Tang San Questioned His Own Reality

There was no other possibility he could think of.

But the thought left him puzzled.

Why would the other person impersonate his father?

What would be the point?

His father was just an ordinary blacksmith, and he was just an ordinary villager. There was nothing about them that would attract the other person's attention.

As he was pondering this, Tang Hao came in carrying a coarse porcelain bowl. Golden chicken soup wafted inside, oil shimmering gently on the surface, with two plump white eggs nestled in it.

"Here, drink slowly." Tang Hao set the bowl on the little stool beside the bed, carefully helped Tang San sit up, then propped an old, worn-out cotton cushion behind him. "I just finished making it. It's cooled down, so it won't burn your mouth."

Tang San looked at the bowl of chicken soup. His throat bobbed, but he didn't reach for it right away. Instead, he sneaked a glance at Tang Hao.

His father's hair was still a mess, and there was dust on his clothes, but the usual murkiness was gone from his eyes.

"Dad..." Tang San hesitated, his voice still a little hoarse. "Why... aren't you drinking today?"

Tang Hao paused, then scratched his head, a trace of awkward redness appearing on his face. "I'm not drinking anymore. Drinking causes trouble... I won't drink again."

He picked up a spoonful of clear chicken soup, blew on it, then brought it to Tang San's lips. "Drink up. It'll help you get your strength back."

The warm chicken soup slid down his throat, rich with flavor, and filled Tang San with warmth.

He couldn't help drinking a few more mouthfuls, but his eyes never left Tang Hao's face.

Tang Hao was treating him so well that Tang San couldn't get used to it. He felt there was something wrong with his father.

Tang San sipped the chicken soup, his peripheral vision fixed on Tang Hao.

The chicken in the bowl had been stewed until tender, melting in his mouth with the slightest press of his tongue. The egg yolk was soft and silky. This was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten.

But doubts surged in his heart like the tide.

His father used to either hammer away at iron in the smithy or drink himself into a stupor with a wine jar in his arms. He rarely even looked at Tang San, much less made him chicken soup with his own hands.

Even when he occasionally showed concern, his tone was always gruff. He was nothing like this, with such cautious tenderness in his eyes.

"Dad, where did you get this chicken?" Tang San couldn't help asking, his voice tinged with suspicion.

Tang Hao was treating him far too well. It was enough to make him question his own reality.

He knew how things were at home. Even money for rice was tight. How could they afford a chicken?

Tang Hao was wiping the oil from the corner of Tang San's mouth with a cloth. At the question, he paused, his eyes darting away. "...I got it on credit from the butcher next door, Wang. Once I finish this batch of farm tools over the next few days, I can pay him back."

Tang San murmured an acknowledgment and didn't press further, but the doubts in his heart only grew.

After Tang San finished the soup, Tang Hao took the bowl and went out, leaving him alone in the bedroom.

Tang San couldn't help letting his thoughts run wild. He truly couldn't understand what had made Tang Hao change so much.

Still, he had to admit he liked this side of Tang Hao. It made him feel the deep warmth of a father's love.

Before, he'd naturally had some complaints about Tang Hao, because his father had never really looked after him.

After a while, Tang Hao came back in and sat beside Tang San.

Looking at him, Tang Hao sighed inwardly. "Xiao San, after a while, I'll teach you how to forge iron."

Tang San was his and Ah Yin's child, after all. He needed to take good care of him.

"Forge iron?" Tang San froze, his dark eyes full of surprise.

He'd watched his father toil in the smithy since he was little. The clang of a hammer striking an anvil was the most familiar background sound in Holy Soul Village.

But his father had never said he would teach him. When Tang San had tried to get a closer look, his father had even impatiently waved him away.

"Mm." Tang Hao nodded. His rough palm rubbed lightly over his knee, as if he were gathering his thoughts. "It never hurts to learn a trade. Even if you don't become a Soul Master, you'll still be able to make a living with it."

Tang Hao had noticed before that Tang San was always making little things and liked watching him forge iron, but he hadn't paid it much attention.

Now that Tang San would be going to school soon, Tang Hao planned to teach him blacksmithing. At least then Tang San would have a way to earn money.

Tang San looked at Tang Hao's serious profile and forgot what he was going to say.

Sparks flying from the anvil, the muffled thud of the hammer, his father's sweat-soaked back... Those images surged through his mind, both strange and familiar.

"Why... do you suddenly want to teach me?" Tang San's voice was quiet, tinged with disbelief.

Tang Hao thought for a moment. "You're going to school soon. If I teach you, you'll have a way to earn money."

Tang San nodded hard, then buried his face in the quilt and secretly rubbed away the dampness at the corners of his eyes.

It wasn't his imagination. His father really had changed.

Meanwhile, in the cave.

"That was a comfortable sleep."

Xu Yuan got up from the ground and stretched his limbs as he spoke.

He truly hadn't expected to fall asleep while absorbing a Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.

It was a first in history, and would never be repeated.

But then he thought about how he could fly now, and how he had gained the miraculous skill of "wildfire never dies, spring winds bring new life."

That skill could let his body heal itself. Even severed limbs could grow back on their own.

The Blue Silver Domain and places full of Blue Silver Grass were both extremely favorable to this Soul Skill.

God King Tang San appeared in front of Xu Yuan and said, "All right, let's go back. I have more to teach you once we're there."

"Yes, my lord." Xu Yuan collected himself and answered respectfully, though a flicker of understanding flashed through his eyes.

God King Tang San was worried that if he lingered outside too long, something unexpected might happen.

Xu Yuan followed God King Tang San out of the cave. The night was like a velvet cloth soaked in ink, wrapping the mountains and forest tightly.

Insects chirped in waves among the trees. Now and then, a night bird flapped past, stirring a faint rustle of wind.

"My lord, was that sudden drowsiness while absorbing the Soul Bone a normal reaction to it merging with my body?" Xu Yuan asked, his footsteps rustling over the fallen leaves.

God King Tang San gave a slight nod. "That's right."

Xu Yuan nodded to show he understood, then used the flying ability of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone to hurry toward the village.

His body skimmed lightly over the low shrubs, wind roaring in his ears.

He deliberately kept his speed in check, following behind God King Tang San's blue phantom at a measured distance.

After a while, Xu Yuan returned home.

The first thing Xu Yuan did after getting home was head to the kitchen and start cooking.

He hadn't eaten lunch, and he felt absolutely famished.

God King Tang San watched Xu Yuan cook for a moment, then returned to Xu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.

When he had first awakened, he had been inside Xu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.