Na'er

Tang Wulin had just begun questioning the bewildered little silver-haired girl before him when several sets of shuffling footsteps suddenly sounded from a side alley.

Four or five scruffily dressed street youths with roguish expressions slowly surrounded them. Their gazes immediately fastened on Gu Yuena's rare short silver hair, then shifted to Tang Wulin's clear, crystalline azure hair, undisguised greed instantly flooding their eyes.

"Well, look at our luck today. Two top-quality little brats."

"One with blue hair, one with silver. Such unusual hair colors, and look at those eyes—sapphires on one, amethysts on the other. You can tell they're no ordinary kids."

They exchanged glances, wicked intentions already settled in their hearts.

These days, Aolai City's underground black market paid high prices specifically for children with unusual appearances and hair and eye colors unlike ordinary people's. They were very likely to possess nonhuman bloodlines, and whether resold or handed over to evil soul masters for research, they could fetch astronomical sums.

Little Gu Yuena keenly sensed their malice. She timidly lowered her head without a word, her small body shrinking slightly behind Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin's eyes instantly turned ice-cold, and the air around him grew heavy.

These men had filthy gazes and ill intentions. They were clearly the human traffickers who ran rampant through this neighborhood.

He looked up and said coldly, "What do you want? Aren't you afraid the federal patrol officers will arrest you?"

The lead thug threw back his head and laughed brazenly, his face full of smug confidence. "Federal patrol officers? I just got released from the station this morning. I'm not scared of them! Stay out of this, you little brat!"

Tang Wulin was speechless.

He searched through all his memories of the original novel, unable to recall whether this chapter had existed.

Encountering prejudice and a fated meeting in a single day had already left him irritated. Now running into these street thugs only made him more annoyed.

Do you really think I'm still that innocent, bewildered, helpless little Wulin from the original novel?

A cold glint flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes. Without further hesitation, he willed his right hand into action.

Pale blue blue silver grass instantly sprouted from his palm, swaying gently in the breeze.

Without his noticing, dense, fine golden markings quietly spread deep within the slender stems and roots of the ordinary blue silver grass. An exceedingly faint trace of golden dragon king bloodline power silently merged into his martial soul, lending this seemingly worthless little blade of grass a hidden hint of domineering draconic might.

Tang Wulin bent his knees and crouched down, pressing his palm lightly against the ground as he quietly activated his martial soul.

The soil churned, and two blue-silver vines instantly burst from the ground. Like agile serpents, they shot forward, coiling around the legs of the two thugs in front and tightening fiercely.

Unfortunately, he currently had only innate level-five soul power. Without a soul ring's enhancement, the blue silver grass had limited binding strength and could not hold these adult thugs for long.

One strike to restrain them, then quit while he was ahead.

Tang Wulin had no intention of lingering in the fight. He reached back, scooped up the slight Gu Yuena, settled her securely on his back, and ran with all his might while shouting for help at the top of his lungs:

"Help! Someone's stealing children! Human traffickers are grabbing kids!"

Child trafficking was an atrocity everyone despised, whether in the world of his previous life or the present Sun Moon Federation.

They were very close to the Red Mountain Junior Soul Master Academy, and school had just let out. Large numbers of parents picking up their children had yet to leave.

His piercing cries for help immediately drew the attention of countless passersby.

Turning around, they saw the thugs struggling desperately where the blue silver grass had bound them. Combined with the boy's cries, the whole situation instantly became clear.

In an instant, the parents, fiercely protective of their children, erupted in anger. They rushed forward and rained punches and kicks on the traffickers.

They showed no mercy. Within moments, the previously arrogant thugs lay on the ground with bruised, swollen faces, wailing endlessly. Completely unable to resist, they could only wait for the federal patrol officers to arrive and arrest them.

Before long, patrol officers from the Federal Investigation Bureau rushed to the scene.

The traffickers were detained on the spot. After questioning them at the scene and checking their records, the police established that they had not only attempted to abduct children but also had prior robbery convictions. With their offenses punished together, they were ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison under the law, paying a heavy price for their crimes.

After the incident, the Federal Investigation Bureau immediately called Tang Wulin's guardians.

Tang Ziran, who was still busy repairing mechas in the workshop, and Lang Yue, who was tending to the housework at home, both received calls from the police station.

Upon learning that his child had encountered human traffickers outside the school gates, Tang Ziran immediately dropped every tool in his hands. Leaving his unfinished work behind, he raced toward the police station, his heart burning with anxiety.

The thought that child abductors still lurked around the supposedly safe soul master academy filled the couple with lingering fear and sent chills through their bodies. Had anything gone even slightly wrong, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Inside the police station's reception room, Tang Wulin sat quietly. The little silver-haired Gu Yuena pressed close beside him, saying nothing and leaning against him dependently throughout. Several officers took turns gently asking about the incident, with Tang Wulin remaining the main focus of their questions.

The complete public surveillance footage outside the school gates had clearly captured everything: this child, only six years old and freshly awakened to his martial soul, had actively summoned his blue silver grass martial soul in a crisis, sending vines bursting from the earth to briefly restrain adult criminals.

Towering waves of shock surged through every officer's heart. They could scarcely believe it.

The Douluo Continent had one universally accepted, ironclad rule: only after absorbing their first soul ring could soul masters unlock and use soul skills, directing their martial souls to attack and restrain.

Yet Tang Wulin had only innate level-five soul power and had never absorbed a soul ring. His ability to manifest his martial soul and use it to restrain others defied the continent's common knowledge. Nothing like it had ever occurred in the history of soul masters.

Faced with the police's repeated questions and puzzled gazes, Tang Wulin maintained a bewildered expression throughout, perfectly playing the frightened child.

No matter how the officers questioned him, he kept his head lowered, his eyes slightly reddened, and timidly replied that he did not understand how it worked. He had been so scared that his body had instinctively used the little grass to protect him. It had been entirely reflexive, and he did not know why he could do it either.

His eyes were clear and sincere, his expression panicked and helpless. He looked exactly as a frightened child should, without the slightest flaw.

The officers watched him for a long time. Seeing the child's genuine-looking fear, they eventually dismissed their doubts and suspicions, treating it as an extremely rare exception involving unusual innate soul power. They stopped probing and instead waited for his parents to pick him up.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue hurried into the police station. After asking the officers what had happened, they quickly approached Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin secretly looked forward to their reaction. He felt that stepping forward to stop human traffickers counted as a good deed, and his parents ought to praise him a little.

But the praise he expected never came. Instead, he was met by his father's voice, simmering with suppressed anger.

"Tang Wulin!"

Tang Ziran's brows were tightly knitted. Forcing down his lingering fear and anger, he looked at him sternly. "Do you think you were very brave just now?"

Tang Wulin froze, blinking blankly, unsure how to answer.

"When you see someone abducting children, your first response should be to find a nearby adult for help, not confront the traffickers alone!" Tang Ziran's voice grew grave, every word spoken with utmost seriousness.

Those words left Tang Wulin opening his mouth, yet unable to utter a single word for a long while.

Lang Yue looked with compassion at the slight, lonely silver-haired girl before her. She slowly crouched down, softening her voice as she gently and patiently asked her a question.

"Sweetheart, do you remember where your family is? Or where you live? If you have a way to contact your family, you can tell me that too."

Faced with the gentle questions, Na'er merely pressed her lips together. Her violet eyes were blank with confusion, and she slowly shook her head again and again, helplessness filling her gaze.

"Then how old are you?"

After a moment of silence, Na'er's soft little voice sounded. "Five and a half."

The federal officer beside them looked troubled as well, inwardly nursing quite a headache.

For an ordinary orphan without a guardian, the procedure was simple: send them straight to an official orphanage to complete the paperwork. But Na'er was different. The city's household and population records contained absolutely no trace of her past, as though she had appeared out of thin air. With her origins unknown and her background blank, federal law did not allow her to go through the normal orphanage intake process, making her case particularly troublesome.

Looking at his hesitant adoptive parents, caught in a dilemma, Tang Wulin tightly clasped Na'er's cool, soft little hand and sheltered her beside him. He raised his eyes again, looking at Tang Ziran and Lang Yue with utmost seriousness and earnestness.

"Mom, Dad, let's adopt Na'er."

Then Tang Wulin looked at Na'er. Though the girl's clothes and face were dirty, they still could not conceal her peerless beauty.

"Na'er, would you like to be my little sister?"

Na'er held tightly to Tang Wulin. For some reason, holding his hand filled her with peace. She looked at him and finally said timidly:

"I would."

Tang Ziran looked at the children's tightly clasped little hands, then at Na'er, bewildered, helpless, and all alone. The last trace of hesitation in his heart vanished completely.

He exchanged a glance with Lang Yue, and both saw tenderness and compassion in the other's eyes.

This five-and-a-half-year-old girl had no one to depend on. Her origins were a mystery, with not even a trace of her past remaining. If no one took her in, every step of her future in the vast Aolai City would be a struggle.

Lang Yue reached out and gently stroked Na'er's soft, short silver hair, her expression brimming with tenderness. "All right. From now on, how about coming home with us and staying with our family? We'll be your mom and dad, and Wulin will be your big brother."

Na'er's clear violet eyes brightened slightly. She timidly looked up at the gentle Lang Yue, then at Tang Wulin beside her, whose firm hold on her hand made her feel safe. She nodded softly and answered in a tiny voice, "Okay."

The officer, who had been troubled for quite some time, immediately let out a great sigh of relief. He hurried over and said, "Since you're willing to legally adopt this child, everything will be much easier. You both meet the federation's adoption requirements, have no adverse records, and have a stable household. Once you sign the adoption agreement and complete the records, we can finalize the adoption. From then on, Na'er will legally be your child."

Tang Ziran nodded solemnly without the slightest hesitation.

They went to the service counter, where Tang Ziran and Lang Yue carefully signed the adoption agreement, entered their family information, and added new household registration details to her blank identity file.

From that moment on, Na'er officially had a home of her own. She was no longer a rootless orphan drifting through the world, cast into it from nowhere.

With all the paperwork completed, the family left the federal police station.

The evening breeze was gentle, and sunset clouds spread across the sky, their warm light falling on the four of them.

Tang Wulin held Na'er's tiny hand the entire time, never letting go for even a moment.

He looked down at the little silver dragon beside him, quietly and obediently following along, and countless thoughts swirled through his mind.

In the end, he had still failed to escape their fated meeting. The pull of the golden and silver dragon king bloodline was irresistible.

But this time, he would not follow the original novel's path.

He would ensure his adoptive parents lived peaceful lives and properly protect the bewildered young Na'er beside him, slowly rewriting everyone's destined tragic endings.

Looking at the two little children beside him, Tang Ziran said softly, "Come on. Let's go home."

Lang Yue smiled gently and reached out to take Na'er's other little hand.

They returned home through the gathering dusk. The small, cozy house instantly gained a little more warmth and life, but also a small new problem.

There were only two bedrooms in the house. One belonged to Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, and the other was Tang Wulin's room. Now that Na'er was officially staying with them, there was no spare room for her, so she would have to share Tang Wulin's room for the time being.

That evening, Tang Ziran found some sturdy, flat wooden boards. Together with Tang Wulin, he assembled a small, low single bed against the bedroom wall, fitting it with clean, soft bedding so that young Na'er could sleep comfortably.

After all the fright and running about, Na'er was already exhausted.

Lang Yue carefully helped her wash up and changed her into a clean, cute pair of pajamas. Shortly after lying down, the little girl curled up and drifted peacefully into sleep. Her long eyelashes rested against her quiet, innocent little face as she slept soundly.

Watching the sleeping Na'er, Tang Wulin softened his footsteps, afraid of disturbing her. He then turned to Tang Ziran, who was putting away the tools beside him, and said quietly, "Dad, I'm going to meditate and cultivate my soul power."

Tang Ziran nodded and reminded him in a low voice not to stay up late, then left the bedroom, gently closing the door behind him.

The room fell completely silent, save for the girl's soft, even breathing.

Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on his own bed and slowly closed his eyes, preparing to begin his daily soul power meditation.

He had to seize every moment to cultivate.

Innate level-five soul power was far too meager. When he had activated his martial soul outside the school gates that day, releasing vines to entangle the traffickers, those few brief seconds of control had nearly drained most of his soul power and spiritual power. Afterward, his head had swum with dizziness, and he had nearly fainted.

Activating a martial soul consumed two kinds of energy: Soul power within the body to sustain its manifestation, and spiritual power to control the vines' direction and strength. With his current meager foundation of soul power, he could not support more than a handful of uses.

Meditation was currently his only path to becoming stronger.

As he closed his eyes and focused, Tang Wulin could not help pondering the matter.

He had always wondered why, despite having no soul ring and being unable to use any soul skills according to the continent's common understanding, he had managed to perform a complete Entanglement restraint that day without being taught.

Now he finally understood it all.

It was not that ordinary blue silver grass possessed an innate soul skill. Rather, his martial soul had never been the trash martial soul, blue silver grass, to begin with. It was the supreme plant-type martial soul, the Blue Silver Emperor.

As a supreme plant-type martial soul, the Blue Silver Emperor possessed an immensely profound bloodline heritage. Fundamental instincts such as entangling and binding were imprinted within it from birth. It did not need a soul ring to unlock them; the martial soul's own bloodline power alone could directly activate its innate abilities.

Everyone in the world regarded his martial soul as the most ordinary blue silver grass, so naturally, no one had discovered this secret.

Blessed with extraordinary advantages, he possessed a complete blue silver emperor bloodline, further strengthened by the hidden Golden Dragon King power within him. Only then could he break the Douluo Continent's rule, unchanged for ten thousand years, and unleash martial soul skills without a soul ring.

Having understood everything, Tang Wulin gathered his thoughts, adjusted his posture, and slowly entered a meditative state.

Gentle soul power from heaven and earth slowly flowed into his body through his pores. He firmly maintained a cultivation pace that was neither fast nor slow, carefully nourishing his meridians.