Not Family, Not Together

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That big idiot who bounced around all day finally needed to have some sense knocked into him."

A sinister smile hung on Huo Wu's delicate face. She shook her head in amusement and walked into the dormitory.

Closing the door behind her, Huo Wu's gaze landed on Lin Huo. "I never expected you, Little Huo, to be so quick-witted!

You actually managed to talk my idiotic brother, that brute who never listened to anyone, into doing what you wanted.

My poor foolish brother, toyed with by a little bad guy like you."

Unable to figure out what Huo Wu meant, Lin Huo simply answered honestly, "I wasn't fooling him. I was just telling the truth. It's just that Brother Wushuang's way of thinking is rather peculiar."

"Way of thinking? Does that mean someone has something wrong with their brain? What a novel phrase. Is that some kind of slang from where you come from?"

The unfamiliar expression piqued Huo Wu's curiosity. The more she thought about it, the more interesting she found the phrase "way of thinking," and her gaze at Lin Huo grew even more intrigued.

Lin Huo's scalp tingled beneath Huo Wu's fixed stare, and he felt restrained and uncomfortable all over. "What is it, Sister Huo Wu? Is there something on my face?"

Following Lin Huo's puzzled gaze, Huo Wu gave a mischievous smile. "No, there isn't. Your face is quite fair and clean. You'll definitely grow up to be a one-in-a-million pretty boy.

But speaking of which, your brain works pretty well. From now on, you're no longer my little brother! I've decided to generously promote you to be Sister Huo Wu's chief strategist!"

After racking his brain for ages without knowing what to say, Lin Huo stood silently for a long while before finally squeezing out, "Thank you for your appreciation, Sister Huo Wu."

At the same time, Lin Huo sighed inwardly. They truly were family. Huo Tian and Huo Wu, these siblings, both had peculiar ways of thinking and carefree personalities.

Living with Huo Wu, he was afraid his days at the academy would be difficult from now on.

While Lin Huo was still lamenting his future, Huo Wu clearly had no intention of letting him off.

"Oh, right, right. Since you and I are classmates and roommates, we ought to get to know each other better.

Come to think of it, I heard Uncle arranged Special-Grade Treatment for you. What level is your Innate Soul Power, Little Huo? And could you show Sister what your Martial Soul is?"

Innate Soul Power and Martial Souls were not things worth concealing anyway. With Huo Wu's connections, if she truly wanted to investigate, she could find out at any time.

So Lin Huo had no intention of hiding anything and answered directly. "My Soul Power is Innate Level Five, and my..."

"Level Five?! Innate Level Five Soul Power?! Little Huo, you're not joking with Sister, are you?" Huo Wu's astonished voice interrupted him.

The fact that someone with only Innate Level Five Soul Power had been granted Special-Grade Treatment by the academy truly shocked Huo Wu.

"Quick, quick, quick! Summon your Martial Soul! Sister wants to see exactly what your Martial Soul is!"

Huo Wu urged him repeatedly. Her eager manner gave Lin Huo a faint sense that something was wrong.

Lin Huo suddenly did not want to summon his Martial Soul. But on second thought, if he did not go along with Huo Wu, then with her personality, she would probably cling to him endlessly.

After a fierce internal struggle, Lin Huo ultimately decided to summon his Martial Soul.

"This is my Martial Soul. Its name is Charmander."

"..."

"..."

Once Lin Huo summoned the Little Fire Dragon Martial Soul, an eerie silence fell over the dormitory.

Huo Wu eyed Lin Huo suspiciously, examining him from head to toe. Lin Huo, who had nothing to feel guilty about, stared right back without giving an inch.

The two of them remained locked in a staring contest for some time.

Only when Huo Wu's strange silence began making Lin Huo uneasy did he finally have no choice but to speak first and break the ice.

"Come on, Sister Huo Wu, say something."

Huo Wu gazed at Lin Huo with a complicated, meaningful look for a moment before parting her lips. "Honestly, Little Huo, are you really not my uncle's illegitimate son?"

Damn it! Why had this come full circle again? Did these two siblings share the same way of thinking? Lin Huo's thoughts were a complete mess as he stared at Huo Wu speechlessly.

"No! I was an orphan from childhood. The town chief and the uncles and aunties in town supported me as I grew up. My parents were ordinary farmers who died very early."

He answered decisively, hoping to dispel the nonsense in Huo Wu's head.

Unfortunately, Lin Huo's hopes were good, but reality never went as one wished.

"Honestly, Sister seriously suspects that you're my uncle's illegitimate son!"

"Wh... why do you say that, Sister Huo Wu?"

Huo Wu looked utterly serious, to the point that even Lin Huo began to doubt himself.

Come to think of it, he really had never met his father in this life. According to the town chief, the man had died of illness before Lin Huo was born.

His birth mother had also become despondent after giving birth to him, and not long afterward, she too passed away.

No matter what, his father could not possibly be Huo Tian. Otherwise, when Huo Tian had delivered Gold Soul Coins to the town chief that day, Lin Huo would have been able to probe out some clues.

While Lin Huo was dispelling his own doubts, Huo Wu's conviction only grew stronger.

Similar Martial Souls, an unclear identity, and unusual special attention.

Huo Wu truly found it hard to convince herself that Lin Huo had nothing to do with Huo Tian.

Even the various reasons Huo Tian had given when he asked her for help earlier now seemed more like deliberate cover-ups.

At that moment, Huo Wu seemed to have discovered some great truth. The doubt on her face grew less and less, while determination steadily took its place.

"Little Huo, do you know that my uncle's Martial Soul is called the Earthfire Dragon?

Just like your Little Fire Dragon Martial Soul, it's a fire-attributed lizard-type beast Martial Soul. It's just that my uncle's Earthfire Dragon Martial Soul is larger and more imposing.

And Martial Souls are easily inherited through bloodlines. Sometimes, unexpected variations can occur..."

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Waving his hands, Lin Huo hurriedly cut off Huo Wu's wild speculation. Reasoning was not scary when evidence was lacking; what was scary was having no evidence at all and still imagining some up to hypnotize oneself.

If he did not properly explain things to Huo Wu now, he feared that even jumping into the Yellow River would not wash him clean. He might truly gain a father out of thin air.

Lin Huo urgently placed both hands on Huo Wu's shoulders and said with a solemn, resolute expression:

"Sister Huo Wu, please stop making wild guesses! I swear to heaven that Uncle Huo Tian and I truly have no relationship!

The town chief in my town has seen what my real father looked like. In any case, it definitely isn't what you think."

"Really?" Huo Wu still found it hard to believe. After all, Lin Huo's Martial Soul was sixty percent similar to her Uncle Huo Tian's Martial Soul.

Staring at Lin Huo, who was half a head shorter than her, Huo Wu did not mind his hands resting on her shoulders. She merely wore a doubtful expression.

"But in those storybooks sold at the street stalls in Blazing Fire City, isn't there often that kind of plot?

A dashing nobleman spreads his affections everywhere, only to one day discover that he has left behind a child in some small village."

Lin Huo's body stiffened. He suddenly realized that all his painstaking efforts to explain himself to Huo Wu had been completely meaningless.

Huo Wu took cheap street-stall fiction seriously. What else was there to say? He might as well just admit it.

"Sigh, read less of that worthless stuff, Sister Huo Wu."

Leaving those words behind, Lin Huo walked back to his bedroom with a desolate figure. He did not notice the sly smile appearing on Huo Wu's face behind him.