"Yuhao? Is that you?"
With a voice filled with surprise, a tall figure draped in a dark green cloak slowly stepped out of the shadows in front of Huo Yuhao.
As the hood of the cloak was lifted, smooth black hair spilled out like water, and the gentle moonlight fell on the strands, outlining a delicate profile, as if covered with a light veil of radiance.
Zhang Lexuan's figure flickered, and she appeared in front of Huo Yuhao in an instant. Her beautiful eyes scanned him from top to bottom, her voice filled with disbelief mixed with the joy of reuniting with an old acquaintance.
"I can't believe it's only been two years, and you've changed so much. I almost didn't recognize you as Yuhao."
Not only had his appearance changed significantly, but even his martial soul had. Back then, she had seen Huo Yuhao use his ice attribute martial soul, but it hadn't had scales or vertical pupils, which is why, though he felt familiar, she hadn't made the connection at first.
"Long time no see, Sister Lexuan."
Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile. Although he had already guessed her purpose upon seeing her wearing the Inspector's robe, he still displayed a curious expression.
"Why are you here?"
"What do you think?"
Zhang Lexuan glanced at him sideways. "I originally came to clear out some evil soul masters. Who would've thought I'd witness such an astounding scene?"
Though she had noticed the unusual spirit rings, Zhang Lexuan merely made a joking comment and showed no intent of probing further.
Still, she couldn't help but grow more curious about Huo Yuhao.
Every time she met him, he would always do something that defied her expectations.
Especially this time—Huo Yuhao hadn't relied on traps like when they faced the Bloodcorrosion Dragon Lizard in the past. Instead, he had crushed a group of evil soul masters, including a Soul King, with sheer power. It was hard to fathom how much stronger he had become.
But what drew her attention the most was his demeanor during the battle.
Unlike the young man thrown into the room earlier, she had clearly seen the entire process of Huo Yuhao's fight.
If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that the boy standing in front of her, smiling warmly, could show such a chilling expression during combat.
His composure was so unnervingly calm.
His silver-white eyes didn't reflect anger at the evil soul masters' actions, nor did they show cruelty for killing them, or even sympathy. There was no trace of emotion. With a nearly arrogant manner, he had granted those evil soul masters death.
It was as if he disregarded the weight of death, treating life like dust on a spotless table, wiping it away with a casual gesture.
Yet, this same person had saved her life two years ago in the Great Star Dou Forest.
He had even encouraged the young man earlier.
And now, he stood before her, smiling as if nothing had happened, exchanging pleasantries with her.
Huo Yuhao, what on earth have you been through?
While she was lost in thought, Huo Yuhao's soft chuckle brought her back to reality.
"Isn't it good, though? I've done the work, so now you can relax a bit, Sister Lexuan."
"Good? What's good about it?"
Zhang Lexuan pursed her lips, looking at him in exasperation. "Those were evil soul masters. You're just a two-ring Spirit Grandmaster, and yet you dared to fight them? Do you have no regard for your life? If you had—"
She didn't finish the sentence, but her stern gaze made Huo Yuhao sweat nervously. He awkwardly responded, "Don't worry, Sister Lexuan. I know my limits, and you saw me just now—"
"Even so, it's not right. Evil soul masters have all sorts of strange powers. One wrong move and you could've been caught off guard. Next time, don't be so reckless. By the way, what are you doing here?"
She had been planning to head to Heaven Dou City after completing her mission, but who would've thought she'd run into him here?
Huo Yuhao shrugged, sounding a bit helpless. "After reaching level 20, I went to the Extreme North. On my way back, I passed through this city, and it turns out I was being targeted the moment I arrived."
"…"
Hearing that, Zhang Lexuan couldn't help but glance at Huo Yuhao again under the moonlight, then lightly bit her lip.
"I suppose it's not that hard to understand."
Most evil soul masters are driven by uncontrollable desires. Seeing someone like Huo Yuhao…
It wasn't too surprising, to be honest.
Luckily, Huo Yuhao was strong enough to protect himself. If she had been a little later, who knows what horrors he might have experienced tonight…
Like being trapped in some hidden dungeon, his thin body shackled at the limbs and neck, enduring the inhumane torment of those perverted evil soul masters, only able to cry out in despair…
"Sister Lexuan, save me!"
No, she couldn't let her imagination run wild.
If she kept going, she might just start swinging her fists…
This situation was enough to make anyone furious just by thinking about it!
Shaking off her thoughts, Zhang Lexuan pulled out a white jade bottle from her storage space and handed it to Huo Yuhao.
"Take this."
"What is it?"
Huo Yuhao instinctively took the bottle, and when he saw it was filled with pills no less potent than the Profound Water Pills, he froze.
A rough estimate suggested that the various pills in this bottle were worth over a million gold soul coins, even at Shrek Academy's internal prices. If sold at auction, the value could easily double or more.
"You're still laying your foundation. These pills are to help strengthen it—they should be of some use to you."
After returning from the Great Star Dou Forest, the academy had rewarded her for being the key contributor in slaying the hundred-thousand-year soul beast. These pills were part of her request as a reward.
Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together, but before he could say anything, Zhang Lexuan, as if reading his mind, grabbed his hand and pushed the bottle into his arms.
"Enough with the pleasantries. These are for low-level soul masters. Returning them to me would be a waste, and compared to the life-saving favor you did for me back then, this is nothing."
She smiled and added, "A Soul Douluo's life isn't that cheap, right?"
Feeling the undeniable force behind Zhang Lexuan's soft hand, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to nod.
"…Then thank you, Sister Lexuan."
"Mmhm."
Satisfied with his acceptance of the gift, Zhang Lexuan nodded approvingly.
"Do you have any pressing matters right now?"
"No, not really. Why?"
Her lips curled into a meaningful smile.
"Thanks to a certain someone, my mission ended early, and now I have a lot of free time. Care to join me for a late-night snack?"
(End of Chapter)