Chapter 7: Xiao Xiao
Huo Yuhao said to the little girl in front of him with a slight apology:
“Child, your hiding skills are good. I didn’t even notice you.”
The black-haired green-eyed little girl seemed intimidated by Huo Yuhao’s cold gaze as Shimura Danzo, her body momentarily stiffening, but she quickly reacted, her mouth puffing up like a balloon.
“You adults are really annoying.”
The petite girl tossed her head and no longer looked at Huo Yuhao, thinking to herself inwardly:
“Their heights are already fixed, but I can still keep growing.”
“When I’m taller than them in the future, I’ll definitely glare down at them fiercely!”
Having shifted her mindset through the Ah Q spirit victory method, the black-haired little girl turned her head back to look at Huo Yuhao, hands on her hips, and said:
“My name is Xiao Xiao. May I ask who you are?”
Hearing her name, Huo Yuhao’s gaze changed slightly. He had never expected to meet her here. According to the plot, they should meet at Shrek Academy.
And now, with Huo Yuhao not planning to join Shrek Academy, he originally thought they would have no contact in this lifetime.
Even if there was any, it would be meeting at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament, but he would be sitting in the audience watching Xiao Xiao and the others compete.
Huo Yuhao had no intention of participating in such a competition, being targeted by a bunch of people just for a few inexplicable soul bones, which did not fit his way of living in the world.
Participating in such a pointless competition would simply insult his world-shattering wisdom.
Huo Yuhao hid the unusual flash in his eyes and then said:
“I am Shimura Danzo.”
Xiao Xiao tilted her head slightly in doubt, her clear green eyes flashing with a hint of curiosity.
“Shimura Danzo? What a strange name.”
Seeming to realize her words were a bit off, Xiao Xiao quickly waved her hand and said:
“I didn’t mean that. I just think your name is very… very… very unique!”
Seeing Xiao Xiao at a loss for words, Huo Yuhao found it somewhat amusing.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“By the way, what is your relationship with President Xiao?”
Seeing that Huo Yuhao didn’t mind, Xiao Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then straightened her expression and said:
“He is my brother.”
“Brother?” A flash of understanding appeared in Huo Yuhao’s eyes.
Xiao Xiao turned her head to look at Xiao Dingyuan, a lost look flashing in her eyes, her tone carrying a bit of sorrow.
“My brother is very strong, but he’s changed in recent years.”
Xiao Xiao clearly didn’t want to linger too much on this topic, her tone becoming vibrant again as she changed the subject and asked:
“Uncle Danzo, can you tell me how you got the scar on your chin? Of course, if this question is too rude, forget it.”
Looking at Xiao Xiao’s “I’m very curious” expression, Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said:
“Sure, this requires telling the story of Konoha’s hidden tears.”
“I have a close friend named Hiruzen Sarutobi. We lived in a village called Konoha.”
“We often cultivated together, but I was stronger than him in every aspect…”
After roughly telling Xiao Xiao about the somewhat wild past events of Konoha Village, seeing her adoring expression, he felt a bit gratified inwardly.
Huo Yuhao thought he could try writing novels in the future; maybe he could earn some money.
“Uncle Danzo, I need to go pack my luggage. Let’s chat again next time.” Xiao Xiao suddenly realized it was getting late and almost forgot she hadn’t packed her luggage yet. After saying this to Huo Yuhao, she left immediately.
Huo Yuhao watched as Xiao Xiao ran into a house in the distance, shook his head, and was about to turn to find Lang Shan to ask about the mission plan when he suddenly noticed Xiao Dingyuan walking up to him with a smile.
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly to him. Xiao Dingyuan returned the gesture and then gazed at the energetic Xiao Xiao in the distance. Even though he tried his best to conceal it, Huo Yuhao caught a hint of envy.
“Your Excellency Danzo, thank you for looking after Xiao Xiao earlier.”
“This child, due to her good talent, has been confined at home for cultivation. It’s her first time out, and she’s very curious about everything in the world.”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said: “No trouble. It’s a good thing for a child to be curious about the world. The path of the Soul Master cannot lack exploration of the world’s mysteries.”
“This young miss will surely have immeasurable potential in the future!”
After saying this, Huo Yuhao secretly used his spiritual power to carefully observe the changes in his expression.
Unexpectedly, he showed not the slightest bit of jealousy or hatred, but rather relief.
“Then I’ll borrow your auspicious words, Your Excellency.”
“Xiao Xiao is different from me. My martial soul underwent a malignant mutation, my talent is extremely poor, and to this day I’m just a Great Soul Master, while she is seen as the family’s future hope.”
“But as her brother, compared to the illusory future, I hope she can live happily in the present.”
Huo Yuhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the cliché plot of siblings turning against each other hadn’t occurred.
However, he was a bit puzzled why Xiao Dingyuan would tell him, a stranger he had just met, these obviously private matters.
As the president of a merchant association, Xiao Dingyuan’s perception was still very sharp. Noticing Huo Yuhao’s doubt, he explained:
“Although Xiao Xiao is young, thanks to her martial soul talent, she is very sensitive to malice from others.”
“Your Excellency may not have a very friendly appearance, but you were willing to patiently tell stories of the past to a child.”
“And most importantly, I trust the intuition I’ve honed from years of traveling far and wide.”
“So I think Your Excellency is trustworthy.”
“I’ve said all this to hope that Your Excellency will take good care of Xiao Xiao during this time. I can add your reward to an extra fifty gold soul coins.”
Huo Yuhao nodded without hesitation, agreeing to his request. After all, it wasn’t anything particularly troublesome; it was just convenient.
Besides, free gold soul coins shouldn’t be refused. Fifty gold soul coins—how many grilled fish would he need to sell to earn that?
“Employer Xiao, Brother Danzo, you can come over now. We’re about to set off.”
After handling the internal division of labor in the mercenary group, Lang Shan shouted in his rough voice from afar to Huo Yuhao and Xiao Dingyuan.
“Your Excellency Danzo, let’s prepare to move out.”
Hearing Lang Shan’s urging, Xiao Dingyuan exchanged a glance with Huo Yuhao, and the two returned to the escort team together.
Under the lead of Lang Shan and Xiao Dingyuan, a hundred-person caravan officially assembled on the Star Luo Empire official road outside the east gate.
With Blood Wolf Mercenary Group members as the outer perimeter guards on both sides, the inner perimeter arranged twenty one-ring soul masters to protect the central caravan, with the core of the caravan storing several compartments of precious medicinal herbs and rare metals.
Lang Shan, as the highest cultivation Soul Elder, was positioned at the front of the caravan for early warning and deterrence.
Huo Yuhao was designated by Xiao Dingyuan to go to the core area of the caravan to protect Xiao Xiao and other important merchant association personnel.
Their route plan this time was from Bei Ming City in the Star Luo Empire into Heaven Soul Empire territory, then around the Heaven Dou Plain directly to Xuan Feng City.
Along the way, they would not leave the official roads of the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Soul Empire at all.
Each empire’s official roads were patrolled periodically by strong persons, so high-year soul beasts basically would not appear around the roads.
Moreover, as the face of a nation, there wouldn’t be high-level soul masters blatantly causing trouble on the official roads.
After all, the three major empires currently all had Titled Douluo in service, enough to maintain the empire’s prestige without anyone being able to step on it casually.
