Tang San wiped the mud from his face and continued toward Holy Soul Village, one step at a time.
Right now, only one thought filled his mind.
As long as he reached that place, he would be able to see the person he missed.
Before sunset, the entrance to Holy Soul Village finally came into view.
Tang San took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and tried to make himself look a little less bedraggled.
Once he was home, he could have a bite of the food his father had cooked with his own hands... Uh, his father probably couldn't cook.
No matter.
As long as he could see his father's back as he worked at the forge, all the grievances and humiliations he'd suffered out there would mean nothing!
But...
The moment he stepped into the village, he sensed something was wrong.
It was too quiet.
At this time of day, smoke should have been curling up from the village, the aunties should have been chatting about everyone's business at the entrance, and Old Jack should have been strolling around with his cane.
But now, forget people—not even a dog was in sight!
Tang San's heart tightened, and he hurried into the village.
As he ran, he saw that every house stood wide open, the courtyards were a complete mess, and not a single person was around.
Had bandits raided the village, or had it been attacked by Soul Beasts?
Tang San panicked completely and bolted toward his own home.
He shoved open the dilapidated wooden door, and a long-missed smell of mold hit him in the face.
The house was empty. There wasn't a soul in sight.
His father wasn't there.
Tang San's heart raced. He turned and ran out of the forge, heading straight for Village Chief Jack's house.
"Grandpa Jack! Grandpa Jack!"
Tang San called out several times, but there was no answer. In Old Jack's courtyard, all that remained was a broken winnowing basket, with dried radishes scattered across the ground.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a layer of glaring whitewash on the old locust tree in front of Old Jack's house.
He rushed over and saw several crooked words scrawled across it: "Whole village grabbed buckets and ran. Don't miss us."
At the very bottom, someone had even drawn a smiling face.
Tang San stood frozen in the courtyard, his mind buzzing.
The whole village had run away? What about his father?
He ran back to the forge and screamed Tang Hao's name hysterically outside their home.
Still, no answer.
Tang San felt his blood surge in his chest. His throat turned sweet, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
His teacher had been castrated, he'd become a laughingstock, and he hadn't even managed to keep his pants intact.
Now he'd come home, only to find his home gone, the whole village gone, and his father gone too.
All the grievances, frustration, and humiliation he'd endured that year burst out at once.
Just then, dark clouds suddenly covered the sky, and a fine rain began to drift down.
"No!!!!"
His knees buckled, and he fell to his knees in front of his home with a thud.
Snowflakes fluttered, the north wind howled~.
Heaven and earth stretched into a vast and desolate expanse~
A single winter plum stood proudly in the snow...
"Dad!!!!"
Tang San threw his head back and howled, his voice so mournful that anyone who heard it would be heartbroken and anyone who listened would shed tears.
"Dad! How am I supposed to live without you, Dad!"
"Why did you run away without taking me with you...!"
"Why is this happening!!!"
He pounded the ground frantically with both hands. His anguished cries echoed through the empty village, carrying the bleakness of someone abandoned by the whole world.
He'd lived two lifetimes, and at last he'd gotten a father in this one—only for his father to run away in the middle of the night.
He'd become an orphan again!
Why did Heaven have to torment him like this?
Just as he was crying his heart out, nearly passing out from grief...
Suddenly...
His keen eyes caught sight of a letter pinned beneath something on the old table in his house.
Tang San scrambled over on hands and knees and snatched it up.
It was from Old Jack.
Little San, your father left a letter for you before he went. Our village came into a windfall, so we all moved away together. I stuffed your letter under the stove.
Signed: Your Grandpa Jack.
Tang San hurriedly plunged his head into the stove and fished out a battered envelope covered in soot.
The envelope bore Tang Hao's dog-scratch handwriting.
He opened it and quickly scanned the letter.
The contents were simple.
Tang Hao said he had to take care of something important and couldn't stay by his side for the time being. He told him to study hard at the academy and said they would meet again when the time was right.
After reading the last line, Tang San was so moved that tears spilled from his eyes.
So his father hadn't abandoned him.
He'd gone to take care of something important.
Tang San pressed the letter to his chest, and once again he had someone to rely on.
His father was gone. Now the only person he could count on was his teacher, Yu Xiaogang.
"Teacher, Little San only has you now..."
Grrr...
Just then, Tang San's stomach betrayed him and growled.
After that roller coaster of joy and sorrow, he'd certainly burned through a lot of energy.
He searched the house but couldn't find even half a grain of rice.
He had no choice but to sneak some rice from the house next door.
Fortunately, Old Jack and the others hadn't carried out a scorched-earth policy when they moved.
After filling his stomach, Tang San went to the well and scrubbed himself clean, washing away the stench.
He washed his clothes too, then lay naked on the wooden bed where Tang Hao had once slept.
This place still carried the trace of his father.
He swore to himself that first thing tomorrow morning, he'd return to Nuoding City and find his teacher. He'd go to that advanced academy full of monsters and grow stronger!
Nuoding City.
A street-food stall.
Su Chen was chewing on a grilled gluten skewer when he suddenly let out a loud sneeze.
"Achoo!"
He rubbed his nose and grinned. "One sneeze means someone's thinking of you, two means they're cursing you, and three means you're getting sick. I bet Little San's cursing me behind my back again."
Beside him, Xiao Wu held a cup of freshly squeezed juice and rolled her lovely eyes. "Boss, you castrated his dad and stole his mom away. How could he not curse you?"
"You sure have a lot to say. Here, let your food shut you up."
Su Chen flicked her forehead.
Xiao Wu covered her head and muttered, "You're rotten to the core, no matter what."
"So what if I am? When you're dealing with those sanctimonious hypocrites, you have to fight fire with fire." Su Chen took a bite of his gluten skewer, looking completely unbothered.
Notting Academy.
Inside Yu Xiaogang's office.
He had just sent off a letter to Flender. When he returned, he found an unsigned sheet of paper lying on his desk.
He walked over and picked it up.
First, his mouth spread into a grin, like a blooming old chrysanthemum.
Then his weathered face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
The letter had been left by Tang Hao.
It said that Su Chen had a powerful expert protecting him. Tang Hao had fought that person for eight hundred rounds in a battle that had darkened the heavens and obscured the sun and moon, but neither of them had been able to get the better of the other.
So he'd had no choice but to make a "tactical retreat."
Tang Hao suspected that Su Chen might be a core seed secretly cultivated by Spirit Hall.
He also told Yu Xiaogang to teach Little San well and avoid provoking Su Chen for the time being.
Yu Xiaogang's hands began to tremble. He crumpled the letter and hurled it to the ground.
Spirit Hall, Spirit Hall, damned Spirit Hall!
"Bibi Dong!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened, and his fists clenched with a series of sharp cracks.
His strangely brilliant mind instantly pieced together a logically airtight melodrama.
Back then, Bibi Dong had abandoned him. Now she'd learned he'd taken in an unparalleled genius as a disciple, and jealousy had gotten the better of her. So she'd sent people from Spirit Hall to secretly suppress him.
Otherwise, who in the world besides Spirit Hall could casually send out an expert who could fight Clear Sky Douluo to a draw?
"Do you want me back that badly?"
Yu Xiaogang lifted his head and gazed at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, talking to the air.
His nasal, duck-like voice carried three parts mockery, three parts cold indifference, and four parts nonchalance.
"If you can't have me, you'll destroy my hopes?"
"Woman, you're playing with fire!"
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that he'd seen through the truth.
Yu Xiaogang sneered and instinctively felt his empty crotch.
He froze for two and a half seconds, then continued imagining things.
"Setting the facts aside, even if I'm no longer a whole man, I'll never let you have even a single hair of mine!"
"You think that just because you're high and mighty, you can control everything?"
"You sent people after my disciple and even took away my manhood. Isn't it all to make me give up on you completely and obediently return to your side?"
"Dream on! I, Yu Xiaogang, may be a good-for-nothing, but I have my pride!"
Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, and an astonishing fighting spirit burst from his eyes.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't look down on a middle-aged man just because he's poor!"
"Besides, my heart has belonged to Er Long for a long time!"
"Bibi Dong, your despicable schemes will never succeed!"
Yu Xiaogang straightened his collar. Though he had to walk with his legs spread apart, his back remained ramrod straight.
It was as if he were a hero standing against a demon king.
Then he spun around and hurriedly began packing his things.
As soon as Tang San returned, they'd run for it!
If he couldn't win, he could still run!
Once they reached Shrek Academy and Tang San had fully grown, he, Yu Xiaogang, would personally lead his disciple in crushing Spirit Hall and make Bibi Dong pay dearly for what she'd done!
Meanwhile, in a shadowy corner...
Tang Hao, who had been listening to all of this in secret, couldn't help admiring the way Yu Xiaogang's mind worked.
Getting away from Nuoding City was a good idea. That evil brat was far too evil.
He looked into the distance. I can't have that rabbit, but that evil brat won't get her either.