The newcomer was tall, standing a full two meters high. His short sleeves exposed the powerful, formidable muscles of his arms. A broad cloak hung down his back, marking him as a commander in the Star Luo Empire's army.
His resolute face looked as though it had been carved with knives and axes, carrying an authority that needed no anger to command respect. The faint killing aura he radiated made anyone who met his eyes instinctively recognize this man of steel as a soldier who had weathered countless battles and walked through life and death.
Yet with every step this imposing man took closer, his killing aura gradually faded, replaced by tenderness and affection in his eyes.
Braving the increasingly heavy rain, he approached the gravestone, crouched his towering frame beside Huo Yuhao, and set a bouquet of yellow and white chrysanthemums on the ground.
He was Huo Yuhao's biological father in this life-the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao.
Huo Yuhao had no inclination to regard him as his father. Instead, he asked flatly, "Why is Your Grace the White Tiger Duke here instead of commanding the war at the front?"
The White Tiger Duke remained crouched as he answered, "There hasn't been as much fighting this year. We've signed a temporary ceasefire agreement. Besides..."
He gazed tenderly at the gravestone before him, reaching out to stroke the name "Huo Yun'er" and wipe away the rainwater.
"Today is the seventh day since Yun'er passed away. I had to come back to see her."
They observe the seventh day after death on the Douluo Continent too?
Huo Yuhao gave it no further thought and merely snorted in disdain.
"Tch. Putting on an act."
"Where were you before?"
The White Tiger Duke did not argue. He knew he owed this mother and son far too much.
Had an outsider witnessed this scene, their jaw would surely have dropped.
Why would the White Tiger Duke tolerate this boy's disparaging remarks?
In status, he was the White Tiger Duke, second only to the Star Luo Imperial Family.
In authority, he was the White Tiger Marshal, commanding the entire army.
In strength, he was an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, almost certain to inherit his ancestor's title as the White Tiger Douluo in the future.
Strength in this world was divided into ten ranks according to soul power level: Soul Scholar, soul master, Soul Grandmaster, Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Saint, Soul Douluo, and Titled Douluo.
Any expert present would easily have seen that the boy's soul power had barely reached level ten. He had not even obtained his first Soul Ring and could not yet be considered a proper soul master.
What right did this boy have to mock him?
Neither spoke, allowing the rain to pound against them.
After a long while, the White Tiger Duke spoke. "It does Yun'er something of a disservice to lay her to rest here."
This was merely a secluded stretch of hills beside the Duke's Mansion.
Huo Yuhao shrugged. "There's nothing to be done about it. I'm afraid that if I buried her in the ancestral grounds, your wife might often come to take care of her by accident."
He placed particular emphasis on the words "by accident."
The White Tiger Duke said nothing more, seemingly accepting Huo Yuhao's words.
Huo Yuhao looked down the hill toward the Duke's Mansion. Its sprawling grounds remained brightly lit even in the gloomy rain.
The gravestone faced the Duke's Mansion. This, too, had been Huo Yun'er's final wish.
Huo Yuhao swept his right hand across his belt-shaped Storage Soul Tool, and a sheathed blade just over a foot long appeared in his hand.
He deftly played with the foot-long blade, sending it spinning and dancing between his fingertips like a butterfly weaving through flowers, dazzling the eye. Anyone watching would have exclaimed that this boy was a master with a knife.
"That's..."
The White Tiger Duke froze.
He knew the blade in Huo Yuhao's hand all too well.
It was the gift he had given Huo Yun'er many years ago-the White Tiger Dagger.
It might have been... one of the few things he had ever given her.
Huo Yuhao stilled his hand. The White Tiger Dagger stopped spinning, and he placed it in a groove within the gravestone's carved pattern.
Huo Yuhao knew how much Huo Yun'er had cherished the White Tiger Dagger. She had treasured it beyond measure, holding it even as she lay dying, as though she were holding her beloved's hand.
"Yuhao, keep it," the White Tiger Duke said as he stood. "It's a Soul Tool."
A Soul Tool?
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow.
I actually failed to notice? Had my skills slipped?
He was exceptionally skilled with blades, and his first impression of this dagger had been that it was better than an ordinary knife.
It was light and comfortable in his hand. Even without drawing it from its sheath, he could faintly sense its sharpness.
Soul Tools were devices that performed various special functions when infused with soul power. Huo Yuhao was no stranger to them; the belt he currently wore was a Storage Soul Tool.
Soul Tools were not particularly precious, either. With his current status as the duke's illegitimate son, he could obtain a few.
"When you see it in the future, it will remind you of your mother," Dai Hao continued to persuade him.
Without a word, Huo Yuhao returned the White Tiger Dagger to his belt.
The White Tiger Duke let out a relieved breath, seemingly feeling that the relationship between father and son had eased somewhat. "Yuhao, your surname..."
Huo Yuhao interrupted him. "My surname isn't Dai. It's Huo!"
"My name is Huo Yuhao!"
Perhaps the White Tiger Duke had brought up this subject too many times already. The moment he opened his mouth, Huo Yuhao knew what he intended to say.
Whoosh-
The rain eased, and the wind grew louder.
The White Tiger Duke spoke slowly. "Yuhao, are you... still unwilling to forgive me?"
Huo Yuhao replied coldly, "Do you owe me anything?"
He pointed at Huo Yun'er's gravestone. "She's the one you wronged! Not me. I have no right to forgive you!"
The White Tiger Duke felt as though a bone had lodged in his throat. He wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, all that emerged was an endless, sorrowful sigh.
Watching the White Tiger Duke sigh, Huo Yuhao felt conflicted.
He was unwilling to forgive this biological father of his, but if asked to condemn him, he would not know what to say.
After all, the man before him had already done his best to make amends. Out of guilt toward mother and son, the White Tiger Duke had provided them with abundant material comforts. Huo Yuhao had even received a privilege unique within the entire Duke's Mansion.
He was allowed to disrespect the White Tiger Duke!
That was precisely why Huo Yuhao could freely needle the White Tiger Duke with barbed remarks.
Even if Dai Huabin-his paternal half-brother of roughly the same age, born to the duchess-had dared speak to the White Tiger Duke this way, Dai Hao would have slapped him hard across the face long ago.
Yet Huo Yuhao only behaved this way on the few occasions when no outsiders were present, because he understood very well that he had to leave the White Tiger Duke some dignity.
The White Tiger Duke tolerated his disrespect because his conscience was burdened with guilt, because he needed to do right by him.
Others, however, would not care about any of that.
Huo Yuhao did not know what attitude he should take toward the White Tiger Duke. He had once thought he would hate him to the marrow of his bones, but when the White Tiger Duke humbled himself so completely before him, he felt that his hatred was not quite so fierce.
Forget it. Let things stay as they are...
Huo Yuhao stopped dwelling on it. Remembering the smile on his mother's face before she died, he felt somewhat at peace. For now, he would assume that his mother and the White Tiger Duke had long since reconciled.
"Yuhao, what do you plan to do in the future?" While Huo Yuhao was lost in thought, the White Tiger Duke spoke again.