Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes throbbed faintly. He felt the comforting sensation of his soul power and spiritual power gradually recovering. He let out a muffled groan, his fingers suddenly gripping the edge of the bed as his body tensed beneath the soul power Qiu'er gave him.

As the pain in his Spirit Eyes was slowly suppressed by Qiu'er's soul power, another, more humiliating heat rose from the depths of his spiritual sea.

It was not merely surprise and joy at seeing Wang Qiu'er. It was the terror after battle, the pull of being saved, the weakness after his Spirit Eyes were injured. The emotions he had forcibly suppressed were being magnified bit by bit, along with the aura around Wang Qiu'er that he could no longer pretend was unfamiliar.

Huo Yuhao pushed himself up and slowly leaned against the bed, gritting out, "Qiu'er, stop."

Qiu'er watched cold sweat roll down his temple, and the gold in her eyes dimmed inch by inch. "If I stop, your Spirit Eyes will keep hurting tonight."

"Even so, we can't do this."

"Because of Dong'er?" Qiu'er had long seen through the spiritual world he refused to face, the one buried deep in his heart.

Huo Yuhao said nothing. Wang Qiu'er stepped closer, her voice heavy with bitterness and pain. "Huo Yuhao, I saw the look in your eyes when you picked Wang Dong'er up."

Huo Yuhao's throat tightened.

Wang Qiu'er continued, "I know how you feel."

She fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed softly. "But Huo Yuhao, I can't ignore you. I never wanted to come back. It was my destiny power that sensed you were in mortal danger... I didn't want you to die."

"I only wanted to do what I could, then return to the Star Dou Great Forest. But when I truly saw you, I no longer had the courage to leave alone."

"I'm still not that free and easy."

Huo Yuhao knew Qiu'er was neither acting coy nor fighting for anything. She was simply placing before him the grievance of her feelings for him, which she had always buried deep in her heart, and her determination to fulfill them by stepping aside.

Huo Yuhao said quietly, "Qiu'er, I promised Dong'er."

"I know."

Qiu'er continued pressing lightly against his brow. Golden energy kept flowing into his Spirit Eyes, gentler than before. Her fingers slowly brushed over his forehead and brows. She looked at him, and her voice suddenly lowered.

"So if you push my hand away now, I'll leave immediately."

Huo Yuhao lifted his hand, intending to move hers away. But the moment he truly touched her hand, his own slowly fell back down.

"Huo Yuhao, you don't want me to leave."

"Mm."

Upon hearing that affirmative reply, Wang Qiu'er stopped caring about anything else. The sharpness in her eyes suddenly shattered, becoming a nearly savage grievance and unwillingness. She did not wait for him to think any further. Leaning down, she kissed him. The kiss was deep, her tongue forcefully slipping in with a wild, burning possessiveness. Huo Yuhao stiffened at first, one hand pressed to her shoulder as he tried several times to push her away. But Wang Qiu'er did not retreat. While using her soul power to suppress the backlash in his Spirit Eyes, she used that almost stubborn kiss to force him to admit it.

Admit that he had thought of her.

Admit that when he saw her descend from the sky, he had felt more than relief.

Admit that in the gap when Dong'er was not by his side, he had thought of her too.

Huo Yuhao finally let out a low gasp and did not push her away again.

Qiu'er's fingers suddenly clenched his collar, as though she had seized a belated answer. She sank fully into his arms, her body pressing close to his. Her supple yet powerful waist rubbed lightly against him, her hurried breath mingling with his. Even through their clothes, he could feel her scorching warmth.

"Qiu'er... stop..." Huo Yuhao still did not want to continue.

Qiu'er made a faint, choked sound, yet kissed him even more actively. Her hand slipped beneath his collar, her palm pressing against his burning chest. Her fingertips dragged forcefully over his skin, as though she wanted to carve her presence into his body little by little.

Huo Yuhao's breathing fell completely out of rhythm. At that moment, the silver dust by the window lattice began to flicker and glow. While neither of them noticed, it fell into Huo Yuhao's ear. His Spirit Eyes lit up, and a tempting voice seemed to whisper beside him, "Huo Yuhao, you coward who cannot face your own heart." In an instant, Huo Yuhao rolled over. He lowered his head and bit her earlobe, directly pulling off their clothes. Qiu'er was startled by his sudden initiative and the pain beneath him, yet she still let out uncontrollable, muffled gasps. Golden energy surged madly along their entwined breaths, like a searing, tyrannical flame burning freely through his torn spiritual sea.

"Huo Yuhao..." Wang Qiu'er's voice had already gone hoarse, but she still stubbornly whispered in his ear, "Yuhao, do you... still want me to leave now?"

Huo Yuhao did not answer. He merely silenced her with a deeper kiss. His palm slid from her waist to her chest, kneading hard through the last layer of cloth. Wang Qiu'er's body trembled uncontrollably, but she only held him tighter.

The warning calls after the tournament's recess still sounded in the distance outside. In the Sea God Pavilion infirmary, Wang Dong'er had yet to awaken.

It was too late.

When they woke the next day, daylight had already fallen by the window. Amid rumpled clothes and lingering golden energy, unease grew heavier and heavier in Huo Yuhao's chest.

Huo Yuhao lay with his eyes open for a long time without moving. Wang Qiu'er lay at his side, already awake before him. They were so close that everything that had spiraled out of control last night could no longer be brushed aside with the words "treatment." Huo Yuhao's fingers moved slightly, but he did not know where to put them.

He had never felt so helpless before.

Qiu'er looked at him, the golden light in her eyes much fainter. "Do you regret it?"

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. His voice was low and hoarse. "I don't know."

Huo Yuhao sensed that something had been wrong last night, but he also understood that all those emotional temptations had merely given him a push. He should not place all that pressure and blame on Wang Qiu'er alone, so he did not explain what had happened to her.

After all, what had happened had happened.

Huo Yuhao continued, "I shouldn't have betrayed Dong'er."

The moment those words fell, Wang Qiu'er's face went pale.

Her heart hurt so badly it felt ready to bleed, but she neither cried nor returned to that sharp, guarded demeanor. She merely sat up, gathering her disheveled long hair behind her shoulders, her voice so soft that almost no emotion could be heard in it. "Since you're so troubled and guilty over this..."

Huo Yuhao looked at her, and Wang Qiu'er looked back at him.

"I'll return to the Star Dou Great Forest."

Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted slightly.

Wang Qiu'er continued, "Besides, I don't want to become the mistake you can never mention in your heart."

She rose to leave.

Almost instinctively, Huo Yuhao grabbed her wrist. Wang Qiu'er fell back into his arms, her shoulders stiffening for a moment. She did not break free from his embrace, only lowered her head to look at his arm. Huo Yuhao's throat tightened, and it took him a long time to say, "Don't go."

Wang Qiu'er did not turn around.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

Huo Yuhao pulled her back.

It was not because he could say it with complete conviction, nor because he had finally figured out how to face Dong'er. He was simply panicking. The words "return to the Star Dou Great Forest" pierced him like a knife, making him realize for the first time that he could no longer bear for Wang Qiu'er to truly leave.

"I know I did something wrong."

"But I can't lie to you, and I can't lie to myself."

The stubborn tears in Qiu'er's already reddened eyes finally fell.

The dangerous line between the three of them, already stretched to its limit, had finally been pushed by someone from the Sun Moon Empire and broken beyond its original shape.

When Wang Dong'er woke up, everyone would have to face it.