"I said no, and that's final. Our family doesn't have any extra money to send both of them to school!" A resolve none of them had ever seen before gleamed in Tang Hao's voice.
"Besides, if they both leave, who'll cook for me?"
"Tang Hao!" Old Jack stared at him in shock, unable to believe there could be such a father in the world. Though he was unhappy with Tang Hao, he hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit.
"Tang Hao, I've already decided. This year, our Holy Soul Village's work-study student slot goes to your family. I came to discuss how you'll divide it."
"A work-study slot?" Tang Hao froze for a moment. As a Titled Douluo, he wasn't truly stopping them from becoming Soul Masters because of money. But Old Jack had put it this way, so he needed an excuse to brush him off.
In his eyes, Tang Sanmei was still easy enough to fool. Though, after being influenced by her older brother Tang Yin, she wasn't exactly on good terms with him.
Still, he could tell that deep down, Tang Sanmei cared about and feared him as her father. The one who was truly difficult to deal with was Tang Yin.
Tang Yin genuinely had no respect for him and wasn't particularly afraid of him, either. Even the hint of killing intent he'd let slip that morning hadn't fazed him.
"Dad, let Big Brother have the work-study slot!"
Tang Sanmei's voice rang through the courtyard. The other three all turned to look at her, each with a different expression.
Old Jack gave Tang Sanmei an approving nod. He'd been thinking the same thing. If they really had to choose one, they should naturally pick Tang Yin, whom Master Su Yuntao favored more.
Tang Hao, for once, wore a gentle expression. But in his heart, he thought, Ah Yin, our daughter is as gentle and kind as you!
As for Tang Yin, he was thinking that he'd completely forgotten about the work-study slot.
"Tang Hao, what do you think..." Though Old Jack favored Tang Yin, in the end, the decision belonged to Tang Hao's family. Now that Tang Sanmei had offered to give up her place, all Tang Hao had to do was agree, and the matter would be settled.
At this, Tang Hao first looked at Tang Yin. Seeing him say nothing, he frowned, displeased with his son's reaction.
"Old Jack, go back for now. Our family needs to think it over." After a moment of silence, Tang Hao waved him off and turned to walk inside.
Old Jack stamped his foot. In his view, since Tang Sanmei had already agreed, there was nothing left to think over.
"Tang Hao, you... Ah!" Old Jack finally sighed and left in frustration.
After seeing Old Jack out, the siblings turned and went back inside. They found Tang Hao sitting at the table with an unusually serious look on his face. When they entered, he said calmly:
"Are you disappointed in me? Do you think I've failed as a father?"
"Pfft!" Tang Yin couldn't help laughing at that.
"Why are you laughing, Big Brother?" Tang Sanmei once again played the straight man, and even Tang Hao glanced over at him.
"I'm laughing because this old man thinks too highly of himself. I've never been disappointed in him."
Tang Sanmei's eyes widened, her face full of question marks. Even Tang Hao looked momentarily stunned.
Tang Yin, however, didn't seem to care. He patted Tang Sanmei on the shoulder. "Because I've never expected anything from him. Without expectations, how could I be disappointed?"
That made more sense! Tang Sanmei let out a breath. She'd thought something had gone wrong in her brother's head today.
"So that's what you think of me!" Tang Hao looked as if his suspicions had been confirmed. A moment ago, he'd almost felt so moved that he could've cried. Fortunately, he'd held it in.
"Third Sister, show me your Martial Soul!"
Tang Hao couldn't be bothered with Tang Yin. His gaze shifted to Tang Sanmei, solemn and full of expectation.
Tang Sanmei could tell there was something different in her father's eyes, but she said nothing. She opened her right hand, and a small, vivid-blue sprig of grass appeared in her palm.
"Just as I thought. Blue Silver Grass, just like hers!"
Tang Hao gazed tenderly at the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and murmured to himself.
"Third Sister, you should have another Martial Soul, too!" Seeing Tang Hao sink into self-pity again, Tang Yin grew impatient and simply pointed out the secret of Tang Sanmei's Twin Martial Souls.
"Big Brother, how did you know?" Tang Sanmei's heart jolted. She was shocked that her brother had noticed a Martial Soul even Lord Soul Master hadn't detected, but she was also worried that having Twin Martial Souls would cost him the work-study slot.
"What! Third Sister, you have another Martial Soul!" Tang Hao was beside himself with excitement. He gripped Tang Sanmei's shoulders with trembling hands.
Tang Sanmei looked toward Tang Yin. When he nodded with a smile, she raised her left hand.
A faint black light flickered in her palm, and then a pitch-black hammer appeared before Tang Hao.
"This... This is... Twin Martial Souls! I can't believe Ah Yin and I had a child with Twin Martial Souls!" Tears welled in Tang Hao's eyes. He pulled the bewildered Tang Sanmei into his arms.
"My precious daughter! What a wonderful daughter you are!" For the first time, Tang Hao showed his daughter a father's love, without even noticing that Tang Sanmei's left arm was nearly giving out.
"Enough, old man. Are you saying that if Third Sister only had Blue Silver Grass, she wouldn't be your precious daughter?" Tang Yin couldn't help calling him out. Then he reminded Tang Sanmei, whose forehead was beaded with sweat:
"Third Sister, put your Martial Soul away for now."
"Right, right. Good girl, put your Martial Soul away." Tang Hao ignored Tang Yin's sarcasm. His face grave, he instructed Tang Sanmei:
"Third Sister, remember: you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right!"
"Okay, Dad. I'll remember!" Feeling how different Tang Hao was acting from usual, Tang Sanmei didn't argue. She nodded and agreed.
"Good." Tang Hao managed a rare smile and nodded in satisfaction. Then, like an actor changing masks, he turned expressionlessly toward Tang Yin.
"Xiao Yin, I really have failed you both as a father over the years."
Tang Hao paused, then seemed to realize that sounded too stiff. He forced out what he thought was a gentler tone, though to anyone else it sounded painfully awkward. "I think we should give the work-study slot to Third Sister."
Tang Yin had expected as much. After all, if they had to choose one, he also wanted Third Sister to go to Nuoding Academy, as in the original story. As long as things went according to the plot, Tang Sanmei would surely become a god. And even if he couldn't ascend to godhood himself, he could ride his sister's coattails to the Divine Realm.
But Tang Hao's blunt, nonnegotiable tone still nearly made him lose his temper.
Fine. I'll let it go.
Suppressing his irritation, Tang Yin was about to agree when Tang Sanmei beside him suddenly grew agitated.
"Dad! I don't agree. If my future depends on sacrificing Big Brother, then what would be so wonderful about becoming the Titled Douluo Grandpa Jack talked about?"
Tang Hao's expression hardened. "I'm not asking for your opinion!"
"You just asked me to promise to use the hammer to protect the little sprig of grass. I'm guessing that grass is the Martial Soul I inherited from Mom, right?" Tang Sanmei wasn't afraid. Instead, she brought up what he'd just said.
"I've never met Mom. But seeing how you act now, I can tell she must have been the most important person in your life!"
Tang Sanmei had always been clever. And after seeing how Tang Hao had reacted to her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, she'd already formed a guess.
"So what if she was?" Tang Hao asked in return. At the mention of Ah Yin, his anger ebbed.
"If that's the case, then Big Brother is the most important person in my life." Tang Sanmei paused and looked at Tang Yin with a solemnity she'd never shown before. "If you had to sacrifice Mom to make Dad who he is, how would Dad feel?"
Boom!
Tang Hao felt as though his mind had exploded. Memories came flooding back of the day Ah Yin had sacrificed herself, letting him absorb the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and become a Titled Douluo. His face instantly went pale, and sweat poured from him like beans scattering across the floor.
"Ah Yin, my Ah Yin!"
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