What Motherly Love Means

He calmly set down the bundled branches he had gathered, then picked up the bedding from the ground. He reached out and gently brushed over the filthy footprints on it, and grime quickly stained his hand.

Huo Yun'er was foolish. She was not a particularly intelligent woman; after all, having followed Dai Hao since childhood, her world had contained only Dai Hao. But Huo Yun'er could indeed be called a virtuous, gentle mother. She gave all her love to Huo Yuhao, until the very end of her life.

Having lived two lives, Huo Yuhao had never known what motherly love was. But after his soul entered the original "Huo Yuhao's" body, the fragments of memory deep in his mind let him experience motherly love for the first time.

It was a warm presence. This bedding was the last love Huo Yun'er had left Huo Yuhao, yet today it had been dirtied. But what had been dirtied was not just the bedding—it was also a mother's concern for her son.

Footsteps slowly approached. Perhaps because his words had received no response, the person sounded somewhat impatient. A hand soon landed on Huo Yuhao's left shoulder, followed by an impatient face leaning close. "Are you deaf?"

"Do you need something?" Huo Yuhao lightly stepped to the right, not allowing that hand to remain on his shoulder.

Before him stood a sturdy, ordinary-looking man about 1.7 meters tall. He wore the specially made servant uniform of Duke White Tiger's Mansion. There was no fluctuation of Soul Power around him; he was merely an ordinary person.

The man had no original name of his own, only the designation he had received after becoming a servant at Duke White Tiger's Mansion: Chai San. He was not old, only in his twenties, and he was a member of the Firewood Room.

Chai San was somewhat surprised that Huo Yuhao had actually dared to dodge him. A trace of anger immediately rose on his face. "Why didn't you do the Firewood Room's work today? You got me scolded by the steward."

Huo Yuhao turned to glance at him and casually said, "I see that all four of your limbs are intact. Logically speaking, you should be able to finish such a task yourself. What, did your martial training recently cripple your body and turn you into a useless cripple?"

After being spoken to like that by Huo Yuhao, Chai San's eyes widened. He could hardly believe that the maid's son, who had always endured everything submissively, dared to defy him—and even insult him.

"You bastard son of a lowly maid, you dare curse me?" Chai San's eyes bulged with fury as he raised his leg and kicked at Huo Yuhao.

Judging from his practiced movements, it seemed he had done this many times before.

A cold smile hung on Chai San's face, as though he could already see his heavy kick knocking Huo Yuhao to the ground. Then he would go up and add a few more kicks, teaching someone what hierarchy truly meant.

However... unlike his usual submissive behavior, a faint blue light flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes. A step ahead of time, he thoroughly imprinted Chai San's movement trajectory in his mind. At the instant Chai San kicked, he deftly dodged to the side, causing Chai San to kick nothing but air.

Chai San's foot struck empty air. Perhaps because events had unfolded differently from usual, he froze for a moment. But that dodge completely enraged him. Though he was not a Soul Master, he had learned a few moves. This was a common skill among the non-Soul Masters of Douluo Continent.

The next moment, he turned around and steadied his center of gravity. After taking several short steps forward, his fist swung like a hurled stone and smashed viciously toward Huo Yuhao, who had just dodged aside. The punch was powerful and fast.

Chai San did not live a life where he might not have another meal after this one. He ate meat every day.

Although Huo Yuhao had the aid of his Spirit Eye and could track Chai San's movements in the relatively dim environment, his frail body could not become strong after eating fish for only two months.

His mind could keep up, but his body could not. After a day of labor, he had little strength left. As for the sheathed short blade at his waist, he feared he would be finished before he could even draw it.

The fist tore through the rain curtain, water splashing from it. Huo Yuhao's breathing tightened, and his pupils abruptly dilated as the fist grew larger and larger in his vision.

If this punch landed, he would probably be put to sleep like a baby on the spot.

But at that most dangerous moment, as though sensing the imminent threat, Huo Yuhao's deep-blue eyes suddenly changed. A blazing sun appeared within them, and a slit opened once more at his Brow Center.

"Heavenly Eye?"

As Huo Yuhao's gaze grew more focused, something strange happened. Chai San's body seemed to become transparent, while his speed slowed to an extreme. Everything around them appeared to enter bullet time, and Huo Yuhao clearly saw a dim flame flickering within Chai San's abdominal cavity.

The next instant, Huo Yuhao felt his body temperature rise considerably. A peculiar power from his Brow Center guided him, and soon, the Heavenly Eye released a fine thread of Golden Light that struck Chai San's body directly.

The Golden Light instantly covered the flickering flame within Chai San. Visible to the naked eye, the flame began to shrivel and dim further, like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished by a single breath.

Chai San himself seemed to have been struck by lightning. His gaze became unfocused, and his once-vigorous body instantly turned listless, as though its vitality had been stripped away.

Bang!

In an instant, Chai San's movement stopped. When his fist was about ten centimeters away from Huo Yuhao, it suddenly dropped. Then Chai San fell straight backward onto the ground.

Another strange occurrence took place. Wisps of invisible energy rose from Chai San's body, then contracted back into Huo Yuhao's body. Huo Yuhao saw everything clearly through the Heavenly Eye.

He stood where he was. The blazing sun in his eyes had vanished, and the Heavenly Eye had dissipated. Cold sweat covered his body and mixed with the rainwater. His chest heaved constantly as he stared fixedly at Chai San, who had returned to normal and lay on the ground.

Swallowing hard, Huo Yuhao raised a hand to touch his Brow Center, only to feel an incomparably warm sensation.

Is this what the Heavenly Eye does? But why didn't I pass out after using that Golden Light this time? And what was that energy that entered my body?

A trace of doubt arose in Huo Yuhao's heart.

Tap, tap, tap.

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao's expression changed as he looked toward the courtyard gate. Several hurried sets of footsteps were rushing over from that direction.

Huo Yuhao gripped the sheathed short blade at his waist and gave Chai San a deep look. In the end, however, he lowered it. He planned to slip out through the small gate before anyone arrived and escape Duke White Tiger's Mansion ahead of time.

But after taking only a few steps, he stopped, as though he had thought of something. He looked toward the western side of the mansion, then decisively began moving. Clutching the thin bedding around his waist, he left through the small gate on the other side of the residence.

Less than five seconds after he left, six people surged in through the main gate. Their clothing was no different from Chai San's, making it clear that they were all servants from the Firewood Room of Duke White Tiger's Mansion.

"San!"

The moment they entered the courtyard, the six people were stunned by the sight before them.

Chai San lay on the ground like a corpse. If not for the rise and fall of his chest and abdomen, he might have been mistaken for dead.

The six hurried forward to inspect Chai San's body.

Yet something baffling happened. There were no injuries on the surface of Chai San's body, not even a single wound.

"This..." one of the servants said in astonishment as he looked at the others.

They looked at one another, none of them understanding what had happened.

But soon, one servant noticed the bundled branches lying on the ground nearby. He suddenly thought of something and hurried to the small gate on one side of the courtyard. He found it open, leading directly to a straight passageway. Disbelief immediately appeared on his face, but it quickly turned into excitement.

He rushed back into the courtyard and shouted excitedly, "That little bastard was the one who hurt him! He ran out through the back gate!"

At those words, the other five raised their heads at once.

The servant who had checked the small gate said excitedly, "Carry Chai San and let's go straight to Steward Wang."

"Aren't we taking Chai San to the medical room?" one servant asked, glancing at the unconscious Chai San.

"Take him with us to Steward Wang. He won't die anytime soon."

Hearing that, the others no longer hesitated. Together, they lifted Chai San and left the dilapidated Firewood Room.

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