When Wang Dong woke again, he found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed. The room was softly lit, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs hung in the air.
He blinked and tried to sit up, but his whole body felt weak and limp, as though someone had drained all his strength.
He struggled to sit up in bed, his gaze instinctively sweeping across the room before landing on a mirror nearby.
The mirror reflected a deathly pale face, with bloodless lips and sunken eyes, looking just like a corpse that had crawled out of a coffin.
"Holy shit, where did that dead guy come from?" Wang Dong jumped in fright, then realized that face seemed to be his own.
"Oh, it's me."
Speechless, he touched his face. It felt cold. Just how much blood had he lost? What exactly had happened yesterday?
He tried hard to remember, but all he recalled was Ma Xiaotao holding him and drinking his blood. As she kept drinking, his vision had gone black, and he remembered nothing after that.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard steady breathing beside him. He turned his head and saw someone slumped over the bedside, seemingly having fallen asleep from exhaustion while caring for him. Who else could it be but Huo Yuhao?
Her face was turned to the side, her long lashes lowered, casting faint shadows across her cheeks.
Her breathing was steady and deep, and she slept soundly, a faint smile still lingering on her lips, as though she were having a pleasant dream.
As Wang Dong watched her sleeping face, an indescribable tenderness suddenly welled up inside him.
He did not wake her, but simply leaned quietly against the headboard, watching the sunlight filter through the curtains and fall on her hair, surrounding it with a faint halo.
After a while, Huo Yuhao seemed to sense something and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Wang Dong watching her, she froze briefly. Then her eyes reddened, and tears came spilling out.
"You're awake... you're finally awake..." She lunged forward and grabbed Wang Dong's hand, her voice thick with tears. "You scared me to death... do you know you slept for two whole days...?"
Caught off guard as she clutched his hand, Wang Dong said, "Two days? I slept that long?"
Huo Yuhao nodded hard, tears pattering down. "Senior Ma Xiaotao kept drinking your blood that day, and you passed out while she was drinking. Senior Ma Xiaotao was the same. After drinking your blood, she passed out too, and she still hasn't woken up."
As she spoke, a hint of anger entered her voice. "That senior really didn't know when to stop. She drank so much blood that your face went pale, but she still wouldn't let go..."
Looking at Huo Yuhao's puffed-up, angry expression, Wang Dong could not help smiling. "But I'm fine, aren't I?"
In fact, Wang Dong was more than fine. He had even found a little fortune amid misfortune.
My Soul Power actually rose by one level. Was it because of the feedback from Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Martial Soul?
"You're still laughing!" Huo Yuhao glared at him. "If something had happened to you, I... I..."
As she spoke, her voice choked up again. She lowered her head, unable to stop her tears. Wang Dong's heart softened at the sight, and he reached out to pat her head gently. "There, there. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Don't cry."
Just then, the door suddenly swung open. Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe walked in, one after the other. When they saw Wang Dong awake, complicated expressions appeared on both their faces.
There had still been some lingering resentment between them and Wang Dong because he had previously cursed Shrek so fiercely. But now, their eyes held deep gratitude as they looked at him.
Yan Shaozhe in particular walked to Wang Dong's bedside and looked at his deathly pale face, his voice carrying a trace of guilt and gratitude. "Wang Dong, you... you've been an enormous help this time."
Wang Dong looked rather bewildered. "What help?"
Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and explained, "Your blood has an extraordinary effect on Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. It hasn't just suppressed her Evil Fire, it's even purifying her Martial Soul.
"The Evil Fire within her is being cleared away little by little, and her Martial Soul is evolving toward perfection. If things go smoothly, she may very well escape the torment of the Evil Fire completely, and her Martial Soul may even advance another step."
His voice trembled slightly as he continued, "Ma Xiaotao is my disciple. All these years, I've watched her suffer under the Evil Fire, yet been powerless to help. This time... you really have done her an enormous favor."
Standing beside him, Xuan Zi also coughed, a trace of awkwardness on his face:
"About what happened before... this old man spoke too harshly. You really do have some ability, kid. I admit it. If anything comes up in the future, you can come to me. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, this old man will help however he can."
Looking at Xuan Zi's rather grudging manner, Wang Dong could not help raising an eyebrow. I can come to him for anything? As long as it doesn't violate any principles? A smile curled his lips as an idea suddenly sprang to mind.
"Then I have a request right now."
Xuan Zi froze. "What request?"
"I want a dorm room of my own," Wang Dong said solemnly. "And I also want to share it with Huo Yuhao."
The room instantly fell silent. Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe exchanged looks, their expressions as though they had swallowed a fly. They looked at Wang Dong, then at Huo Yuhao, their expressions complicated.
"That... wouldn't be a good idea, would it?" Yan Shaozhe coughed. "You're a boy and a girl, and you're still young. Living together... wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Xuan Zi frowned as well. "What are you thinking, kid? How old are you two? There's no hurry for that sort of thing. Wait until you're older."
Seeing the two of them acting as though they faced a formidable enemy, Wang Dong could not help rolling his eyes:
"What are you two thinking? It's so we can cultivate Haodong Power, all right? Yuhao and I have one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste all that time every night? If we used it to cultivate, who knows how many times more efficient we'd be?"
Wang Dong added inwardly, It's not like I just want to cuddle with Huo Yuhao.
In fact, he had been thinking about this for a long time. Wasn't it a waste to have Haodong Power but be unable to cultivate with it all the time?
Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe were stunned again. "Haodong Power? One hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion?"
Wang Dong nodded. "Yes, Yuhao's and my Martial Soul Fusion compatibility is one hundred percent. When we cultivate together, our Soul Power increases several times faster than when we cultivate alone. So I need a dorm room of my own, so we can cultivate together every night."
Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of shock in the other's eyes. One hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion was an exceedingly rare gift.
For two new students to possess such a degree of compatibility was nothing short of a heaven-sent opportunity.
Yan Shaozhe pondered for a moment. "If that's the case... it's not entirely out of the question. Still, we need to ask Huo Yuhao what she thinks."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Huo Yuhao. "Young lady, are you willing to share a room with Wang Dong?"
Huo Yuhao had still been wiping away her tears. Hearing this question, she froze completely. Her lips parted, a blush spreading across her face, and for a moment she did not know how to answer.
Wang Dong looked at her and asked softly, "Don't you want to be with me?"
Huo Yuhao shook her head vehemently. "Of course I do!"
Only after the words left her mouth did she realize what she had said, and her face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears. She lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "I... I mean, I want to cultivate with you..."
Looking at the two of them, Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe could not help laughing. Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "All right. Since you're both willing, I'll make an exception and approve it. It does violate the principles a little, but for the sake of cultivation, it's not much of an issue."
Wang Dong grinned. "Thank you, Dean Yan!"
With her head lowered, Huo Yuhao stole a glance at Wang Dong, and a smile unconsciously curled her lips as well.
Before you continue