Bei Bei and Tang Ya

The rosy light of dawn gradually spilled out, and golden morning light slowly appeared in the sky.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and habitually looked to his right. Sister Tian Meng usually liked sleeping on that side.

But this time, the right side was empty. Huo Yuhao froze slightly. Just as he wondered where Sister Tian Meng had gone, his gaze shifted down a little and abruptly stopped.

Only a tiny patch of dark green scalp showed outside the blanket. Huo Yuhao gently lifted a corner and discovered that the Ice Empress was nestled against his shoulder, curled up in a light sleep.

At that moment, the Ice Empress had shed her usual cold, haughty edge. Now, she was more quiet and comfortable.

For some inexplicable reason, Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat.

He had just started to get up when the Ice Empress grabbed his arm, mumbling something he could not make out, seemingly unwilling to let this treasure of hers leave.

Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the Ice Empress's intimate gesture, unsure what he ought to do now.

Forget it. I probably haven't slept enough and am hallucinating.

With that thought, Huo Yuhao went back to sleep.

While Huo Yuhao traveled, the Ice Empress said nothing. Now that she was awake, all she felt was shame and panic.

She, a magnificent Ferocious Beast of 399,000 years, the emperor of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, had actually been so bewitched last night that she had cultivated in Huo Yuhao's embrace, just like Tian Meng.

In the end, somehow, they had even slept under the same blanket all night!

Then that intimate sensation in her subconscious-didn't that mean...

At this thought, the Ice Empress grew even more confused. She stayed in her usual spot and pretended nothing had happened, hoping to recover her former air of authority.

Yet at precisely that moment, Tian Meng's infuriatingly cheeky voice rang out beside the Ice Empress's ear.

"Bingbing, how did last night feel?"

"Not bad-"

No!

"Tian Meng! Stop talking! I-I just let my guard down for a moment last night."

"Oh? Really?"

Tian Meng put on a look of sudden understanding, but his smile only grew more deserving of a beating.

"Just let your guard down? Then why did someone sleep more soundly than anyone else, practically wishing she could plaster herself onto Huo Yuhao? Poor me, even the lovely spot I've always longed for was taken. Boo-hoo."

As he spoke, Tian Meng inexplicably began to feel a twinge of jealousy himself. Although she liked both Bingbing and Yuhao very much, Bingbing couldn't just take her spot, could she?

She had clearly been there first.

Outside, Huo Yuhao did not interrupt. He simply listened quietly to the two bickering within the Sea of Consciousness.

How heartwarming.

Looking at the grilled fish before him, which carried an aroma different from before, Huo Yuhao kept wondering whether his technique had improved even further.

Should I call myself Grilled Fish Douluo in the future?

Just then, as two blurry figures entered his perception, a pleasantly surprised voice broke the quiet.

"That smells amazing!"

Huo Yuhao looked toward the voice and saw a boy and a girl of similar age walking over.

The girl's black ponytail hung behind her, and her phoenix eyes stared straight at Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.

The boy following her had ice-blue medium-length hair and a tall, slender build that gave him a refined air.

The girl in front followed the aroma and hurried up to Huo Yuhao.

"Hello, little brother. I'm Tang Ya. Your grilled fish smells so good. Could you sell us a few?"

Aside from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, when had Huo Yuhao ever met anyone so direct? Who introduced themselves the moment they approached?

Huo Yuhao was kindhearted to begin with. After carefully confirming that there really was nothing particularly wrong with them, he handed her a grilled fish.

"There are still several fish here. Let me treat you."

Tang Ya's eyes instantly lit up, and she said without the slightest reserve, "Wow! Thank you so much! You're such a good person, little brother!"

As she spoke, she took the grilled fish from Huo Yuhao, first brought her nose close for a gentle sniff, and then began eating carefully.

The boy behind her smiled gently. He could faintly sense the pure Soul Power and solid foundation within Huo Yuhao's body. This was no ordinary village boy.

Moreover, he had no arrogance whatsoever, treated others modestly, and concealed a resilience in his eyes far beyond that of his peers.

"My name is Bei Bei. Little brother, what's your name?"

"My name is Huo Yuhao. Big brother, have one too."

With that, Huo Yuhao handed Bei Bei another grilled fish.

Bei Bei did not refuse. He accepted the fish and sat down beside Tang Ya. After taking a bite, he too was surprised.

Well, it really is delicious.

When the second batch of grilled fish was ready, Tang Ya snatched another one under Bei Bei's helpless gaze.

"This is delicious! Little brother, why don't you become our cook? How about it?"

Bei Bei was instantly speechless and bluntly undermined her. "Do you have any money, Teacher Xiao Ya?"

"Uh... I will in the future!"

After glaring at Bei Bei, Tang Ya continued eating, mumbling through her mouthful, "Huo Yuhao... you look so young. Are you out here training alone?"

Huo Yuhao nodded lightly. "Yes. I'm planning to go to Shrek for the Freshman Assessment. I'm taking a short break here along the way."

"Shrek?!"

Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged a glance, not expecting to encounter a future junior here.

Tang Ya immediately perked up, put down her grilled fish, and said, "What a coincidence! Bei Bei and I are students at Shrek!"

At this, Huo Yuhao's eyes brightened a little too.

There was no other reason: aside from that Xuan Zi from earlier, Zhang Lexuan, Jiang Nannan, and those other Shrek students had all left him with a rather good impression.

So he naturally felt a little closer to the two before him.

Hearing that Huo Yuhao wanted to join Shrek, and with his cooking skills being so good as well, Tang Ya could not help giving Bei Bei a meaningful look.

Bei Bei nodded to her and asked, "Little Brother Huo, do you have any family left?"

Huo Yuhao's gaze stilled somewhat, and then he firmly shook his head. "No one. I'm the only one left in my family now."

Overjoyed, Tang Ya blurted out, "That's wonderful!"

!

"..."

Huo Yuhao was instantly dumbfounded. Do you have to sound so delighted? What a character!

Bei Bei was even more speechless. He covered his forehead with one hand, too embarrassed to look at Huo Yuhao again.

He had known that, with Tang Ya's personality, she would ruin things sooner or later.

So he raised a hand and knocked her on the head.

"Is that any way to talk?"

Snapped to her senses by Bei Bei's sudden knock, Tang Ya naturally realized her own slip of the tongue and hurriedly apologized to Huo Yuhao. "Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"I just thought Little Yuhao and we were brought together by such fate, so I wanted to ask whether you'd like to join our sect."

"Sect?"

Huo Yuhao recalled the Xuanming Sect from before, along with sects like the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect that he had read about in novels, and naturally felt a little curious.

"That's right! Our sect was once the greatest in the world!"

The greatest in the world?

Huo Yuhao instinctively asked, "Sister Xiao Ya, what's your sect?"

"The Tang Sect."