Tang Ya: You Must Take Responsibility

"Xiao Ran, you're so good to me!"

Tang Ya happily accepted the food and wolfed down two bites before suddenly becoming careful again, savoring it in small mouthfuls as though she were eating some priceless treasure.

"Xiao Ran, did your mother prepare this for you? It's so delicious! Ever since my father and mother passed away, I haven't had food this good in a very long time."

Tang Ya's voice was low and despondent.

Her mother had also been an excellent cook, but ever since her sect had been destroyed and her parents brutally killed, she had not eaten a single proper meal, much less such a delicacy.

Lin Ran glanced at Tang Ya.

The pretty face that had been playful and cheerful before was now filled with sorrow. Beneath her long lashes, her lively eyes had lost their light as she gazed mistily at the lunchbox in her hands.

The girl was not truly heartless and carefree after all. Her optimism and liveliness were merely a protective mask; her heart was filled with grief and hatred.

Otherwise, she would not have charged into the Iron Blood Sect with the resolve to die in the Original Work.

Lin Ran said evenly, "My mother didn't make this. I'm actually an orphan too. I was abandoned when I was little, and I don't know who my parents are."

Tang Ya abruptly raised her head. Her eyes were slightly red as she stared blankly at Lin Ran.

Unlike in the Original Work, she did not say that classic line, "That's great." Instead, she felt a tenderness and pity for him as a fellow soul cast adrift in the world, and some of the sorrow in her heart faded as well.

Lin Ran continued, "Later, I was adopted, and everything got better. She treats me very well. She prepared this food for me. If you want some in the future, you can come to my home. I'll introduce you to her."

"...Mm." Tang Ya lowered her head and continued eating the food in her hands.

Lin Ran said gently, "Things will get better for you in the future too. Look, haven't you met me now? Maybe I'm the person who'll become the turning point that makes your life better?"

Tang Ya looked up and stared blankly at the young man gently comforting her.

His personality had clearly been so awful before, and he had been neither warm nor cold toward her. Yet at this very moment, he was so—gentle.

"What do you mean, 'turning point'? That sounds awful."

The girl broke into a smile through her tears, lowered her head, and continued eating the rest of the meal. She quickly finished it, then reached out to Lin Ran again. "I want more!"

Lin Ran said, "...You can really eat, can't you?"

Tang Ya lifted her chin. "Didn't you say my future would get better after meeting you? Having delicious food is part of getting better for me too. You have to take responsibility!"

Lin Ran's mouth twitched as he took out another boxed meal.

He did not know whether it was his imagination, but he felt that there was something more behind Tang Ya's words.

Take responsibility? It couldn't mean that he was supposed to take responsibility for Tang Ya's future, could it?

The Star Dou Great Forest was located in the central region of the former Douluo Continent, while Shrek City had been built on the former site of Spirit City from ten thousand years ago. It stood at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest and at the intersection of the Star Luo Empire, Heaven Dou Empire, and Dou Ling Empire.

Those from the Heaven Dou Empire and Dou Ling Empire who wished to travel to the Star Dou Great Forest generally had to pass through Shrek City.

Five days later, Lin Ran and Tang Ya had arrived near Shrek City. Seeing that the sky had already darkened, and being curious about Shrek City himself, Lin Ran decided to go into the city for a look.

The two rented a double room at an inn in Shrek City.

Under the soft lamplight in the room, the girl's skin looked especially fair.

A sly smile flickered in Tang Ya's eyes as she asked in a teasing tone, "Was this really the only room left at the inn? Or did you deliberately use that as an excuse so you could share a room with me?"

Lin Ran rolled his eyes at her. "...If you say so."

Tang Ya immediately smiled smugly, lifting her smooth chin as her high ponytail swayed back and forth.

"So that's how it is! I knew you were coveting this young lady's beauty! The books were right after all. Those unofficial histories preserved in the sect aren't completely useless!"

"What unofficial history?" Lin Ran asked as he prepared to wash up.

Tang Ya said, "I only happened to see it once. That unofficial history was actually an ancient book, and it was surprisingly a memoir written from the perspective of Xiao Wu, the Sea God's beloved.

"It said that Lord Sea God once used the excuse, 'There's only one room left at the inn,' in an attempt to stay in the same room as his beloved Xiao Wu, intending something improper. But clever and quick-witted Xiao Wu saw through him. She simply went along with it and successfully brought the two of them closer together."

Lin Ran's mouth twitched.

An unofficial history was certainly unofficial, but it was not necessarily untrue.

Perhaps that book really had been written by Xiao Wu.

After traveling for several days without a place to rest, Lin Ran felt uncomfortable all over.

After he finished bathing, Tang Ya went to take a bath as well.

Half an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.

Lin Ran looked over intently. Her originally fair skin had become rosy and translucent, while her youthful body was only just beginning to blossom. Her pretty face was faintly flushed, and her hair was still tied in a high ponytail, with droplets of water clinging to it.

The girl was unusually a little shy. In a flash, she burrowed beneath her quilt, leaving only her small head exposed as her dark eyes watched Lin Ran's reaction.

Lin Ran calmly withdrew his gaze and sat cross-legged to cultivate.

Tang Ya pursed her lips and lay on the bed, thinking about what she had to do tomorrow.

Though her great revenge was about to be fulfilled, she became increasingly uneasy. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

A moment later, by the moonlight, she looked at Lin Ran as he cultivated and softly asked, "Do you think Shrek Academy will help me take revenge tomorrow?"

Lin Ran fell silent. He remembered that they had not in the Original Work.

Tang Ya continued speaking to herself, "They should, right? The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy have shared a friendship spanning ten thousand years. The strongest member of the Iron Blood Sect is only a Soul Emperor. Shrek Academy could easily avenge me."

She was not asking for Lin Ran's opinion; she was trying to convince herself.

She feared that Shrek Academy, like the Clear Sky Sect, would turn a blind eye to her plea for help. If that happened, she truly did not know what she would do in the future or where she could go.

Lin Ran opened his eyes, glanced at the expectant girl, fell silent for a moment, then said, "The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy have had a friendship for ten thousand years. By all reason, they should help you take revenge."

"Right?" Having received confirmation, Tang Ya immediately felt at ease.

Lin Ran continued, "Even if they don't, it doesn't matter. Aren't I here?"

Tang Ya said nothing. She merely turned over, her clear, bright Phoenix Eyes watching Lin Ran in the moonlight. As she watched him, she gradually drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Early the next morning, Tang Ya eagerly headed for Shrek Academy.

Shrek Academy had exclusive use of one of Shrek City's gates: the eastern gate of Shrek City was also Shrek Academy's entrance.

Several young men and women stood at the entrance, dressed in Shrek Academy uniforms and standing guard.

As soon as Tang Ya arrived, they stopped her.

"Outsiders are forbidden from entering Shrek Academy."

Tang Ya said, "I'm from the Tang Sect. I have urgent business with the academy's dean."

As she spoke, she took out a token and showed it to them.

The students exchanged looks. Then one of them said, "Please wait a moment. I'll report this at once."

Tang Ya waited patiently.

Meanwhile, Lin Ran fixed his blazing gaze upon the towering statues of Tang San, Yu Xiao Gang, and the others within Shrek Academy.

[An item matching the mission objective has been detected. Collect it?]

[An item matching the mission objective has been detected. Collect it?]

[An item matching the mission objective has been detected. Collect it?]

Several notifications rang out in his mind in quick succession.