At the inn, the sun rose again outside the window, and Huo Yuhao's consciousness returned to his body.
Huo Yuhao was no longer the same person he had been yesterday.
He rubbed the spot between his brows and immediately blocked his Sea of Consciousness from perceiving the outside world.
He looked around and discovered that he was in a small inn in Shrek City, not a student dormitory at Shrek Academy.
Huo Yuhao was puzzled.
What did Qian Renxue do with my body? Did she withdraw from Shrek Academy? Or was she expelled?
Whether she had withdrawn or been expelled, Qian Renxue had done him a favor.
He had originally planned to join Shrek to scrounge some resources and learn a few applications for his Martial Soul.
Shrek had ten thousand years of history behind it, after all, and had done its share of research into Martial Souls. For instance, Twin Martial Souls could be used at the same time; techniques for chaining numerous Soul Skills together allowed several to be activated almost simultaneously; and when it came to the Martial Soul Avatar, Shrek's Titled Douluo clearly used it better than those of other factions.
But after this conversation with Tang San, he had changed his mind.
During their conversation, he had identified several dangers, and the Golden Ancient Tree in Shrek Academy was one of them. So, no matter what, he had to leave Shrek Academy.
But where should he go next?
Huo Yuhao had no idea yet.
Join the Douluo Three Kingdoms? No future in that.
Join the Body Sect? His Martial Soul had already undergone a Second Awakening, and besides, he didn't like the Body Sect's way of doing things-they were far too reckless, like sticks used to stir up shit.
As the saying went, the bird that stuck its head out got shot. In the original story, Du Busi died, as did the young sect master Long Aotian, and the Body Sect withered away.
Joining the Body Sect was dangerous, and he wouldn't get much help from it either.
As for the Sun Moon Empire, he wouldn't even consider it.
Evil Soul Masters ran rampant in the Sun Moon Empire. If he went there and showed off his Martial Soul with its ultimate sacred attribute, it wouldn't take more than a few days for the Holy Spirit Cult's Titled Douluo to chop him into mincemeat. His soul would even be locked inside Ye Xishui's Death God Tower as a new slave-newbie slave for short.
But he couldn't go without backing, either. He trusted himself, but he couldn't trust Qian Renxue. What if she went out raising hell in his body and got herself killed?
So he still had to find Qian Renxue a bodyguard.
After turning it over in his mind, Huo Yuhao decided to cling to the Soul Beast Clan's thigh first.
There was no other reason. They were simply easy to fool, and every one of them was a beautiful, wealthy woman.
His stomach wasn't in good shape, so he liked to eat soft food, preferably something big, white, and soft.
Having decided on his next goal, Huo Yuhao resolved to find Jiang Nannan first and learn from her what Qian Renxue had done with his body these past few days.
He knew very well how Jiang Nannan felt about him. She was the person he trusted most in this world, even more than his mother, Huo Yun'er.
There was no harm in telling Jiang Nannan that he and Qian Renxue were switching places, either.
A question suddenly occurred to Huo Yuhao.
Given how close Nannan and I are, Qian Renxue shouldn't have done anything to hurt Sister Nannan these past few days, right?
In a restaurant in Shrek City.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, two men nursing their disappointments, sat dejectedly by the window. Neither spoke, simply refilling their cups of wine again and again.
Bitter wine burned down their throats, and their hearts ached-
"Gulp-gulp-"
Before long, both men's faces were red, and their eyes had taken on a drunken haze.
"Sanshi, why do you think Xiaoya and Jiang Nannan like a junior who's so much younger than us? Why?"
Bei Bei sighed wistfully, his eyes lost and pained. "Could it be that we're too old? I've heard the girls at the academy all like younger boys, but we can't go back into the furnace and be born again!"
"How about we both start dressing a little younger? Maybe they'll have a change of heart?"
Xu Sanshi took a large swig of wine and shook his head. "No, you and I aren't the same! Nannan was just lonely and wanted a hug, so she hugged that junior. But Nannan still has me in her heart!"
"All they did was hug!"
Bei Bei blinked blankly and stared at Xu Sanshi in a daze.
Even though he was a simp himself, faced with Xu Sanshi, he felt he couldn't hold a candle to him.
Just then, a senior student on city patrol walked over.
"You two juniors, why aren't you in class? What are you doing drinking here?"
"Senior." Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi smiled bitterly.
After what had happened yesterday, they really weren't in the mood for class, so they had agreed to come here and drink their sorrows away.
"Right, I wanted to ask you two something. Dean Yan just gave us an order. He said a freshman named Huo Yuhao was expelled by Zhou Yi, and told us to-"
Before the patrolling senior could finish, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi both jolted and eagerly crowded around him.
"Senior, is that true?"
The patrolling senior scratched his head. "Of course it's true. The dean told us to find him-"
Once again, he didn't get to finish before he saw Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi embrace each other and weep with excitement.
"Simp Turtle! Our bitterness has finally given way to sweetness!"
"Simp Dragon! We finally have hope!"
"Simp Turtle~"
"Simp Dragon~"
Their eyes brimming with tears, they gazed deeply at each other.
"Ahem!"
Seeing the two like that, the patrolling senior felt a little embarrassed to break the mood. But he was a member of Shrek Academy too, and he couldn't let these two juniors ruin the academy's reputation like this, so he had no choice but to interrupt them with a light cough.
Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei finally calmed down. They turned and gave each other looks of disgust, then unceremoniously wiped all their tears on each other.
Bei Bei put on a refined, courteous smile and said to the patrolling senior:
"Sorry you had to see that, Senior. We were just marveling at how Teacher Zhou Yi truly deserves her reputation as the outer court's best teacher. She's strict, but she has an eye for hidden gems, and she saw at a glance that a student like Huo Yuhao had no place in Shrek!"
"Good riddance! Teacher Zhou Yi sees the finest detail, has noble character, is as beautiful as a flower and the moon, and has no equal under heaven!" Xu Sanshi chimed in.
Bei Bei looked back at Xu Sanshi with a strange expression.
Brother, your tastes are a little perverted, aren't they?
You actually think Zhou Yi's wrinkled old face is as beautiful as a flower and the moon?
The patrolling senior looked at them, started to speak, stopped, then tried again. "But Teacher Zhou Yi has already been suspended by Dean Yan pending review, for expelling students without good reason."
"Huh?" Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei turned to stone, standing there like two statues.
The patrolling senior added, "The dean also told us to look for Junior Huo Yuhao. He said he wanted to bring him back to the academy. I came to ask whether you've seen Junior Huo Yuhao."
"They're bringing Huo Yuhao back to the academy too?!!!"
Xu Sanshi was beside himself.
"That's right! I hear this junior is very talented, and the dean took a liking to his talent. The academy has had a change of heart. Judging by the looks on your faces, you two juniors must be shocked and happy too, right?" the patrolling senior said with relief.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi looked as though their souls had left their bodies, their eyes vacant as they muttered to themselves.
"No-"
"Why did it turn out like this?"
They looked at each other, each seeing the sorrow in the other's eyes, and the two kindred spirits couldn't help embracing again.
"Bei Bei!"
"Sanshi!"
"Bei Bei! We're finished!"
"Sanshi! It's all over!"
Watching the two bizarre men, the patrolling senior couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his eye.
Through the gap between their embracing bodies, he could still see pedestrians coming and going on the street below the restaurant.
Just then, through that gap, the patrolling senior suddenly caught sight of a figure passing by.
"That's-"
"Junior Huo Yuhao!"
The patrolling senior's body jolted. "I found him! Quick, notify Dean Yan and lock down the entire area!"
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi could only regret that they hadn't hugged each other tighter. If they had, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have been spotted walking past.