The Incompetent Husband

"You can call me... Old Tang!"

Old Tang?! A god?!

Huo Yuhao felt his brain descend into chaos; what was even happening right now?

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!!!"

Beside him, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was bound into a ball by blue-gold divine patterns, with only his small eyes bulging and glaring wildly.

He really wanted to curse right now.

He wanted to curse very badly.

As a dignified million-year soul beast, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Even when he was being used as a living battery by a group of fierce beasts in the Star Dou Forest, he could at least still speak!

"Don't be nervous, child." The blue-gold figure looked down at Huo Yuhao and spoke gently, "I harbor no malice toward you."

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment. He really wanted to ask: if there was no malice, why did you pin both him and Brother Sky Dream down the moment you arrived?

Is this how a god treats guests?

"Old Tang... what exactly do you want?" Huo Yuhao still looked at him with vigilance.

Old Tang did not offer further explanation, continuing on his own: "Do you remember that youth? Does looking at him make you feel a sense of emptiness in your heart?"

Huo Yuhao's pupils shrank violently.

His mind immediately went to that incredibly handsome figure, and he nodded subconsciously.

"Because your destiny, and all your glory, are being stolen by this variable that should never have appeared." Old Tang's voice carried a compassionate sigh. "But child, this is not your fault."

"What..."

Huo Yuhao's brain buzzed, and he froze on the spot.

No wonder... no wonder he felt so miserable whenever he looked at that back.

But, I have no grudge against you, why must you steal what is mine!

The way Huo Yuhao's expression shifted made the corners of Old Tang's mouth, hidden within the light, curve upward slightly.

"Are you willing? To just watch your own opportunities and everything you have be taken away, only to be looked down upon and despised by others." Old Tang's voice seemed to be filled with magic, seeping bit by bit into Huo Yuhao's soul. "Do you want to take back everything that is yours? Do you want to make others never dare to look down on you, or the Tang Sect, ever again?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm struggled desperately to the side.

Mmph! Mmph! Don't listen! Little Yuhao, don't listen! This blue-haired old geezer is definitely not up to any good!

For the first time, he felt like the incompetent husband in a storybook.

But at this moment, Huo Yuhao could no longer hear any other sounds.

Why... why should his things be taken away?

Why do you still get to act so high and mighty, looking down on the Tang Sect that I hold as a treasure?!

Why is fate so unfair to me!

Images flashed through his mind in an instant: If only he were the one who didn't have to suffer bullying at the Duke Mansion... If only he were the one who resisted Zhou Yi... If only he were the one surrounded by the admiration of others... If only...

Each "if only" took root and sprouted wildly in Huo Yuhao's heart like seeds, binding Old Tang's words tightly into his mind.

He almost subconsciously growled, "I do!"

"Then accept it."

A blue-gold droplet of water hovered slowly in front of Huo Yuhao. Old Tang's voice was very soft: "This is a seed I leave for you. When you are lost, it will guide you. When you are weak, it will teach you how to become strong. When you are in pain, it will help you steady your mind."

Amidst Old Tang's voice, Huo Yuhao raised his arm bit by bit. Just as his finger was about to make contact, he suddenly stopped.

"What is the price?" Huo Yuhao's upbringing made it difficult for him to believe there was such a thing as a free lunch.

Old Tang seemed to chuckle, his tone becoming incredibly righteous: "For the sake of justice and fairness in this world. When you truly stand at the pinnacle, you will naturally understand the mission you carry on your shoulders."

At this moment, Tian Meng was so anxious that his eyeballs were practically popping out.

Are you kidding me? Little Yuhao, wake up!

You'd dare to accept a contract of servitude from someone of unknown origin?!

As if he had heard the inner voice of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Huo Yuhao's consciousness actually cleared up a little.

He lowered his outstretched hand and asked in a low voice, "What if I don't accept?"

The spiritual sea was quiet for a moment before Old Tang's voice sounded again, still gentle, yet filled with unquestionable authority: "Then it will remain here regardless."

Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm: "..."

Seeing that the two had suddenly gone silent, Old Tang added, "Of course, I respect your choice."

Huo Yuhao didn't know what to say for a moment; he had gradually begun to break free from Old Tang's words.

After all, neither his own immobile body nor Brother Sky Dream, who was tied into a ball, looked like they were being respected at all.

They didn't look like they were being respected at all.

But he also knew clearly that this entity before him was not someone he could resist.

Moreover...

His mother's final instructions before she passed, the Duchess's expression that disgusted him to his core, the look of dejection on Tang Ya's face as the Tang Sect was belittled...

Every memory was like a lash, driving his choices from behind.

The next second, he abruptly raised his hand and grasped the blue-gold droplet, his gaze firm as he declared, "I accept!"

Ding--

Accompanied by a crisp, light sound, a ripple of blue-gold light spread outward.

Huo Yuhao felt a wave of coolness wash over his mind, and the confusion and dejection he had felt moments ago were quickly smoothed away.

At the same time, a faint, ethereal blue-gold radiance flashed deep within his Spirit Eyes.

The divine seals on the body of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finally loosened at this moment.

The moment he could speak, he immediately broke down and shouted, "A liar! Little Yuhao! This guy is absolutely a liar!"

Old Tang merely glanced at him indifferently.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice cut off abruptly, and he silently shrank his body backward.

Damn it, why is the aura of this blue-haired old geezer so terrifying to a worm?

Old Tang's figure gradually faded, his ethereal voice echoing within the sea of consciousness: "I will slumber for a period of time. When you truly need me, I will naturally awaken."

Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, "How should I find you?"

"When you call out to fate in your heart," Old Tang's voice grew more and more distant, "the sea will respond to you."

The blue-gold figure vanished completely, and the sea of consciousness returned to calm.

Only, deep within, a blue-gold droplet remained, quietly suspended in mid-air.

It was also at this moment that the sounds of the outside world returned to his ears.

"Little Yuhao?" Tang Ya looked at him in confusion. "Why did you suddenly space out?"

Huo Yuhao snapped back to reality.

The gates of Shrek City were still bustling with people, Tang Ya was still stomping her feet in anger, and Bei Bei was silent, gazing in the direction where Long Yaochen had left.

In the distance, Long Yaochen was pushing Zhang Lexuan, and the group gradually walked away.

Huo Yuhao lowered his head, a trace of jealousy flashing deep within his eyes that even he himself had not noticed.

Could those things... really have once had something to do with me?

He then gently tightened his fist and whispered, "Sister Tang Ya, I'm fine."

Tang Ya didn't think much of it, only saying huffily, "It makes me so mad! That Long Yaochen's words were just too nasty!"

Bei Bei's emotions had calmed down quite a bit by now; he wore that refined smile once more, gently stroking Tang Ya's back as he said softly, "Tang Ya, it's alright. Believe in me, I will definitely make the Tang Sect great again!"

Upon hearing "make the Tang Sect great again," the droplet in Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness rippled slightly.