Recommendation Letter

"Steamed corn buns! Four for one copper soul coin!"

"Wu Dalang's flatbreads! Five copper soul coins each—fair prices for everyone!"

The streets of Star Luo City bustled with crowds.

Street vendors called out their wares one after another.

Xu Jiujiu wandered the streets holding Huo Yuhao's hand. Though she was a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she rarely had a chance to do this.

She usually had to help her Imperial Brother manage the Starlight Auction House, leaving her little free time.

What little time she had went toward cultivation, let alone shopping.

The same was true for Huo Yuhao beside her.

Huo Yun'er worried about running into people from the White Tiger Duke's estate, so she disliked going out.

As her son, Huo Yuhao seldom went out either.

This was the first time either of them had properly explored Star Luo City.

Xu Jiujiu looked curiously at the buildings around her, stopping to ask questions at one stall before moving on to browse another.

Suddenly, something ahead caught her eye. She grabbed Huo Yuhao's hand and ran toward it.

"Yuhao, hurry up!"

Huo Yuhao could only follow her with a helpless look.

"Yuhao, look! These masks are so pretty."

Xu Jiujiu finally stopped before a stall covered in masks.

"Sir, how much are these masks?"

The vendor was a man who looked to be in his forties. His dark face seemed weathered by years of hardship, and his hands, old and rough as tree bark, were especially striking.

Seeing Xu Jiujiu crouch before his stall, clearly interested in the masks he had made, the man gave her an eager smile.

"Miss, I made all these masks by hand. One silver soul coin each."

Xu Jiujiu paid little attention to the price. After sorting through the masks, she picked out one with a smiling face.

"Yuhao, come here!"

Xu Jiujiu had her back to Huo Yuhao, so he couldn't see what she was doing. Puzzled, he crouched down beside her.

The moment he did, a shadow fell over his face. Xu Jiujiu pressed the smiling mask right onto it.

"That's better! You should smile more instead of looking so miserable all the time. Auntie Huo wouldn't want to see you like this!"

Satisfied with how the mask looked on him, Xu Jiujiu turned and picked out a matching one for herself.

Then she called to the vendor, "Two masks! Keep the change."

She tossed him a Gold Soul Coin, then took Huo Yuhao's hand and led him toward the next stall.

People said shopping with a girl was exhausting, and they were right. Even as a Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao was worn out after half a day.

But the outing gave him a sense of ease he hadn't felt in a long time.

At dusk, Huo Yuhao headed home with Xu Jiujiu's candied hawthorn skewer in one hand and her hand in the other.

All along the way, Xu Jiujiu had shown great interest in the street snacks. Perhaps she'd eaten too much palace food, or perhaps Huo Yun'er and her son's cooking had spoiled her palate.

Whatever the reason, she lost interest after a few bites of each snack and handed the rest to Huo Yuhao to finish.

On their way home, the two happened to overhear some passersby talking.

"Hey, did you hear? The White Tiger Duke's second son got into Shrek Academy this year!"

"Really? Both the White Tiger Duke's sons got into Shrek Academy? That's incredible."

"Sure is!"

The sudden news stopped Huo Yuhao and Xu Jiujiu in their tracks.

Hearing about the White Tiger Family again—especially about Dai Huabin, one of his enemies—made Huo Yuhao clench his fists.

"Yuhao!"

Xu Jiujiu sensed something was wrong and looked at him with concern.

Crack!

The Ice-Sugar Gourd in Huo Yuhao's hand froze under the cold released by his Martial Soul. It broke into chunks of ice that fell to the ground and shattered.

"Jiujiu, we're turning back."

"Turning back? Where are we going?"

"The palace!"

"What? You want to go to Shrek Academy?"

In the Imperial Study of Star Luo Palace, Xu Jiawei looked at the stubborn Huo Yuhao with a headache coming on.

"Yuhao, weren't you planning to go to Star Luo Royal Academy with Jiujiu? Why do you suddenly want to go to Shrek Academy?"

"Dai Huabin is going there. I want to collect a little interest from him first."

After years of knowing Huo Yuhao, Xu Jiawei had come to understand his temperament.

To put it bluntly, Huo Yuhao could be frighteningly single-minded. Once he made up his mind, nothing could pull him back.

Still unwilling to give up, Xu Jiawei asked:

"Do you really have to go to Shrek Academy? A gentleman can wait ten years to take his revenge!"

"That time is gone, Your Majesty."

Huo Yuhao cut him off, his gaze dark.

"I believed that once. I waited so long that my mother died before she could see me take revenge."

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists. "Now I believe a grudge should be settled on the spot."

Seeming to understand Xu Jiawei's concerns, Huo Yuhao tried to reassure him:

"Your Maj—Big Brother, I'm only going to Shrek Academy to collect a little interest from Dai Huabin. I know my limits."

Seeing that he couldn't change Huo Yuhao's mind, Xu Jiawei sighed helplessly.

He took two sheets of letter paper from his drawer and began writing Huo Yuhao a recommendation letter.

Recommendation letters were part of Shrek Academy's admissions system. Every student applying to the academy needed a letter from a city lord of one of the three great empires; without it, they could not enroll.

In the Star Luo Empire, the crown prince traditionally served as lord of Star Luo City.

But Xu Jiawei had no children yet, and Xu Jiujiu had no interest in becoming city lord.

So Xu Jiawei currently served as lord of Star Luo City himself.

After finishing the letter, Xu Jiawei handed it to Huo Yuhao, then turned to Xu Jiujiu beside him.

"Jiujiu, shall I write you a recommendation letter too? You could go to Shrek Academy with Yuhao!"

Xu Jiujiu shook her head slightly. She wanted to study at Shrek Academy with Huo Yuhao, but she was a princess of the Star Luo Empire and had to set an example.

If a princess didn't attend the royal academy, what would the other nobles think of the imperial family?

In the end, she declined her Imperial Brother's offer.

"No, Imperial Brother. As a princess, I need to set an example."

"All right. You two should head back."

Xu Jiawei waved them away with a helpless sigh.

Huo Yuhao had decided to attend Shrek Academy on the spur of the moment, and its term would begin in just a few days.

He might as well leave the little time they had to the two youngsters, so they could say a proper goodbye.