The sound bored into his eardrums.
Yu Xiaogang instantly came to his senses.
He pushed off, covering three steps in two as he rushed straight to Tang San's side.
What met his eyes was Tang San's contorted face.
Broken murmurs kept spilling from his mouth.
Every word was a plea for mercy.
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed drastically.
"Little San, what's wrong with you?"
He stared fixedly at Tang San, his heart pounding dully in his chest.
Extreme panic seized his mind in an instant.
An utterly absurd yet entirely reasonable thought took root and sprouted without warning.
Lin Chuan.
It had to be that brat Lin Chuan.
Who else could it be?
Tang San looked as though a heart demon had been beaten into him.
No.
Absolutely not!
If a heart demon took root in Tang San now, his future cultivation speed would inevitably suffer greatly.
At that point, what could he possibly use to wash away his humiliation?
The words "good-for-nothing Grandmaster" had clung to him like a festering sore for most of his life.
He had staked every chip for his comeback on Tang San.
This was his only hope of escaping that rotten mire.
He could never allow anyone to destroy all this.
Yu Xiaogang turned his head, sweeping his gaze toward the doorway.
Beyond the empty doorway, Tang Hao's immensely imposing figure had vanished completely.
Phew.
Yu Xiaogang instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
His gaze swiftly returned.
It settled once more on Tang San, who was trapped deep in a nightmare before him.
Yu Xiaogang raised his hand without the slightest hesitation.
Smack!
The crisp slap exploded through the quiet room.
A clearly visible five-fingered mark instantly swelled high on that dark face.
"Little San, oh, Little San."
"I didn't mean to hit you."
"I only wanted to wake you. If this nightmare keeps going, that heart demon will be very hard to dispel."
Yu Xiaogang muttered to himself.
His palm still tingled from the impact.
He stared at his hand, a deeply concealed trace of guilt flashing in his eyes.
Tang Hao had not actually gone far.
After leaving the wooden hut, he had found a secluded corner and concealed himself, wanting only to see how long Tang San would take to wake.
Yet when he looked over, he saw Yu Xiaogang raise his hand and deliver a heavy slap across Tang San's cheek.
In an instant, rage spread across Tang Hao's face. His Qi surged wildly, and a tremendous pressure erupted from him.
But a moment later, he forcibly suppressed that pressure, reining it in completely.
"That bastard Yu Xiaogang truly deserves to die. Even I, Tang Hao, have never laid a finger on Little San, yet you dared strike him so hard. What an utter bastard."
Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot as he spoke in fury.
Angry as he was, however, he did not show himself.
That was only because Yu Xiaogang's actions were indeed correct. Tang San was already showing signs of a heart demon; if he did not wake soon, disaster might follow.
Not only that, doubts also arose in Tang Hao's mind.
Earlier, Tang San's murmurs had mentioned stealing the Tang Sect's secret manuals.
Could it be...
Immediately afterward, an absurd thought kept circling in Tang Hao's mind.
What followed was an increasingly firm suspicion.
For he had long known that his Little San had been strange since childhood.
Thus, he now deeply suspected that his real Little San might have died long ago, and that what occupied this shell was merely some wandering ghost that had possessed him.
At this conjecture, Tang Hao felt not the slightest anger.
To him, whoever lay beneath this skin no longer mattered.
As long as he could help him overthrow Spirit Hall and avenge his blood feud, everything else could go unquestioned.
Inside the room.
After taking a slap, Tang San woke.
He abruptly sat up, gasping for breath, his chest heaving.
"Little San? Are you all right?"
Seeing Tang San awake, Yu Xiaogang felt a little guilty, but asked anyway.
Hearing the familiar voice, Tang San turned his head. Once he saw that it was Yu Xiaogang, his tears instantly burst forth.
He threw his arms around Yu Xiaogang and wailed.
"Teacher, I'm so scared... I'm really so scared... boohoo..."
He did not say what he feared.
He only repeated those few words over and over: I'm so scared...
That embrace left Yu Xiaogang feeling utterly pleased.
Little San had hugged him of his own accord.
And Little San's defenses had cracked.
Right now, Little San was at his most fragile.
As long as he handled things just right and offered a few more soothing words, he could make Little San trust him completely.
Getting him to turn against Tang Hao in the future might not be impossible.
At this thought, Yu Xiaogang nearly laughed aloud.
He could barely keep the corners of his mouth down, and he felt absolutely delighted.
But he could not laugh.
If he laughed now, all his earlier acting would have been wasted.
And so he could only force it back down. The corners of his mouth twitched twice before he finally steadied his expression.
He raised his hand and patted Tang San's back, softening his tone as he gently coaxed him:
"Little San, pull yourself together. Didn't you only lose once to that boy named Lin Chuan? What's the big deal? Just win next time. Once you get your first soul ring, won't you be able to beat him however you like?"
That was pure bullshit.
Lin Chuan's first soul ring was a thousand-year one. What the hell could Tang San fight him with?
He could not catch up even on horseback.
But Yu Xiaogang could not concern himself with all that.
He would soothe him first and worry about the rest later.
Words that went against his conscience spilled from his mouth without so much as a blush.
Besides, it was not entirely bullshit.
Wasn't Tang Hao going to train Lin Chuan into a dog?
Once Lin Chuan became Tang San's most loyal dog, what would that be if not a victory?
The result would be the same anyway.
At those words, Tang San cried even harder.
So what if he got his first soul ring? He still couldn't beat him.
Yu Xiaogang did not know the truth, which was understandable.
But Tang San knew perfectly well.
That Lin Chuan was very likely someone from the Tang Sect in his previous life.
The Mysterious Jade Hand and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track he had displayed alone left Tang San who knew how many streets behind.
How could he fight him?
What could he fight him with?
Tang San shook his head desperately, tears smearing his face as he sobbed:
"Teacher, it's impossible... I can't beat him. I'll never be able to beat him in this lifetime..."
It had to be said that Lin Chuan was truly ruthless.
He had beaten Tang San with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Mysterious Jade Hand.
And the beating had not been the end of it; he had followed up with a verbal stab.
Tang San had now completely fallen apart.
Those events from the Tang Sect in his previous life had always been his nightmare.
He had finally managed to transmigrate into another world, only for someone from his previous life to come chasing after him.
Who wouldn't break down in his place?
Wasn't this fucking chasing him down to kill him?
Hearing Tang San still carrying on in that same wretched manner, Yu Xiaogang could no longer stand it.
He shoved Tang San away, then immediately swung another slap across his face.
Smack.
Crisp and loud.
Really, with a slap mark on either side, Tang San's face was now perfectly symmetrical, enough to make anyone want to laugh.
"Teacher... you... you hit me?"
Tang San clutched his face and stared wide-eyed at Yu Xiaogang, disbelief written all over his face.
Yu Xiaogang himself was stunned too.
Why hadn't he held back?
Why had he slapped him again?
It's over, it's over...
What if Little San held a grudge?
Wouldn't his entire plan to turn him and Tang Hao into bitter enemies go up in smoke?
No.
Absolutely not.