Chapter 137: An Embrace
Night had fallen. In the dormitory, the soft glow of lamplight gently illuminated the room.
Huo Yuhao watched as Wang Dong prepared to enter his usual meditative state and suddenly spoke up, stopping him. "Wang Dong."
Wang Dong halted his movements and turned around, a note of puzzlement in his voice. "Mm? What is it, Huo Yuhao? The freshman assessment is tomorrow afternoon. For a certified cultivation maniac like you not to seize every moment to meditate—this is truly a rare sight."
He propped his chin on one hand, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "I... I wouldn't exactly call myself a cultivation maniac. Besides, haven't you been training exceptionally diligently lately too?"
Wang Dong pursed his lips, his tone carrying a trace of unwillingness to be outdone. "How is that the same thing? You've been improving so fast, and Xiao Xiao is practically on the verge of breaking through to the third ring. I don't want to be left behind by you two, so I had no choice but to get swept up in it too."
He paused and pulled the topic back on track. "Alright, cut the deflection. Spit it out—what is it you want?"
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and decided to be direct. "Here's the thing... I'd like... to give you a hug."
"WHAT?!" Wang Dong's eyes flew wide open, as if he had just heard something utterly inconceivable. His body instinctively recoiled, and his fair cheeks were rapidly stained with a thin flush of red. "S-say that again?!"
Huo Yuhao repeated with earnest seriousness, "Just a hug, that's all. I feel like... there's something about your aura that seems to have a particular closeness to mine, so I wanted to test it out. Through close-range contact, I could confirm whether it's just my imagination."
He had concocted this reason on the spot. Though he himself had never distinctly perceived any special aura, these words unexpectedly struck right at the heart of Wang Dong's own private musings.
Because the very first time he had accepted Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, Wang Dong had clearly felt that sense—an affinity and resonance originating from the deepest part of the soul. He had always assumed that as long as he deliberately reined it in and didn't let this unique aura leak out, Huo Yuhao would never notice. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Huo Yuhao to hit the nail on the head like this.
Could it be... his spiritual power is just that strong? Wang Dong inwardly startled.
Huo Yuhao was, after all, a spiritual-type Body Martial Soul master, and he also practiced a cultivation art that enhanced spiritual power. It was only normal for his perception to be keener than most. But to be able to detect an aura he had intentionally concealed—this level of spiritual mastery was indeed no simple feat.
It seemed he himself would have to strengthen his own spiritual cultivation from now on. Perhaps he should ask Senior Sister Tang Ya about the method for cultivating the Purple Demon Eye. He was already a disciple of the Tang Sect anyway; requesting the art wouldn't count as overstepping any bounds—it was just that whenever he thought about how the Tang Sect had now become a subsidiary sect under the Church of the Water God, he always felt a subtle knot of mixed feelings inside.
Perhaps when the Tang Sect is revived and has grown powerful in the future, then... Wang Dong's thoughts couldn't help but drift, but he forcibly cut them off.
What am I even thinking?! The Church of the Water God performed a life-saving grace for the Tang Sect. Becoming a subsidiary sect was also mutually voluntary. On top of that, the Church of the Water God has granted the Tang Sect an immense degree of autonomy. Even Teacher Xiao Ya hasn't voiced any complaint, so why am I fretting over this? The strong triumph and the weak fall—that is simply the constant way of the world, he silently admonished himself.
Seeing Wang Dong's expression shifting and his continued silence, Huo Yuhao assumed he was resisting the idea. He hurriedly added, "If it's inconvenient, then forget it. It's fine, really."
He recalled that Wang Dong had a serious fastidious streak. The last time he had accidentally caught a glimpse of him changing clothes, it had drawn a whole litany of scolding. An even more intimate contact like an embrace—being refused would be entirely normal.
Wang Dong cleared his throat twice to cover the inner turmoil and, feigning composure, said, "Cough, cough... Of course it's fine. In truth... to be honest, the first time I accepted the aid of your Spiritual Detection Sharing, I also felt that your aura was extremely... familiar. The reason my own aura doesn't normally show is because it's restrained by another force. Only through close bodily contact—that is, the embrace you mentioned—would you truly be able to sense the essence of my aura."
Huo Yuhao felt a mild surprise inwardly, but outwardly he revealed a smile as if it were just as expected. "So it really is like that. That lines up with what I was thinking."
He muttered inwardly: It actually hit the mark? I just casually threw out an excuse. Seems Sister Furina truly does have foresight, or... could it be some kind of precognition brought by the Water God's divine power? No, wait—that would be more like the power of the God of Destiny or the God of Time, wouldn't it?
"Well then... shall we give it a try?" Huo Yuhao said, opening his arms quite naturally and stepping closer to Wang Dong.
Wang Dong, however, appeared rather at a loss. Watching Huo Yuhao draw closer and closer, he showed none of the other's casual ease. His body instinctively tensed, and his entire person fell into a stiff, almost guarded state. His lovely face grew redder by the second.
Huo Yuhao didn't think too much of it at all, treating it merely as a simple hug between friends. He unassumingly extended his arms and wrapped them around Wang Dong. Yet, the moment their bodies truly pressed together, Huo Yuhao's perception quietly began to shift.
This was the first time he had been so intimately close to Wang Dong. Unbidden, that glimpse he'd once caught—that slender, retreating figure—surfaced in his mind. Originally, he had assumed they were both hard-training soul masters—especially as boys—and thus should be like himself: solidly built, brimming with a sense of strength and power.
But now that he was actually holding Wang Dong, the tactile sensation was entirely different. Wang Dong's body, though springy and resilient, was exceptionally soft—carrying an exquisitely odd quality that was almost bonelessly supple. Even more distinctively, a faint yet undeniable fragrance lingered in his nostrils, a subtle sweetness that clung to the senses.
The two were roughly the same height. When Huo Yuhao embraced him, his face just so happened to settle at the side of Wang Dong's neck. As his chin brushed against that smooth, fine skin, a strange and fluttering sensation passed through him, causing his heart to quiver ever so slightly.
Huo Yuhao very much wanted to marvel at how special the sensation was, yet some part of him also felt that something was off. Given his current age and life experience, his understanding of certain emotions was still hazy. He didn't overthink it, simply feeling that holding Wang Dong was far more comfortable than he had ever imagined—so much so that he was almost... a little reluctant to let go.
"H-how... how does it feel?" Wang Dong's voice was practically a mumble as he asked. He hadn't returned the embrace, merely allowing the other to hold him.
His own sensations were of an entirely different nature from Huo Yuhao's: Huo Yuhao's body was solid and warm, radiating a dense, distinctly masculine vigor unique to a youth, amidst which was mixed a faint trace of sweat. It wasn't unpleasant at all—rather, it carried a peculiar, vivid realness. This unprecedented intimate experience made Wang Dong's face burn fiercely.
"Pretty good. Very... comfortable," Huo Yuhao answered, practically on instinct, giving voice to his honest inner feelings.
Wang Dong first froze, then flared up with embarrassment and indignation. He hissed under his breath, "Idiot! Was I asking whether you felt comfortable?! I was telling you to sense my martial soul aura! Didn't you say that was why you wanted the hug? Dummy!"
"Uh... sorry, I forgot. My apologies," Huo Yuhao immediately felt a wave of fluster. He hurriedly reined in his wandering thoughts, yet his arms involuntarily tightened their hold a little more. "Let me hold on a bit longer. I'll sense it properly."