She took a small bite of the baked bun first. The crispy bun made a slight cracking sound as she bit into it. The fragrance from the bun, mixed with the crumbs that fell off as she bit into it and its elevated temperature, instantly tickled her olfactory senses and taste buds.

Tang Wutong opened her small mouth slightly and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh, it’s so fragrant…”

This was indeed the best baked bun she had ever eaten. The baked bun cooled down slightly in her mouth, and she gobbled it up in three bites. It was warm and fragrant, and she felt indescribably pleased.

After this, she took a bite of the grilled fish. The crispy skin of the fish was slightly salty, which complemented its natural freshness. As she bit into the skin, juices from the fish filled her mouth, along with the meat. The fresh taste engulfing her taste buds caused Tang Wutong’s eyes to brighten immediately.

Delicious. This is too delicious. How can it possibly be so delicious?

Of course, Tang Wutong didn’t know how much effort Huo Yuhao had put into this grilled fish and baked bun. Huo Yuhao had overheard when Jiang Nannan was ordering them earlier. If Wang Dong’er was the first to eat, he would naturally put in much more effort.

In order to make the taste of the fish and baked bun as fine as he could, he engaged his spiritual power in its Totality state to completely understand the internal structure of both the fish and baked bun. During the process of grilling the fish and baking the bun, he was so precise in his control that it felt as if he were creating a soul tool.

Although Tang Wutong stopped praising him, her incessant chewing and swallowing speed still left the rest of the ladies extremely tempted.

Huo Yuhao started to move faster. He quickly grilled the fish and baked the buns before delivering them to the rest of them. Very soon, everyone formed a circle and delightfully enjoyed their meal.

The person who had caused the problems earlier naturally became the last to eat, along with Huo Yuhao.

Ye Guyi sat to one side of the fire that they had made and was enjoying her third grilled fish. The look on her face was very indifferent, but on closer look, one could see the slight sadness in her eyes.

Perhaps it was because of Huo Yuhao’s attentiveness and yearning, but Ye Guyi could sense the love when she ate the grilled fish. However, this love wasn’t and would never be directed at her.

Nan Qiuqiu was much more direct. Although she wasn’t as acute as Ye Guyi, she was still silently whispering to Ye Guyi as she was eating, “I’ve never seen him so nice when he was cooking for us before. However, this fellow’s culinary skills are pretty good. Even if he couldn’t become a soul master, he would still fare well as a chef.”

Jing Ziyan was sitting on the other side of Nan Qiuqiu. After hearing her words, she couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “You are actually demanding that the future hope of Shrek Academy and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda become a chef for someone else. I can’t believe you just thought of that idea.”

Huo Yuhao walked over after grilling the remaining few fish. After hearing Jing Ziyan’s words, he couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s great to be a chef! When I cook, I actually feel at peace, which is very rare. When I finish what I want to do in the future, I’ll find a peaceful and beautiful place and open my own restaurant there. I want to live a simple, farming life with the person I love there. Behind the restaurant, there’ll be a plot of land specially for growing crops. I’ll also raise some livestock. Why are all of you looking at me like that?”

Before he even finished speaking, he discovered that the way everyone was looking at him was very weird. A member of the Sea God’s Pavilion actually wanted to find a place to open a restaurant.

Just at this moment, Ji Juechen suddenly spoke up. “It sounds rather good.”

Huo Yuhao laughed, “Brother Ji, shall we do it together?”

Ji Juechen shook his head. “Nope.”

Xu Sanshi looked very anxious, and said to Huo Yuhao, “Little junior, don’t say that in front of Elder Xuan. Otherwise, he’ll fight all-out against you. He’s still hoping that you’ll become the future Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion.”

Huo Yuhao suddenly looked very grim. To him, there were many responsibilities that he couldn’t avoid.

His fish soup was almost done. Huo Yuhao added some seasoning before scooping bowls of fish soup for everyone.

He sat down right beside Tang Wutong. Naturally, everyone ceded this seat to him.

As Tang Wutong was the first to eat, she ate quite a lot – four grilled fish and two baked buns. Right now, she had half a baked bun in her hand.

“Oh, I’m so full. I can’t even move anymore.” Tang Wutong looked very content as she received a bowl of soup from Huo Yuhao.

“I can help you eat that baked bun.” Huo Yuhao whispered softly to her.

Tang Wutong suddenly looked very cautious and glared at him as she twisted her head. “Don’t even think of taking advantage of me. Even if I’m completely stuffed, I will finish it!”

Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, “Don’t waste it. Why don’t I tell you about a story about a baked bun before you decide whether I should finish it for you?”

“A story about a baked bun?” Tang Wutong was doubtful as she looked at him.

“Once, there was a five-year-old boy. He was extremely scrawny. He and his mother only had each other, and no one else. His mother relied on her peasant income to bring him up. In order to survive, his mother would wash clothes outside even during winter. Her hands were full of wounds.

“The mother loved her son a lot. She always mentioned that he was the only one she had in her life. One day, the sky had already turned dark, but the mother was excited as she rushed back home. Because of the tough life she had, she hardly smiled. However, she was extremely happy that day.

“This was because she was given a baked bun by a chef in the kitchen that she worked in after she finished her shift that day. The bun had just been baked and was piping hot and fragrant. When she thought of how she finally had something fresh for her son to eat, she was especially delighted.

“To keep the baked bun from getting cold, the mother wrapped her body around the baked bun. When she finally retrieved the bun for her son, her chest was already burning red. At that point, the little boy was very young and ignorant. He only knew how to gobble up the piping hot baked bun. It was extremely fragrant and tasty.

Tang Wutong was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao and muttered, “Why are you saying all this? I was still enjoying my food, but you had to make me feel uncomfortable.”

Huo Yuhao revealed a slight smile on his face, “Because that boy was me. Just take it as if I’m obsessed about baked buns.”

Tang Wutong was astonished and immediately turned to face Huo Yuhao. She saw that he was smiling, but there was a sense of bitterness in his smile. The look in his eyes had also turned ethereal.

“Take it.” Tang Wutong passed the baked bun to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao received the baked bun and smiled at her. He seemed to have regained his focus.

Tang Wutong suddenly said seriously, “Why do I feel like you’ve told me this story before?”

“What?” Huo Yuhao was the shocked one right now. He was a little stunned as he looked at Tang Wutong. There was a look of disbelief on his face.

You’ve heard this story before?

This was his second time telling this story of a baked bun, and he had told it to Wang Qiu’er the first time. Even Wang Dong’er had never heard this story before!

How was it possible? Wang Qiu’er had already sacrificed herself. Furthermore, Tang Wutong’s aura and touch were identical to Wang Dong’er’s.

Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a little confused as he looked at Tang Wutong in a daze.

“Are you going to eat it?” Tang Wutong’s face turned slightly red.

“Okay, I’ll eat it.” Huo Yuhao quickly reoriented himself and took a bite of the baked bun. Although it was no longer hot, it was still crispy. Huo Yuhao felt warm inside even though he was still slightly out of sorts.

Tang Wutong turned around and started to drink her soup. She stopped entertaining him and was equally as confused.

——

Everyone had a good rest during dinner. Although the sky was already dark, they were all full of energy when they resumed their journey in the direction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

Even though they moved on foot, they only took two hours to get close to the front lines.

Huo Yuhao naturally knew where the White Tiger Duke was stationed. When they were about fifteen kilometers away from the military base, he slowed his pace in order to avoid any misunderstandings.

The eight of them advanced slowly. Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi were in front, while Ji Juechen was at the back, guarding the five ladies between them. Huo Yuhao had already unleashed his Spiritual Detection and quickly covered the surrounding space with his spiritual power.

After a while, Huo Yuhao stopped and announced, “They’re here!”

Not far away from them, some figures quickly appeared. Even in the dark, they were very easy to see, because their soul rings were shining extremely brightly.

These soul masters were very quick. They quickly arrived in front of the eight intruders and half-encircled them.

There were ten of them. This was the structure of a small team among soul engineer legions. In this small team, there was one officer, who had five shining soul rings. The rest only had three soul rings.

There were different types of small teams in soul engineer legions, too. Apart from the officers, the rest of the members had to have similar cultivation levels. This was done so that they would be more united when carrying out missions.

This small team was led by a Soul King. The overall fighting strength of this small team was about equal to an army of five hundred ordinary soldiers, and that was being only soul masters. If they were equipped with soul tools, their fighting strength would be even greater!

“Who are you guys? There’s an important military zone ahead of you. Show me your IDs.” The Soul King officer looked to be around forty years old and sounded very mature and steady. He immediately made his demands upon seeing Huo Yuhao and the rest.

Even though they were all very young, this Soul King didn’t lower his guard at all. It was in the middle of the night, and they were not far from the front lines. What was a bunch of young people doing here? This wasn’t some kind of tourist destination! Who didn’t know that things were slightly tense over at the northwestern end of the empire?

Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and replied, “Sir, we’re from Shrek Academy. We were ordered by our Academy to reinforce the Northwestern Field Army.”