Broken-Back Dog (5k)

After watching that match, Huo Yuhao and the others rushed back to Spirit Hall overnight.

The carriage sped down the official road, its wheels crunching over gravel with a monotonous sound. No one spoke inside the carriage, save for Qian Ren Jun's occasional snoring. Outside the window, the night was deep and dark. Moonlight occasionally slipped through gaps in the clouds, falling across their faces and casting their expressions into alternating light and shadow.

Huo Yuhao leaned against the wall of the carriage, his eyes closed, but he was not asleep.

That hammer kept appearing in his mind. Black as ink, heavy as a mountain, the strange patterns on its body looked like twisted faces smiling at him.

Clear Sky Hammer.

Tang Hao's son.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window. Moonlight fell over his face, making his dark eyes seem especially bright.

The ruins from seven years ago appeared before him once more.

Broken walls, mutilated corpses, and that body pinned beneath a crossbeam, its face no longer recognizable.

And that hand reaching toward him.

Mom.

He called softly in his heart.

No one answered.

The carriage continued onward, driving deeper into the night.

The day after they returned to Spirit Hall, Hu Liena came looking for them.

She had come at an unfortunate time. Huo Yuhao was meditating in the courtyard, Qian Ren Jun was chattering away without pause, Qian Ren Duo occasionally chimed in, and Wang Qiu'er sat beneath the old locust tree with her eyes closed, lost in thought.

When someone knocked on the courtyard gate, Qian Ren Jun had just reached the most exciting part of his story and was irritated by the interruption.

"Who is it?"

"Me." A woman's voice came from outside.

Qian Ren Jun froze for a moment and looked at Qian Ren Duo. Qian Ren Duo raised a brow and silently mouthed three words: Hu Liena.

Qian Ren Duo's expression turned subtle.

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Hu Liena walked in.

She wore a light purple dress today, her fiery red hair draped over her shoulders. She looked far gentler than she had during the competition. Standing at the entrance, her gaze swept over the four people in the courtyard, a faint smile on her lips.

"Am I not welcome?"

Qian Ren Duo rose to his feet, wearing a flawless, standard polite smile. "How could that be? It is an honor to receive Her Highness the Saintess. Forgive us for failing to welcome you properly."

Hu Liena looked at him, her smile unchanged.

It was a very professional smile. It was not sincere, but no fault could be found with it. It was the courteous, distant smile exchanged by diplomats meeting for the first time.

Qian Ren Duo's smile was the same.

Watching the identical smiles on their faces, Huo Yuhao suddenly understood something.

This was the relationship between Papal Hall and the Hall of Enshrined.

Courteous on the surface, distant to the bone. An invisible chasm lay between them, and neither side was willing to take the first step across it.

"Have a seat." Qian Ren Duo pointed at a stone bench beside him.

Hu Liena walked over and sat opposite Wang Qiu'er. Her gaze lingered on Wang Qiu'er for a moment. Those red eyes were looking back at her, as cold as ever, revealing neither emotion nor whether she was welcome.

The two met each other's gaze for a second before Hu Liena took the initiative to look away.

"I came to find you," Hu Liena said, "because there is something I want to discuss."

Qian Ren Duo leaned back in his chair and waited for her to continue.

"Papal Hall and the Hall of Enshrined," Hu Liena said, "have for all these years..."

She paused, as though considering her words.

"Not gotten along very well," she finally said.

Qian Ren Duo raised a brow but said nothing.

"I want to change that." Hu Liena looked at him openly. "Papal Hall and the Hall of Enshrined were one to begin with. They are both part of Spirit Hall. What is the point of fighting for so many years?"

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

The smile on Qian Ren Duo's face faded somewhat, replaced by a more serious expression.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Hu Liena said. "But I want to try. We can start with our generation. The tournament is approaching, and we are one team. We need to win the championship together. We can't exactly keep guarding against each other once we get onstage, can we?"

She looked at Huo Yuhao, then Wang Qiu'er, and finally Qian Ren Jun.

"Are you willing?"

Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment.

He remembered how Qian Ren Duo had previously been assassinated by several Soul Sages from Papal Hall, only for the matter to be quietly dropped.

He remembered the overt and covert struggles between the Hall of Enshrined and Papal Hall over the years. He remembered the seemingly calm yet secretly turbulent relationship between Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong. He remembered the three Hall of Enshrined Soul Ancestors who had been replaced after the selection competition—the opportunity they had lost, and their silent acceptance of it.

He remembered what Wang Qiu'er had said that night.

The world was like this. The strong rose, and the weak fell. Winners received everything, while losers were forgotten.

But perhaps there could be another path.

He looked at Qian Ren Duo.

Qian Ren Duo was looking at him as well.

Their gazes met for a moment, and Qian Ren Duo gave a slight nod.

"All right," Huo Yuhao said.

Hu Liena's eyes brightened.

"But there is one condition," Huo Yuhao continued. "The competition is one matter, and everything else is another. We can talk about what comes after the tournament when the time comes."

"Fine." Hu Liena nodded. "Then it's settled."

She stood up, preparing to leave. When she reached the entrance, she suddenly stopped and turned back.

"Oh, there is something else I need to tell you." Her expression turned solemn. "Her Holiness has already sent people to ambush someone on the road from Heaven Dou to Spirit Hall."

Huo Yuhao was stunned.

"An ambush?"

"To intercept and kill someone," Hu Liena said. "Not long ago, the spies we planted in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family sent word that Tang San from Shrek is Tang Hao's son."

The air in the courtyard froze instantly.

Tang Hao.

That name was like a curse, rendering everyone silent.

Qian Ren Duo looked at Huo Yuhao. There was no expression on his face, but something churned within those dark eyes.

"An interception..." Qian Ren Duo said. "Was this order personally given by Her Holiness?"

Hu Liena nodded.

"I understand," Huo Yuhao said.

His voice was calm, as though he were simply commenting on the nice weather.

Hu Liena glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

The courtyard gate closed behind her.

The courtyard remained silent for a long time.

Qian Ren Duo looked at Huo Yuhao, wanting to say something. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Qian Ren Jun scratched his head, not knowing what to say.

Wang Qiu'er sat beneath the old locust tree, looking at Huo Yuhao. There was an indescribable emotion in her red eyes.

Huo Yuhao said nothing.

He merely sat there, looking toward the courtyard gate, toward the place where Hu Liena had vanished.

Tang Hao.

His son.

Intercepted and killed.

He turned those words over and over in his mind, yet felt nothing.

No satisfaction, no excitement, no emotion at all.

Only blankness.

"Yuhao..." Qian Ren Duo began.

"I'm fine," Huo Yuhao interrupted.

He stood and walked toward the room.

When he reached the doorway, he stopped without turning back.

"Let her do it," he said. "Tell me the result when it is over."

Then he pushed open the door and walked inside.

The door shut behind him.

In the courtyard, Qian Ren Duo and Qian Ren Jun exchanged a glance, neither knowing what to say.

Wang Qiu'er remained seated beneath the old locust tree, looking at the tightly shut door. Something flickered in her red eyes.

She remembered what he had said that night.

"My mother told me before she died that I could join Spirit Hall."

She remembered the expression on his face when he had said it.

There had been no expression on that face, yet fire burned in his eyes.

It was the fire of hatred.

She withdrew her gaze and looked up at the sky.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the branches and leaves, falling warmly over her face.

She gently closed her eyes.

Three days later, news arrived.

The interception had failed.

Tang San had led the people from Shrek down an entirely different route, avoiding every ambush. Spirit Hall's people had waited there for three days without seeing so much as a shadow.

"How is that possible?" Qian Ren Jun's eyes widened. "How did he know?"

No one could answer him.

Huo Yuhao stood in the courtyard listening to the news, his face expressionless.

It was him again.

That Tang San.

The one who made his Eye of Eternity tremble.

He always felt that he had missed something. That man's eyes, that man's smile, the thick, inescapable venom in that man's gaze whenever he looked at him—

Those were not the eyes someone should have upon meeting him for the first time.

They were like—

Like he had known him for a long time.

Like he had hated him for a long time.

But Huo Yuhao could not make sense of it.

He could only set the matter aside for now.

Not long ago, Qian Ren Duo and Qian Ren Jun had been wandering around Spirit Hall.

As they walked, they chatted about the tournament, about Tang San escaping the interception, and about some recent gossip within Spirit Hall.

When they were nearly at Spirit Hall's main gate, Hu Liena stopped them.

Hu Liena signaled with her eyes for them to look beneath a large tree near the entrance.

They saw someone.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a washed-out robe and glasses. He looked ordinary and carried himself in an ordinary manner. He stood by the roadside, glancing around as though searching for something. All kinds of people came and went through Spirit Hall every day, so there was nothing unusual about that.

But pinned to the chest of his robe was a badge.

The badge had a distinctive design. Having seen it once, Qian Ren Duo would never forget it.

Shrek.

"He is Yu Xiaogang," Hu Liena said calmly. Qian Ren Jun and Qian Ren Duo exchanged a glance and understood immediately.

Yu Xiaogang.

That name was practically a joke within Spirit Hall. Twenty years ago, he had gotten involved with Bibi Dong, who had still been a candidate for Saintess at the time, causing an enormous uproar. Later, when the previous Pope, Qian Xunji, merely sent someone to "invite" him for a talk, he had been scared out of his wits, abandoned Bibi Dong, and fled Spirit Hall alone. He had never returned after that.

It was said that after escaping, he had muddled along for decades and was still a useless Level 29 Soul Master.

Even more ridiculous was that he had come up with something called the "Ten Core Competencies," claiming it was a revolutionary theory. In the end, people exposed those so-called theories as common knowledge that had long existed within the Soul Master world. The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls—first, the strength of a Martial Soul determined one's innate soul power. Nonsense. Who did not know that? Second, Soul Rings had to be acquired by hunting soul beasts. Nonsense upon nonsense. Third, Soul Masters had to cultivate step by step. Did anyone need him to say that?

Without Yu Xiaogang's theories, Soul Masters of the past had apparently been cultivating at random.

From then on, the title "Master" became a joke. Whenever others mentioned him, they wore those knowing smiles.

Qian Ren Duo gave Hu Liena a meaningful look, then gestured for Qian Ren Jun to head in that direction with him.

Yu Xiaogang was looking around.

He had come to Spirit Hall today to find Bibi Dong. Although he had fled twenty years ago, he believed that as long as he explained everything clearly, Bibi Dong would certainly forgive him. After all, what happened back then was not his fault. It was that bastard Qian Xunji who had frightened him.

Besides, he had new discoveries now. He had broken through Level 30, proving that cultivation theory could be surpassed. He had also taken in a genius disciple, Tang San. The boy possessed Twin Martial Souls and full innate soul power, and his future achievements would be limitless. If Bibi Dong learned of these things, she would certainly see him in a new light.

As he was thinking, two figures blocked his path.

He raised his head and saw two young men. One was nineteen or twenty, while the other looked around eighteen. They resembled each other somewhat and were probably brothers. Both wore uncomfortable smiles as they looked down at him.

"May I ask..." he began.

"Oh, isn't this the Master?" Qian Ren Duo drew out his voice, carrying exaggerated surprise. "What wind has blown you all the way to Spirit Hall?"

Qian Ren Jun covered his mouth and laughed beside him.

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed. He recognized their clothes—white robes embroidered with Six-Winged Angels. They were from the Hall of Enshrined.

"I came to find someone," he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Find someone?" Qian Ren Duo raised a brow. "Who are you looking for? Her Holiness the Pope?"

When he spoke that name, his tone carried an intentional, meaningful pause.

Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red.

"You—"

"What about me?" Qian Ren Duo looked utterly innocent. "Wasn't I just showing concern for you? Twenty years ago, you ran so fast you didn't even say goodbye. His Holiness the Pope waited for you so bitterly."

Qian Ren Jun laughed so hard beside them that he could barely straighten up.

Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists. His face turned from red to purple, then from purple to green, his chest heaving violently.

"You... you juniors, what do you know?" His voice trembled slightly. "You don't know the full story of what happened back then!"

"The full story?" Qian Ren Duo nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, yes, we really don't know the full story. We only know that when the previous Pope sent someone to summon you, you ran faster than a rabbit and left His Holiness the Pope behind all alone."

He paused, the smile on his face deepening.

"Oh, right. I also heard that after you ran away, you developed a set of 'Ten Core Competencies'? Truly remarkable! Soul Rings must be obtained by hunting soul beasts—such profound theory. How could we possibly have thought of it?"

Qian Ren Jun laughed until he was out of breath. "Brother, stop talking. My stomach hurts..."

Yu Xiaogang's face had turned completely green.

Trembling, he pulled a token from his robes.

It was a golden token engraved with intricate patterns, emitting a faint glow. An Elder Token—one of Spirit Hall's highest-ranking tokens. Whoever held it was equivalent to the Pope in person.

Qian Ren Duo's smile froze for an instant.

How did this guy have an Elder Token?

No, Bibi Dong must have given it to him back then. At the time, Bibi Dong had still been a candidate for sainthood and should have had an Elder Token in her possession.

His mind raced.

If Yu Xiaogang produced the Elder Token, then everything they had just said would become insubordination. There might not necessarily be serious consequences, but it would still sound bad if word got out.

Just as Yu Xiaogang raised the Elder Token and was about to speak, Qian Ren Duo suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

"Master!" His voice abruptly rose, carrying several hints of exaggerated delight. "What are you doing? If there's something to say, let's talk it out. Why bring out a token?"

As he spoke, he gripped Yu Xiaogang's hand tightly and pressed the token against his chest, preventing anyone from seeing it.

Yu Xiaogang froze.

He struggled hard, trying to raise the token, but Qian Ren Duo was a level fifty-three Soul King. Yu Xiaogang was only a Soul Elder who had just broken through level thirty. How could he possibly break free?

"You—you let go of me!"

"Master, don't get agitated!" Qian Ren Duo looked utterly sincere. "We know you mean well, but there's really no need for this! Whatever it is, let's discuss it properly!"

As he spoke, he gave Qian Ren Jun a meaningful look.

Qian Ren Jun immediately understood. He stepped forward and blocked the view of the occasional passersby.

"That's right, Master." He also leaned in. "Just say whatever you want to say. We're all on the same side, so why bring out a token?"

The two of them pinned Yu Xiaogang between them, one on either side, holding down his hand so that he could not move at all.

Yu Xiaogang's face turned the color of pig liver.

He struggled desperately, but those two hands were like iron pincers, completely unmoving.

"You... you are being outrageous!" Even his voice had changed pitch. "I am the Master! I have an Elder Token! How dare you treat me like this—"

"Master, don't shout." Qian Ren Duo looked innocent. "Aren't we doing this for your own good? You're waving that token around everywhere. What if someone misunderstood?"

He leaned close to Yu Xiaogang's ear and lowered his voice, speaking softly enough that only the three of them could hear.

"You worthless old piece of trash, who do you think you are? A level twenty-nine failure, and you dare cause trouble in Spirit Hall? You abandoned the Pope and ran away on your own back then, yet you still have the nerve to come back now? If I were you, I'd have found a crack in the ground to crawl into long ago."

Yu Xiaogang's body began trembling violently.

Whether from rage, shame, or both, no one knew.

Qian Ren Duo released him and stepped back.

Yu Xiaogang staggered, and the Elder Token slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a clear clink.

He lowered his head to look at the token and bent over to pick it up.

A hand moved faster than his.

Qian Ren Jun picked up the token, weighed it in his hand, and turned it over several times to inspect it.

"Oh, it really is genuine." He clicked his tongue twice, then casually stuffed it back into Yu Xiaogang's robes. "Hold on to it. Don't drop it again."

Yu Xiaogang clutched the token and stood there, trembling all over.

His face was flushed bright red, and something swirled in his eyes. His lips quivered as he tried to say something, but not a single word came out.

Looking at him like this, Qian Ren Duo suddenly found it very boring.

Twenty years ago, he had abandoned a woman and run away by himself. Twenty years later, a few harsh words had him looking like this—did someone like that deserve to be called "Master"?

"Enough." He put away his smile and waved a hand. "Go on, get out of here. Stop making a fool of yourself."

Yu Xiaogang stood there without moving.

Qian Ren Jun stepped forward and shoved him. "Didn't you hear him? He told you to leave."

Yu Xiaogang staggered two steps before finally coming back to himself. Clutching the token, head lowered, he walked toward Spirit Hall's gates one step at a time.

He walked slowly, his back hunched, as though he had aged ten years.

Qian Ren Duo and Qian Ren Jun remained where they were, watching his figure disappear around the corner.

"What a bore," Qian Ren Jun muttered.

Qian Ren Duo said nothing.

He recalled Yu Xiaogang's appearance just now: his flushed face, trembling hands, and tears welling in his eyes.

When he had abandoned a woman and run off by himself twenty years ago, he probably had never imagined that he would be humiliated like this twenty years later.

But so what?

It was the path he had chosen himself.

Spineless. Boneless.

The two turned and left.

In the distance, a figure stood behind a corridor pillar, silently watching the scene.

Bibi Dong.

She watched that hunched figure disappear through Spirit Hall's gates, her face completely expressionless.

After a long while, she turned and left.

Her footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, one after another, like some silent farewell.