Tang Yuehua

Tang Hao knew better than anyone what kind of frenzy a transformed Soul Beast would unleash among Soul Masters if exposed in public.

Ah Yin's sacrifice was a wound he would carry for the rest of his life. He would never allow this foolish rabbit to meet the same fate in Heaven Dou City.

Xiao Wu's little face turned deathly pale under Tang Hao's glare. Clutching Tang Sanmei's sleeve, she nodded again and again.

"I... I understand, Uncle Tang! I'll behave, I promise. I won't run off."

"That's enough, Uncle Tang."

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath to steady himself, then said calmly,

"Until we find an opportunity to remove the danger, I'll keep an eye on them. I won't let Xiao Wu parade around the city."

Tang Hao's eyelid twitched. He gave Huo Yuhao a long, searching look.

The boy had lured his daughter away, and the thought made his teeth itch with anger. Still, he had to admit that this brat possessed a steadiness and cunning far beyond any twelve-year-old.

He was harder to read than even those old foxes.

"Hmph. Just keep yourself out of trouble! Don't cause a disaster in the city and expect me to collect your corpse."

With a cold snort, Tang Hao hoisted his hammer onto his shoulder and left it at that.

Without so much as a glance at his daughter, his figure flickered and vanished.

"Dad..."

Tang Sanmei sniffed, looking a little forlorn.

But she soon rallied and returned to Huo Yuhao's side.

"Senior Brother, let's go to Moonlight Pavilion!"

Xiao Wu patted her chest and let out a long breath. Emerging from behind Tang Sanmei, she muttered,

"The way Uncle Tang looked at me just now was terrifying..."

"Come on. Let's head into the city."

Huo Yuhao led the three of them into Heaven Dou City.

Tang Sanmei and Xiao Wu could hardly take everything in. Their eyes darted about, curious at every turn.

After Tang Hao's stern warning, Xiao Wu had grown much more obedient. She stayed glued to Tang Sanmei's arm, not daring to hop about as she pleased.

Huo Yuhao alone walked at the front, hands in his pockets, weaving leisurely through the crowds without a care.

Heaven Dou City...

Qian Renxue, hidden somewhere within it. Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Poison Douluo Dugu Bo. And deep in Sunset Forest, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Huo Yuhao checked the direction of the main road, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Let's go. We'll take a look around the east side first."

In the eastern part of the city stood Moonlight Pavilion.

As the Heaven Dou Empire's renowned academy of noble etiquette, the entire pavilion lay deep within a quiet bamboo grove.

The five-story marble building had an antique charm, a faint fragrance drifted through the air, and every carriage parked outside bore a noble crest.

The discreet little hammer stamped on Tang Hao's envelope was enough to stop the two snobbish guards at the entrance from barring their way. They dutifully escorted the three visitors into the rear garden.

Beyond a corridor draped in wisteria, a beautiful woman in a long silver court dress sat beside a tea table. Her bearing was noble and otherworldly, a faint sorrow lingered between her brows, and she was none other than Tang Yuehua, mistress of Moonlight Pavilion.

"Pavilion Mistress, three young visitors have brought this letter and requested an audience."

The guard respectfully presented the letter.

Tang Yuehua took it. But the instant her fingertips brushed the discreet wax seal—a tiny hammer pressed into the envelope's flap—she froze as though struck by lightning!

"This... this is Second Brother's handwriting!"

Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Her eyes reddened at once, and she sprang to her feet, forgetting her composure.

"Where is the person who brought it?"

"Aunt, that's me."

Tang Sanmei stepped forward, her eyes reddening too, and gave a respectful bow.

"I'm Tang Sanmei. Dad asked me to deliver the letter to you personally."

"Sanmei... You're my second brother's daughter!"

With trembling hands, Tang Yuehua opened the letter and swept her eyes over the familiar, bold handwriting. As she read, tears spilled down her cheeks like beads from a broken string.

Twelve whole years!

The Clear Sky Sect had shut itself away, and she had heard nothing from her second brother. She had even believed he had fallen into Spirit Hall's hands!

Now she had learned not only that he was alive, but that he had sent her a niece of her own!

Tang Yuehua pulled Tang Sanmei into her arms, her voice choked with tears.

"My child... you've had such a hard time... How much have you suffered out there all these years?"

Never in her life had Tang Sanmei been held like this by an older woman. Though it felt a little unfamiliar, the warmth of family she sensed from Tang Yuehua filled her heart.

Only after a long while did Tang Yuehua wipe away her tears, steady her emotions, and carefully read the rest of the letter.

As she read on, her gentle brows drew together and her expression grew grave.

In the letter, Tang Hao had asked her to do three things:

First, Tang Sanmei had Innate Full Soul Power and had reached Level 33 at only twelve years old. He hoped Tang Yuehua would use her connections to enroll her in the best Advanced Soul Master Academy in Heaven Dou City.

Second, the girl in pink accompanying them, Xiao Wu, had an unusual background. He wanted Tang Yuehua to shelter her with Moonlight Pavilion's Noble Ring Domain and strictly forbid her from setting even half a step outside the pavilion on her own.

The third request had been written with the heaviest strokes, carrying a rare note of gritted-teeth fury from Tang Hao: "That black-haired brat Huo Yuhao is unfathomable, and his mind is darker than an old fox's! Watch him closely. Don't let him take advantage of Sanmei!"

Tang Yuehua could not help staring at her second brother's final, bitter warning.

She slowly raised her head and looked past Tang Sanmei at the other two.

The girl in pink was pretty and appeared innocent and carefree. But with the keen perception granted by her innate Noble Ring Domain, Tang Yuehua faintly sensed an unusual aura lying dormant within her. She immediately understood why her second brother did not want the girl going outside.

The black-haired boy standing in the middle had his hands in his pockets. He was tall and straight-backed.

Before the mistress of Moonlight Pavilion, whose name was known throughout the empire, the boy remained as calm as a deep pool. There was even the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

Composed and unruffled, he showed none of the timidity or awkwardness of a country child entering a grand house for the first time.

"You must be Huo Yuhao, the young man mentioned in the letter?"

Tang Yuehua's voice was gentle, carrying the easy warmth of someone born to the nobility.

"A pleasure to meet you, Aunt Yuehua."

Huo Yuhao inclined his head slightly. His manners were impeccable.

Tang Yuehua privately approved. Her second brother was probably seeing enemies behind every blade of grass; this boy seemed perfectly modest and courteous to her.

Smiling, she took Tang Sanmei's hand and said softly,

"Sanmei, now that you're in Heaven Dou City, I won't let you want for anything. Your father wrote that he'd like you to continue your studies at an Advanced Soul Master Academy. I have some connections at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll personally arrange places for you. How does that sound?"

Anyone else would have been overjoyed to hear they could attend the finest academy in all of Heaven Dou.