Chapter 1.4: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes
The girl ran towards Huo Yuhao in high spirits. A greedy, hungry look appeared on her face as she said, âLittle brother, are you selling this roasted fish? It smells so good! How did you make it?â
It wasnât that Huo Yuhao hadnât ever seen beautiful girls before. While he was in the Dukeâs Mansion, many of the servant girls had been very pretty, however none of them had ever come as close as the girl in front of him before. Furthermore, none of the girls in the Dukeâs Mansion were comparable to the girl in front of him either. She wasnât an absolute beauty that was perfectly flawless, but she had a sort of outstanding temperament.
Huo Yuhaoâs face turned somewhat red as he replied, âI-Iâll treat you both to a meal.â
The girl giggled in response. âLittle brother, youâve even become embarrassed. Then, I wonât be polite.â As she talked, she stretched her hand out to take the roasted fish that Huo Yuhao had passed over. She didnât seem to care about what she looked like as she carefully ate the roasted fish, then let out a loud cry of âHot!â.
At that moment, the youth that had been following the girl walked over. He had a helpless look on his face as he raised his hand and greeted Huo Yuhao. Then he said to the girl, âXiao Ya, this little brother hasnât even eaten yet, yet youâve already started eating.â
Xiao Yaâs beautiful eyes widened as she angrily retorted, âWhat did you just call me?â
The youth immediately raised his hands in surrender, âFine, Teacher Xiao Ya, that should be fine, right?â
Xiao Ya stared at him coldly and said, âThatâs the way that it should be. You should pay attention to your status.â Although she wasnât that old, her gaze was filled with a charming look. The onlooking youth couldnât help but have his expression turned blank. Huo Yuhao, who was to the side, didnât dare to continue looking. He passed the other fish that heâd roasted to the youth and said, âBig brother, this is for you.â
The youth smiled and said, âGentlemen shouldnât take good things that belong to others. Little brother, you still havenât eaten. Did you catch these fish in the river?â
Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, âItâs not a problem, I can still roast more.â While he spoke, he handed the roasted fish to the youth. Then, he skillfully took two of the fish that heâd set aside, so that he could roast them on the wooden rack.
The youth gently smiled and said, âIâm Bei Bei and sheâs Tang Ya. Little brother, whatâs your name?â
âIâm Huo Yuhao.â He replied whilst carefully roasting the fish. During his journey, heâd met many travellers while sleeping outdoors, and had also received a lot of help from them. Thus, he hadnât hesitated to give Tang Ya one of the fish heâd roasted when she asked. The past few days had taught him the fact that people had to mutually help each other while they were outdoors.
Bei Bei sat next to Tang Ya. The way he ate the roasted fish was much more graceful than Tang Yaâs. At the very least, his hands werenât fully stained with oil.
By the time Huo Yuhao had finished roasting the second batch of fish, Tang Ya was already impatiently waiting. Under Bei Beiâs helpless gaze, she snatched another roasted fish.
However, Bei Bei was unwilling to eat another fish, thus he motioned for Huo Yuhao to eat first. Huo Yuhao was already hungry, so he ate the other fish while continuing to roast more.
Although the seasonings used on the roasted fish were only salt and purple basil, the roasted fishâs taste was extremely delicious. And although the ten fish werenât that big, their size together was still quite large. All of the fish were eaten by the three.
âThis is simply too tasty. Iâve never eaten such a delicious roasted fish before. Little brother Huo Yuhao, how about I hire you as a chef, okay?â Tang Ya laid down on the grass, and stretched in satisfaction. Her curves were completely exposed, but she didnât seem to mind at all. Bei Bei scratched his head whilst looking at her, but didnât do anything about it.
âDo you have any money? Teacher Xiao Ya?â Bei Bei asked, splashing cold water on her idea.
âEh⦠Iâll have money in the future.â Tang Ya was slightly embarrassed as she sat up. She glared at Bei Bei, seemingly unhappy at him for ruining her plans.
Huo Yuhao stood up and said, âBrother Bei, Sister Tang, Iâll have to leave first.â
Bei Bei said, âLittle brother Huo, this is the desolate countryside, and isnât that far away from the Great Star Dou Forest where soul beasts wander. Just where do you intend to go?â
Huo Yuhao shook his head, then grabbed his clothes that had already dried from the tree branch. He smiled and waved goodbye to the two after heâd packed his clothes into his bag. Afterwards, he turned around and left under Tang Yaâs slightly astonished gaze.
âHe couldnât really want to go into the Great Star Dou Forest, could he?â Tang Ya gazed at Huo Yuhaoâs shrinking back as she pondered.
Bei Bei shook his head and said, âI canât be sure. I can vaguely sense that he possesses soulforce, but itâs very weak. It also seems that heâs alone. This is truly somewhat strange.â
Tang Ya stuck her tongue out and said, âSince he has soulforce, why donât we recruit him into our Tang Sect?â
Bei Bei unhappily replied, âYou canât be wanting to recruit someone into the sect, simply because they cooked you some delicious fish?â
Tang Yaâs face reddened when her intentions were found out, and she stuck her tongue out at Bei Bei.
Bei Bei said, âThis Little brother Huo has definitely experienced something in his life. I can see that his maturity exceeds his peers from his gaze alone. However, I donât know what his talent is like.â
A happy expression suffused on Tang Yaâs face as she replied, âSince youâre putting it like this, does that mean that youâve agreed?â
Bei Bei bitterly smiled, âSect leader of the great Tang Sect, Miss Tang. Before you took me in as a disciple, the Tang Sect only had you, and you alone, as its leader. Therefore, since your ambition is to strengthen the Tang Sect, itâs only natural that we recruit suitable people. This Little brother Huo looks like a rather steady and calm person. If his talent is passable, heâs a suitable choice. And from the clothes that heâs wearing, his family circumstances shouldnât be too good. Thus, our Tang Sect can recruit this kind of disciple now.â
Tang Ya looked at Bei Bei with a slightly curious gaze as she said, âYouâre actually quite crafty. I couldnât tell that at all.â
Bei Bei stood up and brushed the dust off of his clothes as he replied, âThis is simply called being astute, but calling me wise is fine too. Letâs go. Since weâve eaten so many of his roasted fish, we should at least protect him for a segment of his journey, just in case he gets in danger when he encounters some soul beasts, no matter whether we recruit him into the Tang Sect or not.
Tang Ya also stood up and giggled. âYouâre indeed quite smart this time, because your thoughts are actually identical to mine. Letâs go after I clean up a bit.â
Huo Yuhao was naturally unaware of the conversion between Bei Bei and Tang Ya. Heâd originally planned to bring some roasted fish with him, but that plan couldnât be realised, as he hadnât wanted to expose his identity as a Soul Scholar, which was why he hadnât caught any more fish. His mother had taught him to talk with reservation when dealing with strangers. Although he had a good impression of Bei Bei and Tang Ya, he still decided to separate from them after he finished eating.
Even though Huo Yuhao was young, he still thought a lot about things. He could tell that Tang Ya and Bei Bei werenât ordinary people. Bei Bei had said that this was the desolate countryside, yet they both didnât even have any bags on them. Thus, he believed that it would be better for him to separate from the two.
After eating the meal, heâd already recovered from his prior exhaustion. He marked the position of the small stream on his map. Who knew, he might have a use for it when he returned.
After walking forward for a short time, a wooden signboard on the roadside caught his attention.
âYou will enter the territory of the Great Star Dou Forest in 50 metres. There are soul beasts roaming around, so please be careful.â
Sure enough, he hadnât gotten lost. He was finally about to reach his destination. In addition to his current feeling of excitement, Huo Yuhao also felt a trace of nervousness. He touched the White Tiger Dagger on his lower back and suppressed the uneasiness in his heart. Then, he took determined strides as he advanced forward.
Becoming a soul master was the only way out for him. This was the conviction that he held in his heart, and heâd never regretted his decision.
The air gradually turned cool and refreshing, and an extraordinarily serious feeling seemed to exist within it. The Great Star Dou Forest was like a soul beast that had its mouth wide open for young creatures. He would either have an opportunityâ¦or be swallowed!