38: Chapter 38 He only needs me! Little brother~ You smell so good~ I, your older sister, am finally…

"He doesn't need anyone else to cover for him."

A cold voice rang out. Wang Qiuer took half a step forward, her golden eyes filled with a hint of scrutiny and vigilance, looking at Ma Xiaotao without any politeness.

"Oh?"

Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow, her fiery red long hair fluttering slightly in the evening breeze. She scrutinized the stunning young girl who had suddenly appeared with great interest.

This girl possessed an indescribable arrogance and wildness, like a Golden Dragon ready to devour someone at any moment, making even her feel a faint, intangible pressure.

"And who is this?" Ma Xiaotao's gaze shifted between Wang Qiuer and Huo Yuhao, her eyes becoming somewhat playful.

"My name is Wang Qiuer, and I am Huo Yuhao's... girlfriend!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan nearby immediately blushed, their eyes drifting away.

Tang Ya quietly tugged at Jiang Nannan's sleeve. The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of guilt and shyness in the other's eyes.

Weren't they the same?

Ma Xiaotao was slightly stunned, then laughed out loud, her gaze sweeping over Wang Qiuer's face.

She then looked at the two blushing young girls beside her and let out a meaningful "Oh~".

For some reason, an indescribable and strange feeling welled up in her heart, which she quickly suppressed.

Huo Yuhao spoke at the right moment, breaking the subtle silence.

"Hello, Senior."

He smiled, his clear eyes seeming to see through people's hearts. "My name is Huo Yuhao, and my Spirits are the Spirit Eye and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. I am a level 35 control system Spirit Elder."

"These three are my companions, Wang Qiuer, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan. We were just preparing to head to Shrek City; I didn't expect to run into you here, Senior."

He calmly stated his level and Spirits. This composure and confidence made Ma Xiaotao's estimation of him rise even higher.

"Level 35... twin spirits..."

Ma Xiaotao murmured to herself. Her gaze toward Huo Yuhao changed completely; from the initial amazement and gratitude, it turned into intense curiosity and inquiry. "My name is Ma Xiaotao, a student of the Shrek Academy Inner Court. My Spirit is the Evil Fire Phoenix, and I am a level 49 attack system Spirit Ancestor. You can call me Senior Ma Xiaotao."

A level 49 Spirit Ancestor! And she was a student of the Inner Court! Admiration immediately appeared in the eyes of Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan.

The Shrek Inner Court was the holy land that all students dreamed of; everyone who could enter was a monster among monsters.

"So you are Senior Ma Xiaotao."

Huo Yuhao readily changed his address. "Looking at you, Senior, are you out executing an academy mission?"

Mentioning the mission, Ma Xiaotao's expression stiffened slightly, then she waved her hand in annoyance. "Don't mention it. I originally wanted to come out alone to hunt a suitable Spirit Beast and sharpen my actual combat abilities by the way."

"Who knew I would run into a 5,000-year-old Sickle-Armed Demon Ape? That beast was extremely cunning; I almost fell into its hands. If you hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Speaking of this, her voice lowered, carrying a hint of lingering fear and a bit of embarrassment.

After all, she was an Inner Court student; admitting to a junior that she had almost capsized was truly embarrassing.

Huo Yuhao's heart stirred. Coming out alone to hunt a Spirit Beast? He keenly captured this detail.

An Inner Court student, venturing deep into the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest alone, just to hunt a Spirit Beast... This probably wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"It's really quite risky for you to venture deep into the forest alone, Senior." He didn't press further, just said gently, "But it's good that you're okay now."

Hearing this, the embarrassment on Ma Xiaotao's face increased, and without even realizing it, her earlobes had quietly been tinged with a faint red.

"It's getting late. If we continue on our journey, we will likely enter the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest in the middle of the night, which is too dangerous."

Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky, which had completely darkened, and suggested, "Why don't we set up camp at the edge of this forest, rest for the night, and set off again tomorrow morning? How about that?"

"Good! Let's do that!" Ma Xiaotao agreed readily, but a small voice in her heart was saying: This way, I can stay with him a little longer.

As soon as this thought popped up, she was startled by herself and quickly shook her head, casting such strange thoughts to the back of her mind.

Soon, a campfire rose at the edge of the dense forest. Beside the campfire, Huo Yuhao was methodically directing everything.

Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan skillfully took out tents, cooking utensils, ingredients, clean water... all kinds of supplies were neatly placed on the ground from their storage spirit tools.

Tang Ya was busy chatting away with Jiang Nannan, occasionally sneaking a peek at the movements on Ma Xiaotao's side, her eyes filled with a hint of vigilance.

Huo Yuhao skillfully set up the barbecue grill, skewered the prepared meat, sprinkled on seasoning, and placed it on the fire to roast.

Wang Qiuer sat beside him without saying a word, like the most loyal guard, forcing anyone who approached to retreat with her cold gaze.

Ma Xiaotao sat alone on the other side of the campfire, hugging her knees with both arms, watching the lively and harmonious scene opposite her.

A feeling she had never experienced before suddenly welled up in her heart; it was a strange sense of loneliness.

She had always been a loner, and because of the Evil Fire in the academy, she always deliberately kept her distance from others.

She thought she was long used to loneliness and even felt it was fine this way.

But at this moment, watching Huo Yuhao surrounded by three young girls.

Watching the inadvertent smile when Tang Ya handed him seasoning, watching Wang Qiuer guarding him like she was protecting food...

She suddenly felt that she was a bit envious.

What made her heart beat faster was that her gaze always fell on Huo Yuhao unconsciously.

Watching him steadily turn the barbecue, the light of the flames dancing on his youthful face, reflecting a maturity and calmness that belied his age.

Watching him occasionally lower his head, speaking softly to the big white worm on his leg and the little scorpion on his wrist, his expression gentle.

This seven-and-a-half-year-old boy was full of mystery and fatal attraction.

After hesitating for a moment, Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath, stood up, carried her water bag, and walked toward Huo Yuhao's campfire with some awkwardness.

With every step closer, her heartbeat quickened by a fraction.

Really, what was she nervous about?

She was the proud daughter of heaven in the Inner Court; how did she become so awkward in front of a seven-year-old junior?

"Junior Yuhao."

Her voice was a few notches softer than usual.

Ma Xiaotao's arrival immediately made Wang Qiuer raise her head vigilantly, a cold light flashing in her golden eyes.

Tang Ya also stopped talking and laughing, her beautiful eyes scrutinizing this red-haired senior.

Huo Yuhao, however, seemed not to feel this tense atmosphere. He looked up and gave Ma Xiaotao a friendly smile. "Senior Ma Xiaotao, how boring it is to sit alone; come over and eat something together. The ingredients Tang Ya prepared are top-notch."

Hearing his proactive invitation, a small surge of joy welled up in Ma Xiaotao's heart.

"Okay... okay."

She sat down opposite him, but her gaze didn't dare to look directly into his eyes.

With her eyes lowered, she stared at the sizzling, oily barbecue, her cheeks feeling a bit hot from the firelight.

"However... before eating, I have a question that has been bottled up in my heart for a long time. If I don't ask it, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Huo Yuhao handed her a skewer of sizzling, fragrant barbecue and said calmly, "Please ask, Senior."

Ma Xiaotao took the barbecue but didn't eat it. Her fingers subconsciously rubbed the bamboo skewer, which was still hot to the touch, as if this could help her calm down.

After hesitating for a moment, she still raised her eyes, looked directly into Huo Yuhao's eyes, and asked word by word, "Your Spirit... why can it suppress my Evil Fire?"

As soon as this question was asked, the air seemed to have solidified.

This was the biggest ailment that had plagued her for over a decade, causing her excruciating pain, and even nearly causing her to go into qi deviation and explode to death during cultivation several times!

Although her Evil Fire Phoenix Spirit was powerful, the Evil Fire contained within it was like a maggot on a bone, becoming more intense with the growth of her Soul Power.

Every full moon night, or when she was emotionally agitated, the Evil Fire would erupt uncontrollably, burning her sanity and body.

In order to suppress the Evil Fire, she had to constantly search for ice-attribute medicinal herbs or Spirit Beasts.

She even needed the help of the academy's ice-attribute Spirit Master elders.

But even an ice-attribute powerhouse at the Titled Douluo level could only temporarily suppress her Evil Fire.

That feeling was like using a piece of ice to cover a volcano; it treated the symptoms but not the root cause, and the process was extremely painful.

But today, under the shroud of Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice, the Evil Fire within her body not only didn't violently resist, but instead, as if it had met its nemesis, it docilely lay dormant.

The coolness and comfort that came from the depths of her soul was something she had experienced for the first time in her life!

That was not just suppression, but more like... purification and soothing.

Therefore, she had to know the answer! This concerned her future destiny!

Facing Ma Xiaotao's scorching gaze that seemed almost capable of consuming a person, Huo Yuhao's expression did not change in the slightest.

He unhurriedly turned another skewer of grilled meat and spoke slowly, "There are two reasons. First, as I just introduced, my second Spirit is the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion."

"Ice Jade Empress Scorpion?" Ma Xiaotao chewed on the name.

"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded. "The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion itself possesses the Ultimate Ice attribute."

Ultimate Ice is an existence that surpasses ordinary ice attributes. It has a natural restraining effect on all fire attributes, especially flames like yours, Senior, which possess violent and scorching characteristics.

It is just like light restraining darkness; it is an absolute suppression of attributes."

Ultimate Ice!

Ma Xiaotao's heart shook violently!

She knew that Ultimate attributes represented power!

"Then... what is the second reason?"

She pressed, her heart rate accelerating. Her voice even carried a hint of eagerness and... anticipation that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"The second reason..." Huo Yuhao raised his eyes, his pitch-black pupils appearing exceptionally profound under the firelight. "It is that the cultivation technique I practice is somewhat special. It allows me to control my own Soul Power to a relatively precise degree, especially on the level of Mental Energy.

Therefore, the Ultimate Ice I release does not just act upon your body and Soul Power, Senior; it also uses Mental Energy to directly soothe the violent origin within your Spirit.

So, what you felt should not just be suppression, but also a kind of... sense of relief, right?"

Boom!

Huo Yuhao's words exploded in Ma Xiaotao's mind like a thunderclap!

A sense of relief!

He actually knew about this feeling!

That's right!

It was a sense of relief!

In the past, when Evil Fire was suppressed by ice-type Spirit Masters, the violent conflict between ice and fire made her suffer unbearably.

But today, that cool sensation was gentle, like rain moistening things silently, as if a clear spring were flowing through a dried-up riverbed.

It allowed her nerves, which had been tightly strung for over a decade, to experience unprecedented relaxation.

This explanation perfectly answered all the doubts in her heart.

Ma Xiaotao looked at the seven-year-old boy talking eloquently before her, the shock in her heart like raging waves.

But at the same time, a more complex emotion quietly sprouted in the depths of her heart.

He not only saved her, but he also understood her pain so well.

Even though it was their first meeting, he was able to describe those subtle sensations that she herself found hard to articulate.

Thinking of this, Ma Xiaotao suddenly felt her nose souring.

For so many years, she had gritted her teeth and endured the torture of Evil Fire alone, never revealing her inner fear and vulnerability to anyone.

But today, in front of this junior who was several years younger than her, she actually had a feeling of... being understood.

"I... I understand."

Ma Xiaotao lowered her head, pretending to focus on the grilled meat in her hands, not wanting anyone to see the glimmer that flashed through her eyes.

She took a huge bite of the grilled meat, her cheeks bulging, but the chewing motion was somewhat mechanical.

However, that flush of red still quietly spread from her cheeks to her earlobes, which was noticed by the observant Jiang Nannan.

Wang Qiuer, sitting beside Huo Yuhao, had been vigilantly watching Ma Xiaotao from beginning to end.

Tang Ya also looked thoughtful, quietly leaning into Jiang Nannan's ear to whisper, "Nannan, look, Ma Xiaotao's face is so red. Is the bonfire too hot?"

Jiang Nannan pursed her lips, a hint of helplessness flashing across her beautiful face, and softly replied, "I'm afraid it's not because of the bonfire."

After the conversation by the campfire ended, the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

Ma Xiaotao did not return to sit alone across the campfire; she just stayed across from Huo Yuhao, chatting intermittently with him about interesting things at Shrek Academy.

But she was obviously much quieter than before, and while speaking, she always unconsciously toyed with the tips of her hair.

Occasionally, when she met Huo Yuhao's smiling gaze, she would quickly shift her line of sight, pretending to look at the stars in the sky.

"There is a senior in the academy called the Gluttonous Douluo who is especially gluttonous. Every time he comes to find the Dean, he steals a whole pile of snacks..."

As Ma Xiaotao was speaking, her voice suddenly lowered because Huo Yuhao happened to hand over a skewer of freshly grilled mushrooms, and their fingers brushed against each other inadvertently.

"Th-thank you." She took it, her voice as soft as a mosquito.

Where was any of the dominance of an inner court senior left?

The night was deep; Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan had already fallen into a deep sleep in their tent.

Tianmeng Iceworm, having eaten and drunk her fill, rolled over on Huo Yuhao's lap, emitting an even snoring sound.

The Ice Empress also wrapped herself back around his wrist and closed her eyes.

Ma Xiaotao looked at her lonely single tent standing a few steps away and suddenly felt she didn't want to go back.

"Um..."

She hesitated for a moment, her voice carrying a rare trace of coy awkwardness. "Junior Yuhao, for the journey tomorrow... can I walk with you all? We're all going to Shrek City anyway."

After saying this, even she was stunned.

When had she, Ma Xiaotao, ever asked to travel with someone else?

Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, "Of course, if you are willing to join us, Senior, it is our honor."

Ma Xiaotao's heart skipped a beat. She quickly stood up and said, "Th-then, good night!"

She turned and walked quickly towards her tent, her retreating figure looking like she was fleeing in a panic.

Slipping into the tent and pulling the curtain shut, Ma Xiaotao finally let out a long sigh.

She covered her burning cheeks with both hands, eyes wide in the darkness, and muttered in disbelief, "Ma Xiaotao, what is wrong with you... He is only seven and a half..."

Late at night, the campfire had long since extinguished, and only the sound of insects and the wind remained in the forest.

Ma Xiaotao lay in the tent, tossing and turning, but couldn't fall asleep at all.

Her mind was filled with Huo Yuhao's youthful yet incredibly calm face, and his deep eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

"Seven and a half... level thirty-five Spirit Elder... twin spirits... Ultimate Ice... and he can even suppress my Evil Fire..."

She whispered to herself, every word like a giant boulder smashing into the lake of her heart, stirring up towering waves.

"This little guy... what kind of monster is he?!"

But... the warmth of his palm when he pressed on her shoulders, the gentle smile when he handed her the grilled meat.

The peace of mind from being deeply understood when he accurately said the words "sense of relief"...

Those images played repeatedly uncontrollably, making her face burn up again.

She rolled over, burying her burning cheeks into the blanket, and let out a muffled groan.

"And... why can't I stop thinking about the way he smiles..."

Meanwhile, in another tent, Tang Ya rolled over, facing Jiang Nannan, and whispered, "Nannan, are you asleep?"

"Not yet," Jiang Nannan replied softly.

"Do you think... that red-haired senior will come to look for Yuhao often in the future?"

Tang Ya's tone carried a hint of indescribable jealousy. "Look at how she was just now, her face was red to the roots of her ears. Something is definitely wrong."

In the darkness, Jiang Nannan was silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh, "Sleep. We have to travel tomorrow."

Meanwhile, in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, it was a lively scene.

"Hee hee hee~ Huo Yuhao, that red-haired woman has fallen for you~"

Tianmeng Iceworm's cheeky voice rang out, filled with schadenfreude. "Big Brother can tell, the way she looks at you is like a person dying of thirst seeing an oasis; she can't wait to swallow you in one gulp!

And didn't you notice? She even started stuttering when speaking in front of you!"

"Hmph!"

The Ice Empress's cold voice carried a hint of undisguised jealousy. "Huo Yuhao is interested in her too, right?

Otherwise, why would you act so proactively?

You even took the initiative to explain so much to her, and you handed her grilled meat and invited her to travel together."

Huo Yuhao's consciousness sat cross-legged in the Spiritual Sea. Hearing the Ice Empress's words, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"She is a pitiful person."

His voice was gentle and calm, "She possesses a top-tier Spirit, yet she has to endure the suffering of Evil Fire burning her body day and night, while still having to force herself to appear strong in front of others.

This kind of pain is unimaginable to outsiders.

Since I have the ability, helping her out is just a good deed."

"Just helping her out?"

Tianmeng Iceworm's laughter became even more playful. "Tsk tsk~ Huo Yuhao, don't forget, your power is the most lethal 'poison' to her.

Once she tastes the sweetness of being purified, she will never be able to leave you again~

Look, it's only the first day, and she has already taken the initiative to ask to follow you.

In the future, she will probably be like a moth to a flame, willingly throwing herself at you~"