Grudge

Ji Siyuan felt very uncomfortable.

Why wasn't his opening encounter with the rich and foolish Xu Sanshi, who could have been farmed for Gold Soul Coins?

This Dai Huabin clearly had something wrong with his brain.

With his martial soul activated and ignoring the angry jeers of the crowd, Dai Huabin still mocked Ji Siyuan: "Is that enough money? If not, I have more!"

Ji Siyuan was extremely puzzled. He was the only son of the God King, and this guy wasn't even the only son of the Duke: "Does your father only have one son? Has he never considered having another?"

"What do you mean?"

"A fool like you is fit to inherit the position of Duke?"

He had absolutely no political sense.

This was Shrek, and how many students were nearby? If he acted like this, would anyone even want to work for Dai Huabin once he became Duke?

Dai Huabin couldn't stand hearing that sentence at all, because he truly wasn't the only heir.

The White Tiger's sharp claws swiped down violently, but Ji Siyuan dodged them using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Someone nearby remarked: "This place isn't meant for soul dueling, is it?"

He shifted his feet lightly, manipulating Dai Huabin's field of vision.

Because Ji Siyuan saw Tang Ya approaching, he needed to create a blind spot for her.

"How dare you touch my people!"

Three Dragon Whisker Needles flew over, and Dai Huabin instinctively reached out to block them.

The Dragon Whisker Needles sank deep into Dai Huabin's arm. He shrieked in pain.

Ji Siyuan: "Wow, the White Tiger has turned into a little kitten. It's a pity that when keeping cats, it's better to have them neutered."

This wasn't a cold joke, and no one dared to laugh.

Tang Ya ran over, looking him up and down: "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Dai Huabin clutched his right arm, not daring to apply force: "What did you do?"

Tang Ya: "Teaching you a lesson. Starting a fight here—did you really think no one would discipline you?"

"Are you even worthy?"

"Heh, I might not be, but isn't that what the Discipline Team is for?" Tang Ya had already summoned the Discipline Team.

Shrek prohibited fighting; although they were outside the school gate, this was still within their jurisdiction.

Tang Ya: "Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi went off to duel, so only I came."

Tang San: "Knowing how to call for reinforcements—she isn't too stupid."

Ji Siyuan thought about her later actions: "Uh, I can only hope she can maintain this level of competence."

Tang Ya's confusing decisions in the later stages had too much of an impact.

The Discipline Team brought Dai Huabin to the three of them: "Student Tang Ya, please remove the hidden weapon from his arm."

Ji Siyuan: "Three hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"Are you robbing me?" Dai Huabin was still fuming: "Didn't I just give you one hundred Gold Soul Coins earlier?"

Ji Siyuan: "Oh my, the big spender isn't continuing to drop coins? That's rare."

"Hurry up and take it out!"

"Is that the attitude of someone asking for a favor?"

Tang Ya immediately looked at Ji Siyuan, who was speaking. His tone lacked its usual playfulness and was entirely cold.

"The Dragon Whisker Needle curls up once it enters the flesh. Without our technique, you can just wait to have a huge chunk of meat carved out. I know your family members are ruthless enough, but you aren't, and the freshman assessment is in three months. If you really carve out a large piece of meat, do you still have the confidence to take first place? Don't forget, Ning Tian from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect isn't in your class!"

Tang San: "Siyuan, where did you learn this extortion technique?"

"Hmm, from the God of Destruction. He told me that sometimes you have to be cheeky, and sometimes you have to be cold."

Zhu Lu ran over: "Just take it out first and we'll talk."

"Pay first."

Dai Huabin: "One hundred at most."

"I don't mind making a mistake during the procedure. I'll just stick it somewhere else."

Although Ji Siyuan didn't have any hidden weapons on him, he was genuinely capable of doing it.

"Who carries that many Gold Soul Coins when they go out?"

"So you were just posturing earlier?" Ji Siyuan looked at the ground. It was indeed less than one hundred Gold Soul Coins; while it was possible someone had picked them up, there certainly wasn't enough there.

Tang Ya: "Use something else to trade!"

Zhu Lu took out a spiritual item: "A thirty-year Life-Generating Fruit. Its value is higher than three hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

Ji Siyuan: "This is great, everyone is happy."

After removing the Dragon Whisker Needle, he returned it to Tang Ya: "Many thanks."

"It's fine, where is my grilled fish?"

Seeing that he hadn't gained the upper hand, Dai Huabin threw out a parting shot: "Just you wait!"

They apologized to the people in line, then packed up their things and left.

Even after picking up all the Gold Soul Coins, there were only seventy or eighty, but it was enough for him and Huo Yuhao to get by for a while.

On the way back, Huo Yuhao did not walk side-by-side with him, but instead stood silently behind him.

The young boy's figure reflected in his eyes, still looking like the one who had just blocked Dai Huabin for him.

Ji Siyuan was currently weaker than Dai Huabin, yet he was willing to stand in front of him. Since he was a child, he had always longed for someone to stand in front of him.

After parting ways with Tang Ya, they returned to the dormitory in this strange, awkward silence.

"I have a question I want to ask you. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. I won't force you."

Having read the book, Ji Siyuan was still very curious about the underlying reasons.

"Do you have a grudge against Dai Huabin?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Give me the details; I don't want to keep asking."

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly: "He and his mother, the Duchess White Tiger, killed my mother."

"Be specific, not just a sentence or two."

"Actually, I am the child of the Duke White Tiger."

And so, Huo Yuhao recounted that story.

He hated the Duchess, he hated Dai Huabin, and he equally loathed that father who had never returned, especially since his mother had spent her whole life waiting for him to come back.

Tang San: "Bullying a widow and an orphan—this family has already paved their own road to destruction!"

"Uncle, let me handle this matter. You don't need to get involved."

He was very curious: in the Peerless Tang Sect, why was Huo Yuhao able to forgive Dai Hao? Was it because no one had ever explained it clearly to him?

Ji Siyuan picked up his water and took a sip: "You might not like what I'm about to say, but you've focused your hatred in the wrong place. The person you hate the least is the one you should hate the most."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think you are the child of the Duke White Tiger?"

"That's what my mother said."

"Then why should the Duchess believe it?"

"Sigh."

This question stumped Huo Yuhao. His martial soul was the Spirit Eye, not the Evil Eye White Tiger; even if a mutation had occurred, it was hard for anyone to make that connection, so it was only natural that the Duchess wouldn't believe it.

He fell silent. If the Duchess wasn't the problem, then had his mother died in vain?

"Are you saying I shouldn't hate? Was my mother's suffering deserved? Did she die for nothing?" He roared, unwilling to accept it.

"Get a grip! Did I tell you to forgive anyone?" Ji Siyuan slapped him across the face.

This kind of extreme personality was the epitome of a painful childhood.

"Aren't you telling me to let go of my hatred?" Huo Yuhao was truly confused now.

He had misunderstood the intentions of both people; Electrolux had told him not to let hatred blind his eyes, while Ji Siyuan was telling him to recognize who he truly needed to hate.

He had interpreted both as "letting go of hatred."

"If you let go of your hatred, your mother truly died for nothing." Ji Siyuan hated his lack of resolve; he couldn't believe that in the end, he would actually forgive that animal Dai Hao and even change his surname to Dai.

"You saw the humiliation from the Duchess and Dai Huabin. Did you see your father's indifference? Did the Duke White Tiger ever give your mother the treatment she deserved? He is a Duke—would he be short of a meal for your mother? He simply didn't want to acknowledge her."

"But my mother said the Duke White Tiger was very good to her."

"Your mother fell in love with the Duke White Tiger, so she saw everything he did as good. Have you gone blind too?"

Ji Siyuan poked Huo Yuhao hard in the center of his brow: "You're twelve already! Does he even know you exist? Did he give you a name? Has he ever looked at you? He couldn't provide the status you deserved, and he didn't provide it for your mother either. Does he really have your mother in his heart?"

"Not to mention anything else, if he had just sent a word or a letter back, would your mother still be a servant? Would she have died? It was just a matter of a single sentence, but he never intended to take responsibility in the first place!"

Ji Siyuan stood up: "You can hate Dai Huabin, you can hate the Duchess—that's fine. But don't you dare put on some grand performance of 'father-son reconciliation' and happily change your name back to Dai. If you do that, don't ever appear in front of me again. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from killing you."