Second Brother, I Really Like Your Scent

"You are Father's son, but I am also Father's daughter!"

"What you can do, I can naturally do as well. I'll go to Spirit City in your place!"

"That way, Father and Eldest Brother can live, and so can we!"

Tang Yuehua stared intensely at Tang Hao.

"No, how could I let you go!"

Tang Hao's expression was exceptionally resolute. He simply did not agree with Tang Yuehua's idea.

"Second Brother, you have to let me go!"

"If you go, we'll all die. Spirit Hall won't let me off!"

"If I go, we can all live. You should be able to tell which is more important!"

Tang Yuehua's tone was incredibly grave, almost a roar!

"A real man takes responsibility for his own actions. I can't let you go!"

Tang Hao shook his head, still firmly refusing Tang Yuehua's request.

"Second Brother, if you die and I die, what will happen to your child with Ah Yin?"

"At such a young age, they'd lose not only their mother, but their father too. If they were lucky, they could fight stray dogs for scraps. If they were unlucky, they'd die outright."

Tang Yuehua gazed at Tang Hao and said in an incomparably stern tone, "If you do this, can you face Ah Yin? Can you face the disciples and elders of the Clear Sky Sect who died?"

"I..."

Seeing Tang Yuehua resort to moral coercion against him, Tang Hao immediately fell silent.

"Second Brother, live well. Raise your child properly!"

"That child inherited both your talents. Once they grow up, they'll definitely be able to avenge us!"

Tang Yuehua's expression gradually turned cold and detached. Calmly, she said, "I'll take care of everything else for you!"

"Even if I agree, Elder Tang Lie won't."

Tang Hao hesitated for a moment before voicing the concern in his heart.

"Tang Lie is a sinner. He wants to see the Clear Sky Sect completely destroyed, so naturally I won't allow him to have his way!"

Tang Yuehua's gaze fell upon the white porcelain bottle on the table.

Inside was the gift she had left for Tang Lie!

A gift that could reunite Tang Lie with his family!

Poison?

We of the Tang family were best at poisoning people!

"Since you've already made up your mind, I won't say anything more."

Tang Hao suddenly reached out and hugged Tang Yuehua, whispering into her ear, "Little Sister, you've worked hard."

"For you and for the Clear Sky Sect, suffering a little is nothing!"

A blush surfaced on Tang Yuehua's cheeks, as though she were intoxicated by Tang Hao's scent.

Even though Tang Hao reeked of sweat and cheap liquor!

After all, he was the one she loved—the love she could never speak of!

"Heaven Dou City is crowded and full of watchful eyes. I won't stay any longer."

Tang Hao pressed a hand to Tang Yuehua's shoulder and said softly, "If anything changes, contact me immediately!"

"Mm!"

Tang Yuehua nodded. Somewhat shyly, she said, "Second Brother, could you stroke..."

"You're already this grown up, and you still want your head patted?"

Tang Hao laughed dumbly and flew straight out of the room.

"Second Brother, we shouldn't have been siblings!"

Watching Tang Hao's departing figure, Tang Yuehua's eyes were filled with sorrow.

Three days later, Spirit City, Papal Hall.

Other than the three enshrined guarding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the remaining four had all arrived in the Papal Hall's meeting room.

The person seated at the head of the table was naturally Qian Cheng.

"I didn't summon the four of you this time for anything especially important. I just need you to announce a few matters!"

"First, announce to the entire continent that Spirit Hall will publicly execute Tang Zhen and Tang Xiao in three days!"

"Second, the Clear Sky Sect has already been exterminated by us. Remove it from the ranks of the Upper Three Sects, erase the Clear Sky Hammer emblem from the Pope's Token, and hold a new election."

"Third, fully implement restrictions on martial soul awakenings. During the awakening, we must confirm whether they are willing to join Spirit Hall. Those unwilling to join will not be awakened!"

"Fourth, fully implement subsidy restrictions. Soul Masters not affiliated with Spirit Hall will have their subsidies immediately cut off."

Qian Cheng's gaze swept over the Four Great Enshrined as he spoke indifferently.

"We can indeed accomplish the first three matters without any obstacles."

"As for Soul Master subsidies, although we secured them from the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire, they are the ones actually distributing them."

"If we reform things this way, the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire likely won't agree. The financial pressure would also be immense."

Qian Daoliu frowned, looking rather troubled.

"I thought of that long ago."

"Won't the three cities handed over by the Heaven Dou Empire and the three cities handed over by the Star Luo Empire come in handy now?"

"As for whether they'll agree? If they don't, I'll personally pay them a visit and have a talk with them!"

The corners of Qian Cheng's lips curled upward in a cold smile.

"As expected of the old master. You truly planned far ahead!"

"With the six cities from the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire, we can not only recruit soldiers, but also strengthen our finances!"

"Having cities is certainly good, but none of us know how to govern them."

The other enshrined voiced their thoughts as well.

"Your heads are all a little muddled. If Soul Masters don't know how to govern, then find people who do!"

"What those non-Soul Masters seek is nothing more than wealth and status!"

"We can give them those things, and since they lack sufficient strength, they can only remain under our control forever!"

Qian Cheng rose from his seat, his gaze sweeping across the crowd as he said calmly, "It's settled, then. I'll take Xue'er out to find someone."

"Find someone? Who are you looking for?"

Qian Daoliu asked in great surprise.

"Someone preparing to be a turtle hiding in its shell!"

Qian Cheng said coldly.

As the sun set in the west, the lingering rainbow cast a long shadow from Spirit City.

"Ancestor, where are we going?"

Qian Renxue asked Qian Cheng.

"To capture someone—the person who killed your father."

Qian Cheng still decided to place the blame for Qian Xunji's death on Tang Hao.

Qian Renxue was still only a child. If she learned that her own mother had killed her father, she would likely suffer a mental breakdown.

A breakdown was absolutely unacceptable.

If she turned dark because of it, Qian Cheng would probably be happy to make it happen with his own hands!

"Tang Hao? Didn't you issue an announcement telling him to come to Spirit City and atone for his crimes within three days? Why are we going to capture him?"

Qian Renxue asked in great confusion.

"Tang Hao may seem fearless, but in truth, he is timid as a mouse and capable only of a brute's courage."

"Whether it was your grandfather dealing with the Clear Sky Sect or us attacking the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Hao chose to hide in his shell."

"Furthermore, his father and eldest brother are now in our hands. As long as he has any brains, he'll understand."

"The moment he shows himself, he'll fall into our hands. Then his entire family will die together!"

"If Tang Hao comes, not only will he die, but he'll drag Tang Zhen and Tang Xiao down with him. Not coming would be humiliating, but because we care about the safety of lower-ranking employees, it would instead turn this situation around!"

Qian Cheng pinched Qian Renxue's little cheek and asked meaningfully, "Do you understand now?"