Tang Sect's Third Wheel

After an entire day of travel, Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Yu finally returned to the Star Luo Empire.

In this life, Huo Yuhao had placed Huo Yun'er's tomb within a secluded forest. Even if a great war broke out in the future, the chances of it being affected would be extremely low. After paying respects to his mother, Huo Yuhao subconsciously headed toward the former site of the Ducal Palace.

Before the two could even draw near, they heard the sounds of many people bustling about. Huo Yuhao's expression immediately darkened, and a blood-red baleful aura slowly emerged from his body.

Sure enough, once they approached the former site of the Ducal Palace, they saw a scene of vigorous construction. Without question, in order to placate Duke White Tiger, the Star Luo Royal Family had devoted vast manpower and resources to rebuilding the Ducal Palace. With Soul Masters skilled in construction assisting them, after a year, more than half of the entire project had already been completed.

Zhongli Yu was one of the few in the Holy Spirit Cult who knew of Huo Yuhao's origins. Seeing the gloom on Huo Yuhao's face, an indescribable fury rose in her heart as well.

"I'll tear it down!" Zhongli Yu was about to act, but Huo Yuhao grabbed her.

"If he can rebuild it once, he can rebuild it a second time. Leave him alone."

"But..." Zhongli Yu wanted to say more, but Huo Yuhao firmly shook his head at her. He did not like doing meaningless things like this. Duke White Tiger was Huo Yuhao's biological father. From the original story, he truly was an upright man who fought for his country and its people, but he also had his flaws: the old Dai family's inherited womanizing ways, and his neglect of his wife and children, even allowing his descendants to turn on one another.

From the public's perspective, he was a marshal of the empire who had risked his life for his nation and deserved respect. But from his family's perspective, he was a beast. Not only did he fool around outside, he also neglected his own biological sons. Setting aside Huo Yuhao, the son whose existence he did not even know about, Dai Luoli's treatment in his early years said enough.

A person like that was difficult to judge. There were no saints in this world, and one's perspective differed from person to person. Huo Yuhao was only his son, not his soldier. Besides, in his previous life, Huo Yuhao had a pair of parents who deeply loved him.

So no matter what, he would never acknowledge himself as the child of Duke White Tiger, Dai Hao.

"Let's go." Huo Yuhao did not spare the rebuilding Ducal Palace another glance and headed straight north. Zhongli Yu wanted to say something, but could only follow him.

The two set foot on the main road. Huo Yuhao took out a simple map of the continent. Both the Ducal Palace and Star Luo City were located in the north-central region of the Star Luo Empire, while the place where Huo Yuhao had chosen to hunt Soul Beasts in the original story was the Star Dou Great Forest in the empire's north, bordering the Heaven Dou Empire. This forest, nearly the size of an entire province, was home to countless kinds of Soul Beasts, including some incomparably powerful ones.

The road stretched straight ahead, and Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Yu raced swiftly along it. After a year of tempering, Huo Yuhao's physical strength alone already surpassed that of most Soul Elders.

As he sprinted onward, Huo Yuhao circulated his Soul Power and looked into the distance. Ever since his Spiritual Eye had awakened further, his vision had far surpassed that of ordinary people. At close range, he could see the flow of Soul Power within an opponent's body; at long range, he could see dozens of times farther than an ordinary person.

"We've already been traveling for several hours. We should be almost there, right?" Huo Yuhao carefully studied the simple map in his hand, then looked at the direction indicated by the shadows of the trees along the road. He determined that they were already very close to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Yu entered the woods beside the road. They found a shaded spot and were just about to sit down and meditate to recover their stamina when the sound of trickling water suddenly reached them. Huo Yuhao, who had been about to sit, immediately became alert.

Less than two hundred meters later, Huo Yuhao found what he was looking for: a small stream about three meters wide. Its water was so clear that the bottom could be seen, and the crisp stream brought a refreshingly cool sensation.

"Do you like fish?" Huo Yuhao asked Zhongli Yu. The original Huo Yuhao had been exceptionally skilled at making grilled fish, and such a craft would not vanish from muscle memory just because the soul had changed.

Unexpectedly, Zhongli Yu shook her head. After spending so long in the Holy Spirit Cult, which was saturated with the stench of blood and rot, she had instead become interested only in fruits and vegetables. Along the way, she had picked quite a few wild fruits and vegetables.

"Then I won't make grilled fish." The muscle memory of Huo Yuhao's original body remained, so recreating the grilled fish from the original story would not have been difficult. The problem was that he would very likely encounter the two people from the Tang Sect who had changed the original Huo Yuhao's life, and he did not want to have too much to do with that sect.

"If you want to eat it, then make it. Don't worry about me." Zhongli Yu sat listlessly on a tree stump and picked up a piece of fruit, about to put it in her mouth, when Huo Yuhao stopped her.

"I'll make you a fruit and vegetable salad. You'll definitely love it." Huo Yuhao revealed an indulgent smile and, under Zhongli Yu's lazy gaze, took out a small knife and began working.

Salad dressing was made from egg yolks, fructose, vegetable oil, and the like. Huo Yuhao had bought some of these common ingredients along the way. On this continent, there were no cultivation practitioners who could go without food. Other than when in seclusion, even Titled Douluo needed to eat regularly to replenish their energy.

Watching Huo Yuhao bustle about, Zhongli Yu's beautiful eyes grew somewhat unfocused. She had long forgotten what her parents looked like. The only thing she could recall was the figure of her mother busily working in the kitchen when she was young.

There was nothing difficult about making fruit and vegetable salad. Huo Yuhao thoughtfully washed the wild vegetables, sliced them into thin strips, poured on the dressing, then carved a fork from a branch and brought it before Zhongli Yu.

"Try it?" The girls from Huo Yuhao's past-life memories had especially liked this kind of food, so he tried making a portion for Zhongli Yu.

"Feed me." Zhongli Yu seductively reached out, wrapped an arm around Huo Yuhao's neck, and coquettishly said.

"You..." Huo Yuhao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Zhongli Yu's rosy cherry lips parted slightly, enough to stir one's imagination. The young man could only suppress the heat in his heart and gently fed the salad into the enchantress's mouth.

Zhongli Yu chewed once, and her beautiful eyes immediately lit up. The jade arm around Huo Yuhao's neck waved repeatedly. "I want more! More!"

"Can't you eat by yourself? I'm hungry too." Huo Yuhao helplessly fed Zhongli Yu another spoonful. If he stayed beside this temptress any longer, he feared he would lose control and devour her. Subconsciously, he wanted to slip away.

"Then I'll feed you..." Zhongli Yu moved with lightning speed, grabbing Huo Yuhao's head and pressing her lips against his.

Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly widened. Before he could react, Zhongli Yu had already pinned him down on the grass.

"You young people sure know how to have fun." Bibi Dong's indifferent teasing voice sounded in his mind.

I can't handle such a fierce woman! Huo Yuhao cried inwardly. But it would be impolite not to return the favor. She fed me, so naturally I have to feed her too...

"Ah—"

Just as the two tangled together on the ground, a sharp cry rang out at the most inopportune moment.

Their lips parted. Huo Yuhao looked toward the source of the voice and saw two people standing by the stream. At the front was a girl who looked fifteen or sixteen. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail that hung behind her, and her light-blue fitted outfit outlined her youthful vitality.

She had phoenix eyes, large and lively; a high, delicate nose; and an almost flawless oval face. Her lovely features carried a hint of embarrassed anger as her slender fingers trembled while pointing at Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Yu.

Following behind the girl was a boy who appeared to be around her age. He was tall and straight, and his short dark-blue hair gleamed like gemstones beneath the sunlight. Though he was not old, he gave off a refined air. A lazy, gentle smile rested on his handsome face, his hands clasped behind his back, and his gaze drifted to the side as he maintained an expression of proper restraint.

Good heavens! The Worldline had converged—why were these two pests still here?! Huo Yuhao nearly jumped up and cursed aloud. He had wanted to leave quickly, but Zhongli Yu had held him up, and in the end, he had still run into these two.

"You two are..." Tang Ya's voice trembled, as though she had witnessed something too shocking to look at. Her little face had turned bright red, making her look especially adorable.

It was not as though Huo Yuhao had never seen pretty girls before. There had even been many beautiful maids in the Ducal Palace, and the pair of twins Zhongli Wu had arranged for him were not bad either. Yet none of the maids in the Ducal Palace or Holy Spirit Hall could compare to the girl before him. She was not so stunning as to be flawless, but she possessed a naturally graceful, spirited charm.

"Uh, well..." Huo Yuhao scratched his head, momentarily unsure how to explain.

Indeed, in an outsider's eyes, it looked exactly like a mature beauty forcing herself upon a young man. Yet the young man was clearly going along with her, which made the situation rather intriguing.

"Xiao Ya, this is someone else's private matter. We should take another route." Beibei, who had come with Tang Ya, had now stepped forward as well. Wearing an awkward expression, he raised his hands toward Huo Yuhao and made an apologetic gesture.

Tang Ya's beautiful eyes widened at his words, and she said in mock anger, "What did you call me?"

Beibei immediately raised both hands in surrender. "All right, Teacher Xiao Ya. Is that better? Let's hurry up and go."

Zhongli Yu looked thoughtfully at the two of them, then covered her red lips and gave a seductive smile. "You two needn't mind. Actually, I'm his child bride—his future wife, in a sense."

Child bride? Huo Yuhao nearly gave Zhongli Yu a thumbs-up. In a sense, Zhongli Yu really could be considered the child bride of him, the Holy Son.

On the other side, Beibei's face immediately darkened when he heard the words "child bride," as though he had recalled a beautiful figure deeply engraved in his memories.

"Child bride? What's that?" Tang Ya clearly had not understood at once and murmured the question.

Following the suggestions of some readers, I made a few adjustments to the part where he first encountered the Rakshasa God. However, readers who enjoy the Yuhao-Bibi Dong pairing need not worry. Even if the Worldline converges again later, Bibi Dong will still remain in Yuhao's Sea of Spirit for quite a long time.

By the way, if the upcoming plot takes them to Shrek, Zhongli Yu will have to temporarily leave the story. After all, if an eight-ringed Death God Demonic Puppet Evil Soul Master entered Shrek territory, her life would be in danger.

So please cherish the time you have with Holy Maiden big sister while she is still by his side.