Huo Family Fish Restaurant

"Xie Xie, are we there yet?"

"Almost."

Five minutes later.

"Xie Xie, are we there yet?"

"Almost, almost."

Half an hour later.

"All right, we're here."

Xie Xie planted his hands on his hips and looked ahead. "See? That's the snack street."

"Thanks a lot, Xie Xie." Tang Wulin shot him a resentful look. "You could've told me it was a half-hour walk!"

"Which one of us is short on money? Why didn't we just take a cab?"

Xie Xie's expression froze. "Sorry, I... forgot."

"Don't worry about it. You must be hungry after walking so far. Come on, let's eat."

The street was fairly narrow, with snack shops lining both sides. Tempting aromas filled the air, making passersby's mouths water.

The old-established clay-pot beef shop Xie Xie had mentioned stood in the middle of the street. Right beside it was the other place he had brought up: Huo Family Fish Restaurant.

Clay-pot beef was cooked in a yellowish-brown earthenware pot.

The beef was washed, then simmered with sliced scallions and ginger. The pot sealed in its moisture and rich flavor. Once the beef changed color, more than a dozen spices were added, and it simmered until tender enough to fall apart. By then, the spices had melded perfectly with the meat. It was a famous Eastsea City snack.

Plenty of shops in Eastsea City sold clay-pot beef, but this one tasted the most authentic. Business was excellent, and the place was packed at mealtimes.

Huo Family Fish Restaurant had opened three years ago. Its signature dishes all featured fish: charcoal-grilled fish, fresh fish soup, fried fish strips... Everything tasted so good that customers never tired of it, and many kept coming back.

The two shops stood side by side. It took only a few steps to go between them, so diners who liked both could order dishes from each while sitting in either shop. There were plenty of diners like that, including Xie Xie.

The clay-pot beef shop was small, with just five modest rectangular tables. Xie Xie and Tang Wulin had arrived a little late, and every seat was taken. Next door, though, Huo Family Fish Restaurant still had an empty table.

"Uncle Li, two orders of clay-pot beef and two bowls of white rice."

Xie Xie led Tang Wulin up to the counter as if he were at home. He was nothing like his usual self here, showing none of a young master's airs. He looked no different from any other child.

"Oh, Xie Xie! And you brought a friend."

The beef shop's owner was a middle-aged man. He glanced around the shop amid his work. "I'm out of seats. Take your friend next door to Huo Family Fish Restaurant. I'll bring your food over in a bit."

As he spoke, he reached out and ruffled Xie Xie's hair.

Tang Wulin blinked. Xie Xie was a neat freak, yet he hadn't minded the man touching his head. It seemed his new friend had a story behind him.

He didn't ask. He followed Xie Xie next door, and they sat at the empty table.

"Xie Xie! You brought a friend. What would you like today?" The owner of Huo Family Fish Restaurant came over.

She was a middle-aged woman with refined, gentle features. Her hair was neatly pinned up beneath a headscarf, and she wore an apron. She looked every bit the woman who spent her days bustling about a kitchen.

She smiled warmly at Xie Xie and Tang Wulin.

"Hi, Auntie Huo. Two orders of charcoal-grilled fish and two bowls of fresh fish soup, please."

"Coming right up. Just give me a moment."

Auntie Huo came to the table and poured them each a cup of tea, then went into the kitchen to get to work.

Tang Wulin watched her disappear through the kitchen doorway. Something stirred in his eyes.

Auntie Huo reminded him of his mother. Not in appearance, but in her manner and the little things about her. Both felt like mothers who cared for their families and loved their children.

"Xie Xie." Tang Wulin leaned close and asked quietly, "Do you know Auntie Huo's full name?"

"Huh?" Xie Xie seemed to need a moment to catch up. "Oh, it's Huo Yun'er."

"Pretty name, isn't it?"

He leaned toward Tang Wulin's ear and whispered conspiratorially, "You know, Auntie Huo's single. If Uncle Li didn't already have a family, I'd try to set them up."

"You Xie Family brat, what nonsense are you spouting now?"

Something tapped Xie Xie on the head. He and Tang Wulin looked up toward the voice. A burly man in a Security Team uniform had joined them at the table.

"Talk like that, and you're practically wishing Boss Li's wife dead."

"Oh, Captain Guanglong." Xie Xie clutched his head. "Sorry. I was just joking with my friend. I really didn't mean anything by it. I promise I won't do it again."

Tang Wulin looked between the two, then at Auntie Huo, who had come out of the kitchen again when Captain Guanglong arrived. He began to understand.

Single? Then why does Auntie Huo have that warmth only a mother has?

Is she divorced, then?

The dishes at Huo Family Fish Restaurant were made fresh to order and took a while, so the clay-pot beef from next door arrived first.

Before eating, Xie Xie picked up his cup for a sip of tea to wet his throat. But—

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He choked on the tea and coughed miserably.

After catching his breath, he tried another sip and choked again. Refusing to believe his luck, Xie Xie took a third sip—only to choke yet again.

"..."

Tang Wulin and Guanglong, who had been about to start eating, stared at his plight in silence.

Guanglong wiped the tea that had sprayed onto his face, looking disgusted. "Maybe stop drinking for now. Hold off on the food too. Wait until your luck improves."

Meanwhile, in the fish restaurant's kitchen, Huo Yun'er sent a message through her divine sense as she cooked. "Son, that's enough of a lesson. Don't disrupt the other customers' meals."

Huo Yuhao's divine sense replied from afar. "No! He shouldn't have tried to play matchmaker! Some little brat thinks he can find me a stepfather? He got off easy."

"Oh, come now. You're too old to be sulking like a child." Affection colored Huo Yun'er's message. "Mom will sing you a nursery rhyme, so don't be angry anymore."

A lively melody sounded in Huo Yuhao's divine sense, followed by his mother's gentle singing.

As Huo Yun'er sang, her thoughts drifted into the past.

Ten thousand years ago, after her death, Tang San had collected the fragments of her soul. Once her son became a god, Tang San had brought her back to life.

She and Dai Hao had taken the two places allotted to her son, the Emotion God, and remained in the Divine Realm. Her cultivation had also advanced to godhood, making her a Divine Official, the lowest rank in the Divine Realm.

In the Divine Realm, she was Dai Hao's wife. But she had never forgotten her other identity, the most important one: Huo Yuhao's mother.

As a mother, she had watched Tang San order her son around like a dog, stripping him of all dignity. It had broken her heart.

Dai Hao, his father, had done nothing. His indifference had shown Huo Yun'er what he truly was, and her love for him had died.

Nothing mattered more than her son. So during the upheaval in the Divine Realm, she had helped her son's main body kill Dai Hao and seize his Divine Official's Divine Position. Then they had descended together to the Douluo Continent.

It was her son's secondary body that had inherited the title of Emotion God. To conceal the existence of his main body, the latter had not dared to ascend to godhood throughout all those years in the Divine Realm.

Dai Hao's Divine Official's Divine Position was meant for Huo Yuhao's main body. It freed him from the limits of a human lifespan, allowing him to live to this day.