The Truth of That Night

"Greetings, Lord Feng Lin."

Inside the hospital room, Yan leaned against the headboard and nodded at Feng Lin as he approached.

"Child, there's no need to be nervous."

Seeing Yan move so cautiously, Feng Lin assumed he was overly nervous. He stopped behind Liya instead of coming closer and gave Yan a kindly smile. However, perhaps because he had not smiled in a long time, it only made him look even more frightening.

While Feng Lin tried to win Yan's goodwill, Yan was also observing this Soul King. To be fair, he did owe this man some thanks.

Though he had calculated many steps in advance, things had still gone wrong during the actual execution. If this man had not caught him in midair that night, who knew how badly injured he would be now.

"Child, I have something I'd like to ask you."

Feng Lin deliberately slowed his speech to sound gentle, then looked at Yan and asked, "That day, when Rassoul—that bad man—was chasing you, did someone else intervene?"

Feng Lin still had doubts about what had happened that night. Rassoul was indeed dead, but who had killed him? The child before him had not even obtained a soul ring, so it was impossible for him to use such a terrifying soul skill. Had someone acted in secret? He desperately wanted more information so he could uncover the truth.

After pretending to think for a while, Yan said, "Lord Feng Lin, I don't think there was anyone else that day. I don't know what happened either. I only remember that the flour seemed to catch fire, then I heard a loud boom, and my whole body was sent flying."

"Flour? Are you certain, child?"

Feng Lin was puzzled by Yan's answer. Could flour really cause such a huge commotion? He simply could not believe it. Yet after repeatedly confirming Yan's words, Feng Lin could only leave with a belly full of doubts.

"Child, get some proper rest first."

Feng Lin bade Yan farewell, exchanged a few words with Liya, then turned and left the hospital room. It was unclear whether he had gone to verify Yan's claim or attend to something else.

"Little Yan, how are you feeling now?"

After Feng Lin left, Liya once again worried over Yan's condition. Though she had been caring for and treating him these past few days, she could not help being concerned. The Yan they had rescued that day had truly been too terrifying.

Whenever she recalled the child who had been handed over to her that day, charred black all over and burning hot, lingering fear filled her heart. If Yan had not lured Rassoul away that night, their entire group might have met with disaster. At the very least, she most likely would not have escaped certain fates.

"I'm fine now."

Yan shook his head. Before choosing to wake up, he had already used his intelligent brain to examine his condition. Other than being mentally exhausted, he had no other problems.

It had to be said that the martial souls and soul skills of this Douluo world were truly miraculous. Not to mention those bizarre combat soul skills, Liya's healing-type soul skill alone had pulled him back from the brink of death. It was downright overpowered.

Of course, he had only dared to plot Rassoul's death that night after making precise calculations. His martial soul had also played a major role in it.

Rassoul probably never imagined that Yan had been plotting against him from the very first sound he made. He had deliberately created a disturbance, making the other man think he was merely a little boy crying his eyes out, thereby lowering his guard.

When that Evil Soul Master let down his defenses, came face-to-face with him, and got a face full of lime powder, the man had already stepped halfway into a death trap.

Every subsequent step of the plan—using water to inflict secondary damage, luring him into the storeroom, and using flour to trigger a dust explosion—had all been calculated by Yan's intelligent brain.

Through calculation and ingenuity, he had first used the extreme heat of his martial soul to heat the lime powder, then gradually led the man into the sealed storeroom.

This part of the plan had been crucial. He knew there was a large amount of flour stored in the room. Before they had checked in during the day, he and the other little brats had even played hide-and-seek in the storeroom, so the matter had left a deep impression on him.

The next step had been the most dangerous. The sealed storeroom was cramped, greatly limiting his range of movement and making it easier for the other man to catch him. He had nearly died then.

Fortunately, flour had already been scattered all over the floor, and the concentration of dust in the air had gone through the roof. Once his intelligent brain detected that the conditions for a dust explosion had been met, he decisively released his martial soul completely at the critical moment.

The powerful flames innate to the Flame Lord martial soul triggered the explosion. His fire immunity and the powerful body granted by his martial soul reduced the blast damage to a minimum. So what if Rassoul was a Soul Ancestor? Yan was the one still alive. In the end, he had won that contest.

Yan sat against the headboard and chatted with Liya before he could not help asking about their current situation. "Sister Liya, where are we now?"

Liya gently stroked Yan's forehead and said softly, "Little Yan, after you were injured that day, Lord Feng Lin brought us to San Erves City, forty li from Maplewood Town. We're currently at the Spirit Hall in San Erves City. You've been unconscious for nearly two days."

"San Erves City, forty li from Maplewood Town. That isn't too far."

Yan smiled at her words and glanced at the mild, warm sunlight outside the window. Leaning slightly against the headboard, he thought for a moment before turning back to Liya with a smile. "By the way, Sister Liya, I'm so bored lying in bed. Could you find me some books? Preferably ones about soul beasts."

Liya nodded, then could not resist patting Yan's little head again. Smiling, she stood up and said, "Little Yan wants to read? This Spirit Hall seems to have a small library. I'll go take a look."

Yan watched Liya leave. His smile remained unchanged until she had left the room. Only when no one was around did he slump sideways in relief. "Ah! The crisis is over. Now I need to keep my head down and not get reckless. Learning more through books is the way to go. Knowledge is power."

At the Spirit Hall in San Erves City, warm sunlight streamed through the windows and fell across the floor. A faint glow filled the entire room with light. Yan, who had still been ordered to recuperate, lay against the headboard with a thick illustrated guide to soul beasts in his hands.

After turning the final page, Yan placed the thick book—heavy enough to serve as a pillow—on the cabinet beside him and rubbed his sore eyes. His expression, however, was not very pleasant.

"There's something wrong with my martial soul. What a pain."

He relaxed and slumped against the headboard, running both hands through his long, bird's-nest-like hair. As he turned one palm upward slightly, his skin was immediately covered in granite-like patterns. Dark crimson flames coiled in his palm, and the temperature in the room rose sharply.