Seeing the situation ahead of the car, Xiao Ming couldn't help frowning. "What's going on?"
"A bunch of hooligans. What are they doing?" Xiao Mu looked at the road leading out of the city, his eyes icy.
Xiao Ming pushed open the car door, and the sea breeze swept in, damp and salty.
The last sliver of the setting sun sank beneath the horizon, and daylight was rapidly fading.
The hooligans turned around. Their eyes swept over the father and son before settling on Xiao Ming's trench coat.
"Well, well, a rich guy." The blond ringleader grinned, revealing a half-missing front tooth. "This has nothing to do with you. I'm telling you, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Once I sell this thing, I'll be rich too."
Xiao Ming gave a disdainful smile, a glint lighting his eyes. "What gives someone who doesn't even qualify as a Soul Master the courage to speak to one like that?"
In the next instant, an oppressive wave of Soul Power crashed down, its strength already at level twenty.
Generally speaking, when a low-level Soul Master endured the direct Soul Power pressure of a higher-level Soul Master, being able to withstand pressure at two-thirds of their own level was already quite impressive.
These hooligans weren't even Soul Masters. Under the pressure, they foamed at the mouth, their internal organs damaged.
"Grandma once said that children are treasures, and the most unforgivable thing in this world is hurting a treasure."
Behind him, Xiao Mu raised one hand toward the sky and slowly stepped forward. His Hundred-Year Soul Ring pulsed beneath his feet, suddenly bursting into light.
The next moment, the hooligans felt their breathing grow difficult, as if all the oxygen had been sucked away.
He used his ability to take away some things these people didn't need.
"What's happening... I... can't... breathe..." The blond tried to speak, but it felt as if something had clamped around his throat.
He opened his mouth as wide as he could, but his lungs couldn't draw in a single breath. His face flushed red, his eyes bulged, and his knuckles turned white as he clawed at his own neck.
"Hrk... hrrk..." Someone fell to their knees, digging all ten fingers into the sand. Their nails split, and blood seeped into the earth.
The air was moving, but it flowed around them.
Tortured like this, the hooligans couldn't take it. They promptly gained the sleep of babies.
Xiao Ming glanced at his son. Had this kid even met his grandmother? How come I don't remember my mom ever saying that?
Could she have told him in a dream?
The two watched the hooligans pass out, then turned toward the white figure in the center of the group.
She was a little girl who looked about six years old.
Xiao Mu frowned slightly. What was going on?
Silver hair and silver eyes. Something was wrong. Was this what the Silver Dragon King looked like?
Shouldn't she have silver hair and violet eyes?
Had something changed in this world without his knowledge?
Damn it. He'd wanted to ask the Silver Dragon King, who controlled the elements, for a Periodic Table.
Not that she could have made one.
At that moment, the girl's head was in a daze. It felt as if someone had hit her hard, and she couldn't remember anything.
It seemed like she had fallen out of something.
"Dad, the tide's coming in..." Xiao Mu put it tactfully. Though he wasn't sure what had changed in this world, these hooligans had dared to kidnap and sell a child. They just needed an excuse to deal with them.
"I know that, of course." Xiao Ming smiled faintly, but his gaze was just as grave as he looked at the silver-haired girl. She was clearly no ordinary child.
How had she ended up like this?
Was it some family power struggle?
After all, disputes over the heirship had always been like this.
Xiao Mu walked over, crouched down, and met the girl's eyes.
"Don't be afraid, little one. The bad guys have been chased away." He comforted her gently.
"Mm..." The girl was still a little frightened.
"Where are your mom and dad?"
"Do you know where you live?"
She had no answers. She only shook her head.
"Then what's your name?"
At last, she had an answer. "Na'er..."
"Na'er?" Xiao Mu repeated, feeling as if the capitalists had set him up.
"Do you remember anything else?"
The girl shook her head, her brow furrowed as if she were trying to dig something out of a blank memory. In the end, all she unearthed was a look of confusion.
"Don't be afraid. Come with your big brother for now. I'll take you to find your family."
Xiao Mu stood up and looked at Xiao Ming. Father and son exchanged a glance, and Xiao Ming felt even more hatred for the hooligans.
They'd beaten the memory right out of her!
Before long, the sea breeze swept in, carrying the distant roar of the tide and dispersing wisps of blood's metallic scent.
Darkness fell completely. The lights cast a dusky golden halo over the girl's silver-white short hair.
"Let's get in the car first. We'll report it tomorrow." Xiao Ming's voice was calm, as if nothing had just happened.
Xiao Mu, meanwhile, was thinking that his old man was somehow even better at playing it cool than he was.
The shadow of a black sun loomed behind him, like the Grim Reaper walking among mortals.
He could turn anything he saw to dust.
In the future, he'd have a great sun above his head. His presence couldn't be any weaker than his dad's.
The car started up again, its taillights tracing two red arcs through the night.
The car gradually disappeared into the darkness.
From the edge of the sky, a woman's voice crossed through the void, tinged with helplessness. "Brother Hao, how could you make such a huge mistake? What about Xiao San's grand plan?"
"Ah Yin, I don't know either." Another voice rang out, hoarse and low. "Not only did I use too much power, but the spatial transmission went off course too."
Two figures flickered in and out of view in the void. The man was burly, his unkempt hair like a clump of weeds, the weariness of countless years hidden in his eyes.
The woman wore a blue dress, her long hair cascading like a waterfall. Her features were gentle, but her brows were tightly knitted.
They were Tang Hao and Ah Yin.
They had already used their power once. They couldn't interfere with the Douluo Continent again for a long time. Ah Yin still had to face the Golden Ancient Tree and couldn't interfere too much to begin with.
If Tang Hao used his power again in the near future, the Abyss might discover him.
"What do we do now?" Ah Yin asked, her voice like wind passing through leaves. "Na'er has fallen into that child's hands. Xiao San's plan..."
"We can only take things one step at a time." Tang Hao cut her off, his gaze piercing through the void to the car moving farther away. "Someone got there first? At least Wulin will be coming to Eastsea City. It won't be too late for them to meet then."
At those words, Ah Yin stood alone in the distorted space, silent for a long time.
Then she vanished without a trace, like a drop of water merging into the sea, leaving no mark behind.
The sports car drove onto a winding mountain road, and the moon had already risen.
The villa appeared at the far end of the view, entirely white, its flowing lines sleek and layered, like a spacecraft resting atop the mountain. It stood on supports above the cliffside. The boundless swimming pool shimmered faintly, and the landing pad looked like a slab of metal planed flat. A few palm trees dotted the grounds, swaying gently in the night breeze.
Xiao Ming parked the car. Xiao Mu got out first, then reached in to help Na'er out. The little girl was still shy, curiosity in her eyes.
As they entered the foyer, Ye Ran looked at her husband, then at her son, and finally at the small silver-white figure.
"This..."
"We picked her up on the road. She nearly got sold by some hooligans."
"What?"
"Mom, her name is Na'er. She only remembers her name. She doesn't remember anything else. Let's report it tomorrow."
Na'er looked up and met Ye Ran's gaze. The woman's eyes were calm as she seemed to size up the girl.
Ye Ran crouched down and stroked Na'er's little head. "Don't be afraid. I'll take you to find your family tomorrow."
She stood and took Na'er's hand. "Come on, let's go upstairs and get you a bath. I'll find you some clean clothes."
As the two of them walked away, Xiao Mu turned and headed for the villa's basement. This was his territory, after all.
The fluorescent lights flicked on one after another, illuminating the blueprints covering the walls and the neatly arranged metal blocks on the shelves.
All kinds of ore were piled in the corner: black gold, Deep Silver, and refined iron. They gleamed with a cold, dull luster under the lights.
Xiao Mu walked to the workbench and picked up a piece of Deep Silver. His First Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet.
The entire piece of Deep Silver felt pressure squeezing it from every direction, and it began to tremble. Silver patterns warped and contracted across its surface, and its volume visibly shrank.
But once it had been compressed to a certain point, Xiao Mu could no longer exert any force.
"His Soul Power is still too weak." A helpless look flickered in his eyes.
He thought it over, then began studying his Soul Skill again.
Change the direction of gravity, reverse gravity to fly.
He could barely control air currents...
Xiao Mu smiled. "This ability feels more suited to be called Vector Manipulation. I'm just too weak right now."
After thinking about it, he decided that in the future, he could find a way to undergo a Martial Soul Second Awakening. With his Body Martial Soul, Mu Ye surely wouldn't refuse.