Heaven Dou Imperial City, an old tavern.
This was a tavern beloved by the common folk of the imperial city.
After spending a night grieving in Spirit City, Qian Renxue returned here.
At this moment, she was not disguised as Xue Qinghe.
That was merely a mission she had worked hard to carry out in order to please Bibi Dong.
While playing the role of Xue Qinghe, she could not allow any other emotions to interfere.
That was not who she was.
Right now, she only wanted to be herself for once.
So, the first thing she did after returning to Heaven Dou Imperial City was put on her favorite pink dress, apply beautiful rouge, and come to this old tavern to drink to her heart's content.
She truly needed this release, or she would go insane.
At this moment, she was neither Xue Qinghe nor Qian Renxue, just a little girl on the verge of being driven mad by her mother.
At an age when she should have been happy, she had to endure pain she should never have borne.
Had she done something wrong?
Should she not exist?
Qian Renxue drained another cup of wine. Overcome by sorrow, she suddenly burst into tears.
The other patrons in the old tavern saw such a beautiful young girl drinking alone and weeping, and pity appeared on their faces.
"Could she be another heartbroken girl suffering for love? Sigh..."
The bartender wiped a cup and shook his head with a sigh.
At that moment, Xue Tianyu, who was quietly sipping wine in a secluded corner of the tavern, felt rather uncomfortable seeing Qian Renxue cry so bitterly.
He knew why Qian Renxue was so sad.
After pondering for a long while, Xue Tianyu picked up his wine cup and came over to sit before Qian Renxue.
"What's the fun in drinking alone? I'll keep you company." Xue Tianyu watched Qian Renxue fill another cup, then raised his own and clinked it against hers.
As their cups met, Qian Renxue lifted her slightly drunken eyes and found, somewhat unexpectedly, that the boy before her was rather pleasing to the eye.
"You like drinking too?"
Xue Tianyu emptied his cup and smiled faintly. "A little."
"Your voice sounds strangely familiar." Qian Renxue lowered her gaze. "Maybe you're some relative I've never met, haha..."
Qian Renxue followed by downing the wine in her cup in one gulp.
"But that's impossible... Still, I really wish I had a relative like you..."
Her eyes were red as she looked up at Xue Tianyu. Suddenly, she reached out and touched his face. "Would you be interested in hearing my story...?"
"I really... have kept some things bottled up for far too many years..."
Xue Tianyu felt some heartache for Qian Renxue. He raised his hand and gently held hers. "Go ahead. I'm listening."
After all these years, this was the first time someone had been willing to listen to her pour out her heart.
That left Qian Renxue somewhat dazed.
She had been a little hesitant at first, but thinking that the person before her was only a stranger, alcohol gave Qian Renxue much more courage.
She gave a bleak smile, then slowly began recounting what she had gone through.
"People say even a tiger would not eat its cub, but do you believe that some people can actually loathe, even hate, their own biological child?"
"You heard that right. Not dislike, not annoyance, but hatred."
"And perhaps the only thing that child did wrong was being born and surviving..."
"To please her parents, that child also worked hard in her own way. But no matter how well she did, she could never receive their approval. Instead, they disliked her even more..."
"Tell me, what meaning is there in a life spent being despised like that?"
Qian Renxue did not name anyone or reveal any details, but every word seemed to be written in blood and tears. As she spoke, her eyes could no longer hold back the moisture.
All the wine she had drunk flowed out through her eyes.
Others might not understand the deeper meaning behind Qian Renxue's words, but Xue Tianyu did.
In fact, he deeply understood what it felt like to be rejected by Bibi Dong.
At that moment, he was instead glad that he had been abandoned.
Otherwise, would Xue Tianyu not have become another Qian Renxue?
Perhaps he would have suffered even worse.
"I don't know why, but even though this is our first meeting, you feel very familiar to me."
"Sorry you had to see me make a fool of myself."
After venting for so long, Qian Renxue felt a little better.
"Everyone has experiences that don't go their way." Xue Tianyu comfortingly patted Qian Renxue's shoulder.
Yet the thought in his heart gradually became firmer.
He would take revenge on Bibi Dong with his own hands and make her repay everything.
Looking at Qian Renxue, whose face was streaked with tears, Xue Tianyu silently made up his mind.
Don't worry. I'll help you take back everything that belongs to us.
Sister.
With that thought, Xue Tianyu silently called out in his heart, Check in!
Check in with Qian Renxue.
The familiar system voice rang out once more.
This time, the reward far exceeded Xue Tianyu's expectations.
Twelve-Winged Angel, Million-Year right arm bone!
This reward was practically on par with what he had received from checking in with the Ice and Snow Twin Emperors!
In an instant, detailed descriptions of four skills appeared in his mind.
Angel Barrier, rejecting all damage for a short time!
Sacred Light, possessing an extremely powerful suppressive effect.
Sword of Light! It could summon a light sword to assist in battle.
The last was the Angel Light Blade, which could be unleashed instantly!
Xue Tianyu had not expected to obtain an Angel soul bone so easily.
Perhaps this was Heaven's arrangement.
Just as Xue Tianyu finished experiencing the skills of the Million-Year Angel Soul Bone, he heard several thugs enter the old tavern to cause trouble.
Xue Tianyu opened his eyes and glanced over.
Three thugs carrying iron rods entered and immediately swept the empty wine cups off the tables.
"Bartender! You still haven't paid last time's protection fee. Today, you'd better—oh, a beauty!"
One thug saw Qian Renxue, beautiful and captivating with tears at the corners of her eyes, and immediately called for the other two thugs to surround her.
"Beauty, why drink with this little brat? Drink with the three of us. When we're done, we'll go have some fun together!"
"Hehe, dressed so sexy—you're here to catch a rich guy too, right?"
"The three of us are very good at it, you know~~"
Hearing the filthy words from the three thugs, Xue Tianyu and Qian Renxue frowned almost at the same time.
However, Qian Renxue said nothing and simply ignored them.
When the thugs saw that they were being ignored, their pride was wounded and they could no longer save face.
"I'm talking to you, little lady. Didn't you hear me?"
The thug did not even look at Xue Tianyu. What harm could a little brat possibly do to them?
The three of them almost simultaneously reached out toward Qian Renxue.
The surrounding customers watched this scene with anger but dared not speak. These thugs had clearly terrorized this street for a long time.
Xue Tianyu frowned. These thugs actually dared lay hands on his sister?
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
With a blank expression, Xue Tianyu picked up his wine cup and smashed the three thugs' hands onto the table.
Crack!!!
The sound of bones shattering silenced the entire tavern.
Xue Tianyu, Titled Douluo! The Curtain Rises on Revenge!
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
The three thugs let out miserable shrieks at the same time.
Their ridiculous appearance made Qian Renxue smile despite herself.
The flush from the wine on her face made her look even more beautiful and enchanting.
"You dare hit us? Ask around—who's the daddy on this street?"
The thug bared his teeth at Xue Tianyu and threatened him with a vicious glare.
"Sigh... Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough."
Xue Tianyu raised his hand and waved. Before the three thugs could even see his movement clearly, both of their hands had been broken.
"No matter who the daddy is, he can't save you." Xue Tianyu's face was frosty, his voice carrying a chill from the depths of the underworld. "If you don't want to die, get lost!"
These three thugs usually only relied on their weapons to bully others. They were the sort who would immediately kneel when facing even an ordinary soul master. Now that they sensed Xue Tianyu's terror, they turned pale and fled at once.
The entire tavern erupted into enthusiastic applause.
"I couldn't tell, but you're pretty strong." Qian Renxue smiled faintly, her impression of the young man before her rising greatly.
"They were just ordinary thugs. You could have handled them too." Xue Tianyu replied with a smile.
The more Qian Renxue looked at the boy before her, the more pleasing she found him.
After that disturbance from the little thugs, she had sobered up quite a bit.
She had actually reached a point where she could not help wanting to confide in someone.
Thinking of this, though Qian Renxue was still quite drunk, she could already control her body.
She placed down a Spirit Hall token marked with the character for thousand, then stood and said, "Let's be friends. You can come find me at Spirit Hall in the future."
Xue Tianyu accepted the token and nodded.
Qian Renxue smiled faintly and left with unsteady, drunken steps.
Feeling that Qian Renxue had gone far away, Xue Tianyu secretly let out a breath of relief.
For a moment, he had thought Qian Renxue had recognized him.
Fortunately, Bibi Dong probably had not told her that she had also given birth to a son.
After meeting Qian Renxue here, Xue Tianyu's goal became even firmer.
Before you continue