First Meeting with Old Jack, Tang Hao's Disappearance Sparks Killing Intent

The carriage soon arrived at Holy Spirit Village.

After getting off the carriage, Tang San led Qi Lin and Xiao Wu toward his home.

They encountered quite a few villagers from Holy Spirit Village along the way. At this hour, the villagers were still busy with farm work.

When they saw Tang San returning with two unfamiliar children, surprise immediately flashed through their eyes.

Tang Hao had been gone for over a year, so they had thought Tang San would not be coming back either.

However, seeing Tang San return, they still greeted him warmly.

Yet their faces carried expressions of hesitation, as if they wanted to say something but held back.

Tang San did not notice this and merely smiled and nodded in response.

When he was young, all the money at home had been taken by his father, Tang Hao, to buy alcohol, so he had basically lived from one meal to the next.

Fortunately, out of respect for Old Jack, the villagers would occasionally help him out. Otherwise, malnutrition would have been the least of his problems.

After all, practicing the Tang Sect Secret Skills and the Mysterious Heaven Skill had been extremely draining for him as a child.

Without enough food to replenish his strength, how could he have kept training?

When they reached the edge of the village, Tang San pointed at a dilapidated sign in the distance and said with a smile, "That's my home!"

As he spoke, a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.

He had discovered that the area beside his home was overgrown with weeds, making it look as though it had been abandoned for a long time.

At that moment, Xiao Wu followed the direction Tang San was pointing and looked over as well.

When she saw the run-down house, there was no disdain in her eyes, but she still complained, "Xiao San, isn't your father a blacksmith?"

"How did he end up this miserable?"

Although most truly divine weapons on the Douluo Continent were top-tier tool martial spirits,

in small villages, blacksmiths could still forge all kinds of kitchenware and farming tools, making them fairly sought-after.

Take Lin the Blacksmith in Radish Village, for example. His family could not be considered wealthy, but they never lacked food or drink, and their house ranked among the best in Radish Village.

Tang San's mouth twitched slightly at her words.

How was he supposed to answer that?

He could hardly say that his father was a lifelong drunkard who spent every coin he earned from blacksmithing on alcohol, could he?

Qi Lin was not surprised at all. He patted Xiao Wu and said with a smile, "All right, Xiao Wu. Let's go in first!"

The moment they opened the door, dust billowed out from inside.

"Cough, cough!"

"What's going on?"

Xiao Wu coughed twice after being choked by the dust. She raised a hand and fanned the air before backing away.

As she retreated, she did not forget to pull Qi Lin with her.

Tang San frowned as well.

The house was a mess, with liquor bottles scattered everywhere. Combined with the dust filling the air, Tang San determined that no one had lived here for at least half a year.

No wonder the outside was already overgrown with weeds.

But where could his father have gone?

Just then, a kind voice suddenly sounded from the distance.

"Xiao San, is that you?"

The approaching man was somewhat short, his hair entirely white. He wore a warm, kindly smile and leaned on a cane.

His identity was obvious. He was none other than the village chief of Holy Spirit Village, Old Jack!

"Grandpa Village Chief!"

"Do you know where my father went?"

Tang San looked at Old Jack in surprise, then immediately asked about Tang Hao's whereabouts.

Old Jack shook his head and said, "Xiao San, I'm sorry!"

"I don't know where that fellow Tang Hao went. He disappeared on the day Nuoding Academy opened."

"I was worried it would affect your studies, so I never wrote to tell you."

Upon hearing Old Jack's words, Tang San's face went pale.

Across both his past and present lives, he had finally gained a father, only for him to vanish without a trace.

He had been missing for a year. He might have already been killed!

Damn it!

In an instant, Tang San's eyes turned bloodshot. He panted heavily, and the killing intent radiating from his eyes was icy and bone-piercing.

This immediately left Xiao Wu and Qi Lin beside him utterly astonished.

It was the first time either of them had seen Tang San make such an expression!

At that moment, Tang San stared fixedly at Old Jack and said in a low voice, "Grandpa Village Chief, please tell me. Over the years, who has held grudges against my father?"

He wanted revenge!

Since his father's life and death were unknown, he would capture everyone who had held a grudge against his father and interrogate them one by one.

He refused to believe he could not get to the bottom of it.

Looking at Tang San before him, Old Jack felt that the child he had watched grow up had become completely unfamiliar.

Still, it was understandable that he was worried about his father.

So Old Jack earnestly advised him, "Xiao San, I know you're worried about your father."

"But you're still too young. These are not matters you can handle right now."

"Although Tang Hao is not a qualified father, he is still a member of our Holy Spirit Village. I will help you look into his whereabouts."

"Once there is news of him, whether he is dead or alive, Grandpa Village Chief will tell you."

Hearing this, Tang San took a deep breath.

"Grandpa Village Chief, I'll listen to you!"

As he spoke, the expression on his face seemed to return to normal.

Yet inwardly, he dismissed Old Jack's words with disdain.

Old Jack had investigated for a whole year without finding the slightest clue. It would be better for Tang San to do it himself.

The Tang Sect had plenty of methods for coercive interrogation.

Meanwhile, Old Jack had no idea what Tang San was thinking. Hearing him say this, a pleased expression immediately appeared on his face.

"That's more like it!"

After saying that, Old Jack looked at Qi Lin and Xiao Wu beside him.

"You're Xiao San's friends, right?"

"Seeing Xiao San make friends at the academy truly makes me happy for him."

Old Jack said it sincerely.

Tang San had always been sensible in the past, but he had been too withdrawn and taciturn, never playing with children his own age.

Qi Lin looked at Old Jack with a cheerful smile.

In his previous life, many people had speculated about Old Jack's identity.

Some said he was a God King, while others claimed he was a Title Douluo, making him sound extremely mysterious.

But in Qi Lin's eyes, Old Jack was simply an ordinary, kind old man, with a temperament similar to Kro, the village chief of Radish Village.

He was a truly virtuous and respected elder!

"Hello, Grandpa. My name is Qi Lin, and she's Xiao Wu. We're both Tang San's classmates."

Qi Lin said politely.

Xiao Wu also spoke up brightly from the side.

"Hello, Grandpa!"

"Haha, hello to you too!"

Old Jack said with a chuckle.

He was very fond of lively, cheerful children like Xiao Wu.

"All right, children!"

"Xiao San's home has been abandoned for too long, so all of you can stay at my house."

"I happen to have plenty of empty rooms!"

Old Jack warmly invited the three of them.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She exchanged a glance with Qi Lin, and both of them looked toward Tang San.

After all, Tang San had invited them here, so they naturally had to see what he thought.

Tang San looked at the house that had been abandoned for a year. Noticing Qi Lin and Xiao Wu's gazes, he calmly nodded.

Old Jack was delighted at the sight.

It seemed Xiao San had truly changed a great deal!

At the same time, a sharp glint flashed through Tang San's eyes as he considered who in the village was most likely to have held a grudge against his father.

With his astonishing intellect, Tang San quickly settled on one target.

It was Duke, the village wine seller.

His father often bought alcohol from Duke's shop and had accumulated a considerable debt.

For that reason, Duke had repeatedly come to collect payment, only to be beaten by his father several times.

Duke was highly suspicious!

Therefore, Tang San planned to quietly sneak into Duke's home that night, capture him, and interrogate him thoroughly.

If he was the culprit, Tang San would never let him go.