Lin Mo returned to the dorm in low spirits. The moment he opened the door, a stench hit him in the face.
"Fuck, Huo Yuhao, did you blow up the toilet drain? It reeks!" Pinching his nose as he spoke, he poked his head inside to look, only to find Huo Yuhao lying on the bed, a faint, pale-blue mist floating over his body.
Is this... holy shit, the effect of a Mystic Water Pill?!
Now Lin Mo no longer cared about the smell. He rushed closer for a careful look. It really was the effect of a Mystic Water Pill.
That was a Mystic Water Pill worth ten thousand gold! Where did Huo Yuhao get one?
He couldn't afford one even if he sold himself!
Suddenly, Lin Mo thought of Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi was the young master of the Xuanwu Clan-wasn't that where Mystic Water Pills were produced? The one Huo Yuhao had taken was very likely his compensation.
Earlier, Mu Beibei had said to leave it to him. He really had fleeced his own brother, squeezing a whole Mystic Water Pill out of him.
Lin Mo was dying of regret now.
If he had known, he would have let Mu Beibei handle things that afternoon. That way, perhaps he could have gotten a Mystic Water Pill too.
"Ah, forget it. Let's deal with this guy first."
If Huo Yuhao stayed in the dorm, the impurities expelled from his body would make it impossible to sleep there.
So Lin Mo opened the wardrobe, grabbed Huo Yuhao's towel, rolled him into a long bundle, and slung him over his shoulder. In a few strides, he reached the communal showers and tossed him straight inside.
Once that was done, Lin Mo returned to the dorm, took out the Soul Ascension Pill Yan Shaozhe had given him, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Wasn't it just popping pills? He could do that too!
The next day.
"Oh my god! Lin Mo, wake up!"
"Mm... Huo Yuhao, what the hell is wrong with you this early in the morning?"
Cursing, Lin Mo pushed his yellow, side-eye-smirking emoji sleep mask onto his head. Being forcibly woken had left him in a foul mood. He had cultivated until well past midnight before finally managing to fall asleep.
Huo Yuhao excitedly described the changes in his body, saying in disbelief, "Lin Mo, tell me, am I dreaming?"
Smack!
Expressionless, Lin Mo raised his hand and slapped him. "Still dreaming now?"
Dazed, Huo Yuhao raised a hand to his faintly reddening right cheek. The faint sting proved he really wasn't dreaming. His body truly had undergone earth-shaking changes!
After slapping Huo Yuhao, Lin Mo's anger had subsided too, and he briefly explained the effects of the Mystic Water Pill.
Unfortunately, Lin Mo didn't have a soul tool that could measure Soul Power on him. Otherwise, he definitely would have made Huo Yuhao give it a try.
"Lin Mo, it's still early. Come on, let's take a walk by Sea God's Lake!"
"I'm going to the libra-"
"I'll catch some fish and grill them for you."
"Let's go."
He simply wanted to take a walk outside. It absolutely wasn't because he craved Huo Yuhao's grilled fish. Absolutely not!
The two left the dorm, went around the first-year teaching building, and headed east along the southern side of Shrek Square. Before long, they reached the lakeside path.
Passing through the woods beside the path, they found the shimmering Sea God's Lake spread before their eyes. Gentle moisture mingled with fresh air washed over their faces, refreshing them both.
After picking a spot, the two quickly got to work.
Lin Mo went to catch fish, while Huo Yuhao handled the fire.
At the water's edge, Lin Mo crouched and thought for a while, then got up and found a long branch nearby. He stuck a small piece of the meat bun he hadn't finished last night onto its tip.
"Come on, little fishies. Time to eat! Tsk, tsk, tsk~"
He had barely dipped half the branch into the lake when its previously calm surface suddenly began to boil.
A large school of black carp instantly swarmed over, all gathering around the branch's tip.
Several even seemed afraid he wouldn't catch them and simply flicked their tails and jumped ashore themselves, wriggling at his feet.
Lin Mo held the branch, utterly bewildered.
Since when had his luck gotten this good??
Still, he didn't dwell on it. He deftly strung a dozen or so fish together and carried them back to the fire.
In less than ten minutes, the first batch of three grilled fish was ready. Huo Yuhao handed all of them to Lin Mo and watched him with sparkling eyes.
"You're not eating?" Lin Mo glanced at him.
Huo Yuhao's eyes curved into crescents. "I'm not hungry yet. You eat first, Lin Mo."
Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to stand on ceremony. Crouching beside him, he began eating bite by bite. The fish really was delicious! As far as he was concerned, Huo Yuhao's excellent cooking was his sole redeeming quality amid all his flaws.
Yet before he had taken more than two bites of the second fish, a fiery-red streak flashed through the corner of his eye, followed by a terrifying wave of heat rushing straight at him.
In a flash, both the fish in Lin Mo's mouth and those on the ground turned to charcoal.
Lin Mo: "..."
Sure enough, his good luck always came at a price.
Huo Yuhao, who had kept his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul active because he was grilling fish, immediately noticed something was wrong. Without another word, he grabbed Lin Mo and ran.
Lin Mo sensed something was wrong too.
These Soul Power fluctuations were terrifying-at least a Soul King's-and whoever it was had come specifically for the two of them.
Dark teal wings spread open, and Lin Mo grabbed Huo Yuhao and fled at full speed.
But the gap in strength was simply too great. Before Lin Mo had flown far, the air around them began visibly warping. In just three breaths, a red-clad figure wearing a white mask appeared right in front of them.
Lin Mo froze for a moment. The next instant, a fluent string of choice national curses poured from his mouth.
"Ma Xiaotao, I fucking ** your *!"
"Don't think I won't recognize you just because you put on a fucking mask and pretend to be some hotshot!!"
Yes, the person attacking him and Huo Yuhao was, yet again, an old acquaintance: Ma Xiaotao, the Holy Spirit Church's Fire Phoenix Holy Maiden from his previous life.
Judging by this scene, her evil fire must have erupted again.
There was seriously something wrong with her head. She knew she couldn't suppress her evil fire, yet insisted on cultivating anyway.
She wouldn't listen to anyone's advice. She deserved to get abducted.
That hand wreathed in dark-red evil fire was already right before his eyes, its fingertips almost touching his throat.
Lin Mo didn't retreat. His pupils abruptly contracted, stretching once more into those azure-gold diamonds. A solemn pressure faintly spread from his body, and azure flames danced wildly in the depths of his eyes.
Yet at this critical moment, a bright moon appeared without warning between him and that hand.
Its clear radiance was like frost, forcibly pressing down the surging waves of heat around them.
Immediately afterward, a voice he knew all too well rang clear and cool beside his ear. "Fifth soul skill, Crescent Moon Lock!"
Several silver chains shot out of the moon, like silver snakes flicking their tongues, and wrapped precisely around Ma Xiaotao's limbs.
The instant the chains tightened, the dark-red flames raging over Ma Xiaotao's body were actually forced back inch by inch beneath that layer of moonlight. No matter how she screamed and struggled, she couldn't budge them in the slightest.
As the evil fire faltered, the searing heat instantly dispersed.
The bright moon slowly faded, replaced by a figure standing with her back to him, shielding him.
It was Zhang Lexuan.
She turned around almost immediately, brows tightly knitted, panic and lingering fear plainly rippling in her eyes. Even her breathing came in short, hurried bursts.
Zhang Lexuan clamped her left hand firmly onto Lin Mo's shoulder.
At the same time, she brought her right index and middle fingers together and quickly pressed them against his neck to check his pulse.
The instant their skin touched, her fingertips were icy and still trembling slightly.
At the cold sensation against his neck, Lin Mo's entire body stiffened.
"Lin Mo, are you all right?"
No answer came.
Zhang Lexuan's brows drew even tighter. She pressed her fingertips a little deeper, confirming once again that the pulse at the side of his neck was steady and strong, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief. Her taut shoulders slumped with it.
"As long as you're all right."
I almost lost him again.
The moment that thought arose, Zhang Lexuan herself froze. Why... again?