Zhou Xiu

The next day.

Because the newly added missing-person notice needed its information revised again, the reward was changed from one million Gold Soul Coins to five million Gold Soul Coins.

Tang Hao therefore remained in the palace for a while longer.

And he indeed intended for the Iliza Royal Family to send someone to test Qing Yuhuan.

He knew it himself.

Five million Gold Soul Coins could not buy the hand of a Spirit Hall Pope's disciple.

But with the original Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone added in, that might not be the case.

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was enough to blind certain desperadoes with greed and make them risk their lives for an assassination.

And five million Gold Soul Coins were enough to make the Iliza Royal Family eagerly mobilize their intelligence department to investigate what Qing Yuhuan's Golden Finger ability was.

With the two combined, he felt that he would soon learn what the other's Golden Finger ability was.

It was just that—

"Why do these plans I've set up feel so familiar?"

Tang Hao frowned and searched through his memories, only to realize...

"Isn't this exactly the sort of method classic villains use against protagonists?"

Tang Hao's mouth twitched. He felt awkward. How had he unknowingly ended up in the villain's role?

It was even the classic villain plan of sending people over in waves to strengthen the opponent, then finally delivering himself straight to the slaughterhouse with one last reckless charge.

But after thinking it over, Tang Hao realized this seemed to be the only method available to him.

After all, he could not exactly carry his hammer to Spirit Hall's gates, only to have that old bastard Qian Daoliu take him out in one move.

Besides,

Gathering intelligence first, strengthening himself in the process, then landing a decisive blow against a rival company.

That had always been his habit.

"As long as I can get the information." Tang Hao murmured with a smile.

Thud!

Thud!

Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard. Tang Hao raised an eyebrow.

Those footsteps... were they Ye Xilan's?

No.

Although she did come every morning to treat him and speed up the healing of his injuries.

Those did not sound like a woman's footsteps.

They sounded more like a man's.

Outside the courtyard gates, Prince Ilir from last night appeared again. He respectfully called into the courtyard:

"Your Excellency, I have important information regarding Qing Yuhuan that I wish to report to you."

Qing Yuhuan?

So soon?

Tang Hao nodded. "All right, come in."

With a creak, the gates opened.

Because he liked peace and quiet, and cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Method was a private matter, there was no one besides him serving in the courtyard.

Therefore, Prince Ilir had to open the gates himself.

But—

Tang Hao's gaze passed over Prince Ilir's fat figure and landed on a long-haired youth behind him.

With sword-like brows and bright eyes, the youth wore a proud expression. His gaze upon Tang Hao was lofty and disdainful, and he casually held a blade of grass between his teeth, looking unruly and carefree.

"Your Excellency, this is one of my younger clansmen, Zhou Xiu. He knows a very important piece of information about Qing Yuhuan."

"Zhou Xiu?"

Tang Hao looked at him, his brows furrowing slightly as he instinctively sensed something was wrong.

But after only a moment, the frivolous Zhou Xiu revealed neat, pearly teeth and smiled.

"It's me, Big Brother Tang. Have you forgotten? I'm your brother in arms, your family and friend."

Brother in arms?

Family and friend?

Tang Hao's intuition screamed wildly. Every hair on his body seemed to be shouting at him that something was wrong!

Something was wrong!

But—

Tang Hao nodded and put on a look of sudden realization. "So it's you, younger clansman Zhou Xiu. You know something about Qing Yuhuan?"

Zhou Xiu's smile grew brighter, and his tone became even more casual. "What Qing Yuhuan? Tang Dog, I only came to have some fun with you."

"Oh, right. You there, fatso, you can get lost now."

"There's nothing for you to do here."

Prince Ilir instinctively disliked being called fatso, but upon second thought, this younger clansman of his had probably spent too long among commoners and been influenced by their crude language.

As his brother in arms, he ought to be more understanding.

So he nodded and left.

Seeing Prince Ilir leave so easily, Zhou Xiu curled his lip in disdain.

Sure enough, all trash.

Then again, this place was an absolute bottom-tier fantasy world. Trash was the norm here.

So what if the other man was a prince? He had merely used the ability of his Golden Finger, [Family and Friends, Brothers in Arms], and he could easily make everyone in the entire palace dance to his tune.

The Tang Hao before him was the same.

Tch. Before coming here, he had worried whether Tang Hao might have the Asura God's protection, some lingering divinity that could resist his ability.

But now it seemed Tang Dog was just Tang Dog. No Deity cared about him at all.

"Zhou Xiu." Tang Hao stood to the side with a dark expression, frowning as he said:

"Since you've come to my place, then as your elder brother, I have a duty to discipline you. You should be polite to others and not speak so foully."

"What? Polite?" Zhou Xiu sneered.

"You, a Tang Dog, are going to lecture someone like me, who transmigrated from the twenty-first century, about manners? What fucking right do you have?"

"Forget it. You're temporarily my elder brother, so I shouldn't curse you too harshly."

"Hurry up and give me that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone of your Wife's. I still haven't fused with a single Spirit Bone."

"Fuck, a beautiful woman like Ah Yin was actually ruined by you. That's downright disgusting."

Zhou Xiu spat and reached out to take the Silver Bracelet.

Tang Hao's gaze darkened as he watched Zhou Xiu use Soul Power to casually dump the treasures inside his Silver Bracelet onto the ground.

"Zhou Xiu."

"What? I'm your family and friend, your brother in arms. You aren't even willing to give me this little bit?"

"Hey, the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone really is here! Hahaha, once I fuse with it, I'll revive Ah Yin someday."

"By the way, where's Ah Yin? Hurry up and give her to me too. A hypocrite like you doesn't deserve her."

"Zhou Xiu." Tang Hao looked at the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone that had been dumped out, his voice low.

"Zhou my ass. Didn't you hear me talking to you? Hurry up. You should be content with having a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. I don't even have one yet."

"She is dead."

Tang Hao's voice suddenly became terrifyingly low in the courtyard, and an immense pressure slowly made Zhou Xiu realize that something was wrong.

"Wait? What are you doing?"

"I'm telling you, Tang Hao, I'm your brother. Your brother's Wife is my Wife. What's wrong with me using your Wife's Spirit Bone?"

"And Ah Yin is dead? Then you must have failed to protect her. You should be blaming yourself, yet you're saying this sort of thing to me. Are you worthy of the dead Ah Yin?"

"Are you worthy of your parents' upbringing?"

"I..."

Zhou Xiu staggered as Tang Hao suddenly pressed a hand onto his shoulder.

His body slowly stiffened. When Zhou Xiu raised his head in shock, he saw the deep chill in Tang Hao's eyes.

Tang Hao's voice was low, the coldness in his eyes surging as though it could swallow a mountain.

"Do you know, Zhou Xiu? In my life, what I hate most is when others insult my family and Wife."

"When I was young, I was poor. My family was destitute. I walked barefoot along the ridges between fields, terrified in my heart that I would spend my entire life buried beneath this yellow earth."

"But my father, my mother."

"They climbed mountains and worked the fields, using their rough, calloused hands to pull me up from those field ridges, giving me the chance to receive a complete education."

"They let me grow up and become capable."

"Though in the end, I still could not escape the fate of toiling my whole life."

"But—"

Tang Hao's voice was low and restrained as he picked up a steel rod.

"Since you are my brother, you should be even less willing to insult our family like this!"