Unrivaled Tang Sect
chapter-170

The Dragoncarving Pillar was a vicious tool. The spikes didn’t pierce out instantly. Rather, they poked out slowly, penetrating one’s skin bit by bit. It was a torture tool designed to prolong the victim’s suffering.

However, they didn’t hear Huo Yuhao screaming. A layer of golden-red light shot out from Huo Yuhao’s body the moment the spikes touched him. The spikes were stopped and prevented from piercing his skin.

The sudden appearance of the golden-red light caused the Royal Stewards to be shocked. They unleashed their martial souls immediately.

“Impossible. How can he still use a soul skill even after he’s been cuffed by the Dragonbinding Seal? Wait, it’s a soul tool.”

Second Brother revealed an appalled look on his face.

Although he wasn’t a soul engineer, he was still familiar with soul tools since he was a member of the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial family. The Dragonbinding Seal was very effective in restraining a soul master. If Huo Yuhao was able to activate his soul tool even though his soul power was restrained by the Dragonbinding Seal, this meant that his soul tool’s class was higher than the Dragonbinding Seal. The Dragonbinding Seal was already a Class 6 soul tool. What class was Huo Yuhao’s defensive soul tool?

Even at this point, these arrogant Royal Stewards didn’t realize anything was amiss. Their eyes brightened, and greed started to fill them.

Even if Huo Yuhao only possessed a Class 7 defensive soul tool, it would be worth a huge price on the market. If they divided the money, they would still benefit greatly. While they were Royal Stewards, their salary wasn’t that high. In addition, they weren't direct descendants of the imperial family, which made their statuses very awkward in the imperial city. They obtained all their money through ill-gotten gains as Royal Stewards.

“You still dare to resist.” Second Brother snorted, “Even if your defensive soul tool is superior than the Dragonbinding Seal in terms of class, your soul power is limited. I want to see how long you can hold on. When your soul power is depleted, the spikes will pierce through your body forcefully. You’ll be torn apart instantly.”

Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. One could be spared because of Heaven’s misdoings, but one couldn’t live because of his own sins! Huo Yuhao didn’t want to cause any trouble, but they were too underhanded. If he allowed them to torture him, he might not survive until help arrived. It seemed like he had to take care of them first.

Huo Yuhao’s eyes had already turned golden as he pondered in his mind.

As a spiritual-type soul master, how could he be so easily controlled by others? Hongchen’s Blessing completely restrained the Dragonbinding Seal. This meant that this Class 6 soul tool could restrict him even less. Furthermore, the main skills of his Spirit Eyes were realized through spiritual power. In this way, it was completely possible for him to use the soul skills of his Spirit Eyes. It was even easier for him to break free from the Dragoncarving Pillar.

Huo Yuhao unleashed his immense physical strength. He couldn’t allow his soul power to continue depleting. With the Imitation skill, the Royal Stewards couldn’t tell that Huo Yuhao’s soul rings were shining. His fourth soul ring had already lit up now.

Just as he was about to use the Spiritual Confusion to create an opportunity for himself, the golden light in his eyes disappeared. Even the golden-red light barrier around him was retracted.

He groaned, and the spikes pierced through his body. Blood splattered immediately. Not only this, but Huo Yuhao’s struggle caused the healing wounds on his back to tear apart once again. He was instantly covered in blood.

Second Brother was stunned for a moment, while Old Four couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I thought you were very tough. It seems like you’re as useless as we initially thought you were! We’ve done you in.”

Huo Yuhao tolerated the intense pain that came from his back. There was a look of jocularity in his eyes right now.

“Who’s going to stop me?” A deep, furious roar sounded at this point, causing the entire place to shake from the echoes.

The few people in the interrogation room were stunned. Following this, a loud boom sounded, and the door was kicked open.

The gloomy-looking Jing Hongchen barged in with Lin Jiayi.

When Jing Hongchen saw Huo Yuhao, his pupils shrank.

“Old fellow, who do you think you are? How dare you cause trouble here.” Old Four was too arrogant, and didn’t bother to think about who it was that had just barged in.

However, Jing Hongchen’s eyes were already filled with killing intent before he had even finished speaking. He made a pulling motion with his right hand, and a powerful suction force dragged Old Four over.

Seeing that things weren't going right, Second Brother leapt towards Jing Hongchen along with the other Royal Stewards.

“Scram!” Jing Hongchen roared, and a gust of milky-white gas blew the five of them away. His nine soul rings also appeared at this point.

“Titled Douluo.” Second Brother exclaimed. Although he was in physical pain, as he hit a corner of the wall, he was more affected by the shock that he had just experienced.

The Sun Moon Empire couldn’t compare to the Star Luo Empire in terms of the quantity of their Titled Douluo. Titled Douluo were highly-regarded in every empire. No matter how arrogant the Royal Stewards were, they didn’t dare to offend a Titled Douluo!

Lin Jiayi had rushed to Huo Yuhao by now and stopped the Dragoncarving Pillar immediately. He was shocked as he saw Huo Yuhao’s bloody body. He quickly retrieved a small white jade vase from his storage-type soul tool. After a moment of hesitation, he took out an azure-green pill and stuffed it into Huo Yuhao’s mouth. After that, he released Huo Yuhao from the Dragoncarving Pillar.

Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow. If their statuses were different, he would’ve killed them all. However, they were Royal Stewards, and had close ties with the imperial family. He couldn’t go all-out against them.

He took up a few steps towards Huo Yuhao and asked, “How are you?”

Huo Yuhao looked a little pale, but his calm demeanor left Jing Hongchen uncomfortable. Jing Hongchen wished he would kicked up a fuss. A chill rose in Jing Hongchen’s heart as he watched Huo Yuhao.

“I just didn’t think that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would be unable to protect its own students.” While Huo Yuhao didn’t sound very forceful, his words struck right at Jing Hongchen’s heart.

Jing Hongchen’s wrath was stirred, and he unwittingly clenched his fist tightly. His obstinate and self-opinionated personality had always been his weak point. This wasn’t a conclusion derived by Huo Yuhao. Rather, this was the verdict of Shrek Academy after they had studied him for years.

“Let’s return before we speak. The academy will give you a satisfactory explanation regarding this matter.” Jing Hongchen suppressed his fury before turning away. Lin Jiayi hurriedly slung Huo Yuhao’s arm over his shoulder and led him out of the interrogation room.

The pill Lin Jiayi had fed Huo Yuhao was indeed extraordinary. A warm feeling quickly engulfed Huo Yuhao’s entire body. He could clearly sense the reduction in pain as the warmth circulated his body. The wounds that were bleeding quickly healed, and even his soul power was restored.

However, a voice sounded from outside before Jing Hongchen could walk out of the interrogation room. “The Crown Prince arrives.”

Jing Hongchen was stunned. He was confused as he stopped in his tracks. Although he wasn’t involved in court politics, he was still aware of the princes’ powers. The Royal Stewards weren’t under the Crown Prince, but were supported by the Third Prince. The prince that controlled the imperial clan, who was also Xu Mochen’s father, was the Third Prince’s strongest supporter.

“Go back into the interrogation room.” Xu Tianran said slowly.

“Greetings to Your Highness.” Xu Mochen couldn’t remain silent anymore.

Xu Mochen knew that things had gone wrong when Jing Hongchen had barged in. How could he not recognize the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall? Huo Yuhao didn’t exaggerate his importance. Xu Mochen could roughly guess what it meant for Jing Hongchen to come here personally.

However, he didn’t reveal himself. He didn’t enter the interrogation room because he wanted to leave a way out for himself. Jing Hongchen had come too suddenly, and he couldn’t count on his subordinates to have recorded anything substantial. He just hoped that Huo Yuhao wasn’t harmed too badly. Otherwise, it would be very troublesome for him. He was just going to act like he was ignorant. Without enough of a handle on him, Jing Hongchen couldn’t touch him easily. After all, he believed he was standing on the side of reason.

But who knew that the Crown Prince Xu Tianran would arrive before Jing Hongchen had even left.

He could ignore Jing Hongchen, but he definitely couldn’t ignore Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran looked at Xu Mochen with a gentle gaze in his eyes and said, “Mochen, rise. We’re all from the same family. You don’t have to be so ceremonious. I heard from Ju Zi that you arrested her classmate. Can you give me some face and let him go?”

Xu Mochen would never underestimate Xu Tianran because he was being so courteous. On the contrary, he was aware of Xu Tianran’s methods. When the Second Prince had tried to assassinate Xu Tianran, he had failed, and only left him with a disability.

After Xu Tianran returned, he erupted in fury after enduring for a while. He had captured the Second Prince and his charges in one fell swoop. Eventually, the Second Prince had died a horrible death, and Xu Tianran reaffirmed his position as the Crown Prince even though he was disabled. This showed how frightening Xu Tianran was.

“It won’t be a problem.” Xu Mochen wasn’t qualified to bicker with Xu Tianran. Even his master, the Third Prince, wouldn’t dare to do so. Unless his father was around, Xu Tianran would never bow down to anyone.

Xu Mochen was cursing Wang Shaojie in his heart now. Not only did the arrest attract the attention of the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, it drove the Crown Prince to pay a visit in person! This wasn’t looking likely to be resolved easily.

The door of the interrogation room opened. A gloomy-looking Jing Hongchen walked out, with Lin Jiayi and Huo Yuhao following behind him.

When Ju Zi saw Huo Yuhao covered in blood, her footsteps stiffened slightly and her expression tensed up. However, she tried her best to restrain her emotions. She understood Xu Tianran. If she came off as overly passionate towards Huo Yuhao, then Huo Yuhao was likely to get in trouble. Ju Zi was more than well-aware that in Xu Tianran’s mind, she belonged to him.

“Greetings to Your Highness,” Jing Hongchen called out, but only nodded his head. What was his status? In the Sun Moon Empire, he was equivalent to a Grand Advisor. Even the current emperor treated him with respect, and wouldn’t demand that he stick to formalities.

Xu Tianran bowed slightly seated in his wheelchair, “Greetings, Hallmaster. I’m disabled, and it’s slightly inconvenient for me to fully pay my respects. Please forgive me for this.”

Jing Hongchen didn’t expect Xu Tianran to be so formal. He knew a little about Xu Tianran, and regarded him very highly. Not only was he ambitious, but he had ways to get things done too. If he succeeded the throne, he was bound to bring prosperity to the Sun Moon Empire.

However, a surprise attack left the Crown Prince disabled. This made Jing Hongchen a little hesitant. Even with his prominent position in the Sun Moon Empire, the price to pay for supporting the wrong side was very hefty. That was why he decided to watch from the sidelines. Whoever succeeded the throne in the end would need his support regardless. All he needed to do was wait.

“Crown Prince, you don’t have to be so ceremonious.” Jing Hongchen gestured.

Xu Tianran was concerned as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He said, “Hallmaster, I heard from Ju Zi that her classmate was arrested by the Royal Stewards. Which was why I rushed over. The Royal Stewards have become too brazen. They even dare to arrest a student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. From your expression, I can tell that they didn’t even inform you before doing so.”

Although Xu Tianran’s words sounded very peaceful, they caused Xu Mochen to curse in his heart. The back of his shirt was drenched in perspiration from stress.

Jing Hongchen had already been provoked once by Huo Yuhao earlier. Now hearing the Crown Prince’s words, his expression turned even gloomier.

He answered coldly, “You’re right. No one seems to respect the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy nowadays. Your Highness, I shouldn’t comment on such matters since I don’t belong in the imperial palace. However, I think that there might be an overdue reorganization of the Royal Stewards in order.”

While he was speaking, Second Brother, Old Four and the rest had walked out from the interrogation room. When they saw Xu Tianran, and listened to how he addressed Jing Hongchen, they realized that they were in big trouble. They didn’t dare to speak out, just from the sheer terror.

Xu Tianran nodded his head slightly. “Hallmaster, I’ve not been strict enough on them. I’ll give you an answer for this now.” As he spoke, he pointed at Second Brother and the rest, then he said, “Kill them.”

Two very simple words, but they carried a strong murderous intent and aura. A figure appeared from behind Xu Tianran. It rushed towards Second Brother and the others like a specter.

Even Jing Hongchen flinched at the strong killing intent being exuded. In the next moment, that figure had already returned behind Xu Tianran.

The figure belonged to a very feeble seeming elder. He only wore the standard attire of a palace attendant. Initially no one had noticed him. His thin figure looked as if he could collapse at any time.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Five groans sounded, starting from Second Brother. One Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings collapsed. A stream of blood flowing from each of their foreheads, like their foreheads had been struck.

“Shadow Douluo, Xue Chen?” Jing Hongchen was stunned as he looked towards the feeble elder in disbelief.

Xu Mochen was stunned as well. He didn’t expect that the Crown Prince was so merciless. Before giving him a chance to explain, his five competent subordinates were killed.

It’s important to know that Soul Kings were crucial to an empire. It wasn’t a small matter to kill five of them in one go, as it was likely to cause a commotion in the imperial court. But this Crown Prince did it like it was nothing. A chill ran down Xu Mochen’s spine. In addition, he only now found out that there was a Titled Douluo under the Crown Prince!

The elder slowly lifted his head and smiled at Jing Hongchen, “Hallmaster, it’s been a while. I didn’t expect that you would remember me.”

Jing Hongchen’s shock had already disappeared by then. He smiled and replied, “How can I not remember you? When you became a Titled Douluo, I was still stagnant at the Soul Douluo level. I didn’t expect that after more than ten years you’d enter the imperial city.”

Xue Chen answered him, “This is not the place to speak. I’ll pay you a visit when we return. We can catch up then.” After he finished speaking, he lowered his head behind Xu Tianran again. He looked just like a loyal servant.

The ground was long since stained red with fresh blood. However, Xu Tianran didn’t even glance at the mess. He smiled at Jing Hongchen. “Hallmaster, are you satisfied with this answer?”

Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow and bowed to him slightly. He said, “This is an internal matter. I don’t dare to comment. My student is gravely injured, so if Your Highness has no other instructions for me, I shall return first.”

Xu Tianran nodded his head slightly and said, “Please do, Hallmaster. In my eyes, you’ll always be a respected elder. You don’t have to be so formal with me.”

Jing Hongchen nodded and walked out. Lin Jiayi followed behind him, supporting Huo Yuhao.

Xu Tianran turned his head to look at Xu Mochen now. He said, “Mochen! At times, you will have to pay the price for standing on the wrong side. Please tell uncle that. Let’s go.” After he finished, he gestured behind him, and Ju Zi immediately pushed his wheelchair to the exit. His servants followed. After what Xue Chen had done earlier, who dared to underestimate the servants of Xu Tianran?

Ju Zi heaved a sigh of relief. Although Huo Yuhao’s grave injuries broke her heart, given Jing Hongchen’s reaction, she reckoned that he should be fine.

Jing Hongchen would’ve gone berserk if Huo Yuhao had died at the hands of the Royal Stewards. No one in the Sun Moon Empire would have been able to stop him, not that anyone was likely to interfere in this matter.

However, Ju Zi was secretly impressed with the Crown Prince. He’d settled the matter decisively, and exploited Jing Hongchen’s presence to get rid of five competent cronies under the Third Prince. He even dealt a harsh blow to Xu Mochen. He sold Jing Hongchen a favor and dragged him into the situation.

It didn’t matter whether Jing Hongchen admitted or denied anything. Things would still sound the same when this matter spread. Everyone would believe that the Crown Prince had killed a few people because he wanted to appease the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

Ju Zi was relieved that Xu Tianran didn’t pay too much attention to Huo Yuhao. It might’ve been because of his injuries, but this was what Ju Zi wanted. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao might be at risk in the Sun Moon Empire.

Huo Yuhao was clear-headed throughout the whole ordeal. He had stopped using Hongchen’s Blessing because he could sense Jing Hongchen coming.

He made a judgment call in that instant, considering his options. Right now, there was no one to prove that he’d done some tampering on his own. What was this level of physical pain to him anyway? With the Life’s Gold protection, he didn’t perish even with those injuries in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. These bodily injuries were nothing to him. They may seem horrible, but they really weren’t that serious. He would only need a day or two to recover.

However, this matter wouldn’t be resolved so easily. Jing Hongchen had to give him an explanation, since he was an exchange student and more importantly, the closed-door disciple of Elder Mu.

Jing Hongchen was in low spirits now. He felt like he’d been set up. Of course, he thought this had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. It was the Crown Prince’s trap.

If not for the fact that he knew that the Royal Stewards weren’t under the Crown Prince’s management, he might’ve thought that all of this was a scheme set up by Xu Tianran, baiting him into this matter.

He had no choice but to appear given Huo Yuhao’s importance to Shrek Academy. But he immediately ran into a conundrum after acting.

Huo Yuhao was fine. He hadn’t sustained internal injuries even though he was mutilated on the outside. But Jing Hongchen was still dragged down. He was clearly aware of the Crown Prince’s intentions.

The Third Prince was the closest competitor to the Crown Prince, since he had the support of the prince that controlled the imperial clan. After this matter, the Third Prince was likely to have been angered even though he didn’t dare to say anything. What a Xu Tianran! It was no wonder that Jing Hongchen had regarded highly him in the past. Even while he was disabled, he remained a determined person. He didn’t lose his sharpness due to his disability.

Jing Hongchen turned back to look at Huo Yuhao, and he became even more depressed. Huo Yuhao was quite an actor, and Jing Hongchen still had to settle his matter. Even as the Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen didn’t think it was wise to use underhanded methods to deal this. However, it wasn’t that easy to give a proper explanation either.

Huo Yuhao was soon sent to the academy’s infirmary, and Jing Hongchen called for Fan Yu.

Come to think of it, Fan Yu hadn’t seen Huo Yuhao for a long time. When he saw Huo Yuhao lying on a bed in the infirmary covered in blood, his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He was dumbstruck, and his blood boiled. He was about to turn violent.

“Teacher Fan Yu, don’t be agitated. Huo Yuhao is fine. He’s only sustained superficial wounds. Jiayi, explain the situation to Teacher Fan Yu,” Jing Hongchen said gently.

Fan Yu’s eyes burned with fury and he interrupted, “There’s no need to explain anything. Hallmaster, I only want to ask you one thing. If Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were to sustain such injuries in Shrek Academy, how would you react? I won’t say anymore. You should know what to do.” After he finished speaking, he turned and left. He didn’t even look at Huo Yuhao again.

Jing Hongchen was stunned as he watched Fan Yu walking away. He was puzzled – Fan Yu was leaving just like that? He didn’t even bother to listen to an explanation or check up on Huo Yuhao. What was going on?

He didn’t know that Huo Yuhao had used his Spiritual Detection to share what he thought with Fan Yu just as Fan Yu was about to erupt. Huo Yuhao also told Fan Yu that he was fine.

Fan Yu’s fury wasn’t a pretense. However, he had already calmed down when he spoke to Jing Hongchen.

“Hallmaster, what do we do?” Lin Jiayi asked anxiously.

Jing Hongchen’s expression was extremely grim now, “It’s all Wang Shaojie’s fault. How dare he lead an outsider to make an arrest in the academy. Expel him immediately, and kick him out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.”

Lin Jiayi hesitated. “But we don’t have proof that he was the one who did it…”

Jing Hongchen was a little vulgar as he interrupted, “Why do I need any proof to expel a student? Follow my instructions.”

“Okay.” Lin Jiayi was petrified. He was an intelligent person, since he was able to become the teaching director. He could subtly sense something from Jing Hongchen’s words. It seemed like Jing Hongchen had made a decision on the empire’s current situation!

Huo Yuhao’s wounds were quickly dealt with. When Jing Hongchen came to him, it was undeniable that Huo Yuhao was gravely injured. He didn’t seem to be putting on a show. Jing Hongchen also didn’t know that Huo Yuhao had torn the wounds on his back deliberately, which made him appear to be in a worse state. However, Huo Yuhao had controlled his soul power well, and only torn the skin on the surface of his wounds. His muscles had still managed to heal. Besides some loss of blood, he wasn’t in much danger.

The few healing-type soul masters from the academy helped him stitch his wounds and used healing-type soul skills to aid his recovery. His injuries stabilized very quickly.

“How’s his condition?” Jing Hongchen asked a doctor.

“He’s not too hurt. He just lost too much blood. It’s just that I don’t know what caused such injuries. It’s very complicated, and it’s impossible for it to have been inflicted by any type of weapon or tool that I know of. We gave him some medicine that boosts blood production. This young man is very fit. I think he’ll recover within ten to fifteen days.”

Jing Hongchen nodded, and he couldn’t help but think of what Fan Yu had said before he had left. If his grandchildren were in this state, what would he do?

“Wake him up. I have something to say to him.” Jing Hongchen instructed.

“Yes.” The doctor took out a small bottle and placed it under Huo Yuhao’s nose.

Huo Yuhao was already awake. But as he inhaled, a burning yet refreshing feeling surged through his nose. He was jolted completely awake. He sneezed before opening his eyes.

“Yuhao, I’m Jing Hongchen.” Jing Hongchen stepped beside the bed where someone had already placed a chair for him. Right now, he wore a friendly look as he watched Huo Yuhao.

“Greetings, Hallmaster.” Huo Yuhao’s voice was a little hoarse, and he sounded slightly weak too. It was like he was out of breath.

Jing Hongchen pondered for a moment before he said, “I’m sorry for what happened today. The academy didn’t do our job well to protect you. The perpetrators who arrested and tortured you have already been punished. The academy will also toughen up our management, and we’ll not let anyone harm you again. I hope that you can forgive us. I extend my apologies to you on behalf of the academy.”

What a man! No wonder Elder Mu always commented that he was an adaptable person, though he was one who had a hot temper.

Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and said, “Hallmaster, you’re not the one who harmed me. You don’t have to apologize for this. In addition, the mastermind of the perpetrators was the one who appeared outside the interrogation room after the incident. He instructed those five guys to torture me. I didn’t expect this to happen either. With the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s current status, I didn’t think that anyone would be brazen enough to arrest someone in the academy. My injuries are nothing. They’re nothing for a soul master like me.”

“However, I hope to learn something from this exchange. I’ve been in the academy for some time, but I’ve learned nothing apart from some basic theories. I’ll lose more time because of this delay.”

Jing Hongchen was secretly hateful. Huo Yuhao might be young, but he was scheming. He was using words to corner Jing Hongchen. However, Jing Hongchen had no choice but to bear it if he wanted his grandchildren to be safe at Shrek Academy.

After pondering for a moment, Jing Hongchen said, “The captain of the Royal Stewards, Xu Mochen, is the son of a prince in the imperial clan. I have no authority over him, but I’ll make him apologize to you personally. The academy has to bear some of the responsibility for this incident too. From now onwards, you can bring back all the materials you use for creating soul tools from the academy. However, this doesn’t include blueprints or formation arrays. You don’t have to be tested either. When you recover, ask Xuan Ziwen to bring you into the Illustrious Virtue Hall. This will help you in your progress and increase your knowledge. Although Elder Mu has passed away, he’s always been the elder that I’ve respected the most. If anyone dares to provoke you in the academy, you must tell me.”

Huo Yuhao revealed a look of gratitude as he realized that his target was about to be fulfilled. “Thank you Hallmaster for granting me this opportunity. I won’t let you down. I’ll be studious.”

Jing Hongchen was irked by Huo Yuhao’s sincere expression. He squeezed out a smile and stood up before saying, “Alright, rest well then. I’ll ask them to give you the best medicine for your treatment.”

“Okay.” Huo Yuhao nodded his head respectfully.

Alas, he didn’t suffer for nothing. Hehe.

After his wounds were taken care of, Huo Yuhao was sent to a ward in the infirmary to rest. He was given the best care due to Jing Hongchen’s concern over his condition. Even his meals were much better. Although they weren’t as good as Shrek Academy’s meals, he was well-nourished.

Although he didn’t lose as much blood as the previous time, Huo Yuhao was still tired, as he had tried to make the act as real as possible. The stinging pain in his back was greatly relieved with the help of medicine, but he became groggy from it.

At this point, the door opened slowly, and someone walked in.

Huo Yuhao was very alert, and he unleashed his Spiritual Detection. However, he became relieved once again. It was Ke Ke.

“Yuhao, Yuhao.” Ke Ke came to his bedside and called to him.

Huo Yuhao was very fatigued at this point. He didn’t want to scam Ke Ke either, thus he decided to pretend that he was sleeping.

Ke Ke was furious as she muttered to herself, “The bastards from the Royal Stewards are too vicious. He’s covered in so many bandage. He must be critically injured! His old injuries haven’t even recovered. I really want to teach them a lesson. I want to castrate all of them and make them eunuchs.”

Huo Yuhao was amused, but he held in his laughter. Ke Ke was a very direct person, and wasn’t scheming at all. She was a good lady.

Ke Ke lowered her head and place her face in front of Huo Yuhao to look at him. She blew a gust of air towards Huo Yuhao’s face, and he almost couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Ke Ke lifted her hand to touch Huo Yuhao’s head. She sighed, “It’s a little small. Otherwise, I’d be interested in you.” As she spoke, she even pinched his face.

Huo Yuhao’s heart pumped faster! What did she mean when she said she might be interested in him…?

Ke Ke was in a momentary daze. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was not about to wake up, she silently left.

Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid she’d continue to wait. He was almost on the verge of sleeping, but was jolted awake by her words.

The door opened again at this moment.

Why was she back? Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed.

However, he soon realized that something was amiss. The choking voice that he heard didn’t belong to Ke Ke.

A figure came to his side and caressed his hair. Huo Yuhao was annoyed as he thought, “Why do they like to touch my hair? How can they violate a man’s hair so easily?”

“Yuhao, I’m sorry. I implicated you. If I didn’t bring them to deal with you, you wouldn’t have conflicted with Wang Shaojie. You’re injured again, even though you just recovered. It’s my fault.”

Warm tears fell onto Huo Yuhao’s face, but they were soon wiped off by a tender and smooth hand. Huo Yuhao’s heart fluttered a little.

His bed wasn’t huge. There wasn’t any excess space after he laid on the bed. However, Ju Zi still laid beside him on her side and placed her head on his shoulders. She sobbed gently.

Huo Yuhao was even more afraid to move at this point. Ju Zi was a mystery to him. It was only now that he realized everything after he saw Ju Zi with the Crown Prince. While her background was pitiful, she had someone to back her. No wonder she had mentioned meeting him in battle in the future.