Mom Will Worry

The sound of rushing water splashed through the forest.

Huo Yuhao suddenly sprang up from the stream.

Water droplets trickled down his damp black hair, and his coarse cloth clothes clung tightly to his body. The sticky sensation, mixed with the icy chill of the river, made him shiver instinctively.

His gaze fell upon his hands, which still bore a trace of youth.

Huo Yuhao looked up, staring at his surroundings in confusion.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadows upon the ground.

Memories surged like a tide; the events of his past life flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

The final battle against Tang San, that earth-shattering scene, and the ultimate outcome of mutual destruction.

A complex emotion flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he bent down and picked up the White Tiger Dagger from the stream.

The dagger felt icy and heavy in his hand, carrying an aura of slaughter.

He walked to the bank and looked at his reflection in the water.

The stream was crystal clear, reflecting his current appearance—a ten-year-old child.

On his youthful face, a pair of blue eyes looked clear and bright.

A rose-gold light suddenly ignited within his blue pupils.

A golden radiance bloomed on his forehead, growing brighter and more dazzling by the second.

Amidst the light, a vertical eye slowly emerged, with mysterious symbols gathering and swirling around it.

Inside the vertical eye, a golden dragon shadow rolled and roared, violent and chaotic, carrying an aura capable of destroying the heavens and the earth.

This anomaly lasted only for a moment before rapidly fading away.

"The Golden Dragon King Divine Core?" Huo Yuhao muttered to himself, his voice low and hoarse. "And my Eye of Destiny has also changed. Is this the influence of rebirth?"

In his past life, it was precisely under the influence of the Golden Dragon King Divine Core that he had broken free from his muddled state and seen the absurdity of his own actions.

Yet in the end, after his break with Tang San, Tang Wutong had still stood by Tang San's side.

If not for those comrades who had shared life and death with him and fought with their lives, how could he have dragged Tang San into the spatial turbulence and perished together with him?

Huo Yuhao pulled a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth and shook his head.

He had thought everything was over, but heaven had actually given him a chance to start again.

He raised his head and looked into the distance.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the dense forest, landing in the direction of the White Tiger Duke Mansion.

"Mother..." Huo Yuhao whispered, his voice trembling slightly.

His mother, Huo Yun'er, was still alive.

She was not yet the soul Tang San had fished back from the underworld, but the gentle and kind mother from his memories.

Huo Yuhao carefully tucked the White Tiger Dagger into his clothes.

He picked up a few river fish from the ground, strung them together with vines, and held them in his hand.

He then set off, walking toward the direction of home.

At first, his steps were slow and cautious, as if testing the waters.

Gradually, his pace became faster and more determined.

Finally, he began to run, a long-lost smile on his face.

Yes, everything could start over.

The young man was filled with such hope.

Huo Yuhao's mother, Huo Yun'er, had once been the personal maid of the White Tiger Duke, having followed by his side since childhood.

A so-called personal maid was a servant in name, but in reality, she was half a woman to her master.

Ten years ago, on a night when the White Tiger Duke was drunk, Huo Yuhao had come into this world.

At first, Huo Yun'er and her son were able to have an independent courtyard in the White Tiger Duke Mansion and lived a relatively stable life.

However, good times did not last long.

As the White Tiger Duke went out to war, the Duchess no longer hid her suppression of Huo Yun'er and her son.

She found an excuse, claiming that Huo Yun'er was suffering from a malignant disease, and drove the mother and son out of their original courtyard, settling them in a dilapidated woodshed behind the servant quarters. That year, Huo Yuhao was only two years old.

Not only that, but the Duchess also cut off all financial sources for Huo Yun'er and her son.

Their lives were suddenly plunged into hardship.

When Huo Yuhao was six years old, he awakened his martial soul.

But what he awakened was not the Evil Eye White Tiger passed down through the White Tiger Duke's lineage, but a mutated martial soul, the Spirit Eye, with an Innate Soul Power of only level one.

This ordeal made the already difficult situation for mother and son even worse.

As the son of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, not only did he fail to inherit the family's powerful martial soul, but his innate talent was also so inferior that he naturally received no regard from anyone.

The servants within the White Tiger Duke Mansion, in order to curry favor with the Duchess, wantonly bullied Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er.

Huo Yuhao remembered clearly that in a few months, his mother's body would completely collapse.

Due to long-term malnutrition and overwork, she would fall gravely ill and eventually pass away.

But now, there was still a chance to change all of this.

Huo Yuhao sprinted along the small path.

In the past, such intense movement would have already overwhelmed his frail body.

But at this moment, his entire body felt warm, and streams of pure blood energy surged from the depths of his mind.

It coursed through his limbs and bones, as if he had an inexhaustible supply of strength.

The White Tiger Duke Mansion was drawing closer.

The high walls were towering, and the palaces were magnificent, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight.

The upturned eaves and ornate pavilions all highlighted the prestige and majesty of the White Tiger Duke Mansion.

However, none of this had anything to do with Huo Yuhao; as a son born to a maid, he naturally could not enter through the main gate.

He turned into a secluded path and ran toward the woodshed behind the servant quarters.

He had walked this path countless times; every pothole and every stone was etched into his heart.

His heartbeat grew louder, thumping like a drum, echoing in his chest, and his pace involuntarily quickened.

Closer, even closer.

Huo Yuhao slowed his pace, carefully smoothing his clothes to ensure there was nothing amiss.

He took a deep breath, calmed his agitated emotions, and prepared to return home.

"Huo Yun'er, where is that son of yours?!"

A shrill voice suddenly came from the direction of the woodshed, abruptly interrupting Huo Yuhao's next move.

"Why is the firewood count short again today? What are you two useless things even good for?!"

"How did our White Tiger Duke Mansion end up with two useless things like you?!"

Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks. Through the gaps in the trees, he saw the scene in front of the woodshed.

A stout steward stood at the entrance of the woodshed, bossily berating Huo Yun'er.

The steward was dressed in a brocade robe with a jade pendant hanging from his waist; one look was enough to tell he was a person of status within the mansion.

Behind him stood several burly guards, all looking fierce and menacing.

Huo Yun'er stood before the steward with her head bowed, not daring to show the slightest defiance. Her coarse cloth clothes were covered in patches, her face was pale, and her frame was gaunt, revealing her utter exhaustion.

"Steward, my son went to gather firewood," Huo Yun'er's voice was low and trembling.

"Gather firewood? I think he went to slack off!" The steward snorted, his face full of contempt. "Huo Yun'er, let me tell you, don't think that just because you used to be the Duke's personal maid, you can act high and mighty here! Now, you are nothing but a servant—a piece of trash even lower than a servant!"

"Yes, yes, the Steward is right to lecture me." Huo Yun'er nodded repeatedly, not daring to resist in the slightest.

"Hmph!" The steward looked at Huo Yun'er's servile posture with satisfaction, feeling a sense of delight.

Within this White Tiger Duke Mansion, servants were divided into different ranks. Being able to follow the Duchess's orders to berate this former personal maid and order around that son of a maid gave him a twisted sense of pleasure.

Tree shadows swayed, and branches rustled.

Huo Yuhao watched his mother's submissive posture and the hateful expressions on those people's faces. His pupils suddenly constricted, narrowing into thin lines.

He subconsciously touched the White Tiger Dagger hidden in his chest; the coldness of the blade made him instantly clear-headed.

I cannot act here, Huo Yuhao warned himself in his heart. I cannot let Mother see me kill someone; she will worry.