Cao De wore white, while Huo Wu bounced along beside him in red. Behind them followed Huo Canghai, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Their appearance made many people turn to look. Quite a few recognized Huo Canghai, the Dean of Blazing Fire Academy, as well as Huo Wu beside him.
As they continued on, they drew plenty of sidelong glances and whispers.
"Master, Master, where are we going?" Huo Wu asked, skipping along.
Her boundless energy rubbed off on Cao De, and he said with a smile, "To Blazing Fire Academy."
"What are we going there for?" Huo Wu asked in confusion.
"Let's hurry. There are a few too many people here." Huo Canghai tried his best to soften his tone, lest Huo Wu scold him again.
When the people around them heard the word "Master," they immediately caught the scent of gossip.
"Did you hear? The daughter of Blazing Fire Academy's Dean has become that man's servant!"
"I heard even the Dean of Blazing Fire Academy approved!"
"No, the Dean of Blazing Fire Academy and his daughter are rivals in love. They're both fighting over that man in white!"
The rumors grew more outrageous with every retelling.
By then, the subjects of the gossip had already entered Blazing Fire Academy.
"Wow, this academy really is impressive!" Huo Wu exclaimed as she looked at the buildings around her.
Grief flickered in Huo Canghai's eyes. His poor daughter! Then another thought struck him.
Huo Wu still thought this place looked nice. If he told her more about it, perhaps she would remember.
"This is the academy I built," Huo Canghai said slowly. "Look, over there..."
Before he could finish, Huo Wu curled her lips. "No wonder it's so ugly. You have no taste."
Huo Canghai sank into gloom once again.
The students passing by all greeted Huo Canghai and Huo Wu.
They could tell something was wrong, but they were only students and did not dare discuss it much.
Huo Wu skipped along behind Cao De, plucking some flowers from a flower bed nearby and weaving them into a bracelet.
"Master, Master, is it pretty?" Huo Wu held it in her palms like a treasure, her bright eyes fixed on Cao De.
"It's very pretty," Cao De said with a smile.
Huo Wu's smile grew even brighter. "Then I'll give it to you, Master."
"I think you'd look even prettier wearing such a lovely flower bracelet," Cao De said with a smile.
"Thank you, Master."
Huo Canghai remained silent.
They arrived at a pavilion, where a doorman immediately opened the door. "Hello, Dean."
"You haven't even cleaned the floor properly! What do they feed you for?" Huo Canghai roared, venting his pent-up frustration.
The doorman lowered his head without a word, playing dead as he endured the scolding.
"Master, this old man is so mean," Huo Wu whispered into Cao De's ear.
Unfortunately, everyone present heard her, leaving the atmosphere rather awkward.
"Ahem. Let's head upstairs." Huo Canghai cleared his throat twice and led the way up.
Cao De followed closely with Huo Wu. On the second floor, an elderly man with graying hair was already waiting respectfully.
"Elder Jias, come in with us." Huo Canghai patted Jias on the shoulder.
Cao De and Huo Wu sat down on the sofa in turn. Huo Canghai recounted what had just happened to Jias, substituting Huo Wushuang's name for Huo Wu's, afraid of upsetting her again.
Huo Wu listened curiously for a while, but soon lost interest.
Seeing Cao De about to pour some tea, she hurried over and took the cup from him, carefully rinsing the tea leaves and brewing the tea. She hummed a little tune, looking perfectly happy.
Huo Canghai sped up his account, explaining everything clearly.
"Elder Jias, do you think you can fix this?" Huo Canghai asked nervously.
Elder Jias furrowed his brow and said slowly, "I'll try."
"Huo Wu, come over here. Let me examine you." Jias wore a kindly smile.
Huo Wu was just about to launch into a tirade when Cao De hurriedly said, "Huo Wu, let him examine you."
Only then did Huo Wu hold her tongue and slowly walk over to Jias.
Jias turned his hand over, and a mirror appeared in it. He slowly brought it toward Huo Wu's forehead.
"Elder Jias," Huo Canghai could not help calling out.
"Rest assured, Dean. I'm only performing a simple examination. If anything goes wrong, I'll withdraw immediately." Jias understood what Huo Canghai meant and offered an explanation.
Jias continued bringing the Martial Soul Illusion Mirror closer to Huo Wu's forehead, slowly sensing the state of her spiritual sea.
Her spiritual sea was a tangled mess, with remnants of Shi Nian's illusion attacks lingering within it.
Before Jias could explore further, the illusions Shi Nian had left behind attacked him furiously. Jias did not dare clash with them and could only withdraw.
Jias opened his eyes, and Huo Canghai immediately asked, "How is she? How is she?"
Jias shook his head. "Her spiritual sea is in complete chaos, and remnants of Shi Nian's illusion attacks are still there. There's nothing I can do."
Huo Canghai seemed to age several decades. Still, he summoned the academy's doctors and healing Soul Masters.
One by one, they examined Huo Wu and assessed her condition.
"Dean, based on our assessment, Huo Wu's current memories appear to be confined to the few hours before the illusion was cast," an elderly man with white eyebrows and a white beard said slowly.
Hearing this from his seat nearby, Cao De did not know what to say. He had only been shooting his mouth off at the time, and now things had turned out like this.
Huo Canghai nodded at the old man's words. "Is there no way to fix it?"
The old man shook his head.
Huo Canghai waved his hand, dismissing the doctors and healing Soul Masters, then addressed Cao De, who was enjoying a shoulder massage from Huo Wu. "Young man, come with me."
He headed out first. Cao De rose and followed closely behind. Huo Wu wanted to follow too, but Cao De stopped her.
Huo Wu tucked her hands together, inwardly cursing that nasty old man from earlier.
Cao De followed Huo Canghai out the door and into another room.
Huo Canghai gestured invitingly. "Young man, please sit."
Cao De sat down without ceremony. Only then did Huo Canghai say, "Young man, thank you for saving Huo Wu today. Please accept this Soul Bone as a token of my gratitude."
As he spoke, he took the box from earlier out of his Storage Soul Tool.
Cao De shook his head. "Dean, I truly have no interest in Soul Bones. I also understand what you mean. I'll be leaving now."
Cao De understood Huo Canghai's meaning: take the Soul Bone and make himself scarce, rather than continue influencing his daughter.
As for his "maid," Huo Wu, her father had made his position clear. Would Cao De dare take her away? Better to continue his journey. In the end, he was only passing through.
With that thought, Cao De stood and headed outside.
Through the gap in the door, he spotted Huo Wu's anxious figure, and his heart stirred. System, put a Remote Sensing Mark on Huo Wu.
If she encountered danger in the future, he would still be able to help.
[50 emotion points consumed. Remaining emotion points: 26.]
The system's voice rang out in Cao De's mind.
Fuck! Only 26 left? You damned system, what about the emotion points from Huo Wu earlier? She's at least a supporting character, isn't she?
Cao De roared inwardly, but the system did not make so much as a peep.
The "damned system," as Cao De called it, was currently shopping away in high spirits.
It paid for something worth a thousand emotion points without even blinking. What extravagant spending!
Receiving no reply from the system, Cao De could only let it go.
Huo Canghai escorted Cao De to the gates of Blazing Fire Academy. "Young man, thank you for today."
"No problem, no problem," Cao De said with a smile. A folding fan appeared in his hand, and he headed out of the city, putting on quite an air.
Outside the city, the coachman had already switched to a luxurious carriage and two fine horses. He was sipping some wine.
Seeing Cao De arrive, he hurriedly rose to welcome him. "Young master, you're here. Please."
Cao De boarded the carriage and set off into the distance.
Before you continue