[I don't understand~]
Why could other people offer him warmth and support, while his own biological father treated him as nothing but a cold tool, wantonly planning out his life without the slightest regard for what he wanted?
The candlelight flickered inside the room. One figure stood while the other stiffened, and a bone-chilling pressure filled the air.
Before long, Tang Hao left without lingering or asking after him.
He said only that he had something to take care of. Before Tang San could react, Tang Hao had already vanished from the room.
Just like when he'd arrived, he truly came without a trace and left without a shadow!
"Such terrifying speed! Even my Purple Demon Eye couldn't react in time!
Father must be an expert, and the Martial Soul in my left hand must have an extraordinary origin.
But... why does he treat me like this? I'm his own son!"
Tang San clenched his fingers until his knuckles turned pale and bluish.
The rage, grievance, and heartbreak roiling inside him refused to subside.
No fatherly love, no concern, not a single word of kindness—only two icy commands that brooked no disobedience.
Leave the Tang Sect and become Yu Xiaogang's disciple; grow close to Xiao Wu, with every step turned into a chess move.
He could even feel it clearly: in Tang Hao's eyes, he had never been a son, only a tool for carrying revenge, patience, and schemes.
That urge to cry, "You're seeking death!" had nearly burst from his throat, but in the end he forced it back down, leaving only a dull ache in his chest.
Tang San wanted to fight back, but the feudal teachings he'd received in his previous life had become invisible chains, tightening until he could barely breathe.
That was his biological father, his own flesh and blood.
"Ruler and subject, father and son. How could I possibly defy him?"
He lay on the soft bed. The accommodations were far better than anything in Holy Soul Village, yet with his mind weighed down by troubles, Tang San tossed and turned all night without sleep.
Outside the window, the sky shifted from pitch-black to the pale belly of dawn, then brightened fully. Tang San sat awake until morning, his eyes lined with faint red.
The gentle look in his eyes had also grown clouded with gloom.
After thinking it over for an entire night, perhaps with the system's help, Tang San ultimately decided not to obey Tang Hao's command.
No matter what, he wasn't leaving the Tang Sect!
Back then, he hadn't even feared death. Leaving because of a single order in this life would be downright laughable.
As for Xiao Wu...
"Let's see what the sect master thinks of Xiao Wu. If he doesn't have those kinds of feelings for her, then for Father's sake, perhaps I can get to know her first.
Even though her Martial Soul is a rabbit, which naturally counters my Blue Silver Grass, and her personality isn't the sort I like.
But it would count as honoring my parents, and I'm willing to heed their wishes.
But if the sect master has those kinds of feelings for Xiao Wu..."
A friend's wife was off-limits!
He didn't care about the other friends, but this was his beloved Brother Qin!
"I'm a member of the Tang Sect, a successor of Shu Han!
Brothers are like limbs, women like clothes. How could I ever do such a thing?"
Even if the person standing before him was his own father, Tang San could never bring himself to betray Qin Yun or repay kindness with ingratitude.
At daybreak, the soft clop of hooves sounded outside the courtyard gate.
Qin Yun had already rented a spacious carriage. Wearing a neat, practical outfit, he stood tall beside it, with Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng, both fully prepared, behind him.
The carriage was piled high with provisions: dried food, fresh water, Soul Power potions, healing salves, and all the tools they'd need for Soul Hunting.
The carriage cost five Silver Soul Coins to rent. From its appearance, it was clear that the horse wasn't an ordinary steed, but a crossbreed with Soul Beast blood.
That made sense. In the original story of Douluo I, the Soul Hunting Forest lay southeast of Nuoding City, nearly four hundred li away—or two hundred kilometers.
So how had Gangzi and the scrawny brat reached it in just a day and a half after climbing aboard a carriage?
At that speed, it had to be a Soul Beast or a horse with Soul Beast blood.
An ordinary horse would have collapsed from exhaustion before they even reached the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Everyone ready? Then let's go!"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Xiao Wu, wearing rabbit-ear ornaments, couldn't help pumping her fist and cheering.
Qin Yun smiled, then looked up at Tang San.
But... something seemed off about him.
"He was fine last night. Why's he suddenly like this? Could Tang Hao have visited him last night?"
The more Qin Yun looked at Tang San, the more it seemed that way.
But since Tang San hadn't brought it up, Qin Yun didn't want to draw attention to it, so he held his tongue.
"Xiao San, are you all right?"
"What could be wrong with Brother San? He's probably so excited about getting a Soul Ring that he couldn't sleep all night! I was excited last night too. I don't even know when I fell asleep." Wang Sheng scratched his head sheepishly.
"Brother Yun, don't worry. I'm fine.
Just like Wang Sheng said, I'm only a little excited."
"Good. As long as you're fine. If something's wrong, tell me. Remember... whatever it is, I'm here!"
[God King Tang's favorability +4, 75/100!]
The difference between people really was greater than the difference between people and dogs!
Tang San took a deep breath, forcing down all the turmoil inside him, then picked up his pack and silently climbed into the carriage.
Xiao Wu was lively and talkative. The moment she got aboard, she chattered nonstop, while Wang Sheng sat stiffly in a corner, his eyes brimming with anticipation and nerves about the Soul Hunting Forest.
The carriage was warm and bustling, which only made Tang San, sitting by the window, seem all the more withdrawn.
Qin Yun swung himself up onto the driver's seat outside, flicked the reins, and guided the carriage along the stone road. The hooves rang out crisply as they slowly left Nuoding City behind.
Halfway along the road, Tang San made an excuse to lift the curtain and step outside, then quietly sat beside Qin Yun.
The morning breeze was cool, stirring their hems as the carriage rolled onward. With the town's clamor behind them, only the wind through the grass and trees remained.
They sat side by side for a long while without speaking.
Tang San tugged at the corner of his clothes, his fingertips tightening slightly.
The shock Tang Hao had brought the previous night had been too great. Those two icy commands and that utterly indifferent gaze had lodged like a thorn in his heart.
He understood his father less and less. What secrets did that slovenly, down-and-out man who drank all day long conceal?
He wanted to know the truth, yet feared it might be too cruel.
After hesitating for a long time, Tang San finally lowered his voice and broke the silence.
When he spoke, his voice was faintly hoarse.
"Brother Yun, I... I'd like to ask you about something."
Qin Yun's hand paused on the reins. He turned to look at Tang San, his expression calm. "Go ahead."
Tang San lowered his eyes, gazing at his clasped hands. His voice was soft.
"Brother Yun, do you know of any powerful figures on the continent who have a hammer for a Martial Soul, are around forty or fifty years old, lost their wives at a young age, and then suddenly vanished without a trace?"
He'd practically come right out and asked whether Qin Yun knew Tang Hao!
But since you've asked, don't blame me for adding a little extra.
After all, if you don't seize the high ground in public opinion, your enemy will!
"A hammer for a Martial Soul? I know a few.
There's a city called Gengxin in the Star Luo Empire. The Blacksmith Association is based there, and quite a few Soul Masters in the city have Martial Souls related to hammers.
But you couldn't exactly call those people powerful.
As for a truly powerful figure whose Martial Soul is a hammer, I know of only one!"
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