Su Ling did not linger in Tang Hao's house. It would be bad if the man woke up and discovered his true identity. Though he was not afraid of Tang Hao, Old Jack was.
He merely checked on Old Jack's recent health from the shadows.
With the help of the Life Pill, Old Jack's health had improved considerably. Though he still looked old and decrepit, his legs no longer hurt on rainy days, and his back had straightened somewhat.
Su Ling was not well-off himself, with only a few dozen Gold Soul Coins to his name, but he still left five for Old Jack.
Naturally, he did so in the name of the Spirit Hall Branch.
He called it a reward for the family of an outstanding student Soul Master. Given how frugal Old Jack was, it would probably last him several years.
Then he hurried toward Nuoding Academy without stopping.
"Elder Ju, are you certain Tang Hao lives here?"
Not long after Su Ling left, Azure Luan Douluo and his party arrived at Holy Soul Village. Qian Daoliu had refused to believe what Bibi Dong said.
He had simply sent Azure Luan Douluo out. He was fast, so it would not take much time.
His combat strength was considerable too; handling Tang Hao in his current state would pose no problem at all.
"Uh, Her Holiness said he was here."
The three flew around Holy Soul Village for quite some time without discovering anything unusual.
"Why don't I go investigate more closely?"
Ghost Douluo could no longer stand it. He transformed into a ghostly shadow and began searching house by house.
Ghost Douluo turned into a cloud of black mist and skimmed along the ground into Holy Soul Village.
Holy Soul Village was small, with only a few dozen households altogether. In the first home, someone without Soul Power was feeding a cow-nothing unusual. In the second, someone was... cosplaying a centaur with a goat? Ghost Douluo fled without even checking for Soul Power. The third household, the fourth...
At the seventh household, Ghost Douluo stopped.
A strong smell of alcohol caught Ghost Douluo's attention. The owner of the house was sleeping, his right hand still gripping a large hammer-the Clear Sky Hammer!
Though the house was dark, Ghost Douluo noticed that huge hammer at a glance.
Only after repeatedly confirming that Tang Hao was not pretending to sleep did Ghost Douluo reveal himself. He stood before the bed, looking down at the man who had once made Spirit Hall tremble at the mere mention of his name.
Tang Hao.
The Clear Sky Douluo.
The Tang Hao who had charged in and out seven times, swinging his Clear Sky Hammer during Spirit Hall's encirclement, and broken three of Ghost Douluo's ribs with a single blow.
But now Tang Hao's face was waxy yellow, his breathing irregular, and his Soul Power fluctuations faint-so faint that Ghost Douluo almost failed to recognize him.
He was far too weak.
Ghost Douluo swept his Soul Power over Tang Hao's entire body, and towering waves surged through his heart. Tang Hao's Soul Power was only at the Soul Saint level now.
Moreover, his foundation had scattered, his meridians were damaged, and he did not have a single Soul Bone left in his body!
A layer of cold sweat broke out on Ghost Douluo's back.
He had a rough guess as to what had happened.
Someone had dug out Tang Hao's bones!
Who had done it?
Who could beat a Titled Douluo with the world's greatest tool Martial Soul into this state? Who could strip away his Soul Bones and still leave him alive? Just thinking about such methods made his scalp prickle.
Even removing arm or leg bones would cost someone their limbs, let alone a skull or torso bone.
"Elder Ju, Revered Azure Luan, I've found Tang Hao," Ghost Douluo called toward the door.
The door opened, and Chrysanthemum Douluo and Azure Luan Douluo cautiously entered one after the other.
They were worried that Tang Hao had taken Ghost Douluo hostage and forced him to lie, luring them inside to be killed.
Seeing the unconscious Tang Hao, Azure Luan Douluo swept his Soul Power over him.
"Blocked meridians, Soul Power fallen to Soul Saint, and every Soul Bone gone!"
Azure Luan Douluo said in astonishment, "There are no external wounds or internal injuries. Just who could accomplish something like this?"
"Why worry about all that? He's still alive, anyway. We just need to take him back."
Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced around in disgust.
"True. We don't know whether whoever severely injured Tang Hao has a grudge against Spirit Hall. We'd better leave quickly."
After speaking, Azure Luan Douluo fell silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped Tang Hao across the face.
Smack.
Tang Hao's head turned to one side, a deep handprint rising on his face.
"Don't steal my Soul Bones!" Tang Hao muttered a couple of times before going back to sleep.
"Wake up!" Azure Luan Douluo slapped him again, harder this time. "Your Excellency Haotian, it's time to be on your way!"
Smack.
Tang Hao finally opened his eyes. His gaze wandered for a while, never managing to focus, and he vaguely saw a ghostly face.
"Huh? Three furries? Hahaha, I, Tang Hao, have reached the end of my life."
Smack! Smack!
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo each gave Tang Hao another two slaps. Only then did Tang Hao come to his senses and clearly see the three people standing before him.
"...Chrysanthemum Guan? Gui Mei?" His voice was full of panic.
He had only just had his Soul Bones stolen, and now he had encountered people from Spirit Hall-Titled Douluo, at that.
"Were you the ones who took my Soul Bones too?"
"What Soul Bones?" Tang Hao's question left all three rather bewildered.
Understanding suddenly dawned on Chrysanthemum Douluo. I get it! Tang Hao's trying to frame us for compensation!
Tang Hao abruptly rose from the bed, gathered his strength, and swung his hammer at Azure Luan Douluo, who was closest to him.
Azure Luan Douluo caught Tang Hao's full-strength blow, delivered without using Soul Rings, with one hand.
"You overestimate yourself. Do you still think you're the Clear Sky Douluo?"
Then he reached out, clamped down on Tang Hao's shoulder, and lifted him off the bed.
"Let's go."
Although Su Ling traveled at full speed, it was already late at night when he returned to Nuoding Academy.
He moved cautiously, afraid of waking Tang Xiaosan or Xiao Wu. Yet the moment his right foot entered the dormitory,
something soft crashed into his arms. Su Ling looked down.
Tang Xiaosan was hugging his waist, her face buried in his chest. She wore thin underclothes and stood barefoot on the floor.
Just as Su Ling picked Tang Xiaosan up, intending to put her on the bed, she bit him hard.
"You're back," she said, her voice full of grievance.
"Mm, I'm back."
"You said you'd come back before dark."
"I got held up on the way." Su Ling reached out and rubbed her head. "Why aren't you asleep?"
Tang Xiaosan did not answer, only hugged him a little tighter. Her shoulders trembled slightly. Su Ling understood: she was actually afraid-afraid he would leave for good, afraid he would never return.
Su Ling set Tang Xiaosan on the bed and pulled the blanket toward her. Her hand never released his clothes, gripping them tightly.
Su Ling glanced at Xiao Wu, who was sleeping like the dead, then at Tang Xiaosan in his arms. The difference was immediately apparent.
"Did you eat properly today?"
Tang Xiaosan nodded vigorously and even revealed her belly, round from eating.
She had originally planned to eat a balanced diet, but when Xiao Wu heard she had money, she ordered a great many dishes.
Following the principle of not wasting food, the two swept through everything like a wind scattering clouds, packing it all into their stomachs.
Su Ling took the cloth pouch from inside his clothes and placed it in Tang Xiaosan's hand. Curious, she opened it.
Light in different colors spilled from the pouch, making her little face alternately bright and dim.
Six Soul Bones!
Apart from the two Soul Bones passed down by the Clear Sky Sect, which were sixty thousand and seventy thousand years old respectively, the others were all under fifty thousand years old.
"These... where did they come from?"
Su Ling gave a sly smile. "I stole them from Tang Hao to compensate you. He doesn't deserve to be your father."
"Mm."
Tang Xiaosan stared at the Soul Bones for a long time.
Then she tucked the two oldest Soul Bones back into Su Ling's clothes.
"You need Soul Bones too. These two should be better than the others, so you use them. I'll just absorb the remaining four."
Hearing this, Su Ling no longer felt any distance between himself and Tang Xiaosan. At that moment, he fully believed that she had truly entrusted herself to him.
"Xiaosan."
"Mm?"
"Are you willing to be with me?"
"I am!"
"What if I have lots of wives?"
Tang Xiaosan squeezed Su Ling's hand tightly, her large eyes looking at him expectantly. Then she lifted his arm and bit down hard.
"Then I'll bite you."
Before you continue