The Rabbit Spirit Tells Tales

Yu Xiaogang's heart skipped a beat. Knowing he could not hide it, he forced himself to answer.

"I... I had a disagreement with a new student. The boy had a violent temper and attacked at the slightest provocation."

"But it was nothing serious. I've already dealt with it."

"A new student managed to beat you, a Soul Grandmaster?"

A strange look flashed through Tang Hao's eyes.

"What's his name? Where is he from?"

"His name is Chu Chen. I believe he's from Holy Soul Village too. His Martial Soul is a mutated Blue Silver Grass, and he has Innate Full Soul Power."

Yu Xiaogang did not dare conceal anything. He told Tang Hao everything.

"But the boy is unruly and has no respect for his elders. I wanted to take him as my disciple and teach him properly, but he..."

"Chu Chen?"

Tang Hao repeated the name under his breath, his brow gradually furrowing.

Holy Soul Village. Chu Chen.

Together, those two things brought to mind a black-haired boy who was always smiling. He looked harmless enough, but his words dripped with mockery, and he had shown Tang Hao no respect at all.

Old Jack's grandson. The boy who had forced him to swear a terrible oath before "giving" the Work-Study Student Spot to Xiao San.

A cold glint crossed Tang Hao's eyes.

Back in Holy Soul Village, Tang Hao had intended to live out the rest of his life in seclusion, never involving himself in the world of Soul Masters again.

Before that, he had drifted through each day, caring nothing for what anyone thought of him.

He was a failure anyway. He might as well give up and do nothing.

That was why he had ignored the villagers' gossip, Old Jack's reproaches, and even the times Tang San was beaten by children his own age. That changed only when Tang San awakened Twin Martial Souls.

Tang San's talent gave Tang Hao hope of taking revenge and returning to his sect. Only then did he pull himself together.

But that hope was also Tang Hao's greatest vulnerability.

Tang Hao knew his identity was a problem. If he showed himself, Spirit Hall would hunt him relentlessly. Keeping Tang San at his side would only waste the boy's most precious years of growth.

So Tang Hao had endured it all: bowing his head to a small child, even swearing a terrible oath for a place at a Junior Soul Master Academy.

Everything he had done was so Tang San could grow up safely.

With his old temper, Tang Hao might well have slaughtered all three hundred households in Holy Soul Village for such humiliation.

But he did not dare do that now. He wanted too badly to return to the Clear Sky Sect, the place that had raised him!

Yet according to Yu Xiaogang, a six-year-old child had beaten a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster into that state?

No matter how useless Yu Xiaogang was, he should not have fared so badly.

Unless... the boy was hiding something.

That brought something else to Tang Hao's mind.

Tang Hao clearly remembered that Chu Chen had been in the village on the night Ah Yin's original body and soul bone were stolen.

The investigation had shown that the boy had slept at home all night and had no chance to commit the theft. Even so, Tang Hao had never quite shaken his doubts.

After speaking with Yu Xiaogang, those doubts had only deepened.

With that thought, Tang Hao suddenly asked,

"Which dormitory does Chu Chen live in?"

"Dorm Seven, I think. The room at the end of the ground floor."

Yu Xiaogang answered honestly at once.

"Tang San should be there too. All the work-study students live there."

"So Xiao San is there too..."

Tang Hao frowned, hesitation entering his eyes.

If his son was there, showing himself would be difficult. It would be bad if Tang San discovered him.

While Tang Hao hesitated, he suddenly caught the sound of shuffling footsteps.

They were heavy and slow, but they were steadily drawing closer.

"Someone's coming!"

At Tang Hao's urgent warning, Yu Xiaogang realized he did not want his identity exposed and hurriedly whispered,

"Rest assured, Your Excellency. I'll handle it."

Tang Hao gave a slight nod. In a blur, he leaped soundlessly onto the staff dormitory roof and disappeared into the shadows beneath the eaves. His presence faded until it was almost undetectable.

Yu Xiaogang straightened his robes and forced himself to look calmly toward the footsteps.

Before long, he spotted a little girl in a pink dress approaching from afar. She staggered under the weight of a boy on her back, plainly exhausted.

As she drew closer, Yu Xiaogang finally saw them clearly in the moonlight.

The boy on her back was Tang San, the disciple he had taken on that very day!

Tang San's eyes were shut tight, and his face was white as paper.

Blood still stained the corner of his mouth. He lay limp against Xiao Wu's back, his breathing faint.

Xiao Wu spotted Yu Xiaogang standing outside the dormitory and hurried over at a stumbling run. Panting, she asked,

"Excuse me... Are you a teacher here? I... I'm looking for a master named Yu Xiaogang..."

"I'm Yu Xiaogang."

His heart tightened. He stepped forward and asked in a low voice,

"Is that... Tang San? What happened to him?"

Alarm and anger filled Yu Xiaogang's face as he reached out to examine Tang San.

What kind of joke is this? I only just took him as my disciple!

And his Titled Douluo father is watching from the shadows. If anything happens to him, there might not be enough left of me to bury!

The moment Xiao Wu heard that he was Yu Xiaogang, her restraint broke. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she cried,

"Master Yu! You have to stand up for us!"

"Tang San... Tang San was beaten like this by a villain named Chu Chen in our dormitory!"

"Chu Chen was so vicious! He hurt both of us and threw us out of Dorm Seven. He said we weren't allowed back in... We had nowhere to go. Luckily, Tang San mentioned you when we were talking earlier, so I... I..."

Sobbing, she recounted the fight in Dorm Seven.

She said nothing about how Tang San's injuries had actually come from her crashing into him. Instead, she dwelt on how Chu Chen had been "unreasonable," had "attacked without warning," and had "shown no mercy."

"Chu Chen! Him again!"

Hearing the name and seeing the disciple he had pinned his hopes on injured so badly, Yu Xiaogang felt old grudges and fresh anger surge together.

The humiliation of being beaten by Chu Chen, losing his Soul Tool, and being forced to swear a terrible oath flared up again. He trembled with rage, his face turning red beneath his mask.

Tang Hao, hidden in the rooftop shadows, heard every word.

At Chu Chen's name, and at the news that the boy had gravely injured his son and driven him out, murderous fury surged through Tang Hao. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he breathed like a bull.

"That vicious little bastard has no respect for his elders!"