Meeting Little Rat

After more than four hours of travel, Zhang Nan finally reached Fasno Province. Along the way, he passed through quite a few cities, market towns, and villages.

"At least I made it before dusk!"

Zhang Nan sighed and arrived in a small town not far from Holy Soul Village. Crowds flowed through the streets, and the cries of vendors hawking their wares rang out without end.

The scent of food drifted over, and his stomach began to rumble. The Five Tiger Generals behind him were the same, staring wide-eyed at one another. Though they did not say it aloud, Zhang Nan could tell what they were trying to convey.

"Universal System, lend me a few million gold coins!"

The system was Zhang Nan's personal little secretary—the kind of secretary who handled things when there was work, and got handled when there was no work.

"It's just a meal. Are you planning to buy the whole street? One hundred Gold Soul Coins, considered a system reward. Do you want them?"

Zhang Nan had only mentioned it casually. It was best to name a large sum so he could bargain down from it, but he had not expected the system to truly be such a generous sponsor and hand over one hundred Gold Soul Coins at once. That was no small fortune!

1 Gold Soul Coin = 10 Silver Soul Coins, equivalent to more than a million in his previous world. Forget eating for a month—even taking the Five Tiger Generals to a brothel a hundred times... that might not quite be enough!

But if he went alone a hundred times, the money would definitely be more than enough.

"Waiter, bring me your best dishes and your best wine!"

Zhang Nan shouted loudly at the counter, drawing quite a few strange looks.

Tch, what were they looking at? He had money, so he could do whatever he wanted!

"Right away, honored guests! Please come upstairs to a private room!"

The waiter respectfully led them to a private room on the second floor beside a window. Before long, all the dishes had been served.

Since Zhang Nan, the great leader, had not spoken, the Five Tiger Generals naturally did not dare pick up their chopsticks.

"Uh, later I have an important matter for all of you generals to handle. I know you can all drink well, but as the saying goes, drinking can ruin important business. So I only ordered one jug. Eat your fill, but do not drink your fill. Once I have finished this important business, I will hold a grand celebration banquet for all of you, my beloved generals. Come!"

Tsk tsk, Zhang Nan truly had the potential to be a great leader. First praise them, then rein them in, then paint them a bright future—his speaking skills flowed effortlessly. But he was not merely making empty promises. Once he had dealt with that little runt and his father, Little Rat, he would definitely throw the Five Tiger Generals a welcome feast.

If his beloved generals had such preferences, he might as well take them to a brothel. He would wait outside. It was not that Zhang Nan had no interest in women; he simply had to conserve his strength to face the female supporting characters.

After personally pouring wine for the Five Tiger Generals, Zhang Nan drank with them in one gulp, and they immediately began devouring the food like a storm.

The dishes were crisp, fragrant, soft, and tender, while the wine was sweet and delicious.

Of the group, Zhang Fei had the ugliest table manners. He drank wine from huge bowls and tore into meat in great mouthfuls, his beard covered in grease. Still, it proved that he was a bold and forthright man.

"Yide, the sect master is here. Do not be so reckless!"

Guan Yu nudged Zhang Fei beside him with his elbow. Zhang Fei laughed foolishly. "You need to eat your fill and drink your fill to have the strength to work! Sect Master, if there's a fight, you have to let me go first!"

"Hahahaha, of course, of course!"

Zhang Nan laughed brightly. With his current strength, fighting Little Rat himself was clearly unrealistic. Zhang Nan remembered that Zhang Fei seemed to possess Twin Martial Souls and was also a Title Douluo. If the two faced each other, he truly could not imagine what kind of scene that would be.

After they finished eating, paid the bill, and rested briefly, the sun had already set beyond the western hills. Streaks of rosy evening clouds were stamped across the sky, vivid and bright.

Zhang Nan stood and stretched lazily. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure on the street below. His hair was fluffy and disheveled, and he wore an earthy brown robe with several large tears in it.

Wasn't that Tang Hao?

If one did not look carefully, one might think he was a junk collector. What was he doing here?

After Zhang Nan went downstairs, he followed from a distance to avoid being discovered. He saw Tang Hao use some loose silver to buy a jug of wine from a nearby shop, then head out of the market.

The moment he reached a deserted place, his figure vanished.

"Eye of Reincarnation, activate!"

The Eye of Reincarnation possessed thermal sensing. Following the lingering red heat in the air, Zhang Nan slowly trailed after him.

As the saying went, Ma Su lost Jieting through carelessness, and Jing Province was lost through negligence. A cautious sailor could sail for ten thousand years. This man was, after all, a Title Douluo. In case Little Rat had some trick prepared, Zhang Nan did not dare let down his guard. Every time he advanced a short distance, he moved with utmost caution.

It was not that he was afraid. He simply wanted to see what this fellow was up to.

--

The vanished Tang Hao appeared in a forest overflowing with spiritual energy. He walked to one side, opened the wine jug, and slowly sat down.

Gulp!

Tang Hao took a drink, and his expression gradually turned weathered.

"Yin, Little San is doing very well now. He is also very sensible. The aftershocks of those battles when he was young did not endanger his life!"

"I failed to protect you, and I also failed to fulfill my responsibility as a father..."

After another mouthful of wine, Tang Hao's eyes reddened. He fell silent for a moment, as though he had finally let everything go.

"Don't worry. I will not let our child be swept into this turmoil. I only hope he can live out his life in peace and obscurity..."

Had Zhang Nan been present, he would definitely have recognized the half-human-height plant beside Tang Hao, glowing with blue light.

That was right. It was the emperor of silvergrass, the Blue Silver Emperor. Aside from being a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, it also possessed another special identity: A Yin, Tang Hao's companion and Tang San's mother.

"Whoa, such a huge clump of blue silvergrass? Could that be the Blue Silver Emperor?"

Zhang Nan could not help letting out a surprised cry. With the Eye of Reincarnation active, he could clearly see Tang Hao's every move, while the Five Tiger Generals beside him were utterly confused.

"He's in such good condition, yet he's here drinking ceremonial wine?"

To be honest, seeing this scene, Zhang Nan almost could not bear to disturb this elderly couple. But he had no choice, because Tang Hao was the driving force behind Tang San's growth. Whether it was the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique, Shrek's beating of Zhao Wuji, or the trial in Slaughter City, Tang Hao had a hand in all of it.

Put simply, as long as Tang Hao was eliminated, then even if that little runt possessed Twin Martial Souls, he would be nothing more than a clown jumping about in Zhang Nan's eyes.

As for San Pao Gang, there was even less to say. He was someone who only babbled about theory and was useless in actual combat.

"Attack!!!"

Zhang Nan made the decision without hesitation. He understood that in a world where the strong preyed on the weak, excessive kindness would always bring ruin upon oneself. Besides, from the moment he transmigrated into this world, he had been destined to become that little runt's rival. In a battle between dragon and tiger, one side had to die.

When the time came, he would just find Haozi a good burial spot with proper feng shui. At least Tang Hao would not have died in vain at Zhang Nan's hands.

"Hm?"

Five distinct auras appeared at the same time, and Tang Hao immediately noticed them. Yet he still did not stand. Only when the Five Tiger Generals released their soul rings did the brows on his waxy yellow face finally furrow without a sound.

Five Title Douluo—and all of them possessed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Two of them even possessed three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings...