Honest with Each Other

That afternoon, in a small restaurant beside a street in Nuoding City.

Tang San ordered two dishes, and Tang Hao added a plate of meat.

Earlier, at the Spirit Hall Branch, Tang San had seen Tang Hao's nine Soul Rings with his own eyes.

Tang San had not asked about them yet, but his gaze had drifted toward his father several times.

Once all the dishes had arrived, Tang Hao set down his chopsticks.

"Grandmaster, could you give my son and me a moment?"

Yu Xiaogang stood. "I'll buy some paper and brushes. Tang San, you can head straight back to the academy later."

After he left, Tang San set down his chopsticks too.

"You're a Titled Douluo?"

"Yes," Tang Hao said. "My title is Clear Sky."

Tang San lowered his gaze to his left hand.

He had never shown anyone the weighty Martial Soul that rested there.

Tang Hao noticed the movement.

"It's called the Clear Sky Hammer. It's our family's inherited Martial Soul."

Tang San jerked his head up. "You knew all along?"

"I knew the day your Martial Soul awakened."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Tang Hao did not answer at once.

When he had first arrived in this world, Tang San had already been six years old.

In the original story, Tang Hao would have left only a letter telling his son to take care of himself, then slipped away with so much left unsaid.

But Tang Hao now felt that would have been irresponsible.

So he had decided to lay everything out and talk it through with his son. What Tang San chose afterward would be up to him.

"Before, I wanted to wait until you were older."

Tang Hao spoke quietly. "Spirit Hall has been looking for me. Telling you who I am would mean placing everything that happened before in your hands too."

"Back then, I couldn't even deal with my own injuries. I thought you'd be safer if I told you nothing."

Tang San looked at him. "You don't think that anymore?"

"No."

Tang Hao picked up the teapot and refilled their cups.

"You've always been smarter and more sensible than other children, and you have a mind of your own."

"I'll tell you everything. Then you can decide what to do."

Tang San held his teacup. After a while, he asked, "What grudge do you have against Spirit Hall?"

"They hunted your mother."

Tang San's hand went still.

Tang Hao did not press him to speak.

Someone pushed a cart past outside. Its wooden wheels rolled over the stone slabs with a dull rumble.

"My mother..." Tang San raised his head. "Who was she?"

"Her name was Ah Yin," Tang Hao said. "She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor who took human form."

Tang San froze.

He knew Soul Beasts could take human form after living for an immense number of years, but he had never imagined it had happened in his own family.

Tang Hao continued, "Spirit Hall found us back then. You had just been born, and I was badly wounded. Your mother chose to sacrifice herself to save us."

Tang San said nothing for a long time.

He had never met his mother, and his father had rarely spoken of her.

He had wondered if she had died, but he had never imagined it had happened like this.

"So your injuries..."

"Came from that battle," Tang Hao said. "They're mostly healed now."

"They would have hunted us whether you'd been born or not, so don't go taking the blame on yourself."

Tang San looked up at him.

Tang Hao tapped the table with his chopsticks. "You were a newborn. If someone wanted to settle accounts, you wouldn't be the one to answer for it."

"Is Mother... still alive?"

Tang Hao rubbed his chin, sounding a little uncertain.

"She should... count as alive, I suppose?"

"She left behind a stalk of Blue Silver Grass when she died. I found a place where she could grow. Once she's grown, she might even come back to life."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes." Tang Hao answered at once. "I'll take you once I've dealt with a few things."

"Why not now?"

"There's some trouble I need to settle first," Tang Hao said. "I revealed my identity in public. Spirit Hall probably has a few things it wants to say to me."

Tang San nodded.

His father's honesty made it clear he was not brushing him off.

Their opponent was the colossus that was Spirit Hall, and his mother was only a stalk of grass now. They did need to be careful.

Tang Hao pushed the plate of meat toward him.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"Why did Spirit Hall hunt Mother?"

"You should know the value of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's Soul Ring and Soul Bone."

Tang San's expression darkened. "Who was it?"

"I don't know exactly. I only have a few leads, and finding out is what I'm going to do next."

Tang Hao glanced at his sleeve.

"Don't put too much faith in that lousy Sleeve Arrow of yours. It's useless against a high-level Soul Master."

Tang San glanced at him, then lowered his head. "I understand."

So Father knows everything. Should I tell him I was born with memories of my previous life?

Tang Hao saw the struggle in his eyes but did not push him. He wanted to wait for Tang San to tell him himself.

In the end, Tang San chose to change the subject.

"Will you stay by my side from now on?"

"No. You have your own path to walk." Tang Hao shook his head. "But from now on, I'll tell you where I'm going and when I'll be back."

"Even if my plans change, I'll write to you."

He paused, then added, "There's something I need to make clear up front. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because your old man's a Titled Douluo."

"Work hard. Our opponent is Spirit Hall, and your father can't take them on alone."

"But while we won't go looking for trouble, we won't be afraid of it either. If anyone strong bullies you because you're young, tell Yu Xiaogang. If he can't beat them, have him write to me."

Tang San lowered his head and ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice.

"Got it."

After the meal, father and son returned to the academy entrance.

Yu Xiaogang had bought paper and brushes and was waiting beneath a tree.

Tang Hao walked over. "I told Tang San what he needed to know."

"People from Spirit Hall may come to the academy to ask questions. You don't need to hide my identity for me, and you don't need to tell them where Tang San is."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San. Seeing that he seemed reasonably composed, he said, "The academy isn't a Spirit Hall Branch. They can't do whatever they please here."

"I know," Tang Hao said. "That's why Tang San will stay here for now."

"And you?"

"I have something to take care of."

Yu Xiaogang did not ask what it was.

Tang Hao told him anyway. "The head of the Nuoding City branch wrote a letter to Spirit City today. I'm going to intercept the messenger and see what he wrote."

Tang San frowned. "Haven't you already revealed your identity?"

"Revealing my identity doesn't mean letting someone else make up stories about me," Tang Hao said, as if it were obvious. "What if he writes that I flattened the branch with one swing of my hammer? What happens if they stop giving you your allowance?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at him. "You're planning to steal the letter?"

"Depends. If he wrote the truth, I'll let him deliver it."

Tang Hao arranged to meet Tang San at the academy in three days, then turned and left.

That night, at Nuoding City's east gate.

A Soul Master from the branch rode out of the city with a sealed urgent report tucked inside his clothes.

On the road beyond the city, Tang Hao sat on a fallen tree trunk.

"Is that letter bound for Spirit City?" Tang Hao asked.

The rider immediately reined in his horse. He recognized Tang Hao, and his face went pale.

"Your Excellency Tang Hao..."

"Let me have a look." Tang Hao stood. "I'll give it back when I'm done."

The report was brief. It stated that Tang Hao had appeared in Nuoding City, Tang San had obtained his First Soul Ring, and Tang Hao could use his Soul Power normally.

There was no embellishment.

Tang Hao resealed the letter and handed it back.

The Soul Master accepted it hesitantly. "You're... not going to stop me?"

"I never meant to keep it secret forever." Tang Hao stepped aside. "Go on."

The sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance.

Tang Hao did not return to the city.

He would wait and see how Spirit City reacted when the news arrived.