Two Tang Sans Compared?

At these words, the other two exploded instantly.

"Tang Hao's son? Blue Silver Emperor bloodline? Knows Tang Sect secret techniques? And his name is Tang San?" Qian Gujue's eyes went round. "Isn't this just the protagonist Tang San from the original work?!"

"That's not right!" Oupai immediately retorted. "In the original, when Tang San was born, he was clearly taken by Tang Hao to live in seclusion at Holy Soul Village! How could he be adopted by Martial Soul Hall? And twins? There was no twin plot in the original at all!"

"Also, if he were the original Tang San, why would he be sitting safely in Martial Soul Hall? Martial Soul Hall is his mortal enemy in the original story!" Gui Mengguan frowned, his face full of confusion.

The three transmigrators crouched behind the rockery, staring at each other, their minds in a complete mess.

After a long while, Qian Gujue suddenly slapped his thigh and lowered his voice. "I get it! We didn't transmigrate into the original work at all! We transmigrated into a fanfiction that's a giant Douluo hotpot!"

"Fanfiction?" The other two looked at him instantly.

"How else do you explain it?" Qian Gujue counted on his fingers. "Look, the ancestor Qian Chongguang who wasn't in the original is here; the Chrysanthemum Douluo who was a man in the original has become a woman and had a child with Ghost Douluo; Tang San, who should be in Holy Soul Village, has become a twin adopted by Martial Soul Hall; and then there's the three of us! This is definitely a hotpot fanfic that mashed up all sorts of tropes and chaotic plot changes!"

Gui Mengguan and Oupai were suddenly enlightened, and the more they thought about it, the more it made sense.

"My god, we transmigrated into a fanfic hotpot?" Gui Mengguan's mouth twitched. "We start in the villain's headquarters and become classmates with the original protagonist? What kind of hellish start is this?"

"No, it doesn't count as a hellish start." Oupai blinked. "We have Title Douluos as our backers! The Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluos who couldn't survive Jialing Pass in the original are now your parents, Gui Mengguan; Guang Ling Douluo is my grandfather; Falling Devil and Thousand Jun are your grandfathers, Qian Gujue! This setup is pure second-generation villain material!"

"I just don't know if this Tang San is the original Tang San reborn, or a transmigrator like us," Qian Gujue said, rubbing his chin with a curious expression.

The three transmigrators exchanged glances, seeing a deep desire for gossip and probing in each other's eyes.

"How about we go test him?" Gui Mengguan raised an eyebrow. "If he's a fellow countryman, we'll pull him into our group. Four transmigrators sticking together can walk sideways in this world! If he really is the original Tang San, then we have to plan an escape route early so we don't get cleared out by him as villains later!"

Oupai said, "I doubt it. His eyes look quite clear to me. I reckon it's just some fanfic twin story where that rat just happened to dump Tang San at Martial Soul Hall."

"That's possible, but we have to test him regardless," Qian Gujue agreed firmly.

"If he really is Tang San, maybe this story is a comparison between two Tang Sans."

As it turned out, the process was completely wrong, but the conclusion was right.

Oupai and Qian Gujue nodded immediately. The three hit it off, straightened their little clothes, and walked toward Tang San under the corridor on their short legs.

Tang San, under the corridor, had long since sensed the three auras approaching him. He slowly closed the book in his hand and lifted his eyes to look at them.

There was not a shred of childish naivety in his pitch-black eyes, only a calm vigilance, as if he had long since seen through their intentions.

The three of them stopped in front of Tang San. The first to speak was the sweet-talking Gui Mengguan.

He swung his short arms hanging at his sides, curved his beautiful apricot eyes, and spoke with sincere admiration, "Tang San, the footwork you practiced this morning was amazing! The teacher was stunned; he said he's been teaching for over a decade and has never seen a three-year-old who could perform the Balance Step so well. You're more than a genius."

As soon as he said this, Qian Gujue immediately nodded, scratching the back of his head with a troubled expression. "Yeah, yeah, I can't do it. The force-exertion techniques the teacher taught—I always feel like something is wrong. When I lift the stone lock, I'm either wobbling or can't find the strength. My arms are sore from practicing, but I still haven't grasped the knack."

Oupai also took the mini wooden bow off his back and held it in his arms, adding in a low voice, "Me too. When I practice aiming, my breathing is always messy. As soon as I exhale, my hand shakes. Even though my posture is correct, I just can't hit the bullseye. Tang San, do you have any special tricks? For the same amount of exercise, you seem much more relaxed than us."

The three spoke one after another, all revolving around their daily lessons. There was not a hint of abrupt probing, just like three children of the same age who were genuinely seeking advice and admiring a strong peer.

What kind of bad intentions could children have? If their identities as transmigrators were exposed in the future, they could just lie and say they transmigrated as children; by then, their bond would already be cultivated.

Tang San swept his gaze over the three, his fingertips gently rubbing the edge of the book page without speaking immediately.

He had always been quiet by nature and didn't like to crowd with others. Over the past few days, he had only watched these three children from afar—Gui Mengguan was agile and never fell when climbing; Qian Gujue had strength far beyond his peers and was unnervingly steady when lifting stone locks; Oupai was extremely accurate with his bow, hitting the bullseye from thirty paces away. These three children were all geniuses in the eyes of others, yet they had lowered their posture to ask him for advice, causing the vigilance he held toward outsiders to soften involuntarily.

Especially when he heard the word "family," his fingertips paused slightly, and a warmth instantly welled up in his heart.

He was no longer the lonely, helpless outer disciple from his past life who had to steal techniques from the Tang Sect.

In this life, the moment he opened his eyes, he was in warm swaddling clothes, and the one guarding him was Bibi Dong, with her black and red robes and cold, sharp brows that were exceptionally gentle toward him.

He only knew that he was an orphan Bibi Dong had picked up in a wasteland filled with the scent of blood. He had no father or mother; it was Bibi Dong who gave him his name, gave him a shelter from the wind and rain, and gave him meticulous care.

Every night, no matter how busy she was, Bibi Dong would come to his room to check on him, tuck in his quilt, and warm his cold little feet with her warm hands. When he first learned to speak, the first "Mom" he called made the usually cold and hard Adjudicator Elder's eyes redden. When he was sick with a fever, Bibi Dong didn't close her eyes for three days and nights, guarding his bedside to feed him medicine and wipe his body personally. The books he wanted to read, even the rare volumes locked away in the Elder Hall, Bibi Dong would find ways to get for him, never scolding him for a single thing.

In his heart, Bibi Dong was his biological mother, the person closest to him in this world.

Martial Soul Hall was his home, and everyone here was a relative, friend, or sibling belonging to the same home as him.

This hard-won family affection and stability made him incomparably satisfied and incomparably cherished.