"Ah, right. Yuhao—this is for you."
After the Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival, the air of romance lingered across the academy.
Many couples, like Chen Junting and Ning Tian, spent their days lost in their own private worlds—and so did Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.
Right now, the two were returning from Shrek City to Sea God Island.
Since they weren't officially married yet, apart from their shared night on the ceremony's eve, they'd mostly slept in separate rooms.
But just as they were about to part, Wang Dong'er suddenly remembered something. She called out to Huo Yuhao—and a small embroidered pouch appeared in her hand, which she promptly handed to him.
Almost instantly—
"Such a powerful spiritual imprint!"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, who'd been dozing in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, jolted awake. His voice rang with grave urgency. Clearly, he found the imprint within the pouch deeply alarming.
"Yuhao, this spiritual imprint is dangerous—like a time bomb with a hidden tracker. You really shouldn't keep it."
"But Brother Tianmeng… Dong'er wouldn't harm me, would she?"
Though Huo Yuhao was wary, he still accepted the pouch. But he couldn't help asking:
"Dong'er… what's this pouch for?"
"I don't actually know." Wang Dong'er puffed out her cheeks in frustration. "My First Dad told me to give it to you only after I'd truly chosen you. And to stop me from peeking, he even sealed it!"
"As for what's inside?" She feigned indifference, glancing at the pouch. "Probably just a warning like, 'Treat my daughter well, or I'll personally punish you!' Hahaha!"
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly at her laughter. When he asked if she wanted to read it herself, she shook her head firmly.
The moment they parted, Huo Yuhao returned to his room—and Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, now a soul spirit, emerged from his spiritual sea.
A translucent ice silkworm—no longer than six or seven inches, as thin as a finger—coiled around Huo Yuhao's finger, its eyes locked on the pouch.
Though he still disapproved of Huo Yuhao accepting it, Tianmeng had no choice. "Since you've taken it, I'll help you open it. Carrying someone else's spiritual seal is never safe."
Huo Yuhao readily agreed.
But the moment Tianmeng unsealed the pouch and pulled out a sheet of vellum, Huo Yuhao's face drained of all color—his hands trembling like leaves in a storm.
"Yuhao—what's wrong?!"
Seeing his distress, Tianmeng scrambled onto his shoulder and scanned the parchment. The next second—
"BING BING! COME QUICK! SOMETHING TERRIBLE'S HAPPENED!"
The scream echoed only within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea—yet it was deafening.
In less than a breath—
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU IDIOT!"
A cold, furious female voice erupted.
A streak of emerald light shot out—followed by a whip-like lash of icy green energy that smacked Tianmeng square in the face, sending him flying!
As he tumbled through the air, his expression instantly shifted to one of groveling adoration. "Bing Bing—you hit so perfectly! Wait, no! Bing Bing—just read the paper first!"
Thud! Tianmeng slammed into the wall.
Perched on Huo Yuhao's shoulder now was a jade-green scorpion, flicking its tail dismissively at the dazed silkworm before turning its eyes to the vellum.
"Yuhao… are you sure this is real?" Ice Empress tapped the parchment with her stinger, baffled.
"'Your body was damaged by premature martial soul awakening. To survive, you must find your one true love and harvest a divine herb to save you…'" She scoffed. "Even I, a soul beast, think this plot is ridiculously cliché! And honestly? This 'illness' feels more like a cheap trick to manipulate your love—total nonsense!"
As the Empress of the Far North, Ice Empress was blunt to a fault—and made her skepticism crystal clear.
(Chen Junting: Gotta admit—Ice Empress nailed it! Thumbs-up.jpg)
"And besides—what divine herb actually works like this? And this map…"
Her amber eyes scanned the drawing, full of doubt.
"Well, Bing Bing…" Tianmeng, having peeled himself off the wall, floated shakily back to Huo Yuhao's shoulder. He edged closer to Ice Empress, both bold and timid. "Actually… that herb does exist. If I recall, humans from Yuhao's sect mentioned it before. And the map's destination? It's exactly that place."
"That place? Where?"
Ice Empress clicked her pincers, confused.
Huo Yuhao, forcing himself to calm down, spoke quietly:
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well… in Sunset Forest."
"You've been there too, Bing Bing—right after you sacrificed yourself for me. You were just… asleep at the time…"
"DARE YOU EVEN MENTION THAT AGAIN?!"
Splat!
The suicidal silkworm was smacked into the wall once more.
In that instant, Huo Yuhao shot to his feet—so abruptly that Ice Empress nearly toppled off his shoulder.
"I have to find Brother Junting and Senior Xiao Tian now!"
"Dong'er's life is in danger! I'll beg my sect to give me that divine herb to save her—I'll kneel for the rest of my life if I must!"
Without another word, he bolted from the room, racing toward Shrek City—he knew Chen Junting and Ning Tian had been staying at the Nine Treasure Pavilion.
They couldn't have gone far.
Tianmeng and Ice Empress hurried after him.
Just as he left the island, Huo Yuhao ran straight into Wu Feng, who was walking toward Sea God Island with Gu Tianchen in tow.
Why are Senior Gu and Senior Feng together?
The thought flashed through his mind—but vanished instantly.
Right now, saving Dong'er was all that mattered.
He gave them a hurried nod and sprinted past.
Wu Feng, seeing his panic, shouted after him:
"Yuhao—where are you going?!"
"Senior Feng—I'm going to find Brother Junting and Sister Xiao Tian!"
What?!
You're going to ruin their couple time?!
As the #1 shipper of the Chen-Ning couple, Wu Feng instantly saw this as an act of war.
She spun around and bellowed:
"YUHAO—YOU STAND RIGHT THERE!"
When he didn't stop—
"Bones! After him!"
Gu Tianchen sighed—but didn't refuse. And so, one fleeing, two chasing, the three vanished into the academy grounds.
…
"I see…"
After hearing Huo Yuhao's frantic account, Chen Junting and Ning Tian exchanged a glance—both hiding a cold, knowing smile.
An illness? A death sentence?
The illness is fake—but the "death" is very real.
After all—when Wang Dong'er's identity shifted to Tang Wutong, Wang Dong'er herself would cease to exist. Wasn't that a form of death?
Handing the vellum back to Huo Yuhao, Chen Junting said gently:
"Yuhao, Dong'er is our friend. A single divine herb is nothing compared to her. But… do you really believe she has this illness?"
Huo Yuhao, just touched by Chen Junting's offer, was now thrown into doubt.
Knowing Brother Junting never spoke without reason, he couldn't help but wonder:
…Would Dong'er's First Dad really lie to me?
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