What could Huo Yuhao do?
Once he was expelled from Shrek Academy, he would have nowhere else to go.
Even though Xue Chen's Spiritual Shock had injured him the day before yesterday, he had still gritted his teeth and completed Zhou Yi's downright insane assignment.
As an onlooker, Xue Chen saw it clearly.
If this continued, sooner or later Huo Yuhao's body would develop problems, and his foundation as a Soul Master with a Body Martial Soul would suffer damage too.
"No need to thank me. I just took a liking to you, so I helped you out while I was at it."
The blush on Wang Dong's face had already faded, and the way he looked at Huo Yuhao was little different from how he would look at a stranger.
Huo Yuhao had ordinary looks, and his talent and physical constitution were abysmally poor. Wang Dong had not even remembered his name.
If she had not seen Huo Yuhao still persevering during the run despite being so exhausted that he had started foaming at the mouth,
she would never have used Martial Soul Possession and carried Huo Yuhao through the final stretch.
"Um, let me treat you to a meal."
Huo Yuhao rubbed his head, a somewhat bashful smile appearing on his face.
"I sell grilled fish at a stall by the academy gates... I'm really good at grilling fish!"
"Grilled fish?"
Remembering the barbecue Xue Chen had made in their dorm room on their first day there, Wang Dong's face plainly showed a flicker of interest.
"Yes, yes! Yuhao's grilled fish is delicious!"
Beside them, Tang Ya's eyes darted about. Whatever had occurred to her, she hurriedly turned toward Xue Chen.
"Why don't you come along too and help support Yuhao?"
Huo Yuhao froze slightly at her words and gave Tang Ya a somewhat surprised look.
The damage to his Sea of Consciousness was all thanks to Xue Chen.
Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been the first to pry into someone else's affairs back then, Huo Yuhao had still taken the incident to heart.
Now he was actually being asked to treat Xue Chen to a meal. That really was asking too much of him.
"Me too?"
Xue Chen pointed at himself with an odd expression.
"The more people, the merrier."
Tang Ya winked at Xue Chen, then turned and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.
"Isn't that right, Yuhao?"
"Well... yes!"
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and nodded.
"You should come along too."
Wang Dong said nothing, only glancing at Xue Chen beside him.
"Since you've put it that way, it would be rather rude of me not to go."
Xue Chen thought it over, then nodded in agreement.
No matter what, Xue Chen had to try the Huo-style grilled fish from Peerless Tang Sect that was supposedly laced with drugs.
"Then I'll go too."
Only after Xue Chen agreed did Wang Dong nod as well.
The corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He looked as though he wanted to force out a smile but could not, and in the end, he could only manage a strained one.
"Then... let's go."
The group headed toward the academy gates, but Wang Dong deliberately fell two steps behind, tugging Xue Chen back by his sleeve.
"Do you have a grudge with that guy?"
She lowered her voice and asked with some curiosity:
"Why do I get the feeling he doesn't want you coming along?"
Wang Dong was a girl, after all, and she was considerably better than most people at noticing details. She had spotted Huo Yuhao's reluctance at a glance.
"This is my first time meeting him. What grudge could we have?"
Xue Chen glanced at Wang Dong and said with a half-smile:
"You, on the other hand, don't seem like someone who would help another person during a run."
"What, are you close to him?"
At that, Wang Dong immediately released Xue Chen's sleeve and turned his face away, his tone seeming to carry a trace of displeasure.
"Who... who helped him?"
"I just saw him still running when he was practically foaming at the mouth. He looked pretty pitiful."
"Even if it had been a dog running itself into that state, I'd have helped!"
Some words became prophecies. Wasn't that fellow Huo Yuhao precisely God King Tang's dog?
And wasn't the leash around Huo Yuhao's neck none other than the one-third little princess right before him?
"If you're calling him a dog, don't eat his grilled fish later."
"Why shouldn't I eat it? I helped him. What's wrong with eating one of his fish?"
Xue Chen did not reply, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
Wang Dong glared at him, then quickened his pace and went ahead.
Huo Yuhao's stall was on the street outside the academy's east gate.
Once they arrived, Tang Ya immediately took out everything she had given Huo Yuhao in one go.
Besides a metal grill specifically meant for cooking food, there were iron racks, all sorts of seasonings, and even cleaned black carp ready to use.
"Yuhao, we'll just wait for the food now."
Only after getting everything ready did Tang Ya lead Bei Bei and Xue Chen over to sit at a small table nearby.
"All right, Teacher Xiao Ya!"
Huo Yuhao nodded to Tang Ya and immediately began working on the black carp she had prepared.
"We might have to wait a little."
Only then did Tang Ya turn to Xue Chen and Wang Dong and say with a smile:
"But don't worry. Yuhao's grilled fish really is delicious!"
"Thank you for treating us, Senior Tang Ya and Senior Bei Bei."
Xue Chen offered the two of them his thanks.
"You know our names, junior?"
At that, Bei Bei, who had remained silent all this time, finally asked with some curiosity.
"Didn't we meet during freshman registration? Senior Sister Lexuan told me about you two afterward."
Bei Bei nodded in understanding.
"Speaking of which, if Senior Sister Lexuan hadn't told me, I wouldn't even have known you were an heir to the Tang Sect, Senior Tang Ya!"
As though something had occurred to him, Xue Chen suddenly spoke.
"The Tang Sect?"
Wang Dong, who had been rather bored, heard the words "Tang Sect," and his beautiful eyes immediately lit up. Even his posture straightened a little.
"Senior Tang Ya is actually an heir to the Tang Sect?"
For some reason, after hearing the words "Tang Sect," Wang Dong naturally felt considerably more favorably toward the senior before him.
It was as though the name Tang Sect had struck some nerve in her.
"The Tang Sect... there are only three of us left now: me, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao."
The bright smile on Tang Ya's face slowly faded, replaced by an indescribable gloom.
"How could that be? The Tang Sect was the continent's number one sect, founded by Sea God Tang San himself! How could it have declined to this state?"
Wang Dong spoke urgently and rapidly, and the disbelief on his face did not look feigned.
Tang Ya glanced at her and gave a bitter smile.
"Sea God Tang San lived ten thousand years ago."
"The Tang Sect was at its height ten thousand years ago. Later, the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent, and especially after Soul Tools spread to the Douluo Three Kingdoms, no one bought our Tang Sect's hidden weapons anymore."
Tang Ya paused, a trace of bone-deep hatred flashing across her face.
"A few years ago, a sect in Heaven Dou City called the Iron Blood Sect even killed my parents, slaughtered the entire Tang Sect, and seized all of its holdings."
"If the Tang Sect hadn't had some old ties with Shrek Academy, I wouldn't have been able to stay safely here either."