To ensure that her relationship in this lifetime wasn't disrupted, Huo Yu'er occasionally used her hidden powers to probe the surrounding area.
Huo Yu'er had long been aware of Tang Hao's presence. However, since he hadn't made any suspicious moves—spending his time either watching Tang San from afar or getting drunk in town—she had chosen to ignore him.
But now that he had followed them all the way to their stronghold, it stirred a hint of murderous intent in Huo Yu'er.
"Should I kill him?"
The thought crossed her mind but was quickly dismissed.
"Never mind, let him live a little longer. No matter how useless he is, he still carries the consciousness of the Asura God. Killing him would definitely alert Asura."
More importantly, Huo Yu'er knew Tang Hao's target wasn't herself—a pure human—but Xiao Wu, the hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
However, since Xiao Wu was already "reserved" as her future "sister," Huo Yu'er couldn't allow Tang Hao or Tang San to interfere.
Having grown up hearing stories about Tang San, Huo Yu'er was well aware of the questionable behavior of this father-son duo.
One wife sacrificing herself might be an accident, but if a daughter-in-law also ended up doing the same, something was clearly amiss!
Still, everything had to be handled carefully. At the very least, Huo Yu'er knew that if she unleashed her full power, Asura wouldn't stand a chance against her. But if other higher-ups from the divine realm were alerted, she wouldn't be able to handle them in her current state.
In the end, Huo Yu'er decided to leave things as they were for now and maintain the status quo. Most importantly, she couldn't reveal Tang Hao's existence to Xiao Wu—otherwise, that naïve rabbit might do something foolish and drag her down.
After all, the highest form of deception was when the victim didn't even realize they'd been tricked.
As days passed, Ye Wen finally finished reading all the soul beast knowledge he had obtained from Huo Rui.
The results, however, were less than satisfactory.
As a countess, the books in Huo Rui's possession were naturally far superior to the common ones Ye Wen had access to at school. At the very least, Ye Wen gained more detailed information about the Parasitic Fungus Demon.
In ancient, less enlightened times, the Parasitic Fungus Demon was once considered an evil soul beast, leading people to exterminate it on sight.
But as society evolved, scholars studying soul beasts realized that the Parasitic Fungus Demon wasn't inherently evil. If it were, other soul beasts would have instinctively sought to destroy it, rather than allowing it to thrive in the past.
Further analysis revealed that the Parasitic Fungus Demon was actually an attributeless plant-type soul beast, making the notion of it being "evil" even more absurd.
Then, by sheer coincidence, someone mistook the remains of a Parasitic Fungus Demon for ordinary fungi and added it to a hot pot. After discovering its ability to significantly enhance male potency, demand for this soul beast skyrocketed, leading to the current scarcity of Parasitic Fungus Demons.
Ye Wen had tried to find alternative soul beasts.
However, theoretically, any organic material in Douluo continent could become a soul beast—take Blue Silver Grass, for example.
But soul beasts that were inherently fragile and evolved through parasitism, like fungi, were exceedingly rare. Those that existed were either even rarer or far more powerful.
After much searching, Ye Wen found himself back at square one. Aside from gaining a wealth of knowledge, he hadn't identified a viable substitute.
Even Huo Rui was at a loss. In the end, she could only take Ye Wen to the Star Dou Great Forest to search aimlessly.
Though records of soul beasts existed elsewhere, the Star Dou Great Forest remained the place with the largest number and widest variety of soul beasts on Douluo continent.
Huo Rui wouldn't claim to be invincible, but as a Soul Sage, she was confident in safely wandering the outer regions of the Star Dou Great Forest with children in tow—as long as they didn't encounter terrifying soul beasts like the Titan Ape, she could ensure everyone's safe return.
Later, Huo Yu'er also decided to join the trip, and Xiao Wu expressed some interest as well. With no other choice, Huo Rui called upon Huo Yu'er's parents, the steward, and others, turning the excursion into a grand outing. The group departed Tianxin City in a bustling procession.
Seeing so many people mobilized just to help him hunt for a soul ring, Ye Wen's lips twitched.
But since they had volunteered, there wasn't much he could say.
However, the interactions along the way opened Ye Wen's eyes. He hadn't expected the Huo family to be such romantics, completely disregarding noble notions of social compatibility. As long as they liked someone, they pursued them—and this was even part of the Huo family creed.
Ye Wen had initially assumed he'd have to marry into the family, but now it seemed a normal marriage arrangement was possible.
And honestly, that wasn't so bad.
Unconsciously, Ye Wen realized he had genuinely accepted Huo Yu'er from the bottom of his heart.
'I'm such a beast… -_-||'
Though reluctant to admit it, Ye Wen realized he had truly developed feelings for seven-year-old Huo Yu'er. He had never been this twisted in his past life.
'Hmm, it must be the influence of Douluo continent's romantic causality. Otherwise, how did I end up like this?' Ye Wen thought to himself.
Though the Huo family dressed modestly, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that their clothing was made of high-quality materials. Moreover, the fact that they were heading straight for the Star Dou Great Forest marked them as wealthy and powerful individuals. No one wanted to stir up trouble unnecessarily, so the journey remained peaceful.
As they approached the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, Ye Wen gazed at the seemingly endless expanse of trees and couldn't help but remark, "If my home country had a place like this, they'd have fenced it off and started charging admission fees in no time."
However, the moment Ye Wen stepped into the Star Dou Great Forest, he felt as though the entire forest was rejoicing at his arrival.
"It must be an illusion. I'm not Tang San, the chosen one."
Chuckling, Ye Wen brushed off the feeling and continued onward.
After venturing a few kilometers into the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Rui addressed Huo Jing (Huo Yu'er's father) and Ye Qingyu (Huo Yu'er's mother):
"Jing, Qingyu, thank you for your help."
Instantly, the affectionate couple activated their martial souls.
Huo Jing's martial soul was also a body-type martial soul, specifically focused on the eyes—though nowhere near as advanced as Huo Yu'er's. Based on Ye Wen's deductions, Huo Yu'er's Spirit Eye martial soul likely connected to her brain, which was the true essence of the Spirit Eye.
Otherwise, her innate Level 9 talent would be inexplicable.
Ye Qingyu's martial soul was an eagle. Upon activating her soul, she spread her wings and vanished into the sky.
It was clear why they were a couple—their martial souls both excelled in vision-related abilities. Both were five-ring Soul Kings with optimal soul ring configurations.
This gave Ye Wen even more confidence in finding the Parasitic Fungus Demon.
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