Huo Wushuang's Misery

Lin Huo naturally knew what Huo Wushuang was planning. Before the other man could speak, he refused first:

"Brother Wushuang, if you want to persuade me to join a faction, wait until there's another chance.

"I've only just come out of some backwater mountain village, and I know next to nothing about most things. For the time being, aside from studying, I have no plans for anything else."

The rejection had already been thrown right in his face, but Huo Wushuang was still unwilling to give up. Putting on a flattering smile, he tried again:

"Brother, you don't sound like some commoner from a backwater village. Seriously, don't you have even the slightest interest in joining our Fire Clan?"

"Enough, Brother Wushuang. If you keep talking, I'll go have a proper talk about romance with Sister Huo Wu and figure out a way to marry into your Fire Clan."

"..."

Huo Wushuang abruptly stopped, frozen in place. The smile vanished completely from his face as he let Lin Huo walk on alone.

"Whoa! No! You absolutely can't go after my little sister!"

With a strange cry, Huo Wushuang chased after him again. Throwing an arm around Lin Huo's shoulders, he began persuading him:

"Brother, you don't know what my little sister is like. She's unreasonable, aggressive, pretentious, crazy—she's got every bad trait rolled into one. She's practically not even human.

"If you get too close to that crazy woman, you'll definitely have a lifetime of suffering ahead of you!"

"Hiss... Is that really how you see Sister Huo Wu, Brother Wushuang?" Lin Huo looked at Huo Wushuang in astonishment, as though he had seen a ghost.

At first, he had thought Huo Wushuang was simply an obsessive sister-con, which was why he kept picking fights with him and trying to make him stay away from Huo Wu.

But now, Huo Wushuang's words sounded as though they came straight from the heart. That clearly was not something an obsessive sister-con would say.

Could there be some hidden story behind this?

"Ahem. Anyway, just don't get too close to my little sister. I won't bring up recruitment again."

Huo Wushuang coughed to hide his embarrassment. In truth, he had his own difficulties in this matter.

Before he started school, his old man had kept telling him that before the age of twenty was the golden period for a Soul Master's cultivation. He had told him to keep an eye on Huo Wu and not let her get caught up in romance and delay her cultivation.

If Huo Wu really started seeing someone at the academy, never mind whether it affected her cultivation—his old man would definitely hang him up and whip him.

So, for the sake of his own survival, he absolutely could not let his little sister fall into the grave of love.

Huo Wushuang's resolute attitude made Lin Huo sense an endless amount of trouble surrounding the matter.

Considering that Douluo Continent also had a Love God who occasionally stirred things up and produced lovesick idiots, that was hardly a good thing.

As it happened, Lin Huo's mind was currently filled with cultivation as well. He had no interest in romance for the time being.

So he conveniently made his stance clear to Huo Wushuang, intending to shake off this trouble first:

"Brother Wushuang, you're worrying too much. I don't have time for that fucking romantic love-story nonsense! All I want now is to cultivate. I guarantee that I have absolutely no interest in anything beyond cultivation."

Huo Wushuang sighed in relief. Earlier, he had seen Lin Huo standing very close to his little sister, and they addressed each other with particular familiarity.

It had truly felt as though the star of death was flashing above his head, with his very life hanging by a thread.

But now that Lin Huo had given such a firm promise, he could finally relax for the moment and turn his attention toward the other little brats trying to get close to his sister.

Having put his worries aside, Huo Wushuang looked at Lin Huo's profile. His head suddenly heated up, and a strange thought inexplicably surged forth.

Instinctively brushing his hand over the storage Soul Tool at his waist, Huo Wushuang took out a bulging pouch and held it out before Lin Huo.

"Brother Lin Huo, since you defeated me in battle, these Gold Soul Coins are the reward you deserve."

"Hm? Huh?"

The pouch of money before him made Lin Huo's brain shrivel.

Someone had just gotten beaten up and paid reparations this morning. Why was Huo Wushuang pulling the exact same stunt now?

Could it be some unique Qing Dynasty rule at Blazing Fire Academy that losers had to compensate the victors?

Something felt rather strange, but since Huo Wushuang was willingly offering him benefits, there was no way Lin Huo would refuse.

He fastened the heavy money pouch to his waist with his belt. Every step he took produced a crisp clinking sound as the Gold Soul Coins rubbed and collided within.

The strange sight made Lin Huo look like a nouveau riche, though he really was one now.

Just as he was considering whether to mail a few thousand Gold Soul Coins back to town to help support the household, a fiery-red figure entered his vision. Lin Huo's hair stood on end, and he came to a halt.

With an arm around Lin Huo's shoulders, Huo Wushuang had been lowering his head and calculating how many Gold Soul Coins he had just paid out. When Lin Huo suddenly stopped, he dragged Huo Wushuang to a stop as well.

Curious about why Brother Lin Huo had suddenly stopped, Huo Wushuang raised his head—and saw the fiery-red figure by the roadside, no less terrifying than an Asura from hell.

"Ha... ha... Little sis, when... when did you... get here?"

The alarm bells in his heart shrieked so sharply that his head felt ready to explode. Looking at the expressionless Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang gave a dry laugh and stammered so badly that he could barely speak.

"Roughly from the time you were fighting to your heart's content in the open space. I was watching from the side."

Huo Wu spoke each word clearly, her voice utterly flat and devoid of emotion.

Yet merely seeing her icy face was enough to fill one with bone-deep terror.

The instant Huo Wu's chilling words fell, Lin Huo felt half his collar turn wet. It was cold sweat pouring from Huo Wushuang in his extreme fear.

Like a mouse encountering a cat, Huo Wushuang trembled from head to toe like a sieve. Even Lin Huo, whose shoulder was hooked against his, felt uneasy.

At last, Huo Wu moved. She was unhurried and composed as she approached with graceful steps.

Yet each footfall was like an indescribable horror striking Huo Wushuang's heart, making his body twitch uncontrollably.

This disaster had begun with Huo Wushuang's loose tongue. Now that the victim herself had come to settle the score, he was merely reaping what he had sown.

To avoid being caught in the crossfire, Lin Huo's survival instincts drove him to decisively sell out Huo Wushuang. He pushed him away, then respectfully looked at Huo Wu, who had already reached him.

"Sister Huo Wu, may you enjoy boundless fortune and peace. To be honest, Brother Wushuang and I aren't very familiar with each other yet. May I leave first?"

Huo Wu looked at Lin Huo. Within her deep gaze, one could see towering fury being forcibly suppressed, waiting to erupt.

She took a waist token from her robes and slapped it against Lin Huo's chest. Her voice remained flat, making it all the more terrifying:

"This is the reward the academy issued to you. Take it and leave quickly. What happens next isn't suitable for you to watch, Little Huo."

"Thank you, Sister Huo Wu. Ah, I won't disturb you. I'm leaving, then."

Without even having time to see what he had received, Lin Huo hurried around Huo Wu and left.

Before departing, Lin Huo looked back once more at Huo Wushuang. The man's face was ashen, utterly despairing, though his eyes continued desperately sending pleas for help.

Lin Huo silently sighed and gave him a helpless look before decisively turning his head away.

With Huo Wu's current rage level, if he dared provoke her, he would probably ascend to the Western Paradise together with Huo Wushuang.