Yu Xiaogang, Why Did Your Luo Sanpao Grow Wings?

"Yu Xiaogang?"

Xu Zhou's heart jolted. Just as he was about to turn around, Xu Yan forcefully wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him onward.

"Don't look. We can't let him know we've noticed him."

Xu Zhou suppressed the urge to look back and asked in a low voice, "Is he still behind us?"

"Not sure."

Xu Yan led him off the dirt road and stepped into the wheat field beside it. The waist-high stalks concealed them, and only then did he slow down slightly.

"When I went to pick you up earlier, he was standing beneath that tree east of the Spirit Hall Branch. After you came out, he stared at Tang San for a while, then shifted his gaze to you."

"When I took you away, he followed us too."

Hearing that, Xu Zhou could not help feeling puzzled.

Yu Xiaogang had most likely come to Holy Soul Village because of Tang San. After all, Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power were top-tier talents even across the entire Douluo Continent.

As for himself, someone who had failed to light up even the crystal ball, what was there to follow?

Could it be that one useless person saw another and found him strangely endearing?

"Dad, you said Yu Xiaogang seemed off. What exactly was off about him?"

Xu Yan looked back, confirming that no one was pursuing them before he lowered his voice. "When he entered the village yesterday, I happened to be at the entrance."

"And then?"

"He wasn't walking."

"Did he come in a carriage?"

Xu Yan shook his head, his expression turning somewhat strange.

"He flew here riding Luo Sanpao."

Xu Zhou abruptly stopped.

Xu Yan, walking ahead without expecting it, was yanked sideways, with half a foot nearly stepping into the irrigation ditch.

He hurriedly grabbed a wooden stake beside him, then turned back and glared at Xu Zhou.

"What did you suddenly stop for?"

Xu Zhou paid no attention to that. Stunned, he asked, "What did you just say could fly?"

"Luo Sanpao."

"Yu Xiaogang's purple pig that could only fart three times a day?"

"That's the one."

"It has wings now."

Xu Yan thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

"And they're pretty big."

Xu Zhou opened his mouth.

That definitely was not the version they knew.

If Luo Sanpao could fly in the original story, why would Yu Xiaogang have needed to travel everywhere on two legs?

When danger came, he could have just shot into the sky. Who could catch him then?

"What level is he?"

"He didn't make a move, so I couldn't tell."

"Then how did you dare bring me back?"

"Was I supposed to leave you at the village entrance?"

Xu Yan sounded completely justified.

"Besides, if he really wanted to kill you, he would've done it already. He followed us all the way without killing you, so he probably needs something from you."

Xu Zhou felt that made some sense.

But after thinking it over, something still felt wrong.

"Dad, were you really an insurance salesman before you transmigrated?"

"Who told you that?"

"That analysis of yours doesn't sound like something a proper hunter would say."

Xu Yan fell silent for a moment.

"I did debt collection for a few months."

That made much more sense.

The father and son took a roundabout route home.

The courtyard gate had not been touched, and the grass ash scattered along the windowsill remained intact.

After entering the house, Xu Yan set his hunting bow on the table, picked up the kettle and took two gulps, then looked at Xu Zhou.

"Now tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Your Soul Power."

Xu Zhou did not answer.

Xu Yan was in no hurry either.

He opened the oil-paper parcel, tore off a drumstick from the roast chicken, and handed it over.

"I'm your dad. I'm not going to steal your system."

"How did you know I have a system?"

"Could someone without a system smile like you did after testing at zero Soul Power?"

Xu Yan snorted.

"The corners of your mouth were practically impossible to keep down. The only reason no one noticed was because those people outside were busy introducing things to Tang San."

Xu Zhou lowered his head and took a bite of the drumstick.

Was it really that obvious?

It seemed he would need to work on his expression from now on.

He did not need to become utterly unreadable, but at the very least, he could not look as if he had found money every time he gained something.

"I have level-one Soul Power now."

"So you really were hiding it."

Xu Yan was not surprised in the slightest.

"What ability does your Martial Soul have?"

"When other people judge me incorrectly, I get benefits."

Xu Yan's hand, holding a piece of meat, froze in midair.

"That simple?"

"More or less."

"Then I'm guessing you'll reach level ninety-nine tonight."

The room fell silent for a moment.

The Black Ancient Book showed no reaction.

Xu Yan raised his head.

"That didn't work?"

"You don't even believe it yourself. How could it work?"

"It's picky, huh?"

Xu Yan looked somewhat disappointed.

He had thought that if he found seventy-two people to take turns making wild guesses, they could raise a Title Douluo by tonight.

Now it seemed that such a loophole truly did not exist.

Xu Zhou did not mention the Public Script.

It was not because he did not trust Xu Yan, but because the fewer people who knew, the more certain the villagers would be that he had no talent for cultivation.

Becoming a Soul Master in thirty days.

Just thinking about it made Xu Zhou's chest feel heavy.

Going from level one to level ten was not something he could accomplish by eating a few meals of meat.

He needed more incorrect judgments.

Preferably from someone with weight behind his words.

Someone like Yu Xiaogang.

"Dad, how do you think Yu Xiaogang would see my Martial Soul?"

"How else would he see it?"

Xu Yan tore off a chicken wing.

"A Book Martial Soul, zero Soul Power. Any normal person would think you're beyond saving."

The Black Ancient Book trembled faintly.

[Xu Yan's judgment was incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

A thread of warmth entered his body, then swiftly vanished.

It was pitifully little.

Yet Xu Zhou's spirits rose.

At least it proved this path was viable.

At that moment, something suddenly landed on the roof.

It sounded as if something had dropped onto the tiles.

Xu Yan grabbed his hunting bow in a backhand motion.

Xu Zhou held his breath as well.

The next moment, a purple head poked in through the window.

Round face, large ears.

Two short horns grew from its forehead.

It even had half a carrot clamped in its mouth.

"Luo luo!"

Xu Zhou recognized it.

Luo Sanpao.

But the Luo Sanpao before him really was different from the one in his memory.

A pair of fleshy wings grew from its back, fine scales covered its neck, and its tail was also longer than in the original story.

Most importantly, it was hovering outside the window.

It really could fly!

Xu Yan's face darkened. He grabbed an empty bowl from the table and hurled it over.

"Spying on people while they eat, are you?"

Luo Sanpao trembled in fright, flapped its wings to dodge the wooden bowl, then flew to the table and stared at the chicken soup, drooling.

As a result, it failed to hold its carrot properly, and it fell straight into the chicken soup.

It froze.

Xu Yan froze too.

Man and beast silently stared at each other.

"Pay for my soup."

"Luo luo!"

Luo Sanpao turned and ran.

"Stop!"

Xu Yan carried his hunting bow and chased out the door.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Zhou followed as well.

Luo Sanpao was not flying very fast.

At least, not as fast as Xu Zhou had imagined.

It had barely flapped over two households when it slammed headfirst into a clothesline and tumbled into a haystack.

Xu Yan rushed over and grabbed one of its hind legs.

"Run, then! Keep running!"

"Let go."

A deep voice sounded from behind them.

A middle-aged man in a gray robe stood outside the courtyard.

He was somewhat thin, his temples already streaked with gray. His back was straight, and there was little expression on his face.

Yu Xiaogang.

Xu Zhou sized him up.

Yu Xiaogang was looking at him too.

Neither of them spoke first.

In the end, Xu Yan broke the silence.

"Your pig dropped a carrot into my soup."

"It isn't a pig."

"Pay up."

"How much?"

"One silver soul coin."

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"A pot of chicken soup isn't worth that much."

"There's also compensation for emotional distress."

"Whose emotional distress?"

"The chicken's."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent.

It was the first time Xu Zhou had seen such obvious speechlessness on someone's face.

After quite a while, he took out a silver soul coin and placed it on the courtyard wall.

"Can you let Sanpao go now?"

Xu Yan put away the money before finally releasing his grip.

Luo Sanpao scrambled behind Yu Xiaogang, peeking out with only half his head exposed.

"Tell me, why were you following my son?"

Xu Yan asked.

Yu Xiaogang did not answer.

He walked over to Xu Zhou and slowly crouched down.

"Release your Martial Soul."

"Why?"

"I can tell you why the crystal ball couldn't measure your Soul Power."

Xu Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

Had Yu Xiaogang really seen something?

The Black Ancient Book appeared in his palm.

Yu Xiaogang examined it closely, even reaching out to touch its pages with a finger.

After a long while, he took a deep breath.

"Just as I thought."

Xu Zhou's heart rose with it.

"Your Martial Soul isn't a book."

"Then what is it?"

"It's a door."

The Black Ancient Book suddenly trembled.

[Yu Xiaogang's judgment was incorrect.]

[Important figure's Cognitive Bias collected.]

[Soul Power greatly increased.]

A warm force spread through Xu Zhou's body.

His level-one Soul Power instantly surged forward by a large margin.

Xu Zhou looked at Yu Xiaogang, who stood right before him, and his breathing quickened.

He suddenly realized he had been wrong before.

Yu Xiaogang had not come looking for trouble.

He had come to bring warmth.

"Master."

Xu Zhou's tone immediately turned warm.

"Take another careful look."

"Other than a door, could there be another possibility?"