Reunion

After a busy day, Huo Yuhao was about to prepare dinner for everyone when Tian Meng, who had already finished eating the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, came over and handed him a handful of ice shards. Huo Yuhao was at a loss for words.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "I noticed she seemed to like this stuff, so I collected some of the bits I shed and brought them to you. See if she wants them."

"Thanks for thinking of her, Brother Sky Dream. I'll ask Raven." Huo Yuhao put the shards away and continued preparing dinner. "By the way, Tian Meng, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"I'll eat whatever." Though he had already eaten the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, he still had room for Huo Yuhao's dinner. He was also curious about why so many Ferocious Beasts came to eat the food Huo Yuhao made.

Huo Yuhao nodded and went back to preparing dinner, while Tian Meng settled nearby to enjoy the hard-won leisure.

Huo Yuhao saw Raven return with the ingredients, took out the handful of ice shards Brother Sky Dream had given him, and asked, "Brother Sky Dream gave these to you. Do you want them?"

Raven looked at the shards but didn't take them. Instead, she said to Huo Yuhao, "Good. It's reassuring to collect them and keep them where you can see them. Waste is the greatest disgrace. But I've already absorbed one piece, so I don't want these. Little Yuhao, you can keep them and absorb them yourself."

"Okay, then I'll keep them." Huo Yuhao put them away, took the ingredients, and began making dinner.

Beside the Lake of Life, the setting sun's afterglow and the sound of chopping vegetables accompanied a scene that had never been seen before. Huo Yuhao bustled around the simple "kitchen." Everyone had wanted to help, but Huo Yuhao had turned them down. For one thing, it wasn't much trouble for him now; for another, after the day's battle, he wanted everyone to rest well.

Huo Yuhao cooked in an orderly fashion. On the stove beside him, soup simmered away in a clay pot. He had just plated the stir-fried dishes and gone to check on the soup. When he turned back, part of the food he'd just plated was gone. Huo Yuhao glanced over, picked out a few fish, and carried on cooking.

By the time the sun had sunk below the horizon, Huo Yuhao had finished dinner and called everyone over to eat. As on the previous few days, everyone gathered around the table, except now Brother Sky Dream had joined them. Brother Sky Dream had never eaten human dishes before, but the aroma alone had him drooling. After everyone had enjoyed the meal, Huo Yuhao quietly walked toward the bushes.

I'm the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. You can also call me the Emperor Auspicious Beast. There's nothing in the Star Dou Forest I wouldn't dare mess with, except Di Tian. I've been craving that big white worm for a long time. I couldn't eat it right away because Di Tian had it locked up and was draining its energy. I'd been draining it too, but I still wanted to eat it. I was just waiting for Di Tian and the others to drain nearly all of it before eating it. Its brain matter must taste delicious.

I waited and waited. At last, a group of outsiders showed up. Di Tian and the others went out to fight them, and then Di Tian came back and took the big white worm away.

"Hey! I haven't eaten it yet!" Watching Di Tian leave, I knew the big worm was gone. Di Tian had lost it to someone else. "But I can't accept this! I waited so long-how could it just be gone?" I thought that, with my power as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, I could surely steal a piece from those outsiders. Even if they caught me, they wouldn't dare kill me. So, when Di Tian and the Scarlet King had both gone back, I slipped out.

I went near those people, thinking I'd ask them to share a piece with me. Then I caught a whiff of something fragrant, unlike anything I'd ever smelled here-not even the rare treasures of heaven and earth smelled like it. I crept closer and peered through the bushes. I saw a short, white-haired person busy with something. I had no idea what they were doing, but the delicious scent was coming from the food in their hands. When they turned around, I grabbed a handful and hid to taste it. It was delicious, something I'd never eaten before. When I wanted to grab another handful, they turned back around, so I had no choice but to hide again and wait for a chance. And then there wasn't one. Not a single chance. I could only keep waiting to see how long it would take them to share the big worm.

The bright moon hung high in the sky. I waited until dark but still didn't see them share the big worm. I was getting a little bored. I thought again of the handful of food I'd grabbed. It had tasted so good. Just as I was reminiscing about the taste, the short, white-haired person came over to me. Startled, I jumped up and tried to run. I didn't know how they'd spotted me, or why I hadn't sensed them coming, but then my movement faltered. I smelled that delicious aroma again, accompanied by the white-haired person's voice. "Try this before you go."

I turned to look at the food in their hands-the same kind I'd grabbed before. I watched as they set it on the ground. The fragrance slipped into my nose, and my tongue couldn't help but start watering. I thought, This is the Star Dou Forest, the Lake of Life. What have I got to be afraid of? So I puffed out my chest and strode over, grabbed a handful, and put it in my mouth. One bite, then two. No one stopped me, so I began to gobble it down.

When Huo Yuhao noticed some of his food was missing, he knew she'd come. After dinner, he brought the food to find her, quietly approaching with his sense of the Power of Fate and his ability to conceal himself. He was afraid she'd be frightened and run away. Seeing that familiar golden fur, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

Back in the Divine Realm, he had asked himself countless times whether he loved her. The answer was yes. But was all of that feeling love? No, not all of it. There was even more guilt toward her. He had always owed her: he hadn't had the courage to return her feelings, hadn't had the ability to protect her, and hadn't even managed to find her in the Divine Realm.

"Why doesn't this taste the same as the one I had before?" The Auspicious Beast's voice interrupted Huo Yuhao's memories and brought him back to himself. Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, "This one was made especially for you."

Back then, in the Star Dou Forest, he had made Dong'er grilled fish with a flavor that belonged only to her, but he hadn't made any for Qiu'er. After that, he'd never had another chance to make her any.

"It's pretty tasty." As a noble Emperor Auspicious Beast among the Soul Beasts, this was already high praise, the Auspicious Beast thought.

"That's wonderful. I have plenty more. Would you like to try some?" As he spoke, Huo Yuhao took out the food he had prepared for her in advance from his Bracelet.

The Auspicious Beast looked at the fragrant dishes and couldn't help swallowing, but to maintain the dignity of the Emperor Auspicious Beast, she said, "Since you made so much, I'll try some more." Then she began to eat heartily.

Huo Yuhao sat beside the Auspicious Beast and watched her eat his food, one bite at a time. He collected each plate she finished and took out another dish from his Bracelet. Afraid that the Auspicious Beast wouldn't have enough to eat, and as if to make up for some kind of regret, he had prepared a great deal of food.

At the Auspicious Beast's side, Huo Yuhao showed no joy at their reunion, no tears of sorrow or remorse, and no loving gaze fixed on her. All she did was quietly sit there and watch the Auspicious Beast finish one plate after another, bringing her fresh food each time. Huo Yuhao knew the Auspicious Beast didn't recognize him. Like Brother Sky Dream, she didn't remember him.

Huo Yuhao kept his emotions hidden. He didn't want to force his feelings for the Qiu'er of the future onto her now. It was best for her to be just as she was now. The Auspicious Beast could be called Qiu'er, or she could be called something else, but that should be for her to decide. The Auspicious Beast didn't need to do anything for him anymore, nor did she need to return his feelings. The Auspicious Beast didn't need to undergo a Heaven's Tribulation. It was enough for her to live happily in the Star Dou Forest.