At a far-off distance, a lonely silhouette was watching this scene.
After seeing Huo Yuhao and Long Qiu'er enter the house, the figure turned away, her long silver hair tracing a graceful arc in the air.
The silver glow dissipated, as if she had never been there at all.
...
"You're back, Yuhao..."
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Huo Yun'er, who was warming up food in the kitchen, quickly stepped out, only for her smile to freeze on her face.
Huo Yuhao stepped aside and made a gesture. "Um... Mom, th-this is Miss Long Qiu'er. She'll be staying at our house for a while."
Huo Yun'er's gaze shifted to Long Qiu'er's stunningly beautiful face—one capable of eclipsing heaven and earth. She swallowed hard, then looked back at Huo Yuhao with a strange expression.
Long Qiu'er, however, was not shy. She stepped forward graciously. "Hello, Auntie. My name is Long Qiu'er."
"Oh, oh! Hello, hello! Please come in, quickly. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Auntie will go cook for you both."
After giving Huo Yuhao a meaningful look, she turned and headed back to the kitchen.
"Ah, right, please come in..." Huo Yuhao finally snapped out of it, taking a pair of slippers from the entryway shoe cabinet and placing them by Long Qiu'er's feet.
Long Qiu'er scanned Huo Yuhao's home. Her powerful mental power immediately detected something unusual about the house, and a flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes.
This place... why did it give her a sensation of layered space?
Long Qiu'er had seen such spatial power before—it was in the space at the bottom of the Lake of Life where the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, usually slept.
That was the most secret place in the Star Constellation Great Forest. After all, the Silver Dragon King had managed to hide from the God Realm's scouts for hundreds of thousands of years by relying on this mastery of ultimate space.
But how could Huo Yuhao's house possibly...
Long Qiu'er took off her boots, placed her delicate feet into the slippers, and followed Huo Yuhao into the living room.
"This place... was it created by that elder of yours named Baili Du?"
Huo Yuhao poured a cup of flower tea and placed it before Long Qiu'er, smiling wryly. "As expected, I can't hide it from you. This place was remodeled by Uncle Baili. Even now, I don't know how he did it, but I can be certain that no one can trouble me or my mother here. It allows me to go away to school with peace of mind."
With Baili Du's meticulous nature, how could he let Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er suffer a second time?
Don't forget, he was once the most talented soul engineer! Even in the God Realm, he never gave up his research, even developing the "Death Ray Tower" and the "Divine Transmission Tower" that could deal with a God King.
Since he was helping Huo Yuhao, he naturally wouldn't leave out Huo Yun'er. Though she was gentle by nature and did not know how to fight, placing a few Level 12 guardian-type soul tools on her person was no problem at all...
Add to that this remodeled house, and it would likely take until Huo Yuhao became a Titled Douluo with god-level mental power to discover the mysteries within.
Long Qiu'er's heart stirred, and she nodded thoughtfully.
Could it be that her side was also...
"So, your martial soul that carries the Dragon God bloodline was also his doing?"
Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to tell Long Qiu'er.
But on second thought, she had all of his memories; he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. Besides, all soul beasts would surely be interested in matters concerning the Dragon God.
"I suppose so... that's what Uncle Baili told me at the time."
Huo Yuhao sat on the other side of the sofa. "He said I was originally a twin martial soul user, but my original talent had been ruined by a very, very bad person. Although he had a way to help me remedy it, he left the right to choose to me."
Huo Yuhao exhaled. "The first choice was for him to help me restore my original talent, but if I did that, I would likely be heavily entangled with the White Tiger Dai family. The second choice was to give up the bloodline from the White Tiger, and he would give me a completely new martial soul."
"I naturally chose the latter. Then, he seemingly retrieved the bloodline of the Dragon God from somewhere to help me complete the fusion, and thus I obtained the Deep Blue Glazed Dragon martial soul."
Finally, they had reached this topic!
Long Qiu'er looked delighted. The reason the Lord hadn't come here with her was twofold: first, she wanted to observe how human nations were developing; second, she hoped Long Qiu'er would obtain some intelligence from Huo Yuhao first so she could make preparations.
Although Long Qiu'er possessed Huo Yuhao's memories, it didn't mean she knew every detail of his past life.
Just like watching a movie, no one can remember every word spoken or every person seen; there will always be gaps.
At the very least, confirming that Huo Yuhao's Dragon God bloodline was related to this "Baili Du" was extremely important intelligence.
"Do you know where that place is?" Long Qiu'er pursed her lips. "Please understand, this is truly important to us."
Huo Yuhao spread his palms somewhat regretfully. "...I understand. But I'm sorry, Uncle Baili never told me those things."
"Come, come, come! Let's eat."
At that moment, Huo Yun'er's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Let's save the rest for later. Please try my mother's cooking—it's definitely better than mine."
The aroma of the food stimulated the taste buds. Long Qiu'er, who was used to wild game in the Star Constellation Great Forest, instinctively swallowed her saliva, stood up, and walked quickly to the dining room.
"Then I shall accept most graciously."
The atmosphere at the dining table was very harmonious, with the three of them chatting and laughing. However, Long Qiu'er's appetite was truly staggering; at least three-quarters of the large spread Huo Yun'er had prepared was finished by her.
Huo Yun'er just kept smiling, though the meaningful look in her eyes gave Huo Yuhao a slightly uneasy feeling.
After leading Long Qiu'er to a guest room on the second floor, Huo Yun'er motioned for Huo Yuhao to come to her room.
Huo Yun'er got straight to the point: "You brat, do you like this Long Qiu'er?"
Eh? It... it was that easy to see?
Huo Yuhao didn't speak; he just scratched his cheek.
Huo Yun'er wore a "don't I know you" expression. "You're my son. Don't you think I know what's on your mind?"
"And..." Huo Yun'er suppressed a smile, looking relieved. "She's interested in you too."
Huo Yuhao was stunned. "Ah?"
That's impossible... he didn't have the confidence to think he could make someone fall in love with him at first sight.
Huo Yun'er wagged a finger mysteriously. "Didn't you notice? While eating, she would glance your way from time to time."
"You, you should observe girls once in a while. When people laugh, they unintentionally cast their gaze toward the person they like in a group."
"Ahem, let's not talk about that for now, Mom. In a few days, my teacher and senior sisters from Shrek Academy are also coming to stay at our house for a bit."