Wang Dongâer didnât utter a word. She naturally understood why Huo Yuhao was so nervous, thus she chose not to inquire about the abilities heâd used earlier. She continued forward as per his instructions.
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and didnât say a word.
After exactly two hundred and fifty six steps, Wang Dongâer took a sudden left, and was closely followed by He Caitou and Na Na.
This was a pitch-black alleyway with no street lamps present. The moment that the four of them were enveloped in the darkness, all traces of them vanished.
------
Qing Se Hotel, Underground, VIP Lounge...
âTeacher, I was wrong.â Ninety-eight kneeled in front of the Third Elder with an ashamed look on his face. His expression was filled with regret and pain. Now that he'd lost his ranked carving knife, his soul engineer abilities had decreased by at least twenty percent. The Darkness Green Dragon had been a priceless treasure!
The Third Elder looked at him calmly and silently. Ninety-six was also quietly kneeling next to him with his head lowered.
Besides the three of them, the Duskwater Alliance Master Nangong Wan, the mysterious vice-founder, and a few other middle-aged men were also present in the VIP lounge.
âVice-founder, what did you think of that youth?â Nangong Wang asked in a low voice.
A mysterious glint appeared in the vice-founderâs greyish-blue eyes. âHeâs very intriguing. He feels just like what weâve been looking for.â
Nangong Wan was astonished. âAre you saying that he could beâ¦?â
The vice-founder nodded his head slightly. âYes, itâs that sort of mysterious feeling. You didnât notice it, but earlier, his soul rings suddenly changed. He originally had five of them, but they suddenly changed into a single oneâa never-before-seen grey soul ring. You have to realize that not even the founder and I can violate the rules of the Douluo Continent. We still have to have the same soul rings as other soul masters. And yet, heâs let us see something that blatantly goes against these rules: A gray soul ring, and one thatâs very unique at that. This grey soul ring of his let him use at least three different abilities in a row. If every single one of those abilities were soul skills, that grey soul ring is incredibly special. Meaningful... this youth is very meaningful.â
Nangong Wan said, âIâve sent people to shadow him. Letâs just see where heâs heading for now, and who heâs related to. Since heâs dared to use these abilities in front of us without any misgivings, he definitely has some kind of power backing him. He definitely has another identity; heâs just using the more ordinary martial soul of his twin martial souls to hide his evil one. Only, we donât know what his evil martial soul is.â
The vice-founder said, âYou did very well today by not inadvertently alerting him. Iâll immediately report this to the founder and see what his decision is.â
âYes.â
The moment he said this, a black-clothed man quickly entered the room and whispered a few words to Nangong Wan.
âTrash!â Nangong Wan said coldly.
The vice-founderâs eyes twitched.
Nangong Wang said, somewhat embarrassedly, âMy men lost all traces of him after they took a turn into a rather dim alleyway. Go call Chen An over.â
âYes.â The black-clothed man withdrew, trembling as he did so. After a few moments, Chen An quickly entered into the room and kneeled. âI pay my respects to the alliance master.â
The fact that Chen An had been able to become the manager of the Golden Hall naturally meant that Nangong Wan trusted him deeply. The latter furrowed his brows. âTell me everything that you know about sixty-six.â
Chen Anâs trust for Huo Yuhao had grown even more after seeing his terrifying power in the tournament earlier. He also knew that the alliance master would have a few inquiries after witnessing the earlier scene, thus heâd prepared a few things to say. He hurriedly replied, âThis sixty-six and his brother eighty-eight piqued my interest the moment they walked inâ¦â
He then began to describe to Nangong Wan how Huo Yuhao had killed a person in the Golden Hall, and how heâd been betting alongside his participation in the competition. By telling ninety-percent of the full story and throwing in a few fibs, he was able to deftly hide the deeper relationship between him and Huo Yuhao. Naturally, he wouldnât mention the fact that Huo Yuhao had asked him to help buy a few rare metals.
After listening to his explanation, Nangong Wan turned towards the vice-founder with a much better expression on his face. âBased on what Iâve seen, this Tang Wuâs main objectives are to make some money and obtain some rare metals. Itâll be easier for us to talk to him if we have something that he wants from us. Heâll definitely come again for the final competition. At that time, why donât I have a chat with him and bring him in?â
The vice-founder nodded. âIâll observe him in passing on that day. Once I get back, Iâll see what the founder thinks of him. Maybe the founder will even come to take a look at him in person. I hope that heâs the person weâve been looking for all this time.â
------
Brilliant Delight Hotel...
The door opened noiselessly, and a formless figure quickly entered before quietly shutting the door.
Only after the day had closed did four figures emerge from within the void. The light surrounding them distorted slightly, after which everything returned to normal.
He Caitou, Na Na, and Wang Dongâer turned towards Huo Yuhao.
Naturally, Huo Yuhao knew that the three of them were filled with questions. After pondering for a moment, he said, âDo the three of you trust me? If you do, donât ask. If I wanted to lie to you, I couldâve just told you that I used Imitation to do that, but I didnât. What I can tell you, however, is that Iâm not an evil soul master.â
He Caitou patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and took off his mask, disguise, and coat. âIâm tired. Iâm going to rest. Junior brother, you should rest too.â He used his actions to show his trust in Huo Yuhao.
âSecond brother, this is for you.â Huo Yuhao tossed a dark-green bundle towards him.
He Caitouâs eyes lit up. He didnât decline and grabbed the Darkness Green Dragon. âThanks, junior brother.â With that, he left the room with a smile on his face.
Na Na nodded, âYeah, the sunâs gonna rise soon. Iâm tired too. Master, you should get a good rest. Then, Iâll be going.â In reality, Na Na knew a few things about Huo Yuhaoâs earlier actions because heâd previously helped cleanse her father and motherâs souls. As such, she knew that he was somewhat capable in the field of souls.
âTheyâve left. Close the door.â
Wang Dongâer helped Huo Yuhao take off his disguise. âYuhao, I donât agree.â
âHmm?â Her confusing sentence left Huo Yuhao stunned. âWhat donât you agree to?â
Wang Dongâer looked deeply into his eyes, and a rare unyielding look appeared in her beautiful eyes.
âI donât agree to you trying to enter the inner ring of the Holy Ghost Church. I can ignore the origins of that power of yours, but youâd better be clear that I will absolutely not agree to you entering the inner ring of the Holy Ghost Church.â
Huo Yuhaoâs entire body shook, and he looked towards Wang Dongâer with a stunned expression. âYou, how did you know?â
Wang Dongâer pushed his wheelchair over to his bed, then helped him take off his clothes. After that, she helped him onto the bed and laid him down. Afterwards, she took off her coat, buried herself in his blanket, and hugged Huo Yuhao tightly.
âI didnât realize what you were trying to do at first, but I finally understood after seeing that special ability you used earlier. You werenât just trying to obtain rare metals by participating in this underground tournament; thatâs just one of your objectives. Your true objective is to utilize the relationship between the Duskwater Alliance and the Holy Ghost Church to sneak in. Am I right? Itâs because of that ability of yours thatâs similar to that of an evil soul master that you feel so confident. You knew from early on that the people from the Holy Ghost Church wouldnât do anything to you after they saw your abilities.â
Huo Yuhao sighed lightly. âYouâre too smart, Dongâer.â
Wang Dongâer hugged him tightly and said in an abnormally stern voice, âTherefore, I donât agree. Even though you have your Imitation, and even though I can help you disguise yourself, donât you know that there are too many people in the Holy Ghost Church whoâre familiar with you? Thereâs no need to mention anyone elseâeven Teacher Xiao Ya can easily recognize you. Do you really think that you can escape from such a powerful organization once your coverâs blown?â
Huo Yuhao became silent for a moment. âSomeone has to do it. The most terrifying thing about the Holy Ghost Church isnât their strength, but the secrets they hold. We donât know how the Holy Ghost Church is structured, nor how strong they really are. In a situation like this, weâre taking them on blind. The day that the Holy Ghost Church decides to make their appearance, weâll be faced with the threat of destruction. I can practically guarantee you that they only have two targetsâthe Body Sect, and Shrek Academy!
âThe academy has given us so much, thus I want to do something for the academy. Donât worry. Once Iâve obtained a basic understanding of their inner workings, Iâll get out. You of all people should know that I do things properly.â
Huo Yuhao was still trying to console Wang Dongâer.
Wang Dongâer fiercely got up and pressed down on Huo Yuhaoâs body, leaving mere inches between her and him as she stared him in the eye. She emphasised each word clearly as she said, âSince Iâve said that you canât do it, you canât do it. Your life is mine; it belongs to me, Wang Dongâer. You can go if you want, but only over my dead body!â
As Huo Yuhao gazed into the stubborn and unyielding look in her eyes, he felt her warm body press against his. Wang Dongâerâs body was very soft, and it seemed as though the two of them had fused together as she lay on top of him.
Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and wrapped it around Wang Dongâerâs slender waist, sighing gently. âDongâer, huuâ¦â
Without giving him the chance to utter a word, Wang Dongâer domineeringly kissed his lips, locking the words he wanted to say away.
Huo Yuhao eyesâ widened after feeling Wang Dongâerâs slightly awkward kiss, but his lips softly melted into hers immediately afterwards.
Huo Yuhao shut his eyes and simply held onto her waist. At this moment, the only thing he wanted to do was enjoy her tenderness.
Just like this, the two of them continued to tightly hug each other. Their kiss lasted for a long, long time...
âPromise me, okay?â Wang Dongâer lightly panted as she lay on his chest. Her voice had become soft, but now made him want to act tenderly towards her.
âOkay, I promise.â Huo Yuhao sighed lightly. In the end, heâd conceded to her again.
Wang Dongâer immediately raised her head excitedly. âReally? Youâre not allowed to go back on your word.â
âYup.â Huo Yuhao smiled at her.
Wang Dongâer excitedly moved upwards and tightly hugged his neck with a happy expression.