Chapter 65: Parting

After class, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong walked out of the classroom together.

They came to the edge of Haishen Hu, but instead of rushing to cross the lake to Haishen Dao, they walked around Haishen Hu.

For a moment neither spoke, the air fell into silence, yet this silence was not unpleasant; rather, it made them feel very comfortable.

They both knew what the other wanted to say, and precisely because of that, neither could open their mouths.

In the end, it was Tang Wulin who first broke the silence.

"When are you planning to leave?"

Tang Wulin is unlike Huo Yutong; in this era he has nowhere to go, so this vacation he will stay at Shilake Academy.

Huo Yutong said softly, "I'm leaving this afternoon."

Over the past year, though she and Tang Wulin weren't inseparable, they saw each other daily; thinking of having to part from him for a month, she couldn't help feeling reluctant.

But this parting is necessary; in her view, she has always been the weakest link in their team, and the reason she has never been targeted is solely because Tang Wulin is too outstanding, bearing all the pressure for her.

She is unwilling to accept this; she doesn't want to always be a burden, she wants to help him, fight side by side with him, rather than only stand behind him watching his back.

Therefore, no matter how hard the parting may be, she must go alone to the Extreme North to obtain her Second Martial Soul as Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said.

"Like that..."

Tang Wulin's voice hinted at a little loneliness.

This vacation, not only Huo Yutong is leaving; almost all the students have left the academy.

After all, even an orphan like Huo Yutong still has a mother to pay respects to; only he, in this era, has completely no home to return to.

Now all the students have left the school, leaving only him behind; for a moment he felt as if he had returned to when he first arrived in this era, when in the Star Dou Great Forest he had no relatives in sight.

Seeing his somewhat lonely profile, Huo Yutong felt a pang of heartache; suddenly she had an idea and asked:

"Wulin, do you want to eat grilled fish?"

"Huh?"

Tang Wulin blinked slightly.

Since the two moved into Haishen Ge, Huo Yutong has rarely made grilled fish anymore; after all, her basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are secured, so she no longer needs to earn money by selling grilled fish.

Only occasionally, when he misses her cooking, will she make it for him.

Huo Yutong said seriously:

"Not just for the two of us; if you'd like, we can also call Eldest Senior Brother and Teacher Xiao Ya, as well as Zhou Sichen, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Cao Jinxuan—and if that's still not enough, we can summon anyone else from our class who can come, no problem."

Tang Wulin gave a bitter smile.

"With so many people eating but only you doing the grilling, the manpower allocation is totally unreasonable—don't you find it exhausting?"

Huo Yutong shook her head solemnly.

"I'm fine with it."

She simply didn't want to see Tang Wulin's lonely expression.

She wanted to tell Tang Wulin that over this year he had also made many friends, forming strong bonds with many people in this era, so he no longer needed to feel lonely.

Tang Wulin smiled helplessly. He reached out and lightly flicked Huo Yutong's forehead.

"I've told you before, haven't I? Don't wrong yourself for others; I appreciate your feelings, so there's no need to call so many people—just the two of us eating is fine."

His heart now feels warm and cozy.

There's no need to gather so many people; Huo Yutong's caring words have already dispelled his loneliness.

He realized that even in this unfamiliar era, at least one person is willing to endure hardship to cheer him up.

That's enough.

Saying is doing; they quickly gathered the grilling equipment and set up a grill by the edge of Haishen Hu.

Although only Tang Wulin was responsible for eating, Huo Yutong still dared not relax in the slightest, for his appetite alone could match that of the whole class; her eyes flashed with golden light, a white soul ring lit up, and to ensure the grilled fish's flavor she even employed spiritual detection.

In the gradually emptying academy, sounds of laughter and cheer continually came from the direction of the school gate—that was the students who had left the academy reuniting with their families; compared to them, the two figures appeared especially thin.

Yet they did not look lonely; on the contrary, their silhouettes seemed to form a unique scene, and anyone passing nearby couldn't help but stop and gaze for a moment.

Between them it seemed a separate little world had formed, outside affairs having nothing to do with them; as long as they had each other, that was enough.

Huo Yutong grilled slowly and attentively, Tang Wulin ate with great focus, and they tacitly slowed their own pace, trying to stretch this time a little longer.

But this time could not last forever; the sun rose to its zenith and then slowly set, and finally the dozens of fish Huo Yutong brought were all grilled off, which also meant the moment of parting had arrived.

Tang Wulin saw Huo Yutong to the school gate and said seriously, "Be sure to stay safe, don't act rashly, and above all be careful not to be discovered by the people of the Duke's Mansion."

After experiencing the assassination attempt at the start of the term, Tang Wulin's impression of the Duke's Mansion could be said to have hit rock bottom; even a young second master dared to hire assassins to kill at Shilake Academy, so the rumored Duchess must have even more vicious methods.

Huo Yutong alone is weak and slight; if discovered, she would very likely meet with an accident.

Huo Yutong smiled and reassured:

"It's fine; my appearance now is completely different from a year ago, so even if I stood before the Duchess she might not recognize me—better to worry about Dai Huabin than her."

After a year, Huo Yutong has fully grown; although due to past years of malnutrition her stature is still quite petite, you can no longer see the emaciated look she had when she first enrolled.

The Duchess never paid much attention to her before; otherwise she wouldn't have let her escape the Duke's Mansion. Now she might have forgotten what Huo Yutong looks like, so worrying about her recognizing her is actually less worthwhile than worrying about Dai Huabin secretly taking revenge.

Moreover, this vacation she wasn't even planning to return to Star Net City; the Extreme North isn't all that close to Shilake Academy, and just the round trip would take her a lot of time, leaving no room for her to spend time visiting her mother's grave.

"All right, then goodbye."

"Mm, goodbye."

The two bade each other farewell; then Huo Yutong turned and walked northward, gradually fading from Tang Wulin's sight.

Watching her gradually receding figure, Tang Wulin inexplicably felt a strange premonition that the next time they met, Huo Yutong would astonish him.

"Hehe, I really look forward to it."

Tang Wulin chuckled lightly, confirmed that Huo Yutong's silhouette had completely vanished from his view, then turned and walked into the academy.

He intended to find the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, Gong Changlong, to have him fulfill his promise.

(End of chapter)