Chapter 1: The Spiritual Youth (Three)

  Heavens! I just said yesterday that as soon as it hits the front page, I'll update. Then the evaluation rankings became first place. And then I discovered, precisely because I updated yesterday, this only showed up now. Isn't this fate? Fate is unavoidable, okay, let's add another chapter. Originally wanted to update at night. However, I was in Shanghai for a meeting yesterday and returned to Beijing in the afternoon, so it was on the road. So just forget about it. Let's advance the update instead, letting everyone continue their addiction. After all, God's Seal hasn't ended yet, currently updates won't be too many, just enough to let everyone indulge a bit, wait until God's Seal ends before resuming normal updates. Alright, saying so much, actually I want to express that... I'm very hardworking and diligent, releasing two books at once, shouldn't you give me some more recommendation votes? Those who haven't collected it yet, hurry up and collect! Come on, what are you waiting for? If you have the ability, get the member click rankings to first place for me. Then I'll immediately update twice a day! The recommendation rankings will do too.

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  Huò Yǔhào was after all going out for the first time, and despite having a map to guide him, he still inevitably took a few wrong turns. It wasn't until he kept asking passersby for directions that he was able to find his way back onto the correct path.

  It is said that reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. In the past few days, he himself felt that he had learned a lot. Without the oppression and restraint of the Duke's mansion, his mood improved greatly. The new and strange things he saw along the way excited him endlessly. After all, he was still young, his body recovered quickly, and he didn't feel tired from rushing on the road, but rather like a bird that had escaped from its cage, for the first time since his mother's death, he felt happy.

  "It's been six days already, should be arriving soon." Huo Yuhao carefully looked at the hand-drawn map in his hands, then glanced at the direction indicated by the shadows of the trees on both sides of the road. He was certain that he was very close to the Star Dou Great Forest now.

  Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Huo Yu Hao walked into the woods by the side of the road and found a shaded area to sit down and meditate to recover his strength. Suddenly, the sound of gurgling water came through, instantly making Huo Yu Hao excitedly jump up.

  Having water means being able to improve life!

  He closed his eyes, and Huo Yuhao quietly listened to the direction of the sound of flowing water. As a possessor of a Spiritual Soul, his six senses were much stronger than those of ordinary people. Especially when he closed his eyes, his other five senses would be amplified several times.

  He soon got his bearings and proceeded cautiously through the forest. His caution was not because of the uneven ground in the forest, but because he was afraid that his clothes would be scratched by thorns. This was still made by his mother's own hands.

  Less than two hundred meters away, he found his target, a small stream about three meters wide. The water was crystal clear and the refreshing coolness of the stream brought a sense of comfort.

  Huo Yu Hao let out a whoop of excitement, quickly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the creek water that was less than two feet deep. It had been two days since he last bathed, and the two-day journey had left him covered in sweat. Washing up in this cool creek water was pure bliss.

  After a refreshing wash, when he climbed back to the shore, he felt like a new person. He thought to himself that since they were almost at the Starry Night Forest anyway, he might as well take a good rest here first.

  He changed into the clean clothes from his bundle, washed the dirty ones in the creek and hung them on a tree branch. Then he broke off another long branch about three feet long.

  With his right hand, he drew out a short blade with a scabbard from behind his waist. The short blade was about one foot two inches long, and the scabbard was dark green in color, made of tough leather that Huo Yu Hao didn't know what kind of soul beast or animal it came from. He only knew that this short blade was the only gift his father had given to his mother, which she treasured like a precious jewel until the moment before her death, when she handed it over to Huo Yu Hao.

  The handle is about five inches long and has no luxurious decorations, but gives a sense of simplicity. It feels not only fitting but also exceptionally comfortable in the hand.

  The sword was drawn from its scabbard without making a sound, and the approximately seven-inch blade gleamed like a pool of autumn water. The slender blade seemed almost transparent, and the cold air emanating from it made Huo Yu Hao shiver despite his familiarity with such situations.

  Bai Hu Dao, this is the name his mother told him.

  Huò Yǔhào looked at the White Tiger dagger, and the excitement in his eyes suddenly turned into a deep sadness. On the gleaming blade, he seemed to see his mother's figure again.

  He picked up the branch that had just been broken off, and Bai Hu's knife scraped against the front end of the branch, emitting a faint blue light. The blade sliced through the branch as if it were cutting into tofu, without any resistance. With two or three strokes, the front end of the branch was sharpened.

  He Yuhao put the White Tiger dagger back into its scabbard and reattached it to his own waist, carrying the wooden bucket to the edge of the small stream.

  He took a slight deep breath, and his eyes lit up instantly. Instantly, in the clear creek water, all the details were magnified in his eyes. The subtle changes of the rippling waves, even the small shrimp in the crevices of the riverbed stones couldn't escape his piercing gaze. Moreover, all of this slowed down in his eyes.

  Suddenly, Huo Yu Hao's hands moved as fast as lightning, and the tree branch in his hand swiftly inserted into the creek water.

  "Plop——" He raised his hand, flipped his wrist, and a half-foot-long green fish was hooked up.

  Inserting fish is absolutely a technical job for ordinary people. But for Huo Yuhao, who has spiritual eyes and accurate positioning, it's as easy as pie. This is also why he was so excited when he heard the sound of running water. Apart from catching fish himself, he hadn't eaten any other meat in the past six days.

  One small fish was certainly not enough for him to eat, and in just a short while, Huo Yu Hao pulled out over ten green fish from the river, each half a foot to one foot long.

  "Great, at least it's enough for two days' worth of food. Even if it's cooked, it won't spoil easily."

  Huō Yǔ Hào was squatting excitedly by the creek, using a white tiger cleaver to assist him. He quickly and easily processed all of the fish, whether it was scaling or gutting them. For Huō Yǔ Hào, who had been working with his mother since he was young, this task was effortless. Within a minute, over ten fish were already done.

  Some large leaves were found in the forest, washed clean in the stream, and the cleaned fish were placed on top. Some dry branches were used as firewood, and a small bonfire was lit by the stream in no time.

  He only had salt and soda on his body, but for roasting fish, it was enough. He made a few small racks with thick branches, then used thin branches to string up the cleaned crucian carp, applied salt and soda to the belly of the crucian carp, and then took out a kind of leaf called Perilla from his bag, which he had picked in the forest a few days ago, washed it clean, tore it into pieces and stuffed it into the belly of the crucian carp. Only then did he put it on the roasting rack made of thick branches to roast.

  Not long after, a special fragrance began to diffuse above the fire pit, the fragrance was very rich and had a unique temptation. As Huo Yu slowly turned over, the green fish gradually turned golden yellow, accompanied by the thick fragrance, which was particularly tempting.

  The first time Huo Yu Hao only roasted two of them, and the rest of the fish were all processed. If you roast too many at once, it's easy to have problems with the fire timing.

  "It smells so good!"

  At this moment, a surprised and delighted cry rang out, the voice was crisp and pleasant, but scared Ho Yu Hao.

  He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw two people walking along the creek. The one in front was a girl who looked like she was fifteen or sixteen years old. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail behind her back, and her light blue qipao outlined her slender yet vibrant figure, full of youthful energy.

  Phoenix eyes, big and spirited eyes, a straight nose bridge, an almost perfect melon-shaped face, a pretty face with a hint of surprise, her eyes staring straight at He Yu's roasted fish.

  Behind the girl was a boy who looked about her age, with a slender and straight build, his short blue hair shining like jewels in the sunlight. Although he was young, he gave off an elegant feeling, with a lazy smile on his handsome face, his hands clasped behind his head, looking at Ho Yu Hao's side with interest, but he was looking at people rather than roasted fish.