"So you're the legendary Jack Douluo! I've heard so much about you."
Su Chen clasped his hands in greeting to Old Jack.
The moment Xiao Wu heard the word "Douluo," her rabbit ears shot straight up. She instantly ducked behind Su Chen and warily eyed the old man before them.
Old Jack was utterly baffled.
What was he talking about?
Him? A Titled Douluo?
"Ahem, young master, you jest. I'm not even a Soul Master, so I hardly dare call myself a Douluo."
Old Jack stroked his beard and waved his hands repeatedly.
Su Chen grinned. When he called Old Jack a Douluo, he meant a different kind of Douluo. Those who knew, knew.
Only after Old Jack denied it himself did Xiao Wu peek out from behind Su Chen, glaring at him angrily.
That bastard did nothing but scare her all day long!
Su Chen went into the courtyard and sat down, casually smoothing his wind-tousled hair.
"Old sir, I came this time to ask you about someone."
As he spoke, Su Chen took out a Silver Soul Coin and handed it to Old Jack.
Whoosh!
Old Jack's bony hand blurred into a streak, and the Silver Soul Coin vanished into his robes in an instant.
"Oh, you really shouldn't have! Asking about someone is a small matter. Ask whatever you like, young master!" Old Jack beamed from ear to ear.
Su Chen never would've guessed that Old Jack had such a knack for playing along.
"Old sir, the person I want to ask about is named Tang Hao."
He wasn't interested in Tang Hao himself.
He was asking for Ah Yin, who was inside the Soul Tool.
At that moment,
Ah Yin, watching the outside world through the Soul Tool, had leaves that trembled in the breeze.
She listened intently to the sounds outside.
Tang Hao?
Old Jack couldn't understand how that drunkard Tang Hao had caught the young master's interest.
He'd taken the money, so he'd do the job.
Old Jack cleared his throat, planted his cane, and sat on a stool. After pondering for a moment, he began, "Tang Hao came to settle in our village six years ago, carrying an infant..."
Old Jack told the tale with such passion and feeling.
From Tang Hao getting dead drunk every day to never caring whether Tang San lived or died when he was little.
From the time Tang San could remember, he'd had to stand on a stool to cook and do the laundry for his drunkard of a father...
Every incident, every detail—Old Jack spilled the whole lot.
Inside the Soul Tool, all was silent.
Ah Yin's few remaining leaves of Golden Striped Grass drooped weakly, as if the last trace of life had been drained from them.
Brother Hao, why would you treat our child this way?
He was the flesh and blood I gave my life to bring into the world!
Could it be that, from beginning to end, all you wanted was my Soul Ring and Soul Bone?
Ah Yin's heart shattered into pieces.
More than half an hour later, Old Jack's throat had gone dry. He picked up his tea mug and gulped down a big mouthful.
Xiao Wu, listening behind Su Chen, gritted her teeth and slapped him on the shoulder. "Tang Hao is such a piece of trash!"
"If he's trash, why are you hitting me?" Su Chen glanced back at her.
Xiao Wu instantly switched back into timid rabbit mode, shrinking her neck with an awkward laugh.
Old Jack wiped his mouth and asked in confusion, "Young master, why are you asking about that lazybones?"
Su Chen turned his attention back from Xiao Wu.
"Old sir, to be honest, I came here to save the lives and livelihoods of everyone in Holy Soul Village. And it all starts with Tang Hao."
"He's gotten himself into a terrible mess!"
Old Jack was completely lost.
"What kind of mess could Tang Hao get himself into? Did he get caught peeping on some widow bathing in town?" Old Jack scoffed. "Besides, he left the village almost a year ago."
Su Chen flashed his two front teeth. "That lazybones from your village is actually Spirit Hall's number-one wanted criminal."
"Impossible!" Old Jack shook his head like a rattle drum. "With him looking like a good-for-nothing who can't even get enough to eat, how could he be a wanted criminal?"
He wouldn't believe it if it killed him.
"You can know a person's face, but not their heart."
"Old sir, you don't know the half of it. Tang Hao has quite the background. He's a bona fide Titled Douluo, known in the underworld as Clear Sky Old Bastard."
"He's taken more lives than you've eaten grains of salt."
Old Jack's head buzzed.
That blacksmith who was always drunk and couldn't even get enough to eat was a Titled Douluo?
"Young master, that backstory you've made up for him is too far-fetched. If Tang Hao really were a Titled Douluo, then I, Old Jack, would be the Spirit Hall Pope!"
Old Jack waved his hands repeatedly, refusing to believe a word of it.
If Tang Hao were a Titled Douluo, Old Jack would've been dead years ago for cursing him every day.
What high-ranking Soul Master would let someone point at his nose and curse without striking back?
Unless he was a total coward.
Su Chen said no more. He simply turned around, held out his hand to Xiao Wu, and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together without mercy.
The moment Xiao Wu saw that gesture, she bristled.
It was Su Chen's special signal for asking her for money!
She clutched the pink Soul Tool at her waist and backed away, shaking her head like a rattle drum. "I'm broke! I've got no money, so you'll have to take my life!"
During Su Chen's year at Notting Academy, the aristocratic students had meekly paid him protection money every month.
He'd saved up at least eight or nine hundred Gold Soul Coins over the year, and had left the lot in the hands of this money-loving rabbit.
"Don't make me use force. Hand it over!" Su Chen glared at her.
Xiao Wu's eyes brimmed with tears as she protested, "You're exploiting an old comrade like me! Doesn't your conscience hurt? These are my dearest friends, my own flesh and blood, my brothers!"
"Cut the crap. Brothers are there to be sold."
Su Chen unceremoniously smacked the back of her head. "Empty it out!"
Xiao Wu burst into tears. She reluctantly undid her Soul Tool and, as if cutting off a piece of her own flesh, slowly poured out a few Gold Soul Coins.
Su Chen snatched the Soul Tool from her and shook it hard with the opening pointed down.
All the Gold Soul Coins spilled out.
At a glance, there were more than eight hundred of them, piled up before Old Jack's doorstep like a little mountain of gold.
They glittered so brightly they nearly blinded Old Jack's titanium-alloy eyes.
Old Jack had never seen so much money in his life. His breathing instantly grew heavy.
Su Chen took ten Gold Soul Coins from the pile. He glanced at Xiao Wu, who wore a long, mournful face, then took out ten more and placed them in her hand before turning to Old Jack.
"Old sir, I'll get straight to the point."
"Take these Gold Soul Coins. Tang Hao really is a Titled Douluo. I came here to raid his house, and when he returns, he'll go mad. This mess started with me, so I make it a point not to drag innocent people into it."
"So take the money and get everyone in the village moving tonight! Buy one-way tickets and get out of here! The farther away, the better!"
Old Jack stared at the heavy pile of Gold Soul Coins and swallowed hard.
There was enough here for the whole village to buy homes and settle in a big city, with enough left over to buy a few hills and live like local gentry.
He might be old, but he wasn't stupid.
A kid who could casually pull out this many Gold Soul Coins wasn't joking around.
Besides, who cared whether Tang Hao was a Titled Douluo? If someone was paying them to move, only a fool would stay!
"Good boy! On behalf of the whole village, I thank your ancestors for eight generations!"
Su Chen: Thanks, I guess.
Old Jack burst into a speed that belied his age and ran off to ring the battered bronze bell in the village center.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Folks! Gather round! Pack your things! We're getting out of here!"
After Old Jack's speech, everyone agreed to leave Holy Soul Village.
"Widow Zhang, forget those two old hens of yours! Hurry up and go!"
"Li Tiezhu, pull up every last scallion in your field tonight! We're going to the city to live the good life!"
"Auntie Wang, leave that battered iron pot behind! It weighs a ton. We've got money now—we can eat out every day!"
Old Jack stood at the village entrance, holding the pile of Gold Soul Coins and directing everyone like a commanding general.
Watching Holy Soul Village erupt into a flurry of activity as everyone hurriedly packed their belongings,
Su Chen took no credit for his good deed.
"Boss, my money..." Xiao Wu was still wiping away her tears, heartbroken and feeling like the sky had fallen.
"What are you crying for? A thousand gold coins scattered will come back again. Come on, I'll take you up into the sky."
Su Chen put an arm around Xiao Wu's waist, activated the Flying Soul Guidance Device, and shot into the sky.
"Boss, why did you give them so much money? That's all our savings! We could've bought a whole mountain of carrots with it!" Xiao Wu protested wildly in midair.
Su Chen tapped her on the head. "What do you know?"
"That old bastard Tang Hao has been made into a eunuch by me, so he's bound to be seething with rage. When he gets back and finds his wife gone, he'll definitely take it out on those defenseless villagers."
"I caused this mess. I may not be a paragon of virtue, but I'm no scumbag who drags innocent people into it. Spending a little money gives me peace of mind."
Xiao Wu blinked as if she sort of understood, then muttered, "Boss, you really do seem almost like a decent person sometimes."
"Can you talk properly? If not, donate your mouth to someone who needs one."