News of Wang Qiu'er's true origins was suppressed by Xuan Zi. But there was no such thing as a truly airtight wall. Overnight, rumors spread through Shrek like wildfire—saying Wang Qiu'er's identity was far from ordinary, that Huo Yuhao had always been protecting her, and so on.
Early that morning, Xuan Zi called Huo Yuhao over to submit the Spirit Detection records from the Soul Beast riot outside the city. He Caitou also borrowed the sensory array blueprint Huo Yuhao had drafted the night before, saying he wanted to see whether he could make the monitoring Soul Tool more stable. Tang Ya poked her head in from the doorway with an armful of old files and said with a smile, "For my junior disciple to catch the attention of two girls at once is quite the academy headline."
Dong'er had been dragged off by Xiao Xiao for morning training. Xiao Xiao did not ask anything, but she could see Dong'er's frustration. She practiced coordinated combat with her for half an hour before finally comforting her. "Dong'er, you have to trust Yuhao." Meanwhile, Bei Bei took Qiu'er to familiarize herself with the rules of the Inner Academy.
The cafeteria buzzed with endless discussion.
"What exactly is the background of that girl beside Huo Yuhao who looks exactly like Wang Dong'er?"
"I heard she challenged Huo Yuhao in public yesterday, and today Huo Yuhao is protecting her again."
"What about Wang Dong'er, then? They look identical. Can Huo Yuhao even tell them apart?" Laughter erupted all around.
"Didn't you see Wang Dong'er yesterday? She was so jealous her face turned pale."
When Huo Yuhao entered the cafeteria, every voice lowered. It was not as though he could not hear them. For a spiritual-type soul master, overhearing such gossip was all too easy. But the more he heard, the more bored he became. He could hardly seal their mouths shut, so he simply pretended not to hear. Dong'er sat by the window. Unlike usual, she did not wave him over. Breakfast lay before her, but she had barely touched it.
Huo Yuhao walked over and called softly, "Dong'er."
Dong'er looked up at him and gave him a faint smile. "You're here."
"You don't need to listen to them..."
"It's fine." Dong'er lowered her head and stirred the porridge in her bowl. "After all, she came for you."
"That wasn't what I meant."
"But that's what you said." Dong'er looked up at him, a trace of bitterness suppressed in her eyes. "Yuhao, I'm not being unreasonable. Her identity is special, and people are watching her. I understand why you protected her..."
"But understanding doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
Huo Yuhao sat across from her and lowered his voice. "Then tell me, what should I do?"
Dong'er wanted him to stay farther away from Wang Qiu'er. But she could not say it—because this was no longer merely a matter between three people. The beast tide outside the city, the evil soul master runes in the corridor, Xuan Zi's observation assignment—each one reminded her that Wang Qiu'er's existence was tied to something far more complicated. She did not want to make things difficult for Huo Yuhao, but neither did she want to pretend to be magnanimous.
Just then, the cafeteria entrance suddenly fell silent—Wang Qiu'er had arrived.
As though she had not noticed the surrounding stares at all, she walked straight toward Huo Yuhao. She carried no tray and clearly had not come to eat.
"Huo Yuhao, Xuan Zi told me to find you."
Huo Yuhao frowned. "Now?"
"Mm."
Dong'er gave a cold snort. "Did Xuan Zi tell you to find him, or did you want to find him?"
"Both."
Huo Yuhao felt as though the surrounding gazes were about to pierce straight through him, but he still rose to his feet. "Let's go." Dong'er stood as well, intending to go with them.
Wang Qiu'er did not object. But then she took another step—reaching out and directly taking hold of Huo Yuhao's wrist.
It was neither an intimate linking of arms nor a cautious touch. She simply took hold of him, directly and without reservation. The girl's fingers were long and strong, her fingertips carrying a trace of warmth that did not belong to a human, as though once she had decided this person mattered, she should take him away like this. Even through his sleeve, that warmth seeped through clearly. Huo Yuhao was startled by the sudden heat as well.
Every gaze around them fell on that hand, yet Qiu'er seemed not to understand what was wrong. "Come."
Huo Yuhao immediately pulled his hand free. "Qiu'er."
Confusion flashed in Qiu'er's eyes. "Can't I hold your hand?"
"What do you think?" Huo Yuhao said helplessly.
Qiu'er looked at Huo Yuhao. "You've held hers."
Dong'er's ears reddened, but her anger only intensified. "That's different!"
"How is it different?"
"I... with him..." Wang Dong'er's words caught in her throat. She wanted to say, "My relationship with him is different." She wanted to say, "We've been through so much together." She wanted to say, "He's mine." But before so many people, she could not say it. Besides, ever since she had changed from Wang Dong back into Wang Dong'er, she and Huo Yuhao had never formally confirmed a romantic relationship.
Qiu'er had no such reservations. Looking at Huo Yuhao, she said seriously, "I want to be close to you."
The cafeteria exploded completely. Huo Yuhao's expression changed. "Qiu'er!"
"Did I say something wrong again?"
Huo Yuhao rose to his feet and gently spread out his spiritual power. The chatter in the cafeteria was instantly suppressed. Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Qiu'er. "Let's go. Xuan Zi is waiting."
"Qiu'er." Huo Yuhao lowered his voice. "Why do you insist on getting close to me?"
Wang Qiu'er looked at him. "Because the destiny within me tells me that you're important."
"Only because of destiny?"
Qiu'er paused. It seemed to be the first time she had seriously distinguished between the two.
"At first, yes."
Dong'er's gaze tightened, and Huo Yuhao watched her as well.
Qiu'er continued, "Now... not only that."
On the tree-lined path, the sound of the wind suddenly softened. Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat. Qiu'er's tone remained calm, yet it carried scalding emotion. "When I see you protect me, I feel happy inside. When I see her standing beside you, I feel uncomfortable. When I see you standing beside her... I want to pull you over."
There was not a shred of shyness in her words, only a desire with no path of retreat. He suddenly remembered the moment in the cafeteria when she had gripped his wrist. The warmth of her fingertips had passed through his sleeve. It had not been forceful, yet it seemed to leave a secret scorch mark around his heart, as though it still lingered on his skin. It made him instinctively recall the faint scent of grass and trees she carried when she drew near, along with that wild yet supple body she had revealed in battle. He had not reacted at the time, but recalling it now, a dark thought flashed through his mind—
If there hadn't been so many people watching, if Dong'er hadn't been standing there, would he have... waited a little longer before pulling away?
The instant that thought arose, Huo Yuhao ruthlessly crushed it down in his heart. Qiu'er suddenly looked at Dong'er. "Is this what liking someone feels like?"
Huo Yuhao did not answer her, but Dong'er became completely certain of one thing—Qiu'er liked him.
The alarm from the sensory array along the academy's outer perimeter suddenly blared. Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection spread out in an instant—the array had not been attacked by an outside force. Rather, when Wang Qiu'er had approached him earlier, the Emperor Auspicious Beast's aura had been amplified by a wisp of black residual energy hidden deep within the array's runes, causing the soul tool array to mistakenly identify the entire Inner Academy as an "invasion by a high-level Soul Beast core."
"Someone planted a trigger in the array beforehand," Huo Yuhao said in a low voice. "They were waiting specifically for you to release your aura."
Qiu'er looked at him. "Is this related to me again?"
"Someone is using you to stir things up."
Huo Yuhao rushed toward the Soul Tool node. It was beneath a stone lantern beside the tree-lined path, where silver Soul Tool runes flashed violently. If it continued to spiral out of control, the entire Inner Academy's defensive array would be forcibly activated. At that point, Qiu'er's identity would be completely exposed before even more people—and that was exactly what their enemy was waiting for.
He crouched down, sending threads of spiritual power into the array runes. Ultimate Ice was not meant to freeze the formation, but to slow the rapidly flowing Soul Power. Spirit Detection flowed along every rune, searching for a black needle among countless silver threads. Dong'er stood behind him on guard while Qiu'er concealed her aura as much as possible, watching Huo Yuhao's focused profile as he broke the array—sweat beaded at his temples, his shoulders and back taut, his movements as precise as though he were conducting a Soul Tool experiment.
"Found it."
Huo Yuhao's gaze turned cold. Ultimate Ice flashed along the array runes, forcing that wisp of black residual energy out of the core and condensing it into a distorted black speck. He swiftly sealed it into a Soul Tool recording chip with his spiritual power, giving it no chance to self-destruct. The alarm ceased, and quiet returned to the Inner Academy. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiu'er looked at the recording chip. "Can we find out who did it?"
Huo Yuhao clenched the chip. "We can find the direction." He lifted his head and looked beyond Shrek City. "This fluctuation is very similar to the residue left by the evil soul masters outside the city yesterday."
Xuan Zi's voice came from afar. "Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu'er, come to the Sea God Pavilion."
Huo Yuhao did not leave immediately. He reached out and lightly squeezed Dong'er's hand, so briefly that others would scarcely have noticed. But Wang Qiu'er saw it. She lowered her head to look at her own hand, then looked at Huo Yuhao again without saying a word.
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