When news of Tang San's failed challenge against Yi Yun reached Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong was drinking tea.
After hearing the report, she set down her teacup and remained silent for a long time.
A tree branch had blocked the Clear Sky Hammer.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei stood on either side, not daring to breathe loudly.
"Nana," Bibi Dong finally spoke.
Hu Liena stepped out of the ranks with her head lowered. "Palace Master."
"Go to Heaven Dou City again."
Hu Liena's heartbeat quickened. Heaven Dou City? Going to Heaven Dou City meant seeing Yi Yun.
She tried to look calm. "Yes. What is the mission?"
"Continue observing Yi Yun. Also," Bibi Dong paused, "there is someone named Xue Qinghe at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Make contact with him."
"Xue Qinghe?" Hu Liena looked up. "The Heaven Dou Empire's eldest prince?"
"Yes." Bibi Dong offered no further explanation, but her eyes told Hu Liena that this was not so simple.
Hu Liena accepted her orders and withdrew. As she left the Pope's Palace, her steps were a little quicker than usual.
She told herself it was because the mission was urgent, not because she wanted to see that person sooner. Absolutely not.
Hu Liena traveled for three days with a group of young Soul Masters from Spirit Hall before finally reaching Heaven Dou City.
She did not go straight to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but wandered around the city first.
Heaven Dou City was bustling, a hundred times more prosperous than Nuoding City and no less so than Spirit City.
Its streets were broad, lined with shops and crowded with people coming and going, lively beyond measure.
Hu Liena walked along the street, but her mind was elsewhere.
She was thinking of the last time she had seen Yi Yun, lying on the grass sunning himself with a foxtail stem between his lips, smiling as he said, "Miss, you smell like a fox."
She was thinking of when Yi Yun had pinched her cheek. Two fingers had gently pinched it, not painfully, but hotly, so hot that her entire face had burned.
She was thinking of Yi Yun's smile when he said, "This little fox is pretty stubborn." Wicked and roguish, it made her want to punch him, yet she could not help wanting another look.
"Hu Liena, what are you thinking about?" A junior female student beside her leaned over to ask.
"Nothing." Hu Liena's face was expressionless.
"You're blushing."
"I-I'm hot!"
"It's autumn."
Hu Liena fell silent. She realized that whenever someone saw through her thoughts, she would say, "I'm hot."
She had no idea when she had picked up that habit.
Hu Liena led the group to the entrance of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Seeing Spirit Hall's uniforms and insignia, the gatekeeper became as respectful as if he were welcoming the Pope. "My lords and ladies, welcome to Heaven Dou Royal Academy! I'll inform the headmaster at once!"
"No need. I'll go in myself," Hu Liena said.
She entered the academy gates and followed the ginkgo-lined avenue.
She was familiar with Heaven Dou Royal Academy. She had visited several times before and knew her way around.
But the route she took today did not lead to the headmaster's office. It led to the honorary students' dormitory.
She told herself it was merely on the way, that she only wanted to see how the academy had changed, definitely not to find a certain person.
Then she heard a voice.
"Little fox, did you miss me?"
Hu Liena stopped in her tracks. Standing there, her heartbeat shot straight from sixty to a hundred and twenty.
She had heard that voice countless times, in her dreams, in her memories, on every sleepless night. She turned her head.
Yi Yun stood beneath a ginkgo tree in white robes, his hair held up with a white jade hairpin, both hands in his pockets and a smile she both loved and hated on his lips.
Sunlight filtered through the ginkgo leaves onto him, golden patches dancing over his white clothes. He simply stood there, smiling, looking at her.
Hu Liena pressed her lips together. She wanted to say yes, but could not get the word out.
She was Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden. She had her pride. She could not concede defeat before a man.
"Who missed you?" Hu Liena lifted her chin, her voice full of disdain.
"Then why did you come to Heaven Dou City?"
"On a mission."
"What mission?"
"What's it to you?"
"Did you come especially to see me?"
"In your dreams!"
Yi Yun smiled and took a step toward her.
Hu Liena instinctively stepped back.
Yi Yun took another step, and Hu Liena retreated another.
Then she realized her back was already against the ginkgo trunk. She had nowhere left to retreat.
"Y-you stay back!" Hu Liena's voice trembled a little.
"Why?"
"Because... because you're a bad person."
"How am I bad?"
"You're bad in every way!"
Yi Yun took another step closer, leaving less than a foot between them.
Hu Liena could smell his scent, clean and warm, like a quilt that had been aired in the sunshine.
Her heart raced outrageously, her face burned outrageously, and her legs felt outrageously weak.
"Little fox." Yi Yun's voice was soft.
"Wh-what?"
"You're blushing."
"I-I'm hot!"
"It's autumn."
Hu Liena wanted to die. Why had she said "I'm hot" again?
And why had the same person exposed her with the same reason again? She hated her mouth, and hated her face even more.
Why did she blush whenever she saw Yi Yun? Why could she never control it?
"Move aside," Hu Liena said through gritted teeth.
"No."
"You!"
"You haven't answered my question."
"What question?"
"Did you miss me?"
Hu Liena fell silent. She looked into Yi Yun's eyes. There was no mockery or teasing in them, only an earnest waiting.
Suddenly, she felt that if she said no, Yi Yun would be disappointed.
If she said yes, Yi Yun would be happy.
She wanted to make Yi Yun happy, but she did not want him to know.
"No," Hu Liena said.
Yi Yun watched her for three seconds, then smiled. "Your ears turn red when you lie."
Hu Liena instinctively reached up to touch her ears. They were hot and red. She bit her lip in frustration.
"Brother Yun!" Xiao Wu's voice came from the distance.
Hu Liena and Yi Yun turned together and saw Xiao Wu running over from the courtyard, followed by Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Shui Bing'er, and Liu Erlong.
Xiao Wu ran to Yi Yun's side and clasped his arm, eyeing Hu Liena warily. "Why are you here again?"
"I'm here on a mission." Hu Liena regained her cool tone, but her ears were still red.
"What mission?"
"What's it to you?"
The two women stared at each other, invisible sparks filling the air.
Xiao Wu held Yi Yun's arm while Hu Liena stood opposite him, the two of them like female cats fighting over territory.
"Xiao Wu, don't be nervous." Yi Yun patted her hand. "She's just here to see me."
"Who came to see you?" Hu Liena retorted reflexively.
"Then who are you here to see?"
"I..."
Hu Liena opened her mouth, only to realize she had fallen into Yi Yun's trap again.
She took a deep breath and decided not to speak anymore.
The more she said, the more mistakes she made. Silence was golden.
Zhu Zhuqing stood nearby, studying Hu Liena with her amber feline eyes.
She had met Hu Liena before, back at Nuoding Academy, when she had come to challenge Yi Yun in the middle of the night and had her cheek pinched by him.
Hu Liena had been just the same then as now: stubborn words, a flushed face, and evasive eyes.
Zhu Zhuqing sighed inwardly. Another one.
Holding her sign, Ning Rongrong looked at Hu Liena, then Xiao Wu, then Yi Yun, feeling that this show was even better than a talent performance.
Shui Bing'er stood quietly nearby, her long silver hair drifting gently in the breeze. She looked at Hu Liena, then Yi Yun, and said nothing, but her eyes told everyone she understood.
Liu Erlong folded her arms and smiled at Hu Liena. "Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden came all the way to Heaven Dou Royal Academy on a mission? What mission could be so important?"
"Classified," Hu Liena said coldly.
"Classified? Looks more like personal affection to me."
"You!"
"All right, all right," Yi Yun stepped in to smooth things over. "Stop arguing. Our little fox finally came to visit. Let's treat her to a meal."
"Who wants you to treat me?" Hu Liena remained stubborn.
"Then what would you like to eat?"
"I'm not eating!"
"Your stomach just growled."
Hu Liena glanced down at her stomach, then looked up and glared at Yi Yun. Her stomach had indeed growled.
She had skipped breakfast and spent the entire morning traveling. She had been hungry for ages, but she did not want to admit it, especially in front of Xiao Wu.
"Come on. Let's go to the dining hall," Yi Yun said.
Hu Liena remained where she was, hesitated for three seconds, then followed.
It was not because she wanted to eat with Yi Yun. It was because she really was hungry.
Yes, hungry.
In the dining hall, Yi Yun sat in the middle, with Xiao Wu on his left, Zhu Zhuqing on his right, Hu Liena opposite him, and Ning Rongrong, Shui Bing'er, and Liu Erlong farther to the side.
Tang San squatted in a corner, silently eating carrots he had grown himself.
He was used to it now, used to scenes like this. Yi Yun was surrounded by women while he squatted alone in a corner eating carrots. It was fine. Really, it was fine.
Sitting opposite him, Hu Liena saw a woman on Yi Yun's left and another on his right, another in front of him, another behind him, and two more beside him. Suddenly, she felt she faced enormous competition.
No, why should she compete? She did not even like Yi Yun.
She was only here on a mission, only here to observe him, only here to... to see him.
Yes, to see him.
To see whether he had grown thinner, grown uglier, or been bullied.
Eating was incidental. Merely incidental.
"Little fox, eat more." Yi Yun placed a piece of braised pork in Hu Liena's bowl.
"I can get it myself," Hu Liena said, but ate the braised pork anyway.
As she chewed it, she suddenly felt that Heaven Dou Royal Academy's dining hall served better food than Spirit Hall's.
No, it was worse than Spirit Hall's.
That was not right either. It was... anyway, it tasted good.
"Brother Yun, I want braised pork too." Xiao Wu held out her bowl.
Yi Yun gave her a piece.
"Brother Yun, me too." Zhu Zhuqing held out her bowl.
Yi Yun gave her a piece.
"Handsome Master, me too!" Ning Rongrong held out her bowl.
Yi Yun gave her a piece.
"Brother Yun, me too." Shui Bing'er held out her bowl.
Yi Yun gave her a piece.
Watching this, Hu Liena suddenly felt that her braised pork had lost its savor.
She wanted Yi Yun to serve her food too, but she could not ask.
She was Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden. She had her pride.
She could only silently finish the braised pork in her bowl, then silently hold out her bowl and silently wait.
Yi Yun glanced at her, smiled, and placed another piece of braised pork in her bowl.
Hu Liena's ears turned red again.
She lowered her head, buried her face in her bowl, and ate in great mouthfuls, pretending nothing had happened.
Tang San squatted in the corner, watching the scene as he silently gnawed on a carrot.
He realized he might break his record for pulling up radish seedlings today.
After finishing her meal, Hu Liena stood up and brushed off her clothes. "I'm leaving."
"Where are you going?" Yi Yun asked.
"To carry out a mission."
"What mission?"
"I told you, it's classified."
"Are you coming again tomorrow?"
"No."
"What about the day after?"
"No."
"And the day after that?"
"No!"
"Then come whenever you feel like it. The cafeteria will save you a meal."
Hu Liena's ears reddened again. She didn't answer, just turned and left. After a few steps, she stopped again without looking back. "Yi Yun."
"Yes?"
"There are too many women around you."
"I know."
"It's not right for you to be like this."
"I know."
"Then why do you still..."
"Because they like me, and I like them too."
Hu Liena fell silent. She bit her lip and walked away quickly.
She walked very fast, so fast it was as though she were fleeing.
But where Yi Yun couldn't see, the corners of her lips curved up slightly.
Before you continue