Chapter 118: Baiting

"Hey Teacher Zhou," Huo Yuhao said as they entered into Zhou Yi's office. "Sorry for intruding on your office so late, but it's a bit of an emergency."

Zhou Yi spluttered on her cup of coffee as she looked up from her desk, "Yuhao?! What do you think you're-what happened to you all?!"

He and his clone gently put down both girls on the soft couches on the side, one on each couch. Without saying anything, his clone then left the office to go back to his usual spot to practice jutsus. As of right now, Yuhao only had two shadow clones active; one at the villa to continue on some projects and keeping an eye on Ye Guyi, and other one that had just left to increase his proficiency and mastery of his jutsus.

At most he could utilize five shadow clones but he didn't want to weaken himself so much, it takes a lot of his soul power and spiritual power after all.

Huo Yuhao sighed, "It's a long story. But first, can you call on Elder Li to help them? They're pretty injured, I only managed to do basic first aid with my healing technique." Huo Yuhao's voice was filled with concern as he glanced at Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao, who were both lying on the couches, their injuries evident.

Zhou Yi nodded quickly, already standing up. "Of course, I'll go get Elder Li right away. Hang in there, girls," she said reassuringly before sprinting out of the room, almost like a blur.

"..." It was silent for a while and Huo Yuhao went to the girls' side and used Mystical Palm Jutsu once more on them both, to help relieve some of their pain while they waited for Elder Li's arrival.

Wang Dong'er managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Yuhao. Huh, so this how it feels like being healed by your mystical hands. It's... comforting and oddly surreal."

Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement. "By the way, with such a useful technique, why haven't you taught any of us before?"

Huo Yuhao chuckled softly. "I wish I could, but Mystical Palm Jutsu is a rare and difficult technique to master. It requires a certain level of precise soul power control, with the walking on water control level is the barest minimum of requirement to learn it. How far are you your soul power control?"

"..." Both girls looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed to say that they barely learned how to do water walking with their soul power.

"Judging by the look on your faces, you two aren't ready yet. But don't worry, I'll teach you both when you two are ready." Huo Yuhao said, reassuringly. "It's important to have a strong foundation before attempting advanced techniques like Mystical Palm Jutsu. We'll work on developing your soul power control first, and then we can move on to more complex skills."

"Mhmm, yeah. That's understandable." Xiao Xiao said, her eyes squinting as she turned towards Wang Dong'er. "Now, are we all going to ignore what teacher Zhou had just said?"

Huo Yuhao blinked and Wang Dong'er felt cold sweat trailing down her temples.

"What exactly did she say?"

"You didn't notice? The, y'know, when she asked what was wrong with us?" Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Huo Yuhao stared at her blankly for a moment before something in his head clicked, making him turn towards Wang Dong'er in disbelief.

"You haven't told her yet?"

Wang Dong'er stutteringly replied, "N-No, I haven't..."

"Why not?!"

"Because it isn't easy! What do you want me to say? Oh, hey Xiao Xiao. Sorry for not saying it until now, but I have been a girl all this time?!" Wang Dong'er huffed, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao shared a deadpanned look.

'You just did...'

Just then, Zhou Yi returned to the office, accompanied by Elder Li. The former wore an expression of concern, while the latter showed complete calmness as they assessed the situation of the two girls and Huo Yuhao quickly backed off and let the expert do their job.

"Yuhao, a word?"

While the girls were being treated, Zhou Yi pulled Huo Yuhao aside, her expression serious. "What exactly happened? And why haven't you told me about it before?"

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "It's... complicated, Teacher Zhou. We were coming back from the city after attending the auction at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, when were suddenly approached by some strangers..." he then recounted the watered down version of the events that unfolded.

"Assassins?! In the domain of Shrek Academy!?" Zhou Yi's eyes widened in shock and as she listened to Huo Yuhao's explanation. "Those sons of bitches! And you're sure you and the girls have taken care of all of them?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

Zhou Yi sighed. "While I am shocked you three managed to defeat a team of Soul Kings and a Soul Emperor, I'm relieved that you're all safe. However, this incident raises serious concerns about the security of our academy. I'll report this incident to Elder Lin, she'll bring it up to the rest of the higher ups. Seriously, just what are the guardians doing...?"

"Huh? Guardians?" Huo Yuhao asked, curious.

Zhou Yi shook her head. "Never you mind, it's not important. But, Yuhao, are the bodies of those assassins still in the forest?"

"They are... but teacher Zhou, we wouldn't be able to find any further leads. I did some, investigating so to say, and I found that they erased every physical that they have to their employer. It's going to be a dead end."

"I see," Zhou Yi sighed. "Well, nonetheless, we can't just leave those bodies be, they can be evidence. We'll have to rely on other means to uncover the truth behind this attack. Thank you for your efforts in protecting your fellow students, Yuhao. It's clear that we need to strengthen our security measures moving forward."

Huo Yuhao nodded solemnly. "I'll do whatever I can to assist in the investigation, Teacher Zhou. I can't let the one who did this go," he smiled and turned towards Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao. "Also, they managed to kill three Soul Kings without my help, give them some credit."

"... You little monsters," Zhou Yi shook her head incredulously. "I understand how you feel, Yuhao. But leave this to the adults. Now, let's focus on getting Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao fully healed. We'll deal with the rest of this later."

With that, they returned to where Elder Li was attending to the injured girls.

'Sorry teacher Zhou, but you or any other teacher wouldn't be able to do us justice. Dai Huabin has basically the whole empire behind him because of the Duke, the academy could at most expel him. I am not satisfied with that.' Huo Yuhao thought, his eyes gleaming with cold malice, as he begun to form a plan for revenge.

.....

A few days later.

"W-What..." Dai Huabin's eyes widened, cold sweat imperceptibly began to drench the back of his shirt.

He had just came back from the few days of 'excused' absence, and he was expecting that his servants had accomplished their mission. Though it was weird that they hadn't reported to him, he just chalked it up to them going back to his parents.

He was incredibly confident on them accomplishing their mission, they were a group of Soul Kings led by a Soul Emperor. Moreover, they were trained stealth soldiers! Not even an average Soul Sage could live to tell the tale after facing them.

So when he came back to school, he expected that there'd be a mourning of passing for Huo Yuhao and any of his friends, especially Wang Dong.

However, to his astonishment and fear, Huo Yuhao and all his friends were all fine and healthy as they came into the cafeteria.

'What the fuck happened?! Don't tell me, did an elder get involved? No, I'd already been caught or that there'd be news about this incident. But there has been nothing about people coming after Huo Yuhao or any of his friends...' Dai Huabin's mind raced with possibilities, trying to make sense of the situation. He couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach.

But since there had been nothing so far, and that he hadn't been suspected of anything, he had to play it cool and lay low for a while.

If push comes to shove, he could always come up with another plan to deal with Huo Yuhao and his friends. Dai Huabin clenched his fists, his mind ablaze with more thoughts of revenge and retribution.

For now, he would bide his time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He couldn't afford to act rashly and draw attention to himself. Dai Huabin knew that patience and cunning were his greatest allies in this game of cat and mouse.

For he was the son of the White Tiger Duke.

"Little puss."

Dai Huabin flinched, his face was somewhat pale as he clenched his hands over the metal tray he was holding. At the end of the day, he was only a youth around the age of ten and thus couldn't conceal his emotions very well.

He looked up from his tray to see Huo Yuhao and his friends, coldly looking at him.

It was the usual interaction that they have so no else around batted an eye.

Zhu Lu stepped forward and yelled. "Huo Yuhao, what do you want?"

"I just want to talk to your little boyfriend here, so it's none of your fucking business." Huo Yuhao said with a smirk, his eyes glinting with indifference.

"You-!"

Dai Huabin held her shoulder and stepped forward, "What do you want?" he coldly asked, hoping that he didn't know that he had sent assassins after him.

They probably haven't done it yet...

But the cold look in Huo Yuhao's eyes told him that his attempt to feign ignorance wouldn't work. Huo Yuhao's gaze bore into Dai Huabin's, a silent challenge passing between them.

"I just wanted to remind you, Dai Huabin, that your actions have consequences," Huo Yuhao said, his voice low and steady. "You may think you're untouchable because of your family's power, but I won't let you get away with hurting my friends."

Dai Huabin clenched his fists, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anger. He knew that Huo Yuhao was onto him, and that his carefully laid plans were in jeopardy.

But he couldn't let his facade crack. Not now, not when he was so close to achieving his goals.

Dai Huabin gritted his teeth as he responded, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Huo Yuhao coldly smirked and leaned forward to whisper,

"Shadow Cat Army, 3rd Division. They've been taken prisoners."

Dai Huabin's eyes widened.

"They really tenacious, even now, they haven't spilled anything to the elders. However, that wouldn't take long. You understand what this Academy is," he stared him straight at his eyes. "It's a den of monsters. In just a couple of more days and they'll sing like a bird. Hehehe."

Huo Yuhao coldly chuckled and turned away, leaving Dai Huabin standing there, shaken to the core. He couldn't believe that Huo Yuhao had uncovered his secret operation, let alone captured his father's elite soldiers.

Fear gripped Dai Huabin's heart as he realized the gravity of the situation. If the Shadow Cat Army members were to divulge information about their mission, he would be implicated in a serious crime that could bring disgrace upon his family.

But even as panic threatened to overwhelm him, Dai Huabin's pride refused to let him show weakness. He straightened his posture and forced a smirk onto his face, though it was tinged with uncertainty.

"Huabin?" Zhu Lu worriedly asked.

"You think you've won, Yuhao?" Dai Huabin spat out, his voice trembling slightly despite his efforts to sound confident. "You have no idea the scope of my connections."

Unbeknownst to him however, Huo Yuhao could still hear him and his eyes gleamed.

'Looks like the bait's been taken,' Huo Yuhao thought to himself, a sly grin playing on his lips as he walked away with his friends.

.....

AN: I seriously need to buy a solar or a generator because it blackout for hours here, again! Much worse is the heat we're getting here, my electric fan actually broke down! Wtf!?

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