An Ordinary Drunkard, Tang Hao

Holy Soul Village.

"Get the hell out of here. I don't want to dirty my hands."

Just as Tu Yang was about to enter Holy Soul Village, a figure appeared before them.

Tu Yang and the other two jumped in fright, but when they saw Tang Hao reeking of alcohol, his hair disheveled and his body clad in a patchwork robe, looking every bit like a drunkard, they immediately relaxed.

More importantly, they could not sense even the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power from him, and there were only two possibilities.

The first was that he was far stronger than them, so strong that they could not see through him at all.

The second was even simpler: he was just an ordinary drunkard without any Soul Power.

They had already investigated Holy Soul Village. Aside from a Soul Saint who had emerged several hundred years ago, no Soul Master had ever come from the village since.

Besides, they would never believe that a Soul Master stronger than themselves could have fallen into such a state.

It was obvious that this drunkard before them was merely an ordinary person.

As for how he had suddenly appeared before them, there was only one explanation: he was so ordinary that they had not even noticed him approaching.

"Don't want to dirty your hands? Then I'll chop those hands off!"

The thought that he had just been frightened by an ordinary drunkard made Tu Le fly into a rage from humiliation. He immediately summoned his martial soul—a butcher's cleaver. Empowered by Soul Power, it flashed with an icy glint as it slashed viciously toward Tang Hao's arms.

"Hurting people over a disagreement. Keeping scum like you alive would only bring trouble."

Facing the charging Tu Le, the despondency in Tang Hao's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by bone-chilling coldness. Calmly, he picked up three pebbles from the ground, placed them in his palm, curled his fingers, and flicked them. The three pebbles shot out like cannonballs!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Before Tu Le and the other two could even see what had happened, their heads burst apart like watermelons beneath the three pebbles. Blood and brains splattered across the ground.

Clap clap.

Tang Hao dusted off his hands. Several enormous wild dogs immediately charged out from beyond Holy Soul Village. Like vicious hounds pouncing on prey, they instantly devoured the three corpses clean, even licking every trace of blood from the ground.

Tang Hao had raised these wild dogs to guard the village, and they had eaten plenty of human flesh.

He had received much kindness from this village. Though he had never asked for it, that was precisely why he needed to repay them all the more.

Help given without seeking anything in return was a kindness as weighty as a mountain.

If Tu Yang had known that the ordinary drunkard he had taken Tang Hao for was actually the youngest Titled Douluo in history, he would probably have regretted it until his guts turned green.

Or perhaps he would have cursed him to the heavens: You're a damned Titled Douluo—why the hell are you dressed like this, pretending to be weak just to crush people? Is that even something a human would do?

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

"A Lang and my son should be back soon. It's time for me to leave too. With that kid around, I can finally go all out without worry!"

Tang Hao sensed three faint streams of Soul Power rapidly approaching. He turned to look at the village where he had spent several years, his eyes filled with reluctance and nostalgia.

Especially during the past few years he had spent with Mo Lang, it seemed that the knot in his heart had gradually been loosened by that kid. But there were still things he needed to do as a husband.

The only one he had wronged was his sensible son, Tang San. He had not been a good father, but with Mo Lang around, he could leave with greater peace of mind.

"Before I go, though, I should pay a visit to Notting College. I hear Xiao San's teacher is quite the fan of mine." With that thought, Tang Hao smiled and vanished from the spot.

"Here we are."

About ten minutes after Tang Hao disappeared, Mo Lang and the other two arrived at the entrance of Holy Soul Village.

"Blood?"

The moment Tang San stopped, he noticed the bloodstains at the village entrance. Frowning, he crouched down, touched the blood, then brought it to his nose and sniffed it. His brow furrowed even tighter. "Human blood."

After speaking, he looked around and found no signs of a fight. His eyes were full of confusion.

"Don't worry. If I say it's fine, then it's fine. Don't talk about this. Let's pretend we don't know anything, and don't overthink it, understand?"

After surveying the surroundings, Mo Lang knew Tang Hao had already taken care of everything and had perhaps even gone to see Yu Xiaogang. He smiled as he spoke.

He did not want Old Jack to worry about this.

"But..."

Tang San wanted to say something more, but when he saw Mo Lang's expression, he did not ask further questions. He knew that if Mo Lang did not want to say something, no amount of questioning would make him speak.

Besides, he did not want to ask too much. Right now, he only wanted to go home and see his father and Old Jack.

Xiao Wu was even less likely to ask anything. After spending the past year together, she had long since come to trust everything Mo Lang said without question.

They entered the village.

From far away, Mo Lang could see a three-story Western-style house standing conspicuously in the center of Holy Soul Village, replacing Old Jack's former old home.

Old Jack had specially built this grand house so Mo Lang would have a place to marry a wife.

"Old Jack, I'm back!"

As soon as Mo Lang pushed open the door and entered, he shouted carelessly. However, Old Jack did not seem to be home, which was exactly what Mo Lang had expected.

"Come on, Xiao San. Go see your dad. It's been a year—I wonder if that old man's drinking capacity has improved." Mo Lang asked knowingly.

As expected, Tang San rushed excitedly into his home, but it was Old Jack who came out.

When Old Jack saw that Mo Lang, Xiao Wu, and Tang San had all returned, his face broke into a wrinkled smile. But when he thought of the letter in his hand, he looked at Tang San with a helpless, bitter smile. "Xiao San, your father left this for you. Read it yourself."

"..."

After reading the letter, Tang San was completely stunned.

His father had left. For the moment, though, he could not understand why his father had gone.

Seeing Tang San like this, Old Jack could not help trying to comfort him, but Tang San politely declined. He wanted to be alone for a while.

Old Jack merely sighed and called for Mo Lang and Xiao Wu to leave with him.

Mo Lang and Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, and they did not feel good either. Their experiences were all similar, and they knew that nothing they said at this moment would help. They could only wait for him to figure it out on his own.

Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

Yu Xiaogang stared wide-eyed at the man before him, dressed in a gray robe with messy hair hanging over his shoulders and a face carved by hardship. He could not believe that this man was actually him!

After the two spoke for a while, Tang Hao said, "With you and that kid A Lang here, I can leave to do that thing without worry."

"Wait, I have one more question." Just as Tang Hao was about to leave, Yu Xiaogang stopped him and asked eagerly, "Do you know who Mo Lang's master is?"

"I've heard him mention it..."