Huo Yuhao was still young, however, and as time passed he became more and more normal under his companions’ influence. However, he still felt very lonely. After all, companions and friends weren’t family! He had no more relatives left in this world. He cultivated tirelessly to avoid the loneliness and dead silence in his dreams at night.
At this point, tears fell from his eyes because of what Ma Xiaotao had said. “I will take revenge on whoever dares to bully you by roasting him into a suckling pig.”
Elder sister, if only he had an elder sister. She could openly ask him for help to suppress the evil fire, protect him and take care of him. The phrase ‘elder sister’ was a very unfamiliar term to him.
“Why are you crying?” Ma Xiaotao was stunned as she saw Huo Yuhao crying. Huo Yuhao leapt up from the sofa towards her and gave her a tight hug. He wailed as he hugged her.
He was bawling hysterically to vent his emotions. He didn’t even realize that he had buried his head in Ma Xiaotao’s chest as he wept.
Ma Xiaotao was in a daze. A wave of distress surged within her heart after that. Although she was unsure why Huo Yuhao was crying so pitifully, she could clearly sense the change in his emotions. He developed a reliance on her as he bawled.
All females possess maternal instincts. It was just a matter of how strong they were. Ma Xiaotao might seem very sturdy in front of others, but she was actually very delicate. Those who usually seemed tough were actually the ones who were the most vulnerable internally. Huo Yuhao’s wailing sparked the kind, maternal instincts that resided within her.
She patted his back lightly and did not mutter any words of comfort. She felt that letting him cry his heart out like this was the best for him.
Huo Yuhao was crying very sadly. The venting of his emotions caused his tears to fall uncontrollably.
He recalled his predicament when he was at the Duke’s Mansion at a very young age. He was afraid of winter. Every winter, he would shiver in the cold with his mother at night. In the day, he still had to help his mother perform chores outside. His mother’s hands were already frozen, but she did laundry for the higher-class servants in the Duke’s Mansion in exchange for some low-quality grease for him to rub on his hands so that he wouldn’t freeze up.
The look in his mother’s eyes was so kind and amiable. But it also carried a tinge of sorrow that could never be wiped away.
He deeply recalled that his mother was crying very sorrowfully once. That’s because he asked her, “Mom, when can we ever be full?”
“Mom, when can we ever be full?” Huo Yuhao talked in his sleep.
This simple sentence caused Ma Xiaotao’s body to tremble. She teared up as she thought of how much bitterness Huo Yuhao had experienced when he was young.
“Mom, mom…” Huo Yuhao muttered under his breath as he wailed. His tears had already drenched Ma Xiaotao’s shirt. However, he was unaware, and gradually fell into a deep sleep in Ma Xiaotao’s arms.
He cried for 15 minutes until he fell asleep without drying his tears. Ma Xiaotao hugged him lightly.
Perhaps he missed the feeling of being in his mother’s arms when he was young, but Huo Yuhao placed one of his hands on Ma Xiaotao’s chest very naturally. But Ma Xiaotao was not angry with him for doing so. She only felt that he was very pitiful.
Everyone would miss their mother. But from the way he cried, how could it be that he only simply missed his mother? Ma Xiaotao could sense the sorrow that was deeply ingrained in his bones. She also heard some of his childhood stories when he talked in his sleep.
She did not place Huo Yuhao on the bed directly. Ma Xiaotao hugged him as she leaned on the bedside. She allowed him to snuggle in her arms and continued to pat his back softly.
It was early still in the morning when their match had ended. But right now, the Grand Imperial Star Hotel lit up with bright lights as night approached.
Huo Yuhao slept very soundly and sweetly. In his dream, his mother had come back to life. He felt his mother’s warmth as he laid in her arms. Little Yuhao had never felt so peaceful before.
Mom, mom…
He murmured continuously as he stuck close to his mother in her arms. There were no more tears, but warmth and longing affection.
By wailing bitterly, he had unleashed the sorrow and hatred that he had suppressed for so long. The warm hug left him completely relaxed. Maybe the knot in his heart had not been completely untied, but at least it was no longer a dead knot anymore.
A man’s growth would never be far away from a woman. A mother, sister, girlfriend, wife or daughter could not be missing from a man’s life. In Ma Xiaotao’s sister-like or mother-like arms, Huo Yuhao’s body and mind were both maturing subconsciously.
When the first ray of sunlight passed through the window to the bedside at dawn, it landed on Huo Yuhao’s face.
The golden ray caused the sleeping youth to slowly wake up.
His entire body was warm, and he was feeling extremely comfortable. His soul power coursed freely in his body, and his heart felt an indescribable carefreeness. It was as if all his accumulated negative emotions had been vented.
“So comfortable…” He turned his head around unwillingly to avoid the beaming sunlight. But the abnormally soft pillow caused Huo Yuhao’s consciousness to become a little clearer.
As he moved his finger, an elastic force was exerted on his fingertip. Huo Yuhao was truly awake now. He opened his eyes and saw a lazy but serious-looking face watching him weirdly, whereas his hands were placed on the upper chest of this person, and he was even grabbing this person’s chest.
“Sister Xiaotao, this… this is a misunderstanding.” Huo Yuhao relaxed his grip quickly and crawled up awkwardly. His face blushed.
“What did you call me?” Ma Xiaotao straightened her face, “Did I hug you one night for you to call me this?”
Huo Yuhao only regained his awareness now. He lowered his head as he said, “Elder sister.”
Ma Xiaotao sat up straight and stretched her arms and aching body before rubbing Huo Yuhao’s head and saying, “Go back to your room and wash up.”
Ma Xiaotao’s indulgent action relieved the embarrassment and nervousness that Huo Yuhao felt. He lifted his head to look at her, “Elder sister.”
Ma Xiaotao smiled and replied satisfactorily, “Oh, that’s better.” As she said that, she dragged Huo Yuhao down from the bed and tidied up his shirt. “Go wash up and eat something. It’s not early anymore. We still have to compete later.”
“Alright.” Huo Yuhao replied. Although his face was still blushing, his eyes were filled with affability as he looked at Ma Xiaotao.
He walked towards the door to her room as he spoke. When he was about to open the door, Ma Xiaotao said suddenly, “Yuhao, I would like to hear your story when you are willing to tell me.”
Huo Yuhao turned and smiled brightly at Ma Xiaotao, “I will.” Ma Xiaotao sensed the intimacy she had with Huo Yuhao as their gazes met.
Huo Yuhao breathed out heavily after he closed the door behind him. He felt extremely energized, which was something he had never felt before. Even the soul power in his body had been enhanced. He almost screamed because of the carefreeness he felt. He wanted to announce to the world that he had an elder sister!
After returning to his room and opening his room door, Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong sprawled on his bed in an unglamorous sleeping posture. A greater sense of warmth filled Huo Yuhao’s eyes as he saw Wang Dong. Without a doubt, Wang Dong must have had been waiting for him to return. The both of them were just exhausted yesterday, and sufficient rest was enough for them to recover.
As he tiptoed to the bedside, Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and slapped Wang Dong’s butt. “Time to wake up.”
“Aiyo.” Wang Dong whined in pain and jumped up.
For some reason, Huo Yuhao compared this slap he gave to Wang Dong to the hug he had given Ma Xiaotao last night…
Wang Dong’s butt was much smaller, but was equally perky. His butt was very springy even though he was wearing pants.
Wang Dong was dazed for awhile after seeing that it was Huo Yuhao. He then scanned him for a few moments. Following that, he seemed alerted, “You weren’t wearing this yesterday!”
Huo Yuhao replied vey naturally, “Yes! I helped my elder sister suppress her evil fire yesterday. My shirt was burnt, and many parts of it were torn.”
“Elder sister?” Wang Dong’s tone of voice became higher.
Huo Yuhao nodded seriously and said, “Elder sister said that she’s unwilling to accept favors from anyone. If I’m willing to become her kin, she will love and protect me in the future. Wang Dong, do you know that I’m very happy? Ever since mom passed away, I became an orphan. I finally have kin now.”
Wang Dong felt heartbroken as he looked at the flashing radiance in Huo Yuhao’s eyes. He said almost instinctively, “You still have me!”
When he sensed the weird expression in Huo Yuhao’s eyes, he supplemented his words hurriedly, “We are brothers. Don’t tell me that you don’t treat me as your brother?”
Huo Yuhao chuckled, “It’s different.”
“What’s the difference?” Wang Dong asked stubbornly.
Huo Yuhao replied, “She gives me the feeling my mother did. Since we are brothers, your gender is totally different!”
“Err…” Wang Dong wanted to say something, but curbed his impulse. He snorted and said, “While you were enjoying your time with your elder sister, I was waiting for you here. If they didn’t let me find you, I’d have rushed in already!”
Huo Yuhao laughed and said, “You call this waiting? You didn’t even know that I came in. You were sleeping like a pig.”
“You’re the pig.” Wang Dong leapt towards him. Huo Yuhao turned around to escape and said hurriedly, “Stop playing already. Go and wash up before we have breakfast. We still have to compete.”
“There’s not going to be an individual competition anymore. After the team competition yesterday, the Star Luo National Academy has already conceded defeat. Their main team members are all injured. Who can they send to fight us? We don’t have to go today. We will also rest tomorrow. It’s the final the day after tomorrow!”
After learning that he didn’t need to compete today, Huo Yuhao relaxed. “It’s better not to compete. What happened in the other semifinal match?”
Wang Dong replied, “I was also in a daze, and didn’t see what happened. From what eldest senior said, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy gained an overwhelming advantage over the Imperial Profound Academy. But today’s individual competition will still continue.”
“Overwhelming advantage?” Huo Yuhao suddenly felt petrified. The Imperial Profound Academy had 1 soul emperor and 6 soul kings. Without considering strategies, their abilities were above the Star Luo National Academy’s. After recalling how Princess Jiu Jiu used a few powerful soul tools to turn the tide against his side, Huo Yuhao felt his head getting heavier.
Wang Dong nodded and said, “I heard that they used less time than us in the team round. From the start to the end, the Imperial Profound Academy was completely suppressed and had no chance. I also heard that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s team leader has been promoted to a Class 6 soul engineer. He’s very powerful.”
“Yuhao, I had an idea after I woke up yesterday.” Wang Dong started to become excited.
“What idea?” Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
Wang Dong said in a low voice, “Do you think that we are considered 1 person or 2 people when we unleash our martial soul fusion skill?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head at a loss and replied, “It’s not easy to tell. Even if it’s only 1 person, the difference from an ordinary soul master is still very great.”
Wang Dong blinked his large, beautiful eyes and said, “If Senior Xu can use the Mysterious Underworld Displacement to shift us into the middle of our opponents, we can use……”
The two of them had great chemistry. Huo Yuhao understood Wang Dong immediately, “Are you saying… I understand now. But is this really possible?”
Wang Dong said, “We won’t know if we don’t try. Let’s ask Senior Xu later.”
“Alright.” Huo Yuhao replied immediately.
After they washed up and had their breakfast, they went to find Xu Sanshi and relayed their idea to him.
After listening seriously to their description, Xu Sanshi shook his head and said, “I fear that it’ll be very difficult. I might succeed if I can remain in the awakened form of the Xuanwu turtle. The thing is that my Mysterious Underworld Displacement can’t just shift anyone. The prerequisite is that the person I’m trying to shift doesn’t possess any defense-type soul skills that cover a wide area, which will prevent any displacement. It’s just like how I failed when Princess Jiu Jiu used the Starcrown soul skill. When a soul master uses his soul skill, my soul power will be depleted twice as fast if I want to displace him. The stronger the soul skill, the faster the depletion of energy. This continues until the soul skill can’t be used anymore. Let’s not even consider the question of whether you’re 1 or 2 people when the both of you use your martial soul fusion skill. Purely based on the fact that your martial soul fusion skill is immensely strong, I may not be able to displace the both of you successfully. I may succeed if I am in the awakened form, which will make me close to the rank of a soul king and supplemented by the Mysterious Underworld Force.”