"Dong'er, Xiao Xiao," Huo Yuhao worriedly knelt by their side and examined their injuries. "Can you both still move?"
"B-Barely."
"... I can't."
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao respectively replied, their voices weak and strained from their injuries. Huo Yuhao's expression tightened with concern as he assessed their conditions.
He quickly made the decision to treat Xiao Xiao first, as she was the most injured between them.
Raising his right hand, a gentle green light emanated from his palm, casting a soothing glow over their battered bodies. With a soft hum of energy, Huo Yuhao began to channel the Mystical Palm Jutsu: a technique that sends soul power into the wounded part of the body, accelerating the body's natural healing abilities.
Xiao Xiao's body reacted to the healing energy, her tense muscles gradually relaxing as the pain subsided. The soothing warmth of Huo Yuhao's Mystical Palm Jutsu enveloped her, alleviating the agony that had gripped her injured leg.
"Woah! You can heal others?" Wang Dong'er watched with a mixture of relief and admiration as Huo Yuhao worked his healing magic. She could see the ease on his face as he focused his soul power on Xiao Xiao's injuries.
"Somewhat. I can heal her damaged tissues and skin, but I can't recover the loss of her blood. We need to take her out of here." Huo Yuhao replied, his voice calm and focused as he continued to channel the healing energy and melting the ice around them.
Flop! Flop!
Two lifeless corpses fell onto the ground, the once fearsome assassins to both Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao, died with fearful expressions on their faces.
'Killing two Soul Kings with seemingly no effort,' Wang Dong'er stared at Huo Yuhao with wide eyes. 'Yuhao, just how strong have you become?'
He glanced at her. "Can you fly?"
Wang Dong'er furrowed her brows, her beautiful butterfly wings fluttering anxiously behind her. "I can, but I'm not sure how far or fast I can go in this state," she admitted, her voice tinged with concern. "Can't you just make a Shadow Clone and carry us both?"
Huo Yuhao nodded but waited after healing Xiao Xiao's injured leg and most of her cuts, and formed a hand seal. "Release."
Suddenly, the soul power from his body begun to surge for a moment, causing a blueish hue to emit, before calming down.
"Huu, man. I haven't felt this good for a while." Huo Yuhao sighed, stretching his limbs. "Unfortunately, it's temporary."
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened in shock, realizing what he had just done.
'Was he using a Shadow Clone all this time?! That means he killed two Soul Kings, while not at his full strength!'
There was a puff of smoke and another "Huo Yuhao" appeared besides the original. Without saying a word, both of them picked up the girls in their arms; the clone had Wang Dong'er while the original held onto Xiao Xiao. With a nod to each other, they took to the trees, soaring away from the scene of danger.
"Ah," Having finally escaped the immediate threat, Wang Dong'er felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. She leaned against the clone's chest, feeling the steady rhythm of its breathing and the warmth of its embrace providing a sense of security as they went back home.
However, despite her weariness, the anger in her heart towards those assassins burned brightly. She clenched her fists.
"Yuhao, do you know who sent those guys after us?"
The clone was the one to reply after a moment of hesitation. "... In the entire academy, who has the connections, resources, and overall reasons to want me dead?"
Wang Dong'er furrowed her brows, thinking about it and quickly realized the biggest suspect. "Dai Huabin?!"
"Yup," The clone nodded.
"That... fucking bastard!" The anger in Wang Dong'er's voice was palpable, her fists trembling with rage. The realization that Dai Huabin, their former classmate and rival, could be behind the attack filled her with a mix of disbelief and fury. "To go this far just for humiliating him, just how fragile is his ego?"
The clone of Huo Yuhao tightened his grip on Wang Dong'er, offering silent support in her moment of anger. "We need to gather evidence before we confront him. Accusing him without proof could make things more complicated."
Nodding, Wang Dong'er took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. "Right. Of course. But, even with your spiritual-type skills, you can't find any evidence? Shouldn't we just spared those assassins for the teachers to interrogate?"
"No, it wouldn't help. I captured and interrogated their leader earlier, they erased all physical connections that they have to Dai Huabin and his family in the likely chance that they fail." The clone replied, furrowing his brows in slight irritation. "Although I could present the memories that I extracted from the leader, but that's a can of worms I don't want to deal with right now."
Spiritual-type soul masters are extremely rare in the continent, which meant that their skills are often misunderstood or feared by others. It's mostly known that it could cause severe head aches and charming others.
Huo Yuhao's ability to extract memories was a powerful tool, but it came with its own set of challenges and ethical considerations that would put him in the scrutiny of certain big players in the continent.
He is still not ready facing the big leagues yet, he has to keep a low profile for a while longer.
With that said, making false evidence and making the school believe its credibility was well in his abilities, but Huo Yuhao knew that the academy couldn't go too far in their punishment on Dai Huabin. At most, they could only expel him and have his family truly deal with him.
By then, he wouldn't be able to do anything to him until many years later.
Yeah, no. He was not going to let this night's incident slide.
"Then, what the heck are we going to do?" Wang Dong'er bit her lower lip, extremely frustrated that she couldn't find a straightforward solution to their predicament. "We can't just sit around and wait for something else to happen."
"Who says about waiting?" The clone coldly smiled, his eyes gleaming with killing intent. "If he can do this sort of bullshit, we'll give him a taste of his own medicine."
Wang Dong'er looked at the clone, a mixture of surprise and concern flickering in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
The clone's smile widened, but there was a sharp edge to it. "We'll play his game, but on our terms. We'll gather evidence, yes, but we'll also set traps and bait him out. Make him think he's won, make him feel safe, and then strike when he least expects it."
Wang Dong'er hesitated, feeling a chill run down her spine at the clone's words. "But... won't that be dangerous? He is the son of the White Tiger Duke, if we make a mistake and it leads to us..."
Pak!
"Ow! What was that for?! You're hurting an injured person!" Wang Dong'er winced, holding her forehead where the clone flicked her.
The clone chuckled. "That's for underestimating me. Though these assassins are good, Shinobis are better. Fighting and using secret techniques isn't the only things that we could do; sabotage, infiltration, and psychological warfare are all tools in our arsenal. We'll outsmart him at his own game."
Wang Dong'er rubbed her forehead, shooting him a playful glare. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're not just a pretty face, you're a tactical genius too."
The clone grinned, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "And don't you forget it."
"Ugh, I don't know what's worse." Xiao Xiao's voice interjected, the original and her appeared besides them. "That my leg itches, or that you two are flirting..."
"Wha- We are not flirting!" Wang Dong'er protested, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Huo Yuhao's clone laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "No, we're just discussing how we're going to take our revenge."
Xiao Xiao's eyes shone and her expression turned cold.
"How are doing this, boss? If we're taking on the mastermind, then I'd like the first punch-ow!" She was flicked on the forehead.
"There is no "we", not until you get properly treated and rested."Huo Yuhao said firmly, though there was a hint of amusement in his tone.
Xiao Xiao pouted, but she nodded in understanding. "Fine, fine. But you better make it count when I'm back on my feet."
Huo Yuhao went silent for a moment, his face showing a mix expression of regret and sadness.
"... Don't you two hold a grudge against me? I was the one who instructed this impossible task on you two and didn't help you until the very last critical moment."
"..."
The girls went silent for a moment.
Wang Dong'er let out a sigh. "Honestly Yuhao, I really don't."
"Me either." Xiao Xiao added, shrugging her shoulder. "In the first place, even after warning us so much, we were the ones who insisted on joining you. We knew the risks, and we're willing to face them together."
Wang Dong'er nodded in agreement. "That's right. We're a team, Yuhao. We stick together through thick and thin. And if we want to continue standing by your side, we needed to get stronger. Regardless of how brutal it might be."
A sense of relief washed over Huo Yuhao's face, grateful for their understanding. "Thank you, both of you. I promise, I'll make it up to you."
"... Well, there is something." Xiao Xiao said.
"Hm? What is it?" Huo Yuhao asked, curious about what Xiao Xiao had in mind.
She didn't say anything. Just staring him and then glancing at his clone, she started wiggling her eyebrows.
Huo Yuhao went deadpanned.
"No."
"Aww~ Come on! It's been one of my dreams!"
"What kinds of lewd dreams do you have?!"
Wang Dong'er tilted her head, confused and curious. She wanted to ask but the clone sped away, having been ordered by the original.
The night was still long.
...
AN: There's still a week away until Arlecchino's banner, and I can't decide on whether to pull on Kazuha or not. On one hand, scythe wielding hot mommy, on the other is a strong Anemo support.đź«
Btw, have y'all read my other cultivation stories? For those hoping that I'm gonna continue them, keep hoping cause I have drafts of the first few chapters of them stored and will be uploaded near the end of this story.
❄️Shout out to the great Cultivators of my patreon, may you reach the peak of the heavens and conquer the earth! Pursue immortality and receive enlightenment!
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❄️A bigger shout out to the ones who ascended to become a One Above All!! The GOATS! THE MAJESTIES!!
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