He slept unusually deeply and peacefully. When Dai Yuhao opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was a smooth, flat roof above him, rather than the familiar, dark beams of his own house with fine cracks and rain stains.
He blinked and sat up, somewhat bewildered.
The blanket covering him was white and soft, with an incredibly delicate feel, completely different from the hard and thin old cotton blanket in his home.
He looked around. The room was small, but exceptionally clean and bright. The walls were uniformly white, and the floor was so shiny it reflected a mirror. There was no familiar damp smell, nor any trace of repairs.
Everything was silently telling him: this was not the little house he and his mother lived in.
"woke up?"
A gentle voice came from the side.
Dai Yuhao turned his head at the sound and saw a tall and slender figure approaching the bedside.
The newcomer had long, vibrant red hair, as fiery and rich as fine wine, which shimmered with a unique luster under the soft indoor lighting, making it extremely eye-catching.
Dai Yuhao's eyes widened suddenly, his mouth opened slightly, and he exclaimed incredulously, "Aunt Leng... Aunt Leng?!"
The beautiful yet slightly aloof face before him was clearly the "Aunt Leng" from that wonderful dream he had been in, who had shown him countless new and exciting things and given him so much gentle care!
He was filled with surprise and wonder, mixed with a touch of childlike excitement.
Could it be... could it be that dreams can continue from the last one?
This discovery allowed him to temporarily forget his slight unease about the unfamiliar environment.
Leng Yaozhu stared at the undisguised astonishment on Dai Yuhao's face, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
A child's expression is the purest and hardest to fake, but this reaction... something's not right.
I only took a nap, but it feels like we haven't seen each other for ages.
She didn't show it on her face, but leaned down slightly to make her gaze level with the child sitting on the bed: "What? Is Xiaoyuhao so surprised to see Auntie?"
Dai Yuhao was only three years old, so he didn't have many thoughts and said whatever came to mind.
He looked at Leng Yaozhu and replied without any suspicion, "I didn't expect to see Aunt Leng in my dream, that's why I was surprised!"
"dream..."
Leng Yaozhu silently repeated these two words in her heart, her gaze carefully sweeping over every genuine expression on the child's face.
Having seen countless people, she could naturally distinguish between truth and falsehood. Dai Yuhao seemed to genuinely believe that everything was just a dream.
On the surface, she maintained a gentle smile, but a wisp of hidden spiritual power had already quietly emerged, sweeping over Dai Yuhao's body and mind like a gentle breeze across a lake, examining him closely.
After a moment, her thoughts turned slightly heavy.
There were no residual spiritual imprints, no fluctuations from external interference, and absolutely no trace of being manipulated or implied by any spiritual soul master.
Suppressing her deepest doubts, Leng Yaozhu's smile softened even more, as if she were merely chatting casually with the child: "So... you just woke up from a dream, right?"
Dai Yuhao nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
"After you woke up from the dream, did you see your mother?"
"I saw him!"
When his mother was mentioned, Dai Yuhao's eyes lit up.
Leng Yaozhu asked in a relaxed tone, taking things one step at a time, "So, what fun things have happened these past few days? Tell Auntie about them, okay?"
Dai Yuhao is usually confined to the small courtyard, and apart from his mother, he has almost no one to talk to.
At this moment, under Leng Yaozhu's gentle guidance, those pent-up experiences in her heart flowed out like a stream that had been opened.
He sat on the soft edge of the bed, his calves swinging gently, and began his intermittent description.
When Leng Yaozhu first listened, she maintained a gentle smile on her face, as if she were listening to a child's naive fantasy.
However, when Dai Yuhao gesticulated wildly as he described his father, who "wore shiny clothes" and "was called Duke by many people," the smile on her lips suddenly froze.
Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan.
The name stirred up ripples of surprise and doubt in her heart. Although she had not conducted special research on the ancient history of Xingluo ten thousand years ago, she had a basic understanding of the historical context of the mainland.
She clearly remembered that when the Star Luo Empire went overseas and re-established itself ten thousand years ago, the throne was transferred from the Xu family to the White Tiger lineage once again.
And it was from that time onward that the White Tiger Duke ceased to exist!
If what Dai Yuhao said is true, then the father he mentioned is actually... a figure from ten thousand years ago?
"Gurgle..."
A clear rumbling sound came from Dai Yuhao, interrupting Leng Yaozhu's heavy thoughts.
She instantly suppressed all her surprise and doubt, a smile returned to her face, and her tone became gentle again: "Are you hungry?"
Dai Yuhao blushed slightly and nodded shyly.
"Let's go." Leng Yaozhu naturally reached out and grasped Dai Yuhao's somewhat thin little hand: "Auntie will take you to eat something delicious."
The words "delicious" seemed to possess a magical power, instantly brightening Dai Yuhao's eyes.
In his limited understanding, the unprecedented delicacies brought by Aunt Leng in his dream were undoubtedly the greatest temptation and pleasure.
His face lit up with anticipation as he let Leng Yaozhu lead him off the bed, his mind already racing with fantasies of what new and wonderful flavors he would experience next.
...
Shrek City, Spirit Tower headquarters, on the 101st floor of the library.
Leng Yaozhu sat alone in a quiet corner, with a thick book spread out on the large table in front of her, namely "The History of Xingluo".
Her gaze was sharp as she scanned the slightly blurred records word by word, her fingertips moving slowly across the yellowed pages before finally settling on a particular paragraph.
[Dai Hao, the last White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire, a level 95 Title Douluo, titled "White Tiger"...]
[His principal wife was Zhu Yunqing, and his concubine was Huo Yun'er...]
[Huo Yun'er's son, originally named Dai Yuhao, later changed his surname to Huo Yuhao, who is revered as the "Spirit Ice Douluo" and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda...]
She slowly closed the book in front of her, then leaned back in the high-backed chair, closed her eyes, and her brows furrowed with unwavering solemnity and incredulous shock.
If that child wasn't lying, then he, Dai Yuhao, is the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao!
But how is that possible?!
Spirit Ice Douluo was a person from ten thousand years ago!
Even with her current state of mind, she couldn't remain completely calm at this moment.
After a moment of silence, Leng Yaozhu slowly opened her eyes, a sharp glint in them.
Her lips curled slightly, but it was a cold smile devoid of any warmth.
Dai Yuhao is indeed from the Xingluo Dai family.
However, this is not the current Dai family of Xingluo, which is far overseas, but the Dai family of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion from ten thousand years ago.
And Dai Yuhao is none other than Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo who single-handedly founded the Spirit Pagoda, ascended to the Godhood, and whose name will be remembered for eternity!
In her view, such a conclusion was absolutely impossible!
In her view, this must be a deliberate arrangement by the "mastermind" behind the scenes.
Sending a legend about the creation of the Spirit Pagoda ten thousand years ago to her, the current deputy tower master of the Spirit Pagoda, is definitely not a simple matter!
However, Lingbing Douluo is not so easily impersonated!
Dai Yuhao is only three years old this year. According to the tradition of Douluo Continent, children can only awaken their martial soul when they are six years old.
At that time, the dormant power within our blood will reveal all.
No matter what extraordinary means the other party possesses, they cannot determine or disguise a child's innate martial soul in advance.
Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo, did not leave a stable bloodline inheritance on the Douluo Continent with his signature Spirit Eye Martial Soul!
With this in mind, Leng Yaozhu felt reassured.
She stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and put the heavy "History of Xingluo" back in its original place.
As she slowly walked out of the quiet library, she had already made up her mind!
Three years is but a blink of an eye for her.
She has enough patience and strength to protect the child and uncover the final answer.