Plans to Escape, an Unexpected Change Occurs

The woman's voice was exceedingly gentle, and her entire demeanor carried an air of refined elegance.

From up close, Bai Fan could see the wrinkles covering her face and the tangled, snow-white hair atop her head.

"Yuhao, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry and eat!"

Huo Yun'er gently nudged Bai Fan with her aged arm, and Bai Fan suddenly found himself unable to stop crying.

Bai Fan was not crying for himself. He had been reminded of the later events in the original story, and his emotions had slipped out of control.

(An explanation: the talent will livestream the protagonist's thoughts. This setting only broadcasts the complaints in his heart; the consciousness in his mind will not be broadcast.)

The original story had only briefly mentioned Huo Yun'er. But after experiencing her presence up close, Bai Fan could tell at a glance just how much hardship she had endured.

A maid of the White Tiger Duke's Estate had been favored by Dai Hao and given birth to Huo Yuhao. After that, no one cared for her, and all she received was the duchess's exclusion and oppression.

The pitiful woman had spent her whole life waiting for Dai Hao. The pitiful Huo Yuhao, even after becoming a god, had still lived amid schemes and calculations.

The most heartbreaking scene was when Huo Yuhao had struggled for half his life and finally gained enough strength to face Dai Hao, yet was forced by the greater good and Huo Yun'er's wishes to save Dai Hao time and again, unable to kill him.

Bai Fan wiped away his tears and used his small body to support the hunched Huo Yun'er. He immediately accepted his new identity.

"Mother, you eat first."

"Child, you're still growing. Mother isn't hungry."

Huo Yun'er tried to deceive Bai Fan with that clumsy lie, but his mature soul was naturally not fooled.

"Mother, if you won't eat, then neither will I. I'll starve with you."

"Yuhao, Mother will eat."

Huo Yun'er picked up the steamed bun and took a small bite before handing it to Bai Fan, intending for him to eat it.

Having long been ostracized by the duchess, Huo Yun'er was also looked down upon by the servants. Her current circumstances were no different from those of a woman confined to the cold palace in ancient times.

The food was spoiled, and the residence was dilapidated.

For a woman in the prime of her life to die when her child was eleven, it was entirely possible that she had held herself together for young Huo Yuhao's sake, refusing to collapse.

If not for Huo Yuhao, her spiritual anchor, she might have died even earlier.

It was clear just how difficult Huo Yun'er's life had been.

"Mother, I won't eat the bun you've already bitten. Look how thin you are. You need to take care of yourself so you can wait for that heartless Dai Hao. Don't let your body break down."

In the original story, Huo Yun'er had still instructed Huo Yuhao not to hate Dai Hao even as she lay dying.

Dai Hao had only favored her once and given her a White Tiger Dagger. No one could say whether there had truly been any feelings between them.

Perhaps this was the shared tragedy of women in that era. Under a feudal imperial society, women at the bottom had no right to preserve themselves or pursue their own growth. They were merely objects for nobles to order about and toy with.

Huo Yun'er looked at Huo Yuhao, whose body was thin and frail from chronic malnutrition, and tears immediately streamed down her face.

"Child, Mother has failed you."

Huo Yun'er set the steamed bun aside, crouched down, and hugged the little Bai Fan.

"Yuhao, when the duke returns, I'll definitely find a way to make him see you."

Huo Yun'er's arms wrapped around Huo Yuhao tightened more and more.

Bai Fan gently patted Huo Yun'er's back, soothing her emotions.

Because Bai Fan knew that she would never live to see that day. Until the day she died, she would not catch even a glimpse of Dai Hao.

By then, Huo Yuhao would be eleven. Including the ten months of pregnancy, Dai Hao's shadow had not appeared for nearly twelve years.

Mother in this life, I will definitely get you out of here. Even if I leave, I'll take you with me. I'll never let you become a pawn in someone else's schemes.

It was worth mentioning that Huo Yuhao here was only eight years old, still three years away from Huo Yun'er's death.

Outside the Heavenly Screen.

Douluo Continent, ten thousand years later.

The present-day Huo Yuhao had just arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huo Yun'er's familiar face appeared on the Heavenly Screen.

"Mother, I miss you so much. I will definitely become the strongest Soul Master on the continent. I want to ask that heartless Dai Hao face-to-face why he had to be so cruel."

The eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao's childish face was filled with determination.

"Will this miraculous Heavenly Screen really protect me?"

Huo Yuhao questioned himself inwardly. This concerned life and death, so he did not dare make a decision on his own.

At the border battlefield on the other side.

The White Tiger Duke, clad head to toe in armor, stared fixedly at the Heavenly Screen.

When he saw Huo Yun'er on the Heavenly Screen, his first reaction was surprise, followed by sudden realization.

Perhaps, in his eyes, Huo Yun'er had merely been an utterly ordinary woman.

As for his encounter with Huo Yun'er, it had only been an unintentional act on his part.

Even the White Tiger Dagger had simply been something he had handed over casually.

Putting such speculation aside, if Huo Yuhao had truly appeared before him in the duke's estate—

Would Dai Hao truly accept Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, which had only innate level-one soul power?

Would Huo Yun'er truly rise in status because of her son?

The reason Huo Yun'er had suffered the duchess's exclusion was not because Dai Hao and Huo Yun'er had shared deep feelings.

It was simply because Huo Yun'er had given birth to Dai Hao's bloodline. The duchess ostracized all such women equally.

If Huo Yun'er had truly shared a deep bond with Dai Hao, she absolutely would not have lived for so many years. Her fate could only have gone to one extreme or the other: either dying young, or becoming someone the duchess feared.

"When did Yun'er give birth to a child? Why do I have no memory of it at all?"

Tang San of the God Realm was also watching the Heavenly Screen. He tried once more to interfere with Huo Yuhao's fate.

As expected, a mysterious force rebounded all of his methods.

"Damn Heavenly Screen, you have brought death upon yourself."

On the Heavenly Screen.

Time seemed to have pressed the fast-forward button.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Huo Yuhao was now ten years old, though his height had not changed noticeably.

Over the past two years, Bai Fan had done everything he could to help Huo Yun'er share the workload.

Whenever there was food, he would always give it to Huo Yun'er first.

As for Bai Fan, whenever Huo Yun'er was not paying attention, he would go and fight the cats and dogs of the duke's estate for food.

Many servants witnessed this behavior, but none of them stopped him or reported it to the duchess.

They merely watched from the side, adding a little amusement to their dull lives.

There was now only one year left until Huo Yun'er's death. Although her complexion had become rosy under Bai Fan's care, Bai Fan did not dare gamble on whether fate would intervene.

During the first simulation, his encounter with Bibi Dong had already made him feel fate's mockery.

Bai Fan decided to take Huo Yun'er and leave the White Tiger Duke's Estate ahead of time.

Over the past two years, he had already planned their escape route and was ready to leave with Huo Yun'er.

"Mother, tomorrow night, let's escape the White Tiger Duke's Estate together. I've already planned the route."

"As long as we escape the White Tiger Duke's Estate, we can live like normal people. We won't have to be bullied like this anymore."

Huo Yun'er looked at Bai Fan, who was speaking with great confidence before her, and revealed a meaningful smile.

"My Yuhao has grown up."

But could the two of them truly escape smoothly? Would fate really let them go?