Leaving

"I need to find something, something that can help you cultivate your Blue Silver Grass." Tang Hao gazed into the night in the distance, his voice resolute.

Tang San's eyelid twitched slightly at those words. Tang Hao must have been inspired by that conversation between Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, realizing that his Blue Silver Grass had not fully awakened. He might be going to find a way to help him with his Second Awakening.

Although Tang San knew the way: go to the Blue Silver Forest and find the Blue Silver King. But Tang San could not say so. If he did, Tang Hao would grow suspicious.

How could a six-year-old child possibly know such things? Tang Hao had been sunk in despair for six years, but he was no fool.

So Tang San simply listened in silence, his face expressionless.

"From now on, you'll have to take care of yourself." After speaking, Tang Hao looked at Tang San, as if waiting for a response.

"I've always taken care of myself." Tang San met his gaze, his tone as indifferent as ever, showing nothing unusual.

Tang Hao's heart felt as if it had been stabbed. His lips moved several times, but in the end, he said nothing.

The atmosphere grew awkward for a moment.

After a long while, Tang Hao set off down the mountain. After a few steps, he paused again.

"That little girl, you two... be careful."

With that, he quickened his pace and disappeared into the night.

A puzzled expression appeared on Tang San's face. What exactly did "be careful" mean? Was he referring to her identity? Or something else?

Still puzzled, Tang San returned to the Blacksmith's Shop and drifted into a light sleep beside Xiao Wu.

That was right, Tang San and Xiao Wu slept in the same bed, because there were only two beds in the Blacksmith's Shop, and Tang Hao used the other one.

At first, Tang San had been unwilling, but Xiao Wu had actually said something as wild as, "I'm a girl, and I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

Tang San thought it over. They were still young, and there was nothing they could do anyway, so he stopped worrying about it.

In the end, Tang San had still given his "first time" to this Rogue Rabbit, Xiao Wu. What a fateful entanglement!

Early the next morning, Tang San was awakened by a weight pressing down on him.

One of Xiao Wu's arms lay across his chest, and one of her legs rested over his. She was wrapped around Tang San like an octopus.

Tang San turned his head for a look. Xiao Wu's face was so close that he could clearly see her curved eyelashes.

Tang San immediately reached out and pinched Xiao Wu's rabbit ears.

"Xiao Wu, wake up."

"Mmm..." Xiao Wu murmured. Not only did she not let go, she rubbed her face against Tang San's shoulder.

Tang San pinched her ears again, a little harder this time.

"Xiao Wu, it's morning."

Xiao Wu finally opened her eyes.

"Ah!!!"

Xiao Wu let out a short shriek and frantically pulled the blanket over herself, staring at Tang San in horror.

"Y-y-y-y-you, what did you do to me?!" Xiao Wu was both embarrassed and flustered, her face turning red in an instant.

Tang San sat up and moved his arm, which had gone numb under her weight. "It's what you did to me."

After checking that she was still intact, Xiao Wu apologized in a low voice. "Sorry, Third Brother... I don't sleep very still..."

"It's fine. Hurry and get up. We're going back to Nuoding City today," Tang San said with a wave of his hand.

After getting ready, Tang San made a circuit of the Blacksmith's Shop, inside and out.

Sure enough, Tang Hao had disappeared.

Tang San sent a wisp of Soul Power into the Storage Ring's internal space.

The space inside the ring was vast, larger than all the slots in the Oriental Pearl put together. Tang San estimated it at more than thirty cubic meters.

The first thing he sensed was a large quantity of Gold Soul Coins, which looked like a small golden mountain to his spiritual perception.

Tang San made a rough estimate. There were about fifty thousand of them.

Beside the pile of gold coins sat a jade box.

The box was not large, about a meter long and half a meter wide. It was milky white all over, warm and smooth as fat.

Tang San already knew what was inside: the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone.

But Tang San did not open the jade box. A Blood River Treasure like this could not be shown to others lightly, and it was not yet time to absorb it.

Tang San took a deep breath and slipped the Storage Ring onto his hand. The ring automatically adjusted its size, fitting snugly around his ring finger.

After tidying up the Blacksmith's Shop, Tang San wasted no more time. He said goodbye to Old Jack and immediately returned to Nuoding City with Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu followed behind Tang San and asked quietly, "Third Brother, why did Uncle Tang leave without saying goodbye? Is he angry with me?"

Tang San chuckled. "Silly girl, it has nothing to do with you. Don't overthink it."

"Oh."

They traveled the road back to Nuoding City faster than they had on the way there, arriving a little over two hours later.

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu's back, weighing his words, and became a little distracted.

"Third Brother, what are you thinking about?" Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at Tang San.

Tang San was thinking of a reason, one that would make Xiao Wu accept that he was about to leave on his own.

Her call brought Tang San back to his senses, and his gaze flickered.

"Xiao Wu, I might have to leave for a while." Tang San looked at her, his tone a few degrees more serious than usual.

Xiao Wu blinked. "Where to?"

"To find my father," Tang San said, using the excuse he had just thought up. "He left last night, and before he went, he left me a message telling me to find him. There are some things... I want to ask him."

"Then I'm coming with you!" Xiao Wu said at once, her tone firm. "Wherever Third Brother goes, I go."

"You can't come." Tang San shook his head, his tone calm. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, and I don't know where I'm going. Father didn't tell me the exact place, so I have to find him myself. You'd only slow me down if you came with me."

You've got to be kidding. You're a walking Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone. If I took you with me, wouldn't you be a ticking time bomb? No, a ticking nuclear bomb.

Xiao Wu pressed her lips together, and her rabbit ears drooped.

"But..."

"Stay at the academy and focus on your cultivation. I'll be back in a while." Tang San cut her off, softening his tone a little. "Besides, I need you to pass a message to Teacher for me. Tell him I'm going away for a while and will be back after some time."

Xiao Wu stood where she was, head lowered and hands wringing together. She said nothing, looking somewhat dejected.

Tang San watched her, a feeling he could not put into words stirring in his heart. It was not heartache or reluctance to part, but something more complicated, an emotion even he could not describe.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Tang San suppressed his emotions and spoke gently.

"Then keep your word." Xiao Wu nodded.

"I will. But whatever you do, don't cause trouble at the academy."

"All right, all right, I won't cause trouble. Is that good enough?"

Tang San saw her to the academy entrance and watched her walk through the gates. Then he turned and strode toward Nuoding City's gate.

The main reason Tang San had chosen to leave was that he needed an absolutely safe place to absorb the Soul Bone. Moreover, after absorbing it, he would surely break through to level twenty and need to hunt for his Second Soul Ring.

Besides, Tang San truly felt there was no need to remain at Nuoding Academy. He had already read nearly all of Yu Xiaogang's collection of books.

Apart from that, there were two other things weighing most heavily on Tang San's mind. One was the Blue Silver Emperor's Second Awakening, and the other was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Now that he had obtained the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone, there was no hurry to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor. Awakening it at his fifth Soul Ring might produce a better result.

After all, the first four Soul Rings laid the foundation. The firmer the foundation, the greater the benefits he would gain from awakening the Blue Silver Emperor.

Besides, Tang San did not know where the Blue Silver Forest was, so he could only pin his hopes on Tang Hao, trusting that once Tang Hao figured it out, he would surely come looking for him.

Lastly, there was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. That was what Tang San was most anxious about now.

Tang San knew that the Tang Sect's Tang San, whom he had displaced, should not have died. A mysterious force had taken him away, and it would surely choose another person for him to be reborn as.

He did not know where that person was now, either. If he got to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well first, it would be too late for Tang San to cry.

So Tang San planned to go to the Sunset Forest.

First, to hunt for a Soul Ring, and second, to try his luck and see if he could find that poisonous barrier.