With his small frame, Tang Wulin quickly slipped through the gaps between the thugs.
They tried to stop him, but Tang Heng gave them no chance.
That strange fishhook hit its mark every time. The tremendous force from the other end of the rod dragged whoever it caught straight toward Tang Heng.
The ones hooked had no chance to steady themselves. A golden dragon punch came flying right at them.
With that terrifying strength and the weight of dragon scales like metal, these grown men were as fragile as toys in front of a child of about six. Tang Heng could take out a thug with a single punch.
By the time Tang Wulin reached the silver-haired girl, Tang Heng had already finished the fight.
That was the caliber of a ten-year PvP player. Did they even know how many things you could do with a fishing rod besides fish?
The thugs lay sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain.
"Based on what you just did, I strongly suspect you're human traffickers. I've already notified the teachers at Red Mountain Academy. You can wait here and face the full force of the law."
Tang Heng took out his communicator and briefly explained the situation to Lin Ximeng.
Red Mountain Primary Soul Master Academy was nearby, and children passed through the area all the time. Surely the school would take the appearance of a group of child kidnappers seriously.
The thugs wanted to run, but Tang Heng had already broken their legs. Even if they could crawl, they wouldn't get far.
His dragon claw dissolved into motes of light, and the fishing rod returned to his inventory.
Tang Heng turned and looked at the girl huddled in the corner.
She looked up. Her once-empty purple eyes now reflected his figure.
The boy's heroic figure had been like a pebble dropped into her dead, still heart.
And for some reason, the two boys in front of her felt familiar... like an older brother and a father.
Tang Heng felt it too, even more intensely than he had with Tang Wulin.
Perhaps it was because Na'er was the other half of the Silver Dragon King. Unlike his little brother, she didn't have eighteen seals suppressing the Gold Dragon King inside her.
"Don't be scared anymore. My big brother chased all the bad guys away."
Tang Wulin beamed and crouched in front of the girl, trying to comfort her.
"My name is Tang Wulin, and this is my big brother, Tang Heng. Where do you live? We can take you home, okay?"
The girl shakily got to her feet and patted down her dirty skirt. In a timid voice, she said, "M-my name is Na'er. I don't remember where my home is..."
"If you don't remember, just come back with us for now. You can eat, take a bath, and all that." Tang Heng walked over and held out a hand, his tone calm.
Na'er hesitated, but she couldn't sense the malice she'd felt from the others. She reached out her cold little hand and placed it in his palm.
A little dirty, but still pretty smooth and soft.
As he took Na'er's small hand, Tang Heng made this assessment in his mind.
But perhaps because Na'er had lost her memory, and because her Martial Soul hadn't awakened yet after taking human form, she hadn't immediately disrupted the balance between the source powers of the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings in his body.
Did this power bank come with a delay?
But none of that mattered. As long as he got Na'er home first, he'd have plenty of time to figure out how to use her.
That evening, the atmosphere around the Tang family dinner table was a little strange.
Lang Yue and Tang Ziran looked at the three little ones wolfing down their food, unsure what to make of it.
From what Tang Heng had told them, the little girl named Na'er seemed to have lost her memory and didn't remember who her parents were. She'd also just been targeted by human traffickers and had nearly been kidnapped and sold.
As a mother, Lang Yue couldn't bear to turn away a girl a year younger than her own children. She'd bathed Na'er and changed her into clean clothes, then made extra food in case there wasn't enough.
It was just that Na'er looked so tiny and frail.
But her appetite was almost as big as the two brothers'.
"Dad, I feel so bad for Na'er. Can we adopt her?"
Tang Wulin said, shoving another rib into his mouth as he spoke to Tang Ziran across the table.
"I'll find a way to help with the household expenses, too. My old book got banned, but I've already started working on a new serial. I have a feeling this one's going to be a hit."
Tang Heng looked completely confident. He'd thoroughly reworked the story of Great Love Immortal Venerable himself. It fit the title perfectly and was full of wholesome, positive energy. There was no way it would get banned this time.
Tang Ziran looked at his sons' young but earnest faces and smiled.
"Silly boys, taking care of the family is my responsibility. If Na'er really has nowhere else to go, of course we can adopt her. It just means setting one more place at the table."
Easy for him to say. He could barely manage with just two kids, and in this life he had me to support as well.
Seeing his dad's earnest expression, Tang Heng, who knew the story, could only complain silently to himself.
Still, it showed that his dad was a decent man: hardworking, devoted to the family, and caring toward his wife and children. He was the very model of a good husband.
At least with him and Lang Yue raising Wulin in the early years, the boy had turned out pretty normal.
He didn't want to get into whether human nature was good or evil.
But with him in the picture this time around, the future was bound to change in ways no one could predict.
"Hehe, Na'er, did you hear that? You're part of our family now. I finally have a little sister!" Tang Wulin looked delighted and gave Na'er a big hug.
"Th-thank you, Wulin gege, and... Heng gege."
Na'er answered timidly, then stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth. Her words came out a little muffled.
"Hahaha, take your time. If you're still hungry, I'll have your mom make you more."
Her sweet, adorable manner touched all three of them. Even Tang Ziran thought having such a well-behaved daughter might be rather nice.
"Can you all just eat properly for once? Be careful you don't choke!"
Lang Yue scolded them, and the three immediately fell silent.
After dinner, Lang Yue and Tang Ziran prepared to take Na'er to see the administrator, leaving the two brothers at home.
Tang Heng and Tang Wulin liked staying at home anyway. The brothers often played together, so they weren't close with the neighborhood kids and wouldn't go wandering off.
Back in the bedroom, Tang Wulin couldn't wait to begin meditating, putting into practice what he'd learned in class that day.
Tang Wulin's mind was already free of distractions, so he quickly quieted down.
His awareness reached inward to sense his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and the Soul Power that, though faint, was undeniably there. Following the explanation his brother had given him about the properties of Blue Silver Grass, he soon found the knack.
The pale golden Blue Silver Grass emerged silently, shimmering with a green glow as it slowly circled around Tang Wulin.
A year of withering, then spring winds brought it back to life.
Seeing this, Tang Heng became even more certain that his little brother's talent wasn't bad at all. With a god-king's bloodline and the blessing of the Goddess of Life, he was well suited to follow the path of life.
The Gold Dragon King had made him, and the Gold Dragon King would undo him.
Who could have guessed that after first saying the Gold Dragon King was the other half of the Dragon God, they'd later changed their tune and said he was merely one of the larger chunks of its corpse? His ultimate cultivation level could only reach the half-step god-king stage.
The Douluo setting was as unpredictable as Schrödinger's cat.
Still, fortunately, the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings within him had been created according to the original setting. They were the Dragon God's complete other half.
By supporting the Minecraft Plane, condensing the Power of Creation, and fusing the source powers of the two dragon kings, he could ascend to the position of Dragon God.
"Faced with this grand plan spanning ten thousand years, my greatest reliance is still the Minecraft Plane. I have to make good use of it."
With a thought, Tang Heng vanished from the spot and returned to the villager's house where he'd logged off yesterday.
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