Holy Soul Village, Tang San's home.
At last, Tang San had returned home, and his joy nearly overflowed the screen.
Because he'd spent the whole journey eating their dog food!
What Zhang Tianyu and Xiao Wu had was the kind of affection you got from sleeping in the same bed!
Even though Xiao Wu had money now and had bought herself a bed of her own, so they no longer slept together, the bond between the two of them was still closer than either of them was to Tang San.
And so, all along the way, they'd been showing off their love in every possible way, torturing this single dog with all kinds of stunts.
On the surface, Tang San had been all smiles. Inside, he'd been cursing up a storm.
I want to flirt and banter with Tian Yu too—no, that's not what I meant. I want to join in!
Damn it!
Why do I have to stand off to the side and watch?
Now that he'd finally made it home, finally able to see his father, Tang Hao, and finally free from having to eat their dog food, he could at last breathe a sigh of relief.
However,
He stepped into the house, full of joy,
and shouted excitedly—
"Dad!"
But then,
The one who came out wasn't his long-yearned-for father, Tang Hao,
but his village chief, Old Jack.
"Oh, it's little San back."
Old Jack came out of the house with a letter in his hand.
Watching this familiar scene, Zhang Tianyu grew even more convinced that the old geezer was up to no good.
The three of them had come here chatting and laughing, making plenty of noise. Tang San in particular had gotten louder the closer they came to home.
Even a deaf person could have heard them.
But Jack had been right there, pretending not to hear a thing, insisting on waiting until Tang San went inside
and shouted "Dad!" before making his appearance.
Damn it.
He was obviously trying to take advantage of the moment.
What a shameless old bastard.
So,
"Shouldn't we give him a task and mess with him?" Zhang Tianyu asked the system in his mind.
System: ...
Good grief, after all that, you just wanted to mess with him!
"Of course. In my previous life, after Yu Xiaogang came back from the Soul Hunting Forest, you gave me another task to mess with him. Then Tang Hao beat him up, I completed the task, and everybody was happy."
"But what about this time? Tang Hao beat him up again, but you didn't give me a task. I missed out on some rewards, so I've got to make them up somewhere else."
"Besides, I've never liked Old Jack. Might as well mess with him!"
"Notice: Task activated [You shameless old bastard, presuming on your age! I'll take your dog's head!]. Task requirements: Mess with village chief Old Jack once. No restrictions on method, means, or consequences. Killing is permitted, but you must not expose yourself. Task reward: +10 reward points."
"Let's not kill him. We've got no grudge against each other," Zhang Tianyu said with a cough in his mind. "But isn't ten points a little stingy?"
The system didn't answer.
All right, Old Jack was just an ordinary person. The task was too easy, so the reward couldn't be much.
Zhang Tianyu didn't even need to think. He went straight ahead and pulled a nasty trick on Old Jack—
Forced Backflip!
"Grandpa Jack? Why is it you? Where's my dad?" Tang San asked, utterly bewildered.
"Ah," Old Jack sighed theatrically, then handed Tang San the letter. "Take a look. Your father left this behind. I came to see him this morning because I wanted him to come with me to pick you up, but you'd already come back."
Tang San shuddered all over. A sense of foreboding welled up inside him. His hand trembled as he took the letter, and there it was—the message he'd least wanted to see:
"Little San, by the time you read this letter, I'll already be gone. Don't think of me. Tang Hao."
Staring at the paper in his hand, Tang San went completely blank. The joy in his heart turned in an instant to helpless despair.
Dad had left. Dad, why did you have to go?
Watching Tang San's dazed expression, Old Jack gave a bitter smile. "Tang Hao left without a single warning. I came by the day before yesterday to ask him to make some farming tools. Now that he's gone, we'll have to find another blacksmith. That man really was irresponsible."
Tang San slowly came back to himself. "Grandpa Jack, you mean Dad only left in the last day or two?"
Old Jack nodded. "It must've been in the last day or two. Little San, don't be sad. A father like that isn't worth it. Come with me to my house."
Tang San silently shook his head, carefully folded the paper in his hands, and tucked it into his clothes.
"Thank you, Grandpa Jack. The house is such a mess, so I won't ask you to stay. I still have to tidy up."
Old Jack froze. He hadn't expected little Tang San to actually see him out. With a sigh, he said, "All right. But if you need anything, just come to me."
He shook his head helplessly and turned to leave.
The atmosphere inside the house immediately grew heavy, as if the air itself had stopped moving.
Seeing Tang San's forlorn, dejected expression,
Zhang Tianyu and Xiao Wu were just about to comfort him when a jarring voice suddenly rang out: "Fuck! Go! Ignore!"
The three of them froze and turned around. They saw Old Jack, who had already walked out the door, suddenly do a backflip right before their bewildered eyes!
Tang San and Xiao Wu were dumbstruck!
Zhang Tianyu also did his best to look dazed and bewildered. In reality, he was this close to bursting out laughing!
As expected of Forced Backflip! Amazing!
Old Jack had needed a cane just to walk, and now he'd tossed it aside and done a backflip!
A medical miracle!
The heavy atmosphere inside the house vanished in an instant!
Everyone stared at Old Jack like a fool.
Tang San's eyes were wide as saucers, as if he'd only just met the old man.
"Huh? What just happened?" Old Jack asked, completely bewildered, after regaining his balance.
"Where's my cane?"
"Ah! Why am I a little dizzy?"
"Ah! Ouch! What happened to my leg? Why does it feel like I pulled something? Ow, ow!"
Since Old Jack had pulled something in his leg and had no idea where he'd thrown his cane, he panicked and flopped down onto the ground with a thud.
"Grandpa Jack!" Tang San cried in alarm, hurrying over to help him up.
"Ow! Little San, what happened to me?" Jack said, clutching his leg. "How did my cane suddenly disappear, and then I got dizzy and my leg started hurting..."
Tang San: ...
Xiao Wu: ...
So you really didn't know you'd suddenly done some inexplicable backflip?!
We thought you were trying to cheer Tang San up with a backflip!
And you didn't even know you'd just done one?
This is ridiculous!
You're old, aren't you? Your memory's going, isn't it?
Tang San didn't say anything else. He just said, "Grandpa Jack, I never would've guessed you were still so spry."
Old Jack:???
Before you continue