She Was Wearing a Uniform

Qin Chuan nodded. "Exactly. Tang Hao clearly had the ability to move Ah Yin ahead of time, take her to the Clear Sky Sect, and marry her openly. Back then, the Clear Sky Sect was the foremost of the Upper Three Sects, with deep foundations. Outsiders couldn't possibly breach it. He could easily have hidden Ah Yin there and lived with her in safety."

"But he didn't."

"He took Ah Yin into seclusion outside the sect and stayed hidden for two whole years. When scouts discovered them, he pretended not to know. When people secretly followed them, he took no countermeasures either. Only after Ah Yin became pregnant, when her body was at its weakest, did he set off for the Clear Sky Sect with her. Powerful enemies intercepted them along the way, and Ah Yin sacrificed herself to protect Tang San."

Qin Chuan paused there.

"Think about it. How strong was Tang Hao? Could he really fail to sense a few scouts following him?"

Bibi Dong's fingers tightened against the tabletop.

Her mind raced.

Taken apart sentence by sentence, Qin Chuan's words formed a complete chain of logic.

She knew how keen Tang Hao's senses were.

Not even the slightest rustle of wind through grass within several miles could escape him. She would be the first to disbelieve any claim that he hadn't noticed the scouts.

That left only one explanation: Tang Hao knew, but deliberately did nothing.

"What!" Bibi Dong's voice dropped, and a chill rose in her eyes.

A thought welled up in her mind: How insidious.

Tang Hao needed Ah Yin to sacrifice herself.

The sacrifice of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast could produce a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and Soul Ring.

Moreover, Ah Yin's sacrifice had given Tang Hao a powerful motive, allowing him to hate Spirit Hall with righteous justification and rally various forces against it.

One stone, many birds.

Bibi Dong sat there, her chest rising and falling twice. It took her a long while to settle down.

Watching her reaction, Qin Chuan knew his words had worked.

Over the years, the matter of Ah Yin had left Bibi Dong feeling somewhat guilty about Spirit Hall's past.

Now that the truth had been laid out, more than half that burden had lifted from her heart.

"That's why Tang Hao's guilt runs so deep," Qin Chuan continued. "He knows perfectly well that he bears responsibility for Ah Yin's death. He doesn't hate Spirit Hall. He hates himself. But he doesn't dare admit it, so he projects all that hatred onto Spirit Hall."

Bibi Dong said nothing, but her gaze was much clearer than before.

Qin Chuan stood up, his tone turning brisk and decisive.

"When we go to Holy Soul Village this time, I'll bring back the Blue Silver Emperor's seed. You take that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Tang San and his father don't deserve it."

Bibi Dong looked up at him. She nodded without hesitating long.

"There's something else. I plan to open at least ten Game Halls across the entire Douluo Continent."

Bibi Dong looked at the map and raised an eyebrow.

Qin Chuan pointed to the markings on the map, naming them one by one. "Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Five Elements Academy, and other important locations. When the time comes, they'll all be renamed [Spirit Game Hall]."

"Renamed?"

"Yes. First, it'll serve as publicity, letting everyone across the continent know these businesses belong to Spirit Hall. It'll lay the groundwork for establishing the Spirit Hall Empire later, beginning with cultural and commercial penetration."

"Second, the Game Halls can provide Soul Rings, giving the continent's soul masters another way to obtain them without having to hunt soul beasts. That will complement the Soul Beast Protection Law and reduce conflict."

Bibi Dong stared at the map for a long time.

In her mind, she played through this entire chess game from beginning to end.

The Soul Beast Protection Law controlled permission to hunt soul beast resources, while the Spirit Game Halls provided an alternative source of Soul Rings.

With those two tracks running in parallel, Spirit Hall would effectively hold the lifeline of every soul master on the continent in its hands.

Every link in this plan locked neatly into the next.

Bibi Dong reassessed Qin Chuan across from her.

The depth of this young sworn younger brother's strategic thinking already far surpassed that of anyone she had ever met.

"But we can't rush this second matter just yet." Qin Chuan put the map away. "Our foundations aren't stable, and we don't have enough people. The Game Hall here in Spirit City still needs to keep operating and refining its methods, accumulating experience and training a group of managers who can handle things on their own. Once the time is right, we'll expand outward."

Bibi Dong nodded. "You're right. Taking too big a step can cause problems."

Qin Chuan rose and pushed his chair back into place.

"All right, let's go. To Holy Soul Village."

Bibi Dong stood as well, casually picking up the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown from the corner of the table and putting it back on.

"Then I'll call Yue Guan and Gui Mei."

Qin Chuan waved a hand. "No need. You're enough. I provide powerful control, and you're a power attack system soul master. With the two of us as a team, who could break through?"

Bibi Dong looked at him, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

She loved hearing him say things like that.

"All right. Let's leave instructions and set off immediately."

Holy Soul Village.

It was a remote little village nestled among the mountains in the continent's southwest.

The village was small, with around a hundred households. Its houses were low and worn, with mud walls and tiled roofs. An old locust tree grew crookedly at the village entrance, several bluestone slabs worn shiny piled beneath it.

Behind the village stretched a chain of mountain ridges. Deep within them lay a narrow path choked with brambles and weeds, leading to the forbidden grounds in the rear mountains.

At that moment, inside a wooden house.

Tang Hao had returned from Spirit City not long before.

He sat beside the bed, staring at his son lying there, his brows tightly furrowed.

Ever since the Soul Master Tournament ended, Tang San had been bedridden, utterly listless.

Hearing a sound, Tang San's eyelids fluttered twice, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze remained clouded for a moment or two before gradually focusing. First he saw the wooden house's low roof beams, then Tang Hao sitting beside him.

"Dad..."

Tang Hao reached out to help him sit up and placed a pillow behind his back.

Tang San leaned against the pillow, his chest heaving. It took him a long while to catch his breath.

His first words weren't a question about where he was or how badly he was hurt.

"Where's Xiao Wu? Where is she? How is she?"

Tang Hao was silent for two breaths.

He looked into his son's eyes, which were filled with urgency and unwillingness to accept what had happened.

"Forget her." Tang Hao's voice was very low.

Tang San's expression froze. "Why?"

Tang Hao continued, "Xiao Wu is wearing a uniform now, helping Qin Chuan run the [Game Hall] in Spirit City."

All the color drained from Tang San's face.

His mouth hung open, his lips trembling twice, but not a single word came out.

Then a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth.

The blood splashed onto the quilt, a scarlet patch glaring against its grayish-white surface.

Tang Hao had been prepared. He caught Tang San's shoulder with one hand and patted his back with the other, helping him catch his breath.

Tang San doubled over and coughed several times. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, running down his chin and dripping onto the front of his clothes.

His body shook with rage.

Xiao Wu was actually wearing a uniform and staying with that enemy!

Tang San could picture the scene.

Xiao Wu stood at the counter in some sort of matching uniform, cheerfully greeting the customers coming and going.

And that man watched from beside her, his face full of smug satisfaction.

Tang San clutched the corner of the quilt, a single thought churning through his mind: Why? Why was Xiao Wu there? Was she being controlled? Threatened? Or had she gone willingly?

[The cooked duck had flown away! The Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring had been almost within my grasp, yet in the end, I'd sewn someone else's wedding gown!]

It felt as though a bayonet were stabbing into his chest over and over.

"Do you hate him?" Tang Hao asked.

Tang San closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, the anxiety and concern in them had been replaced by something else.

He nodded.

Tang Hao picked up a bowl from the low cabinet beside the bed.

It held a dark brown medicinal brew, steam still rising from its surface, its bitter smell sharp and pungent.

"Drink it. Once you drink it, you'll be all right."