"Hm? Going to Grandpa Jack's house for dinner?" Tang San watched Lin Yu's retreating figure in puzzlement and rubbed his little head.
However, Tang San was a dutiful son, so he naturally couldn't leave his father behind and go eat at Jack's house. After standing there dazed for a moment, he headed toward his own home.
"Dad, I'm back." The moment Tang San stepped inside, he called eagerly for his father.
As his voice faded, a disheveled middle-aged man emerged from the inner room. He merely glanced at Tang San before looking away again.
"You don't need to make dinner today. Figure something out for yourself." With that, Tang Hao picked up his wine bottle and walked out, leaving Tang San alone in the house.
Though Tang Hao had been terribly despondent for years, he was still a Titled Douluo. Nothing that had happened outside had escaped his notice, so he knew Lin Yu had invited Tang San to Old Jack's house for dinner.
Seeing Tang San's thin little figure, he had decided to let him go to Old Jack's place and get a decent meal.
Besides, Old Jack was the village chief of Holy Soul Village, so one more mouth to feed wouldn't be a problem.
"What about you, Dad?" Tang San felt a little disappointed at Tang Hao's words. But he had never known a father's love. Tang Hao had always ignored him, though in the beginning he had at least cooked for him now and then.
As time passed and Tang San started cooking for himself, Tang Hao stopped bothering with everything altogether.
The family was so poor they didn't even have proper tables and chairs, and getting enough to eat was a problem. The main reason was that Tang Hao spent his meager earnings as a blacksmith on wine.
But for Tang San, who had always been starved of affection, even that had been enough to make him feel content.
"Me? I'm going out for a drink." After that, Tang Hao didn't bother with Tang San any further and disappeared from his sight.
Watching Tang Hao leave, Tang San tidied up and then slowly made his way to Jack's house.
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Lin Yu's voice rang in Old Jack's ears once more.
Old Jack had already cleaned the rabbit Lin Yu had brought home. All that remained was to put it in the pot.
"You're back, Xiao Yu. Where's Xiao San?" Old Jack turned around with a smile and looked past Lin Yu.
"Tang San hasn't come yet. I told him about it, then came back first." Lin Yu pursed his lips but still answered Old Jack. Then he eagerly went over to the rabbit, which had been cleaned spotless.
"You little glutton, couldn't you wait a bit longer?" Old Jack didn't scold Lin Yu. Instead, he smiled at him as he crouched beside the rabbit.
"Since you invited him, let's see whether Xiao San comes.
"Don't rush. I'll cook it for you now, but the spicy rabbit head will still take a while. Go play outside for now." As he spoke, Old Jack shooed Lin Yu out.
He had learned about spicy rabbit head from Lin Yu.
After finding Lin Yu, Old Jack had raised him like his own grandson. But even after Lin Yu turned one, he still couldn't talk, and that had worried Old Jack sick. He'd thought the child might have some kind of condition.
Then, when Lin Yu was around three, he finally learned to speak.
His first word was perfectly normal: "Grandpa."
But his second was "spicy rabbit head," which left Old Jack at a loss between laughter and tears.
Old Jack didn't know how to make spicy rabbit head, though. In the end, it was Lin Yu who helped him prepare the first batch in the Douluo Continent.
"Grandpa Jack." Tang San's childish voice came from outside.
"Xiao San, you're here? Just in time. Come on in and sit down to eat." Old Jack was delighted to hear Tang San and immediately invited him inside.
Then Old Jack brought out the rabbit meat. The spicy rabbit head placed in the middle was the most eye-catching dish.
"Xiao San, dig in. You're so thin, and your father doesn't seem to feed you properly. This is the rabbit Xiao Yu brought back. Go on, see how it tastes." Looking proudly at the two little boys, Old Jack served rabbit meat into each of their bowls.
When Tang San heard Lin Yu had brought back the rabbit, surprise finally showed in his eyes.
After all, the presence of Soul Power in the Douluo World meant that people here grew faster than children in his old world.
But they were still only three-year-old children, with the minds of three-year-olds.
And Lin Yu didn't seem to have a treasure like the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. The fact that a three-year-old could catch such a plump rabbit made Tang San discreetly turn his attention toward Lin Yu.
Lin Yu, however, didn't care what Tang San was thinking. He was focused on the spicy rabbit head in front of him.
"Stop spacing out and try the spicy rabbit head!" Lin Yu said, placing a piece of meat from the dish into Tang San's bowl.
Then he watched Tang San's expression with a smile.
Sure enough, as soon as Tang San swallowed his first bite, his eyes lit up.
He stopped holding back and began to eat with gusto.
"Step one, success." Lin Yu smiled faintly at Tang San's reaction.
The rabbit's body contained Soul Power—not much, and all of it had been absorbed naturally by the rabbit—but even that bit of Soul Power had made its meat exceptionally delicious.
With all three of them eating heartily, the rabbit Lin Yu had brought back was soon reduced to nothing but bones.
"That was delicious. I've never eaten anything this good before." After they finished, Tang San rubbed his belly, still wanting more, but his eyes remained fixed on the plate that had held the spicy rabbit head.
"That's no problem. There are rabbits all over the back mountain. If you want some, just go catch one!" Lin Yu's lips curled up at Tang San's words.
He knew he'd succeeded in tempting Tang San to eat rabbit.
After all, though Tang San possessed the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, he was still just a three-year-old child. The only Soul Beasts he could handle at the moment were small animals like rabbits. The others were far beyond him.
And Tang Hao certainly wouldn't go out to catch Soul Beasts for Tang San to eat. So Tang San would have to do it himself.
Thinking of that, Lin Yu had another question.
Could Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, tell that Tang San had eaten so much rabbit?
Lin Yu's lips curled up again. After all, this world had mystical powers, so all sorts of strange things were possible.
"Xiao Yu, why's your mouth crooked?" Tang San looked at Lin Yu in confusion. He didn't understand why Lin Yu's mouth had curled into such a strange shape. Didn't it feel weird or uncomfortable?
At Tang San's words, Lin Yu's raised lips stiffened, and he quickly straightened them.
"Damn, I got carried away. I'm no Dragon King. How can I smirk like that?" Lin Yu forced his unruly mouth back into place with his hand.
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