" Tang Hao, you dare!?"
Ah Yin's voice suddenly rose, sharp in a way Tang Hao had never heard before. The blue eyes that had once brimmed with tenderness for him now held nothing but coldness and fury.
As she spoke, Ah Yin spread her arms and shielded Lin Yue behind her.
"Ah Yin, you..."
Tang Hao watched the scene, and it felt as if his heart were breaking.
His wife was protecting another man.
"Tang Hao! Tell me, is Tang San really our son now?"
Ignoring the hurt in Tang Hao's eyes, Ah Yin instead challenged him. "Our son, our own flesh and blood—is his true soul long since displaced by another?"
Tang Hao's pupils suddenly contracted. The color drained from his face, and his lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.
How could Ah Yin know?!
Ah Yin watched Tang Hao's face shift from shock to panic, then finally turn deathly pale with resignation. The last sliver of hope in her heart was crushed completely.
Tang Hao really had known.
"No... Ah Yin, listen to me. I did suspect our son, but after he awakened his Martial Souls, I was sure he was our son!"
"Ah Yin, I told you! Tang San's Martial Souls are Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer, so he absolutely has to be our son. There's no mistake about it. Blood ties can't lie."
Seeing Ah Yin's expression, Tang Hao hurriedly tried to explain.
"Blood ties can't lie, but what about the soul?"
Hearing Tang Hao's explanation, Ah Yin gave a cold snort and continued to question him. "I already asked around in Holy Soul Village. You abused Tang San from childhood, so you knew very early on that the person inside his body wasn't our son, didn't you?"
The angrier Ah Yin grew, the more her voice trembled with fury. "You knew the truth all along! You knew that the one living in that body was nothing but a thief who'd taken over our son's body! Why? Why did you keep it from me?"
"Ah Yin, I..." Tang Hao struggled to speak, trying to defend himself. "I was afraid you couldn't bear it..."
"Enough!" Ah Yin cut him off sharply. At last, her tears burst free, mingling with her overwhelming hatred. "Afraid I couldn't bear it? See? You just admitted it yourself—you knew he wasn't our son! Tang Hao, you don't deserve to be a father!"
"No... That's not..."
Under Ah Yin's accusations, Tang Hao stumbled backward again and again, his face deathly pale.
He wanted to explain, but had no idea what to say.
"I... After I saw him awaken Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer, I thought he really was our son..."
"It's true, Ah Yin. Believe me. I really thought he was our child!"
Tang Hao could only explain it that way, and he had truly been convinced of it himself.
It was only after seeing Tang San's Twin Martial Souls that he had completely changed his attitude toward him.
The blood flowing through Tang San's veins was the blood of Tang Hao and Ah Yin, joined as one!
"Tang Hao, stop lying to yourself. You only valued his talent!"
Ah Yin pressed him relentlessly. Every word struck Tang Hao's heart like a heavy hammer. "You thought the Clear Sky Sect had an heir at last, that an unparalleled genius had appeared in the Clear Sky Sect, and you were overjoyed, weren't you? You accepted a thief as your son for the sake of the Clear Sky Sect, for the sake of his talent, didn't you?!"
"You were the one who told me back then that you'd make sure he returned to his roots and took his place in the clan. You said it wouldn't matter if you couldn't go back yourself, as long as he could!"
"Tell me, Tang Hao! When you rejoiced over that thief's Twin Martial Souls, when you planned to take him back to the Clear Sky Sect to reclaim his place in the clan, did you ever spare even the slightest thought for our real son?! For that poor child you personally abandoned, whose soul had long since perished?!"
Ah Yin's voice had become a heartrending sob. She pointed at Tang Hao, her finger shaking violently with emotion. "You thought only of the Clear Sky Sect! You thought only of the glory that thief could bring you and the Clear Sky Sect! You betrayed our son! And you betrayed me!"
"What right do you have to stand here, saying you'll take me back? What right do you have to call yourself my husband?!"
Ah Yin's words swept over Tang Hao like a raging storm, drowning him completely.
His tall frame shook violently. All color had vanished from his face, leaving him exposed in his humiliation and pain—and with a flash of shameful anger at having his true thoughts laid bare.
He saw the deep-seated hatred and coldness in Ah Yin's eyes.
"No... That's not how it is... Ah Yin, listen to my explanation..."
Tang Hao's voice was hoarse and dry, laced with desperate pleading.
"An explanation?"
Ah Yin smiled bitterly, her smile brimming with endless mockery and a heart that had given up. "Tang Hao, the moment you chose to conceal the truth and accept a thief as your son, it was over between us. My master was the one who told me the truth and gave me a new life. And you..."
She took a deep breath. Her eyes grew resolute and cold again, with a decisive detachment.
"You're nothing but a mistake from my past. Now, leave. Otherwise, don't blame me and my master for showing you no mercy!"
Boom—
As the words fell, the Soul Power of a Titled Douluo erupted from Ah Yin. Her blue hair billowed without a breeze, and her formidable pressure, mingled with her grief and resolve, fearlessly met the Clear Sky Hammer's aura of destruction.
Faced with Ah Yin's utterly resolute gaze, Tang Hao's face turned another shade paler.
"No... That's not how it is..."
"Ah Yin, I swear, I truly didn't mean it that way. I promise you, if you come back, I'll take you to kill him and avenge our real son!"
Unwilling to accept Ah Yin's choice, Tang Hao quickly made a new decision.
He could give up his son, but he couldn't lose his wife.
"Tsk, tsk..."
Lin Yue, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't help clicking his tongue.
Whether you liked him or not, Tang Hao really did seem to love Ah Yin.
He had cared so much about Tang San, yet now the first thing out of his mouth was that he would kill him.
And he didn't seem to be joking, either.
"Sorry, but even if you did that, I still wouldn't give Ah Yin back to you."
"She's mine now!"
Then Lin Yue stepped forward, put an arm around Ah Yin's slender waist, and declared this to Tang Hao.
At the same time, Lin Yue leaned close to Ah Yin's ear. "Ah Yin, the harm he did to you and your child is already a fact, and it can't be undone. A person like that doesn't deserve forgiveness."
"Bastard, get your filthy hands off her!"
Seeing this, Tang Hao glared at Lin Yue, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
"Tang Hao, don't you dare disrespect my master!"
Ah Yin once again spread her arms and stood in front of Tang Hao, rebuking him.
"Ah Yin, you..."
Tang Hao couldn't believe that even after he'd humbled himself and admitted his mistake, Ah Yin still defended Lin Yue so fiercely. The frustration was unbearable.
"Pfft—!"
The frustration overwhelmed Tang Hao. His throat tightened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Ah—!!!"
"I won't accept this! Ah Yin, you can only be mine!"
"If this man is your master, then I'll kill him."
Boom—
After spitting out blood, Tang Hao could no longer hold back. Gripping the Clear Sky Hammer, he charged straight at Lin Yue.