After Tang Hao reached the forest where he had planted Ah Yin, he no longer held anything back.
He released his Martial Soul and raced forward at tremendous speed.
His heart was filled with apprehension. For six years, he had stayed by Tang San's side, never leaving Holy Soul Village. This was his first visit to her since Ah Yin's sacrifice.
He felt ashamed and afraid, yet also harbored a faint, secret delight.
How he wished he could free himself from that knot in his heart. He no longer wanted to live haunted by nightmares, spending every day in fear. That life was too exhausting. Every day felt like torment.
This time, whether Ah Yin was dead or alive, he would end all of this. Whether he would repent or continue down the wrong path, he would leave it all to heaven.
"Ah Yin, whether things turn out well or badly this time, let us settle this once and for all," Tang Hao said flatly. He had endured enough over the years. He was utterly exhausted, in body and spirit, and no longer wanted to trouble himself over these matters.
With that, he stepped into the cave.
Upon reaching the stone chamber he had hollowed out himself, Tang Hao immediately froze.
He was stunned.
At the very center of the chamber was a small mound of earth. A stalk of Blue Silver Grass stood atop it. He only called it Blue Silver Grass because Tang Hao knew it was "Ah Yin." An ordinary person would never have been able to identify what kind of grass it was.
For the grass no longer had a single blade left, only a stem three centimeters long. Even that stem was only three centimeters long, riddled with countless insect holes.
There were many small insect holes in the mound-ant holes. At that moment, countless ants were gnawing on the remaining stem.
At the sight, Tang Hao froze completely.
An indescribable pain welled up in his heart.
Whatever he had been thinking before, he found this impossible to accept now. As the saying went, a single day as husband and wife brought a hundred days of affection. Watching countless ants madly gnaw at his wife, until only a short grass stalk remained-how could he possibly accept it?
He had loved Ah Yin deeply to begin with. It was precisely that love that had made him suffer so terribly after killing her. And it was precisely that suffering that made him desperate to end all of this, giving him the thought of leaving Ah Yin to fend for herself and die sooner.
Whatever he was thinking, his love for Ah Yin remained unchanged. It was only for various reasons that this love had become something that hurt her.
With a thud, Tang Hao dropped straight to his knees.
"Ah Yin, I've wronged you. I've truly wronged you," Tang Hao murmured, dropping to his knees before her in a single step. The little mound where Ah Yin had been planted now looked like a grave, burying her within.
Looking at the little mound, Tang Hao found it unbearably jarring, and his heart ached terribly. Whatever he had done before, whatever thoughts he had harbored of harming Ah Yin, at this moment they all turned into profound love and profound regret.
Why hadn't he planted Ah Yin somewhere close by, keeping her at his side? Why hadn't he weeded, fertilized, and cleared away insects for her? Didn't she know how difficult it was for an ordinary plant to survive?
Why hadn't he come to see Ah Yin all these years? Was it because he had to look after Xiao San? But Xiao San had been so sensible since childhood. How could he possibly have needed his care? It was more like Xiao San was looking after him.
He had simply been a little afraid of seeing Ah Yin. Ah Yin was his nightmare.
His guilt had kept him from daring to come and see her.
Yet he had reduced Ah Yin to this state.
He truly hadn't thought of any of this at first. He had placed restrictions on Ah Yin to protect her from insects. He had only wanted her to wither on her own. He had truly never thought of making her suffer so horribly.
Gnawed on by so many insects and ants, she didn't even have an intact corpse left.
It was all over. Ah Yin was utterly and completely dead. He no longer needed to carry any psychological burden, and he could let all of this pass. But why did his heart hurt so much?
He couldn't help thinking back to those days. If only he hadn't been so greedy. Once Ah Yin became a Titled Douluo, her presence would have been completely concealed, undetectable to anyone. Why had he entertained such a thought? Was absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and entering that realm as a supremely powerful Titled Douluo really so important?
Tang Hao pulled out "Ah Yin," who had been gnawed down to a tiny grass stalk. Looking at her body, riddled with holes from the gnawing, he sighed inwardly.
Ah Yin's perfect, delicate body surfaced in his mind, stirring his heart immensely. If not for that incident, Ah Yin might already have been pregnant with their second child.
He gently stroked the stalk with its many insect holes, remembering Ah Yin's belly, which had not a trace of excess flesh. A hint of satisfaction involuntarily appeared on his face. According to the principle of one-to-one correspondence in plant transformation into human, this stalk corresponded to Ah Yin's slender, supple, water-snake-like waist.
"Ah Yin, whether or not I wronged you back then, let all of this end here."
"From now on, I will still be that Clear Sky Douluo, and I will still be your husband. After this, I won't marry anyone else. In my heart, you will always be my wife." As Tang Hao spoke, his tears had long since dried. Before the little mound, he kowtowed forcefully, pounding his head heavily against the ground. Only when the skin on his forehead had split open did he slowly rise to his feet.
With Ah Yin's tragic death, his heart turned completely cold.
Looking at the little mound, he tossed the only remaining grass stalk in his hand onto it. Countless ants immediately rushed madly toward the stalk and continued gnawing at Ah Yin's body.
When Tang Hao saw the last stalk disappear entirely, he felt an emptiness in his heart, but even more than that, he felt the release of a great burden lifted.
"Ah, sometimes, once you've done something wrong, there's no taking it back. Even knowing that continuing down the road is wrong, you still have to keep walking it, step by step."
"Oh, Ah Yin, our child Tang San is a heaven-gifted genius. He inherited both our Martial Souls, Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer. Once he absorbs the Soul Bone you left behind, perhaps his Martial Soul will fully transform into the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul. Most importantly, he also has a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast in human form by his side. Although this Soul Beast seems to have discovered my presence, she still won't be able to avoid that outcome. Once he absorbs her Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Xiao San can become a peerless powerhouse too." Tang Hao spoke indifferently. With some things, once there was a first time, there would be a second.
He had no relationship with Xiao Wu, so arranging for her to sacrifice herself for Xiao San was perfectly acceptable. It was just that this hundred-thousand-year rabbit now seemed to have noticed something, which would make things a little more troublesome later.
Tang Hao turned to leave, but the moment he turned around, his expression changed completely.
His face instantly turned deathly pale.
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