Paying Respects to My Father

Su Mu was frightened by that one sentence. Throughout the meal, he rarely spoke on his own, only responding now and then.

After all, the attitudes of Jiang Nannan and her mother seemed to have made everything clear.

Lying in bed, Su Mu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. His heart felt strangely restless.

In the end, he simply sat up, watched the moonlight streaming through the window, got dressed, and headed toward the bamboo grove on the back mountain.

That was where his father's cenotaph stood. His father had vanished all those years ago and never returned, most likely having died at the hands of Soul Beasts or other hunters.

So Su Mu had built him a cenotaph. Whenever he had time, he would come by to clean it and pay his respects.

After all, the man had raised him for several years. There was bound to be some affection left.

Su Mu did not consider himself some cold-blooded creature. Yet when he had just reached the woods near the cenotaph,

he saw a small crimson flame burning where the gravestone stood.

Jiang Nannan wore a white mourning band around her head as she placed sheets of spirit money into the paper basin holding the crimson flame.

She lit them one by one, turning them with a thin chopstick until they became ash.

Jiang Nannan knelt halfway down and kowtowed heavily before the gravestone.

Su Mu watched quietly from behind the bamboo grove. He had not expected Jiang Nannan to come here in the middle of the night.

He did not interrupt her. Instead, he listened as Jiang Nannan continued.

"Uncle, everything I have achieved in this life is because of you."

"Because of your tolerance, because of your kindness, because you were willing to spend money to let a little girl like me awaken her Martial Soul,

and change my fate against heaven, I have the Soul Power I have today and the right to stand on equal footing with others."

"Your son has awakened his Martial Soul too. He is a soul master with Innate Full Soul Power,

but he does not want to attend school. I cannot persuade him, and I do not know how I should persuade him."

"I only know that you gave me my future. No matter what he wants to do in this life, I will do my best to support him."

"I will also cultivate diligently and protect him well. I will use my rabbit to protect the grass in his hand."

Jiang Nannan wiped away her tears as she spoke. Meanwhile, Su Mu kept wondering whether the ambitions he had voiced were just too pathetic.

To outsiders, even a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power could probably be cultivated to around a two-ring soul master. Yet when Jiang Nannan had asked him today,

he had blurted out that he did not want to study or cultivate Soul Power. He wanted to become a merchant or a hunter instead.

Would that be too much of a blow to a young girl who held hopes for the future?

Su Mu lowered his head in thought. Even after hearing all that, she had not expressed dissatisfaction to his face,

nor had she shown any intention of breaking off the engagement. At that moment, Su Mu's impression of Jiang Nannan changed somewhat.

When Su Mu looked up and saw Jiang Nannan preparing to leave, he immediately hid to one side of the bamboo grove,

watching as she carried away the basket containing half the offerings.

Only after Jiang Nannan had left did Su Mu slowly walk over to his father's grave.

On the grave mound, apart from the weeds he had cleared away and dried around it,

there was now a pile of offerings, burned spirit money, noodles that had accidentally been picked out and offered within the circle, pork,

and even his father's favorite rabbit head, half an apple, and a piece of banana.

Su Mu reached out and touched the gravestone. "Old man, I know you cannot hear me, but I still need to tell you that this Douluo world is not as simple as you imagined."

"All I want is to become a little stronger, strong enough to keep myself safe and live out my life peacefully and steadily."

"But some people do not think that way."

Su Mu seemed to want to look through the heavens and see Tang San sitting upon the clouds, toying with all living beings,

or perhaps he was looking toward the wars between nations beyond the borders.

"A full-scale war will break out before long. I have to grow quickly during this time."

"Studying is not the path I want to take. Only by doing business and selling fried chicken to gain abilities can I cultivate as quickly as possible. I hope you can understand me."

As Su Mu spoke, he poured half a flask of cloudy wine into the circle Jiang Nannan had used for her offerings. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.

Jiang Nannan was a young girl who usually followed her mother. How could she know that a good man should aim for the horizons and drink a flask of cloudy wine? How could a sacrifice be complete without wine?

"Old man, I'll drink with you tonight." As Su Mu spoke, he poured the remaining half flask down his own throat.

Funeral customs varied from place to place. Here, to express their longing for the deceased, mourners shared food and drink with them, using wine or meals to convey their feelings.

Only when dawn broke the next day did Su Mu yawn and return to his room, where he threw himself onto the bed and fell asleep.

"Manager, Manager, time to get to work~"

Su Mu opened his eyes and fought back his exhaustion. He reached toward his lower back, only to realize that he had returned to that special space.

The pink-and-white petals were still there, as were the wildflowers giving off their faint fragrance.

Looking at the three people surrounding him, he could not help scratching his head. "What is going on? I'm back here again?"

"That's right~" Elysia gave a playful smile. "Manager, you're always like this. Look, you're about to oversleep outside~"

She reached her hand into the space, and the entire dome rippled apart like water, revealing the dazzling sunlight outside.

Only then did Su Mu come back to his senses. He climbed up from the cold bed boards and heard the roosters raised in the surrounding village beginning to crow.

He sat at the table and said, "System, it should be working hours now, right? Then summon the employees for me!"

Su Mu was somewhat excited. According to the system, he could summon them as long as it was during working hours.

"Ding! Detected that the host has not begun business operations. There is currently no operational area available to provide work for employees."

Su Mu froze and pressed his head close to the screen, carefully reading the words on it.

"At night, when I asked you to summon them, you said it wasn't working hours. Now that it is working hours and I ask you to summon them, you say there's no operational area. How is there no operational area? Can't I send employees out for field work?"

As Su Mu spoke, the system responded quickly this time.

"Detected that the host wishes to dispatch employees for field operations. A fee of 100 Gold Soul Coins per hour is required. Would you like to pay?"

Su Mu stared at the flashing screen, clenched both fists, and cursed, "Fuck!"

He grabbed his slipper and hurled it at the screen's phantom, but the slipper passed straight through it, leaving only the system's prompt urging him to pay.

"I've really had enough of you. I said I wouldn't curse at you for two days, but I'm cursing you today!"

"The moment it involves a money-making ability, you act like you're afraid I'll run away. Your pop-ups are jumping so high—aren't you afraid of crashing?"

Su Mu looked at the payment icons refreshing and flashing one after another, then ruthlessly shut down the system.

"Forget it. I'll first find some basic equipment in the city. I need to set up a stall and open for business as soon as possible!"

As Su Mu spoke, he put on the black clothes he had been reluctant to wear. The outfit made him look somewhat more refined, rather than like a little beggar who had been left uncared for since the age of three.

Pheasant Village was not far from Heaven Dou City, only a little over ten kilometers away. In less than an hour, Su Mu had raced all the way to Heaven Dou City.

Watching the paper vanish into ash, Su Mu felt a little emotional. He had just used a tenth of his Soul Power to grant the Text Decree an ability that increased speed by 54%. This ability was truly overpowered.

Su Mu tore off a sheet of paper with "Speed Force +50%" written on it and tucked it into his pocket for emergencies.

Looking at the empty notebook and its black leather cover,

Su Mu felt puzzled. His father really did seem connected to books, and it seemed very similar to the book described by the system.

Every time he practiced drawing a bow and shooting arrows, or skinning wild beasts,

he was extremely proficient. Each time he did it, he performed better than before, which was also why he had become wealthy.

Now, Su Mu's Martial Soul had replicated that ability and additionally gained the special effect of the Text Decree.

Perhaps this was the privileged ability granted by a rule-type attribute pushed to its pinnacle: adding an extra rule to a certain item.

Then what would happen if I wrote Tang San's name on it and made him die of a heart attack?