Then she raised her eyes again. Those clear eyes looked straight into the depths of Tang San's, her gaze burning as though she meant to illuminate everything buried deepest in his soul.
"He doesn't want you to follow in his footsteps. He sent you to me so you could learn to sheathe your sharp edges. From now on, I am both your aunt and your teacher."
With Tang Yuehua having said that much, Tang San offered no further argument. He nodded to show he understood.
Seeing that he no longer resisted, Tang Yuehua relaxed her taut shoulders a little, and that gentle smile returned to her lips.
She picked up the cup of thoroughly cooled tea on the table and was about to rise to replace it with a fresh pot when Tang San suddenly spoke.
"Aunt."
This was the second time Tang San had called her his aunt. The first had been tentative; this time, there was genuine urgency in his voice. Tang Yuehua stopped and looked at him again.
"I want to ask you about my older sister, Cinderella. Before I entered Slaughter City, Father promised that when I came out, she would come with him to meet me. But after I came out, all I saw was Zhao Wu from your Clear Sky Sect. Father's letter didn't say a single word about her."
He paused, as though trying to restrain something, but his clenched fists still betrayed the turmoil within him. "Do you know where she is, Aunt?"
Tang Yuehua looked into Tang San's eyes, filled with urgency, and sighed softly. It was a faint sigh, yet it carried a helplessness that was difficult to put into words.
"Cinderella. Your father mentioned that child to me." Her voice was gentle, as though soothing a wounded young beast.