Chapter 281 Huo Yuhao and Ju Zi's Rekindled Romance
In the dark world, in the squares of major cities, Soul Masters looked at the sky, and the discussions gradually subsided as everyone's eyes focused on the scene about to be played.
[In the scene depicting the sky.]
Time passed day by day. Huo Yuhao stayed in the military camp. He didn't return to Shrek Academy, nor did he return to the Star Dou Great Forest. Instead, he remained with Duke White Tiger's troops.
[Dai Hao didn't know his true identity, only that he was Dai Luoli's friend, a very powerful young Soul Master. Because Huo Yuhao had saved his life, Dai Hao respected him immensely, even to the point of being somewhat cautious. Every time he saw Huo Yuhao, Dai Hao would take the initiative to greet him, inquire about his well-being, and even have people send him the best food and clothing.]
Huo Yuhao did not refuse. He wore the clothes Dai Hao had sent and ate the food Dai Hao had also sent, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
He wondered if his mother would be happy if she knew how his father had treated him.
He didn't know. He only knew that it felt good.
Dai Luoli watched all this, wanting to speak the truth several times, but Huo Yuhao stopped her each time. "Don't say it," Huo Yuhao would say each time. "It's fine as it is now."
Dai Luoli didn't understand, but he respected Huo Yuhao's choice.
On this day, the White Tiger Legion received new military orders. An elite force from the Sun Moon Empire was assembling at the border, intending to break through the Star Luo Empire's defenses. Dai Hao led his army to meet them, with Huo Yuhao accompanying him.
The two armies faced off on the border plain. The Sun Moon Empire's army was in perfect formation, its soul-guided cannons lined up in a row, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. The White Tiger Legion's soldiers stood ready, their battle banners fluttering in the wind.
Dai Hao stood on the command platform, gazing into the distance. Huo Yuhao stood beside him, his spiritual eyes activated, scanning the entire battlefield with his mental probing.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao's body stiffened.
"What's wrong?" Dai Hao noticed his unusual behavior and asked.
Huo Yuhao did not answer. His mental detection locked onto a person—the central command of the Sun Moon Empire's army, where a woman in white military uniform was riding a horse, holding a command flag and directing the army's movements.
That face was all too familiar to Huo Yuhao.
[Ju Zi. A senior student at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, and his first love.]
[Back when he was an exchange student at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Huo Yuhao met Ju Zi. At that time, he didn't know Wang Dong was a girl; he thought he was attracted to girls, and Ju Zi was the first girl who made his heart flutter. They studied together, researched soul tools together, and their relationship grew closer. Huo Yuhao even thought about confessing his feelings to her after graduation.]
But Ju Zi left without saying goodbye. She was gone, without leaving any trace. Huo Yuhao looked for her and asked her classmates, but no one knew where she had gone. He was very disappointed during that time.
Later, he learned Wang Dong's true identity and slowly buried these feelings deep in his heart.
Now, Wang Dong'er is dead. Wang Qiu'er is dead too. He lives alone, all alone.
And then, the orange appeared before him again.
Huo Yuhao's heart began to pound violently.
"Young Master Huo?" Dai Hao called out again.
"Huh?" Huo Yuhao snapped out of his daze. "What's wrong?"
"You don't look well," Dai Hao said. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing." Huo Yuhao shook his head, his gaze returning to the white figure in the distance. "Who is the commander on the other side?"
Dai Hao glanced at it and said, "It looks like a young woman. She's supposedly from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."
Huo Yuhao remained silent.
He knew those were oranges. She was no longer the naive senior student she once was; she was now an officer of the Sun Moon Empire, his enemy.
But he still wanted to see her.
This battle lasted three days and three nights. The White Tiger Legion and the Sun Moon Empire's army were evenly matched, neither gaining a clear advantage. Huo Yuhao displayed great bravery on the battlefield, but he never attacked Ju Zi. He even deliberately avoided her location.
Dai Hao didn't notice, but Dai Luoli did.
"Brother, do you know that female officer over there?" Dai Luoli asked him privately.
Huo Yuhao remained silent for a long time before saying, "I know her. She was my classmate at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."
"Just classmates?" Dai Luoli pressed.
Huo Yuhao did not answer.
Dai Luoli sighed and didn't ask any more questions.
On the fourth night, Huo Yuhao left his tent. Without telling anyone, he slipped into the Sun Moon Empire's army camp under cover of darkness.
His spiritual eyes could precisely evade patrolling soldiers, and his ultimate ice power allowed him to pass through defensive barriers silently. He was an 80th-level Soul Master; infiltrating a military camp was not difficult for him.
He found the oranges' camp.
The tent was still lit, casting a slender figure on the tent flap. Huo Yuhao stood outside the tent, took a deep breath, and then lifted the tent flap.
In the plaza of the Dark World, the Soul Masters witnessed this scene, and their discussions erupted once again.
"This is getting more and more disgusting," a Soul Master said, shaking his head. "Not only has he forgotten his hatred for his mother, but now he's even planning to rekindle their old flame? How long has it been since Wang Dong'er died? How long has it been since Wang Qiu'er was sacrificed? And he's already looking for the next one?"
"Exactly," someone next to him chimed in. "He says he loves Wang Dong'er, but he's thinking about Wang Qiu'er, and now he's back to his first love. Huo Yuhao is a complete scumbag."
"And have you noticed?" another Soul Master said, "He's so attentive to Duke White Tiger because he craves fatherly love. He's so devoted to Orange because he desires romantic love. He wants everything, yet he can't hold onto anything."
"Wang Dong'er committed suicide, and Wang Qiu'er sacrificed herself. Now he's going to find Ju Zi, isn't he just trying to find someone to fill the void?" a female soul master said coldly. "It's pitiful for Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er, even in death they are still being remembered by this kind of person."
"Alright, alright, stop talking." Someone sighed. "Let's look at the sky. I want to see what kind of trouble he and Orange will cause this time."
All eyes were once again focused on the sky.
[In the scene depicting the sky.]
Inside Orange's tent, the furnishings were simple. A cot, a table with a map spread out on it, and a soul-guiding lamp beside it. Orange sat at the table, pen in hand, marking something on the map.
She was wearing a white military uniform, her hair tied back, and her profile appeared soft under the light. Several years had passed, and she had matured considerably, but her face remained exactly as Huo Yuhao remembered it.
Hearing the tent flap rustle, Orange looked up, and the pen in her hand fell to the ground.
She saw Huo Yuhao.
[Those eyes first showed shock, then disbelief, and finally, delight. Orange's eyes instantly reddened, her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak for a long time.]
"Yu...Yuhao?" Orange's voice was very soft, as if she was afraid she was dreaming.
Huo Yuhao stood by the tent flap, looked at her, and nodded: "It's me."
[Ju Zi suddenly stood up, knocking over her chair. Without bothering to catch it, she rushed towards Huo Yuhao.]
She threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest.
Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, then reached out and hugged her.
"Yuhao...it really is you..." Orange's voice trembled with tears, "I thought I'd never see you again...I miss you so much..."
Huo Yuhao didn't speak, but simply tightened his grip on his arms.
The flickering lamplight inside the tent cast the shadows of the two people embracing onto the tent flap.
Orange looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears: "How did you get here? Do you know how dangerous it is here? What if someone finds out..."
"I wanted to see you," Huo Yuhao interrupted her, "so I came."
Upon hearing this, Orange couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. She buried her face in his chest again, her voice muffled, "I've missed you too... All these years, I've thought about you every single day..."
Huo Yuhao didn't speak, he just held her.
Outside the tent, the night wind howled. Inside, the two embraced tightly, as if they had returned to those days years ago at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
Back then, they weren't enemies. Back then, they were just ordinary upperclassmen and underclassmen.
But now, everything is different.
Huo Yuhao knew he should let go. He was a soldier of the Star Luo Empire, and she was an officer of the Sun Moon Empire. They were enemies. He had already taken a great risk by coming here.
But he doesn't want to let go.
He lost Wang Dong'er, he lost Wang Qiu'er. He had nothing left.
And now, the orange is in his arms.
He didn't want to lose it again.
"Yuhao," Orange's voice was soft, "Will you leave again?"
Huo Yuhao remained silent for a long time before saying, "I don't know."
Orange didn't ask any more questions, she just hugged him tighter.
The lights in the tent remained on, and the two figures, embracing, lingered for a long time.
(End of chapter)