Douluo Continent, Reborn: Yuhao and the Silver Dragon Keep Their Appointment

Huo Yuhao groggily opened his eyes, his icy blue pupils still heavy with sleep. He hadn't slept much yesterday, spending almost the entire night in a daze.

But as soon as he opened his eyes, he was startled. Na'er's purple-blue eyes were only a finger's width away from his. Her long eyelashes touched Huo Yuhao's eyelashes, and the tip of her high nose almost touched his nose. Even their breaths mingled. The faint scent of milk and the gentle breaths mingled, and Huo Yuhao's face turned red from his cheeks to the roots of his ears.

He abruptly turned his head, not daring to look at Na'er anymore, and clearly felt that Na'er was straddling him.

He adjusted his tone and said, "Na'er, get up first, don't get so close to me."

Upon hearing this, Na'er immediately pouted, obediently got off him, shook his arm, and said coquettishly, "Brother, let's make a bet."

Huo Yuhao sat up, straightened the clothes that Na'er had crumpled in front of him, and raised an eyebrow at her: "What bet?"

Na'er grinned and pointed to his eyes, saying, "Brother's eyes must be your martial soul. If so, brother, give me a kiss."

Huo Yuhao's lips twitched slightly: "What if it isn't?"

Na'er paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll kiss my brother."

Huo Yuhao patted her head and asked, "What if your brother awakens a useless martial soul? Would you still rely on me? At that time, your brother wouldn't even have the ability to protect you."

A glint of purple light flashed in Na'er's eyes, and she smiled eerily, "Then I'll protect my brother myself, so he can belong to me alone."

Huo Yuhao felt numb all over, pushed away Na'er who was about to pounce on him, and walked out of the room.

He had just stepped outside when he saw that Aunt Su had already prepared breakfast. Huo Yuhao greeted Aunt Su and then slipped into the bathroom. Just as he took off his pants, he sensed someone behind him and quickly pushed Na'er, who was trying to follow him in, out of the way.

After washing up, he stared blankly at the mirror.

His eyes were indeed very deep, which seemed plausible if it were his martial spirit. His body had also grown taller for some unknown reason yesterday; in terms of appearance, he could only be described as handsome at best. He still couldn't understand why Na'er was so clingy to him.

He looked at the scales on his neck and reached out to grasp them. Could it be because of this? And what happened to me yesterday? Will this happen often in the future? That power seemed incredibly strong. With me here, will I hurt Na'er? He gritted his teeth. Only by becoming stronger could he stand shoulder to shoulder with Na'er. He knew he might possess some terrifying power hidden within him. The memory of yesterday's events still caused him pain. If he couldn't even control himself, how could he protect those who deserved his protection? For Na'er, for those around him, and for himself!

His face had lost its inferiority and anxiety, replaced by a strong sense of determination.

"Slap! Slap!"

A knock came at the door.

"Brother, why did you chase me away? Why haven't you come out for so long? Do you hate me now?!"

Na'er's aggrieved voice rang out from behind the door, and Huo Yuhao realized that he had been spacing out for too long.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Na'er with red eyes, staring intently at him.

Huh? Why is Na'er glaring at me?

Huo Yuhao looked into Na'er's eyes, momentarily stunned by her sudden change. He was about to speak when Na'er covered his mouth with her hand.

Na'er whispered in his ear in a strange voice, "Brother, you can only think of me. When you're having dinner with Sister Su later, don't look at her, okay?"

Huo Yuhao was shocked upon hearing this, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Na'er's stunningly beautiful face.

Na'er bit her lip, leaned close to his mouth, and said, "Do you understand, my dear brother? It's all your fault for drinking her water yesterday. Now she's clinging to you. You can't like her; you can only be mine."

She leaned closer, just about to kiss him, when Huo Yuhao suddenly pushed her away.

She lost her footing and fell to the ground with a thud. Na'er lowered her eyes, her gaze filled with disbelief. She bit her lip hard, the taste of blood spreading in her mouth. Her fingertips gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, and tears fell drop by drop, splashing onto the ground and creating tiny water droplets.

She was actually pushed away by Huo Yuhao? Na'er's mind raced with thoughts of why. He'd walked away the same way ten thousand years ago; was he going to do it again now? She couldn't wait any longer. The person she'd dreamt of for ten thousand years, the person she'd longed for her entire life, was treating her like this…

"Why are you treating me like this, brother... What did I do wrong? I don't know why you won't accept Na'er's feelings for you. I don't know why you're avoiding me even though you clearly feel my feelings. Can you please stop using age as an excuse? What do you mean by pushing me away now?"

Huo Yuhao hadn't expected his strength to have increased so much overnight. The Na'er he'd just witnessed was far too strange; she wasn't the Na'er he knew at all. He was about to help Na'er up when he heard her tearful confession, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

His heart felt like it had been pierced, shattered into pieces. Yes, why did he run away? He clearly had feelings for Na'er too, but why did this inexplicable force urge him to tear apart his already shallow love for her whenever he got close? And Na'er had just seemed to want to control him. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't like this side of Na'er, he didn't like the feeling of being watched and controlled. But his mind and intuition told him that someone wanted to manipulate his emotions. Na'er's agitation and obsession made him uncomfortable, and all he could do was tell himself he wasn't good enough…

Before he could speak, he heard Aunt Su's concerned voice: "Na'er, what's wrong?"

Aunt Su rushed over and helped Na'er up. Seeing Na'er with her head down, still crying, Aunt Su felt a pang of sadness and reached out to wipe away her tears, but the tears wouldn't stop. Na'er let out a soft sob and squatted down, crying uncontrollably.

Aunt Su looked at Huo Yuhao and noticed that he was also in pain, his expression complex. She didn't scold Huo Yuhao, but simply gestured for him to comfort Na'er before turning and leaving.

Just then, Huo Yuhao saw a girl wearing an eye patch smiling slightly at him.

The girl's soft voice rang out: "You bullied me yesterday, and now you're bullying your sister. All you do is bully girls. What kind of behavior is this?"

Huo Yuhao stared at the girl's face for a long while, stunned. Wasn't this Aunt Su's daughter? Yesterday, because of him, she had fainted, but didn't Aunt Su say she was quiet?

Seeing that he didn't react, Su Yuewan puffed out her cheeks and said with a smile, "Hurry up and coax your sister. Later, I'll take you to awaken your martial soul and see what you can awaken."

After saying that, she turned and walked into the corridor.

Aunt Su, who was eavesdropping in the corridor, was filled with disbelief. She wiped her eyes and smiled with relief. Yue Wan... is she better?

Huo Yuhao watched her departing figure, unable to calm down for a long time. He turned to look at Na'er, who had completely stopped crying and was looking up at him with her little head raised.

Her laughter was chilling, the despair and emptiness in her eyes seeming to engulf her entirely. She put her fingers in her mouth, laughing foolishly, "Brother doesn't like me. It seems I really have no reason to exist. I should never have separated from Sister Gu Yue. But I love brother so much... maybe I should just die at his hands, then he'll remember Na'er forever..."

Huo Yuhao froze upon hearing her chilling words. But reason couldn't outpace his instincts; the scales on his neck rippled with unusual energy, radiating the power of the punch he'd unintentionally thrown yesterday, and waves of emotion enveloped him.

Overwhelmed by a surge of longing and love, he lunged at Na'er as if out of control, pulling her tightly into his arms. The body that had been stiff in his embrace slowly softened.

Na'er didn't make any extra movements, but simply raised her head and said, "Give me a kiss."

A mixture of domineering possessiveness and childishness emanated from her mouth.

"Otherwise, Na'er will die in front of you. Brother, do you know? Na'er was born with an illness. I'm usually considered to have a mild case of it, but the way you're treating me now has completely triggered it."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt a cool touch on the corner of her mouth, but it disappeared in an instant.

Huo Yuhao felt his body regain control and quickly helped Na'er to her feet. What had just happened to him? Huo Yuhao felt a sweet taste on his lips and then fully woke up. He thought, "I felt like I fell into a bottomless sea... a sea filled with countless fragmented images..."

When Na'er saw that Huo Yuhao had actually kissed her, the purple glint in her eyes quickly faded, and she returned to her original expression, asking with a grin, "Brother, was it sweet?"