Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night

"Grandmaster?"

Tang San's voice was ice-cold, carrying a chill that pushed people away. "Why have you been following us?"

Yu Xiaogang didn't notice the murderous intent lurking in Tang San's eyes. He coughed awkwardly, forced his back straight, and tried to salvage his dignity.

"Nonsense! What following? I... I was observing from the shadows! I was ensuring your safety!"

He strode quickly to Tang San and said urgently:

"Tang San, since I've been found out, I'll be direct. Take me with you! These loafers don't understand soul beasts at all. Only I can help you choose the perfect soul ring! I'm doing this for your own good!"

"For his own good?"

Su Yun pushed up his sunglasses, his voice flat as he cut in, directly interrupting Yu Xiaogang's self-righteousness:

"Old man, if I remember correctly, you've been skulking behind us ever since the south gate of Notting City."

Su Yun raised his wrist, pointing toward the fully armed patrol soldiers.

"A grown man, in the wilderness, hiding his tracks, tailing two children for a long time. That's called malicious intent, suspected abduction or kidnapping."

"I..."

Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened as he hurriedly defended himself, "I'm the Grandmaster of the academy! I'm protecting my students!"

"That's a title you gave yourself."

Su Yun couldn't even be bothered to look at him. He waved dismissively at Red Hair and said impatiently:

"Red Hair, go call that patrol captain over. Tell him we caught a suspicious stalker, red-handed, and we're handing him over to the authorities."

"On it, godfather!"

Red Hair had long been fed up with this old man. He rolled up his sleeves and turned to call over the armored soldiers.

"No! Don't call them!"

Yu Xiaogang was now truly panicked.

After all, he was born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Though cast out, he still considered himself a man of dignity.

If he were arrested as a perverted stalker and interrogated, what face would he have left? How could he ever show himself in the soul master world again?

More importantly, if he were expelled, he'd lose all chance to get close to Tang San.

And Tang San was his last hope for turning his life around.

Cold sweat beaded on Yu Xiaogang's forehead.

He had to offer something that would shut them up and make them willing to take him along.

He had to pay up!

"Wait! This is a misunderstanding!"

Yu Xiaogang's hands trembled as he thrust them into his chest, grabbing like a drowning man for a lifeline—the jade belt he'd treasured for years.

He held the belt high, looking pitifully at Su Yun.

"Young Master Su! Don't call the guards! This is a storage soul tool! It has twenty-four independent spaces! I'm willing to offer it to you!"

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth, his heart bleeding.

This was his most valuable treasure, his former glory, his last shred of dignity.

But seeing Su Yun's posture, ready to summon the guards at any moment, he had to go all in.

He held the belt with both hands, bowed humbly, and spoke in a near-begging tone.

"Young Master Su, as long as you don't call the guards and let me join the team... this belt is yours! As an apology!"

Su Yun didn't stand on ceremony. He reached out and grabbed it, wanting to see what kind of item this really was.

But the moment his fingertips touched the row of warm jade stones, Su Yun's pupils contracted sharply.

Hum—

A series of extremely fine, stable spatial fluctuations.

Su Yun's heart skipped a beat.

This wasn't just a simple storage device...

The storage ring he'd gotten before was usable, but the sample was too singular.

That had left the Earth physics team lacking an effective control group when building their spatial folding model.

But this thing was different!

Twenty-four jade stones meant twenty-four independent folded spaces!

It was like having only one lab mouse—you'd hesitate to dissect it.

But now someone had handed you two dozen mice, neatly caged and ready!...

With these twenty-four samples for parallel comparison, plus the ring as an external reference, the research progress back on Earth would absolutely skyrocket!

This is no ordinary belt.

This is clearly half the territory of spatial physics!

Though inwardly ecstatic, Su Yun remained as steady as an old dog on the surface.

He even deliberately furrowed his brow, as if sneering at the belt's outdated style, casually brushing off dust that wasn't there.

"Fine, for the sake of the Grandmaster making such a fuss at his age... I'll reluctantly accept this apology gift."

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's heart bled, but he could only force a smile, silently praying this little ancestor would just let the matter drop.

Meanwhile, Tang San's gaze stayed fixed on the belt.

Watching those twenty-four jade stones shimmering with a warm luster, his heart stirred with an uncharacteristic ripple.

This familiar structure, this specific number—it resembled that ancient bridge from his past life, laden with countless memories.

That sudden wave of homesickness made him unconsciously murmur a line of poetry etched into his bones:

"Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night..."

Though soft, his voice carried a wistful melancholy.

Yu Xiaogang, who had been hovering nearby waiting for a chance to speak, lit up.

"Excellent verse! Excellent verse!"

Yu Xiaogang's beard trembled with excitement as he stepped before Tang San.

"Cold and noble, with a profound, distant mood! Tang San, I never imagined that at your young age, not only are you gifted, but you possess such deep literary roots! A genius! Truly a master of both pen and sword!"

To curry favor with Tang San, the Grandmaster exhausted his lifetime vocabulary.

Tang San, caught off guard by this sudden barrage of flattery, had his nostalgic trance shattered, a flush of embarrassment creeping onto his face.

This poem was the work of an ancient—being praised like this by the Grandmaster only made him feel awkward.

But the speaker had no intent, while the listener took it to heart.

Behind Su Yun's glasses, his gaze turned meaningful.

Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night?

A poem by Du Mu?

On this Douluo Continent, where only martial souls and soul beasts existed, someone could casually recite a poem from Earth?

A playful curve tugged at Su Yun's lips.

It seemed the secrets on this little San were more interesting than I thought.

To test his hunch, Su Yun slung an arm around Tang San's shoulder, leaning in like a curious child.

"Oh? Little San, I never pegged you for a poet. But as the saying goes, 'Say half a verse, and you'll end up with no spouse.' Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night—what a beautiful image. What's the next line? Spill it for your buddy!"

Tang San stiffened, his gaze darting.

"It's... nothing. Just something I muttered."

"Come on!"

Su Yun pressed on, poking Tang San's warming cheek with a finger.

"We're brothers—why hide it? The Grandmaster's practically singing your praises. Come on, what's the next line?"

Tang San, cornered, had no choice.

Lowering his voice like a thief, he rushed through the second half:

"...Where does the jade lady teach the flute to play?"

He finished and immediately clamped his mouth shut, eyes wandering.