Dai Huabin could not understand.
Why had he lost?
Even when the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, sternly demanded that he apologize to Huo Yuhao, he still refused.
He looked to the Duchess for help, but she merely said softly, "Listen to your father."
"Don't disgrace your father."
At last, Dai Huabin lowered his noble head.
Then, in a fit of anger, he ran off without looking back.
"Huabin!"
The Duchess called after him, but Dai Huabin had already disappeared.
Watching from the side, Huo Yuhao felt like laughing.
So even this spiteful, sharp-tongued old woman could wear such a worried, caring expression.
Dai Hao said coldly, "There's still fighting at the front, so I won't stay long. I'll let bygones be bygones, but from now on, keep your servants and your son in line!"
His piercing gaze swept over the servants one by one. Those who had bullied Huo Yuhao and his mother in the past all lowered their heads, too frightened even to breathe.
"Yes." The Duchess did not dare meet the White Tiger Duke's eyes either.
"I'm leaving."
Only after the White Tiger Duke had gone did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
The Duchess's expression shifted between light and shadow. Only while the White Tiger Duke remained ignorant could she cover the sky with one hand in the Duke's Mansion. But if he learned everything, everyone in the mansion would remember one thing deep in their bones:
The Duke's Mansion answered only to the White Tiger Duke!
Dai Huabin ran back to his own courtyard, gritting his teeth at the pain in his knees.
Why couldn't he beat Huo Yuhao?
That useless trash with only rank-two soul power?
Just as he was seething with resentment, a short figure walked into the courtyard.
Dai Huabin asked through gritted teeth, "You won! Now you're my equal! Did you come here to mock me?"
Huo Yuhao slowly approached, seemingly chewing on something, and held out a skewer of something unidentifiable.
"Want some grilled fish?"
Although Dai Huabin was a few months older, Huo Yuhao did not care. Since he had won, he was the big brother.
Dai Huabin had already gone astray at such a young age, becoming so vicious and ruthless. He must have picked up those bad habits from that old woman, the White Tiger Duchess, so as his big brother, Huo Yuhao had a duty to put him back on the right path.
In short, over the past four years and more, the two had maintained a good relationship. Under Huo Yuhao's subtle influence, Dai Huabin was still somewhat hotheaded and impulsive, but he was no longer quite so ruthless.
Plenty of amusing things had happened between them, too. For instance, Dai Huabin was a VIP member at Huo Yuhao's Barbecue Restaurant, Huo Yuhao had helped Dai Huabin win over the little girl from the Zhu Family, and...
Only later did Dai Huabin gradually realize that Huo Yuhao was an absolute monster, with remarkable talent in business, management, and military affairs.
And when it came to fighting, Huo Yuhao particularly loved using all sorts of dirty tricks.
Just thinking about it made Dai Huabin's knees ache faintly...
That was where the recollection ended.
Dai Huabin took a bite of grilled fish and asked, "Brother Hao, what are you doing at Shrek Academy? You're wearing its uniform... but isn't your soul power below the requirement?"
"Your dad pulled some strings for me. I got in without taking the exam."
Dai Huabin: "..."
Huo Yuhao looked Dai Huabin over and asked, "Your cultivation's progressing pretty fast. What rank are you now? Three rings?"
Dai Huabin nodded. "I just got my third soul ring. You've gotten your first soul ring too, right?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yeah."
Although Dai Huabin was nearly twenty ranks above Huo Yuhao, he did not think he could truly handle him with ease now.
He knew that Huo Yuhao's physique far surpassed that of an ordinary person, and that he possessed rare, powerful twin martial souls, one of which was even a body martial soul. His actual strength had to be calculated as at least ten ranks higher.
Zhu Lu, who had remained silent until now, spoke up as well. "I really didn't expect you to come to Shrek Academy."
"After all, you're so close to Princess Jiujiu. Why didn't you go to Star Luo Royal Academy?"
Huo Yuhao said helplessly, "It's precisely because we're so close that I need to keep my distance. Getting too close can bring plenty of trouble, too."
Dai Huabin gave him a knowing look and asked, "Brother Hao, don't you have... even a little interest in Princess Jiujiu?"
Huo Yuhao said calmly, "We're just ordinary friends. Don't get the wrong idea. She's a lofty princess, while I'm just a concubine's son from the Duke's Mansion. Besides, I've left the mansion now, so I'm no different from a commoner."
At that, Dai Huabin fell silent.
He had always found Huo Yuhao strange.
The noble status everyone dreamed of was worthless in Huo Yuhao's eyes. So many people tried every possible way to forge ties with the Duke's Mansion, yet Huo Yuhao had always wanted to escape it.
As Dai Huabin pondered this, he suddenly noticed Tian Meng eating grilled fish and asked, "Who's she?"
Huo Yuhao answered casually, "Oh, this is my distant cousin, Huo Tian Meng."
Dai Huabin asked suspiciously, "Since when did you have a distant cousin?"
"I just found her. Is that not allowed?"
Dai Huabin grew even more suspicious.
He had never heard of any relatives on Huo Yuhao's mother's side.
Tian Meng greeted him timidly. "H-hello. My name is Tian Meng."
Dai Huabin did not dwell on it. He patted his chest. "Yeah, don't worry. Brother Hao's cousin is my cousin. This young master will look after you from now on."
Tian Meng: "..."
Huo Yuhao reclined in his chair, let out a long breath, and said, "All right, go register at the academy. I'm staying in Dormitory 108. Whatever else there is, we can talk about it after school starts."
"Sure." Dai Huabin did not stand on ceremony. He grabbed a large handful of grilled fish and headed toward the academy entrance with Zhu Lu.
"Wait."
Huo Yuhao stopped him and gave him one last reminder. "Keep your mouth shut at the academy. Don't let my secrets slip, whether they're about my background or my martial souls. My identity now is the orphan of a soldier from the White Tiger Guard who died in battle. Got it?"
Dai Huabin assured him, "Don't worry. I'll keep your secrets."
He had barely walked a few meters when he heard Huo Yuhao call him back again. "Wait a second!"
With a grilled fish between his teeth, Dai Huabin turned and asked, "What is it now?"
"Pay for the grilled fish."
"..."
Dai Huabin was silent for a moment, then took out a Gold Soul Coin and tossed it to him. "Keep the change. It's just a few ordinary grilled fish. Is this really necessary..."
Huo Yuhao caught the coin and said leisurely, "What do you know? Even blood brothers should keep their accounts straight."
"See you when school starts!"
With that, he covered his face with the recipe book and lay back.
Dai Huabin was utterly speechless.
Still, he had to admit that Huo Yuhao's cooking was genuinely excellent. Both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were loyal customers of Brother Hao's Barbecue.
Dai Huabin rarely ate grilled fish like this, which already counted as a midrange product to commoners. What he ate was barbecue made from premium soul beast meat, with a single skewer costing several gold coins.
Soul masters who cultivated had enormous appetites, and eating dozens of skewers in one sitting was no problem. Since Dai Huabin also frequently treated others, his annual spending at Brother Hao's Barbecue remained astronomical even though he did not eat barbecue every day. His claim of spending a hundred thousand gold coins a year might have been an exaggeration, but fifty or sixty thousand was certainly possible.
When he left Star Luo City, he had regretted that he would no longer get to enjoy such delicious food. Now that he had run into Huo Yuhao again at Shrek Academy, he could not help feeling a little fortunate.
"Huabin, I want more."
"Here, Lulu. Have some more."