Unrequited Giving Turns into Hatred

Unrequited Giving Turns into Hatred

After returning from the training grounds, Liu Erlong shut herself in her room.

She had imagined countless times what it would be like when she saw Yu Xiaogang again. And when she saw him again for the first time, he really had been just as she had imagined—still righteous and upright.

But why had things ended up like this?

Could she blame Ye Qingcang?

No.

She could not bear to.

He was the child she had picked up from the Thousand-Year Soul Beast Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest. Back then, she had known nothing and had nothing. She had fed the child plenty of porridge, but he had not had a single mouthful of milk. It was only when he was two or three years old, when she occasionally spoke with Shui Feng, the headmistress of Tianshui Academy, about their children, that she realized just how outrageously wrong she had been. And only through talking to Shui Feng did she learn just how sensible this child was.

He had been sensible since childhood.

The Stellar Martial Arts he had created had even allowed her to smoothly break through the barrier of level eighty.

She had become a Soul Douluo rather than a Soul Saint.

Blue Tyrant Academy was said to be under her management, but in reality, it was entirely managed by Ye Qingcang. She was not a qualified mother, but Ye Qingcang truly was a qualified child. Sometimes, she even thought that perhaps even a biological son would be no better than this...

Especially compared to Shui Feng's two daughters.

Sure enough, gaps only became apparent through comparison.

Not to mention that Ye Qingcang had done nothing wrong—even if he had been wrong in this matter, she would not punish him because of it.

Who had never made a mistake?

Who could go their whole life without making one?

Yu Xiaogang and Ye Qingcang were both dear to her heart.

If she absolutely had to choose between the two, she truly could not choose.

So, when these two men who were so important to her came into conflict, she was truly at a loss. No matter whom she tried to persuade, she could not make herself heard.

What relieved her was that Ye Qingcang had taken a step back.

She knew that Ye Qingcang had taken that step back for her sake.

To make her son—who had never bowed his head to anyone since he was two or three years old, who had never made a mistake serious enough to require him to bow his head, who was so outstanding that Shui Feng had wanted to take him as her godson—lower his head, what she felt was not superiority, but a panic that felt as though she was about to lose Ye Qingcang.

Her son had lowered his head.

He had lowered his head for her.

He had made an exception for her.

And what was her Lover doing?

Those ugly words were far harsher and far more malicious than even the foulest curses exchanged during an argument.

She had hurt her son Ye Qingcang for someone like this...

She could not even find an excuse to forgive herself...

But why had Yu Xiaogang become like this?

Had he changed, as Flender had said back then?

Or had she been blind from the very beginning?

Liu Erlong lay on the bed. Her voluptuous, fiery figure was no worse than that of Bibidong, the current Pope of Spirit Hall. Her silky black hair had been tossed into complete disarray by her restless rolling. Whenever she closed her eyes, what appeared before her was never Yu Xiaogang's vague image from the past, but Ye Qingcang's calm, forbearing gaze from earlier.

"What... what have I done?!"

Liu Erlong, so irritated she felt ready to explode, slapped her forehead.

It was as though she wanted to use pain to clear her head.

But at that moment, an extremely ill-timed knock sounded at the door. Furious, Liu Erlong flipped over, sprang upright, and jumped to the floor. It took her one second to yank open her bedroom door, another second to rush down the stairs, and by the third second, she had thrown open the front door. She glared fiercely at Violet standing outside, but the imposing aura around her immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.

She knew Violet.

She had even joked with the girl in front of Ye Qingcang.

The girl's personality was also very good.

When it was time to fight, she dared to fight.

When it was time to be quiet, she could be quiet.

Liu Erlong had practically already chosen her as her future daughter-in-law.

As for whether she could truly become her daughter-in-law, that would depend on the girl and her son. In any case, the girl and her son were often inseparable. As a mother, she did not approve of puppy love, but when her son was ranked first on Blue Tyrant Academy's Heaven Ranking, while her future daughter-in-law was ranked twenty-fourth on the Heaven Ranking and had comprehended the secret art of alchemy, she was still quite supportive of her son winning this girl over.

Dragons gave birth to dragons, and phoenixes gave birth to phoenixes.

These days, female Soul Masters were high-quality resources.

There were as many mediocre beauties as one wanted.

Those with genuine ability were the most precious.

For that reason, even though she had ten thousand things she wanted to roar—telling everyone to get lost and stop disturbing her—she could not say them in front of her prospective daughter-in-law.

She had just made her son lower his head.

Though she had not expected it either.

If she then yelled at her prospective daughter-in-law right afterward—

Though she could not control her emotions—

Regardless of whether she had a reason, it could easily deepen the rift between mother and son. Her son had told her many times that misunderstandings were often easy to resolve at the beginning. If allowed to drag on, they instead became troubles that could no longer be resolved.

Therefore, Liu Erlong took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her chest that was about to explode, and squeezed out a kind smile. "What is it? Do you need something from Auntie?"

"Master asked me to give this to you." Violet handed the Jade Seal Machine in her hand to Liu Erlong. Seeing Liu Erlong's confused expression, she laid the groundwork for what was to come. "Master also said that you would understand after listening to it. Please forgive Master's presumptuous decision. Even if you cannot forgive him, please do not blame him for doing this. He had no intention of harming you..."

Ye Qingcang had no intention of harming her?

That was no different from nonsense.

No one understood the personality of the son she had raised with her own hands better than she did.

Liu Erlong's emotional intelligence was not high. When she took the Jade Seal Machine Violet handed her, watched Violet decline her hospitality and leave directly, then returned to her bedroom, she still did not understand what Violet's preamble meant before turning on the Jade Seal Machine that belonged to Ye Qingcang.

Until she played that pinned recording...

Boom!!!

A sun slowly rose over the villa district on Back Mountain.

On that pleasant evening, no one knew how many birds it startled from the woods, nor how many unsuspecting students at Blue Tyrant Academy it frightened out of their wits.

The knowledgeable older students watched the little sun rising from Back Mountain and clicked their tongues softly.

The new students who had just enrolled stared dumbfoundedly at the little sun rising from Back Mountain.

Ye Qingcang, meanwhile, was in the basement of his own villa.

Following the direction the sound came from, he slightly raised his eyes.

Only after watching for two or three seconds did he withdraw his gaze.

"I'm not a very patient person..." Fiddling with the paper and pen in his hands, Ye Qingcang crouched down, grabbed Dugu Bo by the hair, and yanked his head up. He admired the despair in Dugu Bo's eyes. "Now, I'll give you a chance to be a dog: tell me the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, along with every precaution I need to take. Don't think about playing tricks. I have ways to verify whether you're lying to me..."

Dugu Bo's eyes instantly widened into circles.

Feeling his jaw, which had only just managed to close again.

Before he even had time to taste the mixture of snot, tears, saliva, and blood, he spilled out everything he knew in complete detail.

As for whether Ye Qingcang was bluffing him...

In order to live, did he have any other choice?