Several dozen yards away.
Tang San and Tang Hao had already gone far, yet that exchange still pierced through the wind and fell clearly into their ears.
"Pfft."
Tang San's steps suddenly halted. His chest heaved three times before he spat a mouthful of blood onto the grass at his feet.
Tang Hao held on for half a step longer, but his iron-gray face finally crumpled on the second step. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he too coughed up blood, staining the front of his clothes red.
Father and son stood in the woods with their backs to the direction of that laughter and cheer, silent for a long time.
The wind swept through the treetops, carrying away the stench of blood, but it could not carry away the thing called dignity that had been crushed beneath their feet.
Father and son quickened their pace.
About the time it took to burn an incense stick later, Tang San had completely left the bounds of Heaven Dou City.
All that remained around them were desolate mountains and wilderness, devoid of birds and beasts.
Tang San finally stopped.
His legs felt as though they had been filled with lead, and his knees buckled.
Thud!
Tang San dropped to his knees, trembling from head to toe.
His ten fingers dug fiercely into the dirt, his nails packed with pebbles and seeping blood, yet he felt none of it.
"Gu—Lin—yuan—"
He forced out each word through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse as though scraped by sandpaper.
"I hate you!"
"In this life, I will definitely take revenge on you!"
"AAAAAHHH—"
With that final cry, he completely lost control.
He threw back his head, veins bulging, his eyes red as blood. A beastlike roar burst from his throat.
The sound tore through the silence