Outside Odin Town, Long Xingyu and Huo Yuhao landed one after the other.
After the long journey, Huo Yuhao's face was still a little pale, even though Long Xingyu's Spiritual Energy had protected him.
Long Xingyu glanced at Huo Yuhao, a little surprise in his eyes.
Normally, being carried through the air by him for so long would cause physical discomfort, especially for someone flying for the first time.
But Huo Yuhao was only a little pale. He really was unusual.
Now was not the time to pay attention to Huo Yuhao, however. Long Xingyu fixed his eyes on the town ahead and spoke calmly:
"All right, you can train through real combat around this town. There are plenty of magical beasts nearby, and it's close to the border. Members of the Demon Clan might even sneak in, so it's just right for your training.
"As for your identity, make sure you don't reveal it. If possible, don't even enter the town!"
Huo Yuhao was a little surprised to hear that.
He hadn't expected Long Xingyu to say so much. It seemed there really was something in this town that he cared about.
Huo Yuhao gave a slight bow, then headed into the wilderness forest to the west.
Only after he had gone some distance did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm speak up in displeasure:
"What's wrong with this guy? He brought you to a place where you don't know a soul, then ran off into town and left you to kill magical beasts alone in the wild? What exactly is he trying to do?"
"Yuhao, don't worry. I'm going to find out what secret Long Xingyu has come here for. I'll keep an eye on his every move!"
"All right, Brother Sky Dream, sorry for the trouble. Just be careful and don't let him discover you!"
Huo Yuhao was also curious about Long Xingyu's purpose, so he didn't stop the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
He stopped halfway up a mountainside with a good view and gathered some dry firewood, preparing to light a fire and cook.
Fortunately, he hadn't finished the magical beast meat he had stored earlier. Otherwise, he really would have gone hungry. Long Xingyu was rather ruthless with him.
After taking a piece of tenderloin from a fourth-level magical beast out of his storage ring, Huo Yuhao sprinkled it with salt and spices and began to roast it.
He had plenty of experience grilling fish in his previous life, and living alone for a while had helped him pick up the skill again. His grilling skills had now reached another level.
After the meat had roasted for a short while, fat dripped onto the firewood with a sizzle, and its aroma began to spread.
He hadn't eaten anything all day. Even with Long Xingyu carrying him, the flight from the Holy City to Odin Town had taken most of the day, from morning until afternoon, without a single rest along the way. His stomach had long since begun to protest.
"Yuhao!"
Just then, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice suddenly exploded in his Sea of Consciousness, brimming with the excitement of someone who had uncovered a great secret.
"I f-found it! I found Long Xingyu's secret."
"After he entered Odin Town, he asked around at a few shops, then went straight to a house in the west of town."
"The house wasn't big, but it was kept very clean. The people living there are fairly hardworking."
"Long Xingyu went up and knocked..."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm paused, his tone becoming suggestive:
"A woman answered the door. She looked about thirty or forty, and by human standards, she should be fairly good-looking. She was wearing a white dress.
"They both froze when they saw each other. Then the woman started crying, and Long Xingyu cried too. They hugged each other and said something, but I didn't dare bring my Spiritual Power close, so I couldn't hear what they were saying at all."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao paused in the act of roasting his meat.
"They hugged?"
"That's right. They hugged each other, and very tightly at that."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's tone carried the satisfaction of someone enjoying the show.
That's it?
Huo Yuhao frowned.
If he really came to see someone, why was he being so secretive? Could they have some kind of shameful relationship?
That shouldn't be it. Wasn't Long Xingyu a ninth-rank Divine Seal Knight? It would be perfectly normal for him to have a wife.
Could there really be something else going on?
Just then, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly cried out in surprise:
"Yuhao, the two of them went inside with their arms around each other. But after the beautiful woman said a few things, Long Xingyu's expression changed. He looked awful. The woman kept snuggling in his arms, though, so she didn't notice.
"Yuhao, you eat first. I'll keep watching and tell you if anything happens!"
Long Xingyu's expression changed? Did he hear some bad news?
Although Huo Yuhao was curious, he still decided to wait for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to tell him.
After that, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke up every now and then. Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, kept eating his roast meat, though more slowly than before.
He was afraid that once he was full, he wouldn't get to hear such an entertaining story anymore.
Just as the sky was growing dark, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke again.
"Yuhao, I found something else!"
"Hm?"
"That beautiful woman has a child who's on the way home right now."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and began to ponder.
A child? Could it be because of the child?
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm continued:
"The child looks about eight or nine, with rather androgynous features, but is a little frail and looks a lot like that beautiful woman."
"And most importantly, Long Xingyu didn't show himself to the child. He left before the child came back."
"But he didn't go far. He stayed nearby, watching the child, with a terribly pained expression on his face!"
Pained?
Huo Yuhao's whole body jolted when he heard that.
Could it be that the child isn't Long Xingyu's own? No wonder Long Xingyu wouldn't see him, and his expression changed after he heard what the beautiful woman said.
No wonder Long Xingyu didn't want me to know the purpose of this trip. So he was afraid of losing face.
(This was Huo Yuhao's deduction from his own perspective. He did not have an omniscient view.)
Having figured this out, Huo Yuhao told the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to keep watching. After putting out the fire, he went straight off to look for magical beasts without resting.
He was afraid that Long Xingyu had a home he couldn't return to and would stew in silence, then take it out on him. That really would be a bolt from the blue.
He might as well take this chance to hunt magical beasts and leave Long Xingyu with nothing to say.
And so, late at night, Huo Yuhao searched high and low for magical beasts, looking only for those of the fourth and fifth levels.
Although his strength now completely outclassed those magical beasts, he still committed the shameful act of abusing them to give himself something to do, keeping at a good number of them while pretending to train his combat skills.
Sure enough, things went just as he had expected. Around midnight, after the people in that house had gone to sleep, Long Xingyu came straight to find him.
But when he saw Huo Yuhao fighting a magical beast, he said nothing and simply watched until dawn before leaving.
The next day, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm told Huo Yuhao something shocking: the beautiful woman's child was actually a Squire.