As night deepened, Huo Yuhao found a secluded inn in the city and settled in. Lying on the bed, he rested his hands behind his head, staring blankly at the wooden ceiling. The Star Dou Great Forest... He would be heading there with this " Xue Qinghe " tomorrow.
He had to plan carefully, racking his brains to figure out how to create some difficulties, otherwise Qian Renxue wouldn't take the bait, which would put him in a very difficult position.
He needed to create enough of a crisis to force Qian Renxue to reveal her true form, but without arousing her suspicion. As he pondered this, drowsiness gradually crept in...
The next day, Huo Yuhao arrived at the agreed location. To his surprise, Xue Qinghe had indeed come alone, without even a guard. This prince of the Heaven Dou Empire stood before him without any precautions.
There really were only two people; perhaps Xue Qinghe was too confident in his abilities.
Although it was said to be a hunt for Soul Ring, there wasn't really that kind of atmosphere. Xue Qinghe wasn't afraid that Huo Yuhao would do anything to him, a prince, after all, this was just his hidden identity.
"Just Your Highness alone?" Huo Yuhao couldn't hide his surprise and bewilderment.
Xue Qinghe smiled slightly, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, "Brother Huo, do you find anything amiss?"
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly. "Your Highness is here alone, aren't you afraid I might harm you? This trust is a bit too much."
"Brother Huo, you flatter me. Since I've chosen to trust you, I naturally have no doubts. I admire you. Today is just about hunting a Soul Ring; I don't want to make a big fuss. I fully acknowledge your strength."
Xue Qinghe remained calm. "Besides, if Brother Huo truly intended to harm me, the time outside the Moonlight Pavilion would have been the perfect opportunity, wouldn't it?"
Huo Yuhao gave Xue Qinghe a deep look, and finally nodded, saying, "Then thank you for your trust, Your Highness. In that case, let's set off."
You say Xue Qinghe trusts Huo Yuhao? To some extent, but not much. To say he completely trusts Huo Yuhao? That would be too naive. As the young master of the Spirit Hall, he had already secretly prepared his own contingency plans.
Moreover, he was also gambling, gambling on Huo Yuhao's character. Besides, he didn't believe that Huo Lai hadn't suffered any damage in the last battle with Clear Sky Douluo.
The two set off from the Heaven Dou Empire and arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest in the afternoon.
Although Huo Yuhao led him to the interior of the Star Dou Great Forest, it wasn't too far inside, as there were still some Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast here.
"Brother Huo seems quite familiar with this forest?" Xue Qinghe asked casually, but his eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao's every subtle expression.
"I know a little bit." Huo Yuhao had a faint smile on his lips, his Spiritual Detection already subtly underway. Each with their own thoughts, they continued their investigation deeper into the matter.
As the sun began to set, they finally found a suitable Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Xue Qinghe drew his longsword, its blade shimmering with a sacred golden light. Although they couldn't fully unleash their power, the two of them worked together with ease to deal with a ten -Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
The hunt for the Soul Beast went smoothly. With the two of them working together, Xue Qinghe could not reveal his identity, but he could only reveal too much. Moreover, Huo Yuhao's current faction was the Spirit Hall, so even if he were exposed, it wouldn't be a big deal.
They're all on our side anyway.
He wielded a long sword, unleashing a slash imbued with divine attributes. Despite facing Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, neither of them struggled much.
After hunting down the Soul Beast, night quickly fell.
As the last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by twilight, the forest fell silent. Xue Qinghe belatedly realized a serious problem—although she was now in the body of a man, she was still a woman at heart! When had this pampered young mistress ever personally mastered those essential survival skills for the wild?
"Um... Brother Huo..." Xue Qinghe rarely showed an embarrassed expression. Looking at the crooked tent frame in his hand, his usually composed voice carried a rare hint of panic.
Huo Yuhao suppressed a laugh and feigned surprise, saying, "I never expected that the dignified First Prince would be so inept at something as simple as setting up a tent..."
"Enough nonsense!" Xue Qinghe interrupted, her ears slightly red with embarrassment and annoyance, "I... I usually have others to take care of these trivial matters for me."
Finally, under Huo Yuhao's "careful guidance," a crooked tent was managed to be erected with difficulty.
Looking at this "masterpiece" that seemed poised to collapse at any moment, Xue Qinghe began to seriously doubt his decision to come alone for the first time—why was he so bewitched, insisting on traveling alone with this despicable fellow?
Finally, Huo Yuhao personally stepped in and resolved the situation for him, setting up the tent.
Xue Qinghe secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could return to Heaven Dou City early tomorrow morning and end this somewhat awkward journey together.
However, Huo Yuhao was about to lose his composure. With his back to Xue Qinghe, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself, "This is unacceptable. I got you Soul Ring, and you're perfectly fine. How can I let this get out? What was my purpose in coming here then? No, no, I have to stir things up."
So he started to operate behind the scenes. In the dead of night, Huo Yuhao quietly released the Gate of the Undead.
Several strangely shaped undead Soul Beast darted through the night, heading straight for the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. What were they up to? Of course, they were using the Soul Beast to create some chaos within the Star Dou Great Forest.
The target was the Titan Giant Ape; finding them to take the blame was perfect. They simply acted wildly in front of it. Not only did they deliberately wreak havoc on the Titan Giant Ape's territory, but they also repeatedly proclaimed in hoarse voices, " The Spirit Hall... ordered to exterminate..."
At that moment, Xiao Wu was not with the Titan Giant Ape. The king of the forest was completely enraged. It roared to the sky and pounded its chest with its thick arms. In an instant, dozens of thousand-year-old and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast were driven out by it and frantically chased after the provocateurs.
Huo Yuhao closely monitored everything through his Spiritual Detection. When the beast horde was less than a few hundred meters from the camp, he smiled slightly and waved his hand. The undead Soul Beast instantly turned into black mist and vanished without a trace, leaving only a group of enraged Soul Beast circling in place.
At this point, our great philanthropist Huo Yuhao had already marked their location. Otherwise, why would he have lit a fire? The Titan Giant Ape weren't stupid; they could find their location without even searching, since their tents were all nearby. They weren't blind.
"Boom--"
The earth began to tremble, and the trees shook violently. Xue Qinghe suddenly opened his eyes and flung open the tent flap. "What's going on?"
The two rushed out of the tent almost simultaneously. In the distance, dust billowed, trees collapsed one after another, and countless Soul Beast were rushing towards them. In the moonlight, the scarlet eyes of those Soul Beast merged into one, like a moving wave of blood.
Xue Qinghe gazed intently at the distant forest shrouded in billowing dust, and asked in a deep voice, "Brother Huo, why are these Soul Beast suddenly charging towards us?"
Huo Yuhao feigned panic, speaking rapidly, "Your Highness, you may not know, but deep within this Star Dou Great Forest dwell two overlords— the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape. It is said that they have a close relationship with the transformed Soul Beast that the Spirit Hall was hunting back then..."
Xue Qinghe's eyes sharpened. "You mean..."
"That's right!"
Huo Yuhao lowered his voice, "That little girl is their relative. When the Spirit Hall went to hunt them down, they had already discovered their relationship. They probably mistook us for the Spirit Hall members because we are both human, and after sensing our presence, they triggered the beast tide, wanting to kill us."
Xue Qinghe frowned. "I see. Then, Brother Huo, what do you think we should do now?"
Huo Yuhao almost laughed out of exasperation at the question, and couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Your Highness, is there even a need to ask?" He suddenly grabbed Xue Qinghe's wrist, "Of course, we run!"
"You!" Xue Qinghe was caught off guard, his wrist firmly gripped. He instinctively tried to break free, but found Huo Yuhao's strength astonishing. A blush crept up his ears, and his voice involuntarily lowered. "Let... let go..."
Huo Yuhao ignored him and dragged him away, running wildly in the opposite direction. "Your Highness, please forgive us! But the situation is critical. If we fight head-on, we'll likely be devoured by beasts!"
As they ran, Xue Qinghe's robes fluttered, and his hair was disheveled by the wind. He had never been so close to anyone, let alone been dragged along so forcefully. Huo Yuhao's hand was warm and strong, with distinct knuckles, making him momentarily forget to use his Soul Power to break free.
Behind them, the loud crashing sounds of trees collapsing grew closer and closer.
Huo Yuhao glanced back and his expression changed drastically. "Not good! It's Ten-Thousand-Year Cave Demon Spider! Your Highness, hold on tight!" As he spoke, he increased the pressure on his hand and spun around with Xue Qinghe, barely avoiding the spider's legs that suddenly attacked from underground.
Xue Qinghe stumbled from the sudden change of direction, nearly falling into Huo Yuhao's arms. He quickly steadied himself, only to hear a soft laugh from above, "If Your Highness is tired, I don't mind carrying you on my back."
"Nonsense!" Xue Qinghe was filled with shame and anger, finally using her Soul Power to break free of her restraints. "I... I can do it myself!"
A triumphant smile flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes, but he feigned seriousness on his face. "Then Your Highness must keep up!" With that, he moved like lightning and continued flying forward. Xue Qinghe bit her lip, but in the end, she followed.
As he ran, Xue Qinghe was secretly annoyed: Why was he so out of control today? What was even stranger was that this guy could easily shake him off and escape on his own, so why did he insist on running away with him? This thought had just formed when he was interrupted by a deafening roar from behind.
He shook his head inwardly, suppressing his distracting thoughts—the most urgent task was to get rid of this inexplicable beast tide.
P. S.: I suddenly feel that Wang Dong'er and Qian Renxue look quite similar in terms of female versions of men's clothing, but that's just a casual remark, they definitely have no relation.
How should we address Xue Qinghe, who is a prince? This prince? This palace?
Now, sometimes when the two of us talk, we just address each other as "Brother Huo" or "Brother Xue," or, considering our princely status, as "Your Highness," and so on.