Scaramouche at Three Years Old

Scaramouche frowned at this moment, never having imagined he would appear on the Sky Screen, especially given that he was over 500 years old.

Could it be that because I deleted my past self within Irminsul, my age was reset? If that's the case...

As Scaramouche pondered this, the Sky Screen updated his basic information.

Affiliation: Akademiya
Age: 3 years old
Martial Soul: Body
Soul Power Level: 100+
Identity: Puppet with a Heart

Scaramouche's mouth twitched; the Sky Screen listing his age as three left him truly speechless.

Aside from Ouyang Kong and Nahida, who knew of Scaramouche's past, even those from the Akademiya like Tighnari and Sethos were astonished.

Because Irminsul had been modified, they had lost the memories of Scaramouche's previous incarnation, the Balladeer.

They simply regarded Scaramouche as an ordinary student of Haravatat who received special care from Nahida.

Yet, the age of three and the identity of a "Puppet with a Heart" both signaled that Scaramouche was anything but ordinary.

"Balladeer, Kunikuzushi, Wanderer, Scaramouche—these are all your names, and they are all your past. Once your history is revealed by the Sky Screen, it will be interesting to see how the people of this Douluo Continent view you, and what realizations you yourself might have."

"Heh, Kong, I think Scaramouche can face his past calmly now."

"If that is truly the case, then it is also the merit of our Lesser Lord Kusanali."

"No, Kong, your role was even more important."

Ouyang Kong and Nahida exchanged a smile.

In Martial Soul City, Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue were both watching Scaramouche with strange expressions, gazes that Scaramouche could naturally feel.

"Stop looking at me like that. If you truly think I am a three-year-old child, it only proves that you might not have brains."

Qian Daoliu hurriedly withdrew his gaze and offered a respectful apology.

"Mr. Scaramouche, my deepest apologies. We meant nothing by it; please, show some leniency."

Scaramouche had no intention of bickering with them; he looked up at the Sky Screen, wondering from which point in time it would begin to tell his story.

If I could see her again on the Sky Screen, perhaps that wouldn't be so bad...

At this moment, Nefer was petting her cat while watching the Sky Screen, accompanied by a woman—none other than Tang Yuehua, the mistress of the Moonlight Pavilion.

Tang Yuehua acted with extreme caution, having learned from the Sky Screen that Nefer was a difficult person to deal with.

Although Tang Yuehua had years of experience dealing with the nobles of Heaven Dou City, this was her first time handling someone like Nefer.

Suddenly, Nefer pinched Tang Yuehua's chin, their faces drawing very close.

Tang Yuehua was stunned, her heart rate spiking as a thought suddenly popped into her mind.

Don't tell me this woman has a preference for her own gender too!

Perhaps having seen through Tang Yuehua's thoughts, Nefer patted her cheek and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild, Mistress Tang!"

Releasing Tang Yuehua, Nefer raised her voice and said, "Show yourself. You've been following me the whole way, and this Mistress Tang is an important person to you, isn't she?"

Tang Yuehua remained bewildered, not understanding what Nefer meant, until a familiar voice emerged.

"As expected of someone who could make it onto the Sky Screen!"

"Second Brother!"

Tang Yuehua looked toward the sound and saw a disheveled man standing there.

She hurried over and reached out to touch Tang Hao's face.

"Second Brother, is it really you?"

"Yuehua, it is me. It has been a long time."

Confirming it was indeed Tang Hao, Tang Yuehua couldn't help but embrace him and weep.

Nefer, meanwhile, stroked Asheru while watching the siblings, Tang Hao and Tang Yuehua, with a playful gaze.

Just as Tang Hao was about to say something, the Sky Screen updated once more.

The image on the Sky Screen slowly unfolded—not a clear scene, but something resembling a painting. Within the scroll, a beautiful woman created a puppet, but this puppet shed a single tear.

The woman deemed the puppet a failure and abandoned it in a desolate place.

This woman was naturally Raiden Ei, the puppet was the current Scaramouche, and the abandoned place was the Shakkei Pavilion.

Though it was merely a painting, it still stirred much within Scaramouche.

"If you had destroyed me back then, perhaps the things that followed would never have happened, Beelzebul!"

Qian Renxue watched the Sky Screen, then glanced at Scaramouche, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

Was he also abandoned by his mother?

Then she looked at Bibi Dong lying in the pit, her expression of disgust and hatred undisguised.

The scene continued, showing a person who had stumbled into the Shakkei Pavilion and discovered Scaramouche, who had been abandoned there.

Scaramouche possessed a golden feather that symbolized his status; the intruder did not know who he was, but recognized that the feather represented a noble identity, so he brought him back to Tatarasuna.

In Tatarasuna, he was well cared for by the bladesmiths, and at that time, Scaramouche, like a newborn child, gradually integrated himself among them.

That must have been the happiest period of his life, but unfortunately, the good times did not last.

The camera pulled back, revealing the full view of Tatarasuna; because of the excessive use of crystallized marrow to forge blades, the furnace core of Tatarasuna had been contaminated, and many people had lost their lives due to the pollution.

Niwa sent people out to seek help, but everyone who went to seek aid never returned.

At that time, Scaramouche took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility and headed to Tenshukaku to seek an audience with the Raiden Shogun.

Unfortunately, his request for an audience was not granted, so having no other choice, Scaramouche produced the golden feather and was received by Yae Miko.

Yae Miko promised him that she would send people to Tatarasuna to handle the situation.

But Scaramouche had become completely disillusioned with them; after leaving the golden feather behind, he returned to Tatarasuna alone, only to hear even worse news.

Niwa had fled to escape punishment!

Although Scaramouche felt angry because of Niwa's betrayal, he still took the item given to him by the mechanic Escher and headed to the Tatarasuna furnace core, forcibly shutting it down at the cost of burning off his five fingers.

When Yae Miko arrived at Tatarasuna with her people, she saw that the problem had already been solved. After learning the sequence of events, Yae Miko did not go to see Scaramouche, but simply had someone return the golden feather to him.

Seeing this, Scaramouche's fists clenched tightly.

"Niwa, he didn't betray anyone! He shouldn't have to bear such a foul reputation!"

As if hearing Scaramouche's inner voice, the image on the Sky Screen shifted, showing Niwa together with Escher.

Niwa exposed Escher's identity, pointing out that the current situation in Tatarasuna was entirely orchestrated by him.

Escher no longer bothered to disguise himself; his true identity was the Fatui Harbinger codenamed Dottore.

Seeing Dottore, Scaramouche could not hold back and let out a roar.

"Dottore!"

Scaramouche's roar did not change the image on the Sky Screen; Niwa died at the hands of Dottore, who had ripped out his heart.

The object Scaramouche had used to shut down the Tatarasuna furnace core was, in fact, Niwa's heart.