Huo Yuhao vs. Dai Yueheng (3)

"I... I just saw that... no, I saw Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Duke and his... his legal wife, the lady of the Duke's Mansion... but I don't know her name."

"She seems... possibly... no, she definitely recognized me, and is trying to hurt me... I can feel the malice, otherwise, she wouldn't have called me a bastard by name..."

Even with hormones like Dopamine and Endorphin, and even some brain stem cells, under control, Huo Yuhao still showed significant emotional fluctuations, but he was finally able to speak these words completely and dared to face this cruel and ugly truth.

Before Ye Qingcang could even speak, Wang Dong'er exploded with anger.

He swore, which is quite rare for him.

Two Butterfly Wings sprouted from its back.

He was carrying a Clear Sky Hammer with butterfly patterns on it.

He headed straight for the exit of the lounge. "This is fucking eye-opening... If you can't play, don't play. Making personal attacks, especially half an hour before the match, what kind of hero are you!"

"Come back!" Seeing Wang Dong'er wielding the Clear Sky Hammer, ready to smash someone, Ye Qingcang, feeling a headache coming on, reached out and grabbed at the air. Wang Dong'er Ye Qingcang unwillingly pulled back and pressed onto a nearby chair, sitting next to the equally furious Xiao Xiao. She listened to Ye Qingcang and Huo Yuhao's continued questioning, "Since you know she's trying to demoralize you, can you understand the logic behind it: if your mentality is truly damaged, then you're actually fulfilling her wishes?"

"I know... but I hate it!"

"That man... no, I should say White Tiger Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger, didn't even try to defend himself after his wife said those words!"

"If I'm a bastard, then what is he, as a father!"

Where is my mother?

"It's said that it's disrespectful for a son to scold his father... but does that mean it's acceptable to scold the mother?"

Huo Yuhao's breathing became noticeably heavier.

But Ye Qingcang remained quite calm.

Take a deep breath and drop the pretense.

His face, which always wore a smile, suddenly turned serious.

His usually kind and gentle eyes suddenly turned cold.

Looking at Huo Yuhao.

He hesitated for a second or two.

Suddenly, he raised his hand, his voice booming like thunder.

He slapped Huo Yuhao hard across the face.

Looking at the blood at the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth, and at the clear look in Huo Yuhao's eyes—a look that had returned to normal due to the temporary withdrawal of hormone and cellular control, yet was now made even more lucid by the slap—he slowly took out a handkerchief, wiped his palm, and then threw it at Huo Yuhao: "Yuhao, do you know that in the face of absolute power, dignity is merely an excuse for suicide? The loser has no right to write history. If you lose, whether it's Dai Hao, his wife, or even the Dai brothers, Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, they will all step on your corpse, denying your achievements, denying your character, and even denying everyone related to you... Therefore, a weak person must learn to be tolerant... To borrow your words: to insult a father is disrespectful, and the same applies to a mother; but, just like I just hit you, if I were to insult your mother now, what would you use to stop me, or rather, to prove to the world that what I said was wrong?"

"Brother Qingcang, you wouldn't!"

Huo Yuhao answered decisively.

It can be said that he blurted it out without even thinking about it.

but...

"I will." Ye Qingcang's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any emotion. Perhaps "icy" wasn't the right word; "rational" was more accurate—absolutely rational, so rational that Sky Dream Ice Worm, Electrolux, Wang Dong'er, and Xiao Xiao dared not utter a sound. He stared directly into Huo Yuhao's eyes, his gaze like a steel blade piercing through them. "To be honest, I've always thought your mother Huo Yun'er, was a hopelessly foolish woman. The only thing she could be proud of in her life was that, through the good fortune bestowed upon her by heaven, she climbed into your father's bed and gave birth to you. Apart from that, she had nothing to be praised for...including her brain, which was worse than a pig's!"

"You're not allowed to talk about my mother like that!" Huo Yuhao always held Ye Qingcang in high esteem, but that didn't mean Ye Qingcang held a higher place in his heart than his mother. Therefore, he stood up angrily, stared directly at Ye Qingcang, the senior he always respected, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Please take back your words!"

"Is this your answer?"

Ye Qingcang was clearly expressing himself in a slow and deliberate tone and manner.

However, it gave Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao the illusion of extreme elegance and bloody cruelty.

However, perhaps that wasn't just a misperception.

It's truly cruel.

Those Evil Spirit Master who died under Ye Qingcang's blade certainly have a right to speak, provided they can still speak, rather than being reduced to a pile of flesh and blood, used by Ye Qingcang as material for Edo Tensei and as the foundation for the birth of many Faceless Men, the kind that is measured in kilograms.

"Yes!"

Huo Yuhao didn't understand what Ye Qingcang meant.

But that didn't stop him from looking directly at Ye Qingcang.

This is how you express your persistence.

But the next second, Ye Qingcang gave him a completely new answer, so much so that he immediately sobered up, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. "Do you know, if anyone dared to say that about my mother, right now, I would have another head in my hand... And you, you could only howl like a wild dog, and when someone picked up a stick, you would be trapped by your conscience and run far away, or someone would seize your weakness and break your leg with a stick!"

Huo Yuhao remained silent.

He has never been a stubborn person.

Rather, it's someone who can listen to advice.

Therefore, he knew that Ye Qingcang was right.

They also began to re-examine their own problems.

But Ye Qingcang's words did not stop there, because he had not finished speaking.

"I once saw a promising talent."

"At that time, his family was massacred by Evil Spirit Master."

"He watched as his parents and siblings were sacrificed, but at the time, he was only five years old and there was nothing he could do."

"He didn't even dare to look at that Evil Spirit Master."

"Because prolonged gaze on one spot can trigger intuitive warnings."

"He could only memorize the Evil Spirit Master's appearance with a single glance. Then, after he had mastered his skills and gained the ability to take revenge, on the day he turned fourteen, he chopped the Evil Spirit Master he had captured into a lump of minced meat in the same way."

"Since then, I've understood a principle: for the strong, eliminating all threats is a must; for the weak, gaining the pity of the strong is also a must... If he had impulsively jumped out, that Evil Spirit Master would have had another life at his hands. But he clung to life, and it was that Evil Spirit Master who died... Sometimes, living requires more courage than dying. A momentary act of impulsiveness only moves yourself. Therefore, in many things, you must face a choice: fame or reality!"

"Seeking a name?"

"Can!"

"Now, go and kill the Duchess!"

"How noble is it to avenge one's mother?"

"Seeking truth from facts?"

"Endure it!"

"In the future, you'll carry the Duchess's head to your mother's grave as a tribute!"

"What does temporary honor or disgrace matter?"

Seeing that Huo Yuhao had finally calmed down, Ye Qingcang silently changed the prepared prescription to a stronger one. "We are men, sheep in wolf's clothing walking among wolves. We can't act impulsively. When the situation is against us, even if your enemy says they want to slap your left cheek, you can only obediently offer your left cheek to them. It's best if they feel comfortable slapping you and lower their guard. That way, you can survive, instead of losing your Goddess of Life and the chance for revenge... Also, let's re-examine the relationship between your families. Have you considered this: if Dai Hao really liked your mother, would your mother have died?"

"But my mother said it was..."

Huo Yuhao instinctively retorted.

But he only got halfway through his sentence before he bit it off.

Yes!

How could the male head of a family possibly lose control of his family!

If the Duchess truly has the final say in this household, why does Duchess lead everyone in the Duke's Mansion Duke's Mansion stand at the gate to greet Dai Hao, the White Tiger Duke, every time he returns, regardless of wind, frost, rain, or snow, and sometimes even stand there for an hour or two?

Why should she respect Dai Hao so much!

If it were just a maidservant being executed, that would be one thing, but her mother was Dai Hao's personal maidservant. Who would dare to execute her without Dai Hao's authorization?

To put it bluntly, even with a dog, you'll develop feelings for it after raising it for thirty or forty years!

From the very beginning, the facts his mother told him were from a subjective perspective!

It was destined to be wrong!

In that instant, Huo Yuhao felt as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened, and he suddenly understood many things that even Huo Yun'er had not understood before her death, and realized all the strange things.

The original words then became difficult to say.

It was swallowed back down.

So much so that they were speechless.

"Looks like you're not completely hopeless after all."

"But you've overlooked one key point."

"Your mother... doesn't love you!"

Ye Qingcang's dosage of the potent medicine terrified Sky Dream Ice Worm, and even Electrolux's eyelids twitched. Huo Yuhao, however, remained unusually calm. Although his emotions fluctuated for a moment, he ultimately managed to control himself and accept the strong medicine, while also rubbing back the rotten flesh from his wound. "I have seen many mothers, so I can analyze maternal love... A great maternal love can make a great mother stand on a scorching hot iron plate until her body is burned, and she would never use her child as a stepping stone to alleviate her pain. A great maternal love can also make a great mother put aside her pride and everything else to pray for her child's survival, and even betray her love... In fact, everything is very simple. Your mother only needs to bow her head to the Duchess to ensure your carefree childhood and provide you with food and clothing, because the Duchess does not want to bear the stigma of being harsh to the old members of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. When the Dai Family was still royalty, this should be called jealousy... But your mother did not do that."

"Yes..." The reason Huo Yuhao earned Ye Qingcang's respect was his perseverance, a will that transcended physical instinct, a will that helped him face the ugly reality. "Undeniably... there are many reasons to explain this problem. For example, my mother certainly didn't think of these things, but any reason can be completely refuted. For example, the reason my mother didn't think of these things is because she didn't care about my feelings at all, or even my food, clothing, or daily necessities. Her mind was entirely focused on Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Duke... But I also cannot deny the fact that she raised me!"

"The kindness of raising and nurturing, and the kindness of giving birth."

"I have thought about this question."

"I've also imagined... if one day, a couple I don't know finds me and confirms that they are my parents, how should I handle their relationship with my mother, Liu Erlong?"

"And the answer I received was... there is no difference in importance between these two favors."

"I can face this fact."

"It might be related to my rebellious personality."

"The proof of a person's existence is the body."

"It's bloodline."

"It is the trace left in this world."

"But the meaning of human existence lies in the soul."

"It's about feelings."

"These are fragments of memory that can prove everything."

"You have to figure out the right balance yourself; no one can help you."

"But you can calm down."

"Listen calmly to what I have to say."

"Instead of getting emotional like before."

"I am very pleased."

Ye Qingcang snapped his fingers, and the swelling on Huo Yuhao's face immediately subsided.

Aside from the bloodstains on the corner of his mouth.

It's impossible to tell what just happened.

Huo Yuhao, as if waking from a dream, touched his face, feeling as if nothing had happened. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Ye Qingcang: "Brother Qingcang, you mean... let me decide for myself whether to seek revenge or not, but don't want me to be blinded by hatred... I think I'm right?"

"That's right, but not enough..." Ye Qingcang looked at the not-so-stupid boy in front of him, glanced at the handkerchief the boy was unconsciously holding, raised his hand, but this time he didn't slap Huo Yuhao, but gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Actually, what I want to tell you is... you need to find a reason to live. Like me, I have three reasons to live. The first is responsibility, responsibility to my mother, responsibility to Violet, responsibility to my friends, responsibility to some people I think I should be responsible for. The second is curiosity, I want to see how big this world is, I want to see the scenery beyond planets, I want to see what's above the galaxies. The third is strength, I want to become stronger, strong enough to make everything run according to my wishes, so that this world will no longer have war and all known and unknown suffering... Of course, my reasons are not necessarily your reasons. I just want to say that perhaps at the moment your mother died, she had one thought that must have been about you... I hope you can live happily, even if you can't avenge her, even if you can't stand out, just live peacefully."

"I think I understand..." Huo Yuhao let out a long breath, his mind gradually calming down. He had truly subdued his restless mind and reined in his wandering thoughts. "I must avenge this, but I can't do it in a reckless way. It's like trying to smash a stone with jade. Even if my jade does shatter the stone, the bumps and knocks are pointless... A few skeletons in a tomb aren't worth risking everything for!"

"When a person yearns for a higher view, they won't care about the bumps in the road." Ye Qingcang slowly suppressed his imposing aura, donned a gentle smiling Masks, glanced at the clock on the wall, and reminded him, "It's about time you made your appearance. Your opponent is waiting for an emotionally unstable you to enter the scene... Will you choose to weaken yourself internally, or will you make your opponent feel disgusted, as if they've eaten shit, watching helplessly as you rise rapidly, unable to kill you, only able to watch their death draw closer day by day in endless anxiety...? The choice is in your hands!"