Faced with Tang San's dangerous gaze, Luo Li still chose to play dumb.
"Holy crap, Little San, what ideas could I possibly have about your dad?"
"Even if I wanted ironware forged, I wouldn't go to her. Her work isn't much good, and she takes forever, too. It's nothing but a waste of your big brother's precious time."
"So you just wanted my dad to do more work, meow..."
"I thought you wanted to be my dad, wanted to..."
Tang San seemed to have misunderstood something, and her face flushed red in an instant.
Then she hurriedly patted her cheeks, finding it utterly unbelievable.
What was wrong with me?
Why did I feel so uneasy when Luo Li looked at other women and had ideas about them?
So uneasy that she wanted to destroy Luo Li with her own hands for having those ideas.
Could I be the one with ideas?
"Little San, why is your face so red? Are you sick?"
Just then, Luo Li suddenly placed his hand on Tang San's forehead and asked with great concern.
Tang San's face instantly grew even redder, right to the tips of her ears.
She hurriedly shook her head and said,
"No, no, I'm not sick. I'm perfectly fine, meow. I'm just hot."
Tang San was still so bad at lying.
Every time she lied, her ears would droop guiltily, and her eyes would dart away.
Luo Li kept playing dumb, acting as though he hadn't seen her embarrassment.
He felt the surrounding air and said with the cluelessness of a straight man,
"How is it hot here?"
Of course, Luo Li didn't make Tang San explain after that.
He looked expectantly at the drunken Tang Hao and summoned his Martial Soul-catgirl facial cleanser.
Tang San's attention was drawn over as well.
She looked at the drunken Tang Hao with a complicated expression, then her gaze grew resolute.
Yes, all of this was for her dad's health.
So, after saying a word to Auntie Old Jack, Tang San fetched a bucket of water, poured it into the pot, and began heating it.
She wanted to wash her dad's face with warm water. She was still so thoughtful.
But the sight left Auntie Old Jack beside them deeply displeased.
She kicked Tang Hao's chair askew.
Tang Hao tumbled to the ground.
Then Old Jack planted a foot on Tang Hao's face and spat with a disgusted "ptui."
"What a fucking useless piece of trash!"
"Little San treats you so well. She's even afraid cold water will chill you when you wash your face."
"And you fucking treat Little San like that, without caring about her future at all. You fucking animal!"
"As far as I'm concerned, you're worse than an animal, you damned Tang Hao!"
"I really don't want to let you use this catgirl facial cleanser. It's a complete waste of good stuff!"
"Pah! You bastard!"
"If it weren't for Little San, I would never have agreed to this."
"Once you become a catgirl mommy, you'd better treat Little San properly!"
"Otherwise, from now on, I'll beat you every time I see you and curse you out every time I see you."
Auntie Old Jack wasn't nearly so gentle.
As she spoke, she held out her hand to Luo Li, her meaning perfectly clear.
Luo Li understood at once and squeezed a huge dollop of catgirl facial cleanser onto her hand.
Auntie Old Jack then slapped the catgirl facial cleanser straight onto Tang Hao's face and scrubbed away haphazardly with her foot, washing Tang Hao's face.
Even Luo Li stood a little dumbfounded at the sight.
Grandpa Old Jack, why are you rewarding Tang Hao?
Did you play this wild when you were young?
Meanwhile, Tang San was still in the kitchen lighting the fire and heating the water, unaware that her beloved father was being manhandled outside.
Only when Old Jack felt she had more or less finished washing Tang Hao's face did she draw a bucket of cold water from the well.
With a splash, she threw all of it straight onto Tang Hao's nasty face.
Then a miracle really did happen.
Jolted awake by the cold water, Tang Hao climbed up from the ground in bewilderment.
Her upper body was soaked, and her ragged clothes had been stretched until splits opened all over them.
They exposed a large expanse of snowy white beneath.
Once the water had rinsed away the foam, Tang Hao looked as though all worldly adornment had been washed away.
Hers was a breathtakingly beautiful face, alluring yet cold, with delicate, dewy skin, rosy beneath its fairness.
Her long black hair was disheveled, scattered silver strands glimmering within it like stars in the night sky.
She had a pair of rather large cat ears, but instead of standing upright, they drooped dejectedly.
A long, thick tail hung limply to the ground, as though dead.
Luo Li couldn't help swallowing at the sight.
His gaze was drawn to the catgirl mommy's chest.
Holy crap, aren't those bigger than her head?
She could feed ten children in the future without any trouble at all.
Tang Hao really lived up to the name Tang Hao. That size was simply the ceiling of combat power.
Luo Li decided on the spot that he absolutely had to raise little Tang San toward that size.
He was confident, very confident, that he could make little Tang San surpass her dad.
No, no, it was Mommy Tang Hao now.
Tang Hao climbed up from the ground in bewilderment, not immediately understanding what had happened.
She sat on the table, brought over another jar of wine, and stiffly poured herself a cup.
Her eyes were hazy, as though she saw the person she yearned for day and night appear before her.
That person likewise raised her cup, linking arms with her to drink deeply.
Damn it, it was clearly the same wine, so why...
Did it taste nothing but bitter now?
Everyone said that once you got drunk, you forgot.
That was all a lie. Under alcohol's influence, that blurry figure only grew clearer.
"Third Sister..."
She murmured her late wife's name.
She hadn't even noticed that her voice had changed into a deeply dispirited, smoky female voice.
Perhaps she didn't care about her own actions. What she hoped for was the same as in those days and nights long ago,
That her calls would receive an answer.
As her longing for her late wife rose, the sky suddenly darkened.
Pitter-patter...
The rain fell suddenly, like some promise torn to shreds, striking the bluestone bricks without warning.
Tang Hao stared blankly at the gloomy rain outside, raised the wine jar, and gulped down its contents...
"You're still fucking drinking? Fuck!!"
Just as that familiar figure reappeared before Tang Hao's eyes, a fair leg suddenly kicked her square in the back.
It sent her flying out of the courtyard like a ball.
Who else could it have been?
Of course, Old Jack couldn't stand the sight of Tang Hao again.
Sure enough, a dog could never stop eating shit.
Even turned into a catgirl mommy, Tang Hao was still a puddle of useless mud, unable to forget that lousy wine jar.
"Fucking hell! Who dared kick me!"
Tang Hao looked at the mud covering the ground, a sorry mess herself, and climbed to her feet in a fury.
"Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao! You useless fucking bastard!"
"Fuck you, Tang Hao. Do you even know what Little San has done for you?"
"She's afraid you'll get cold washing your face, so she's heating water for you right now."
"She just hopes that once you've turned over a new leaf, you'll be a good mother."
"But what are you doing?"
"You fucking bastard! You piece of trash, you're still fucking drinking, planning to stay drunk without end!"
"I bet once you're drunk, you'll make Little San look after you again."
"A shithead like you ought to go die alongside your dead wife."
"Hmph, if you ask me, if your wife knew how you treated Little San, wouldn't she be so angry she'd die all over again?"
"Even I feel it wasn't worth it for her, and I'm furious on her behalf! Tang Hao!!!!"
Tang Hao was clearly somewhat dumbfounded.
Who was this gorgeous woman cursing her out?
Her younger sister, Tang Yuehua? Didn't look like her? Besides, she wouldn't speak to her like this.
And why did that tone sound so much like Old Jack?
In the past, her heart wouldn't have stirred at all.
Yet now, she suddenly felt immense guilt.
Yes, I really wasn't a fit father.
For so many years, I'd numbed myself with alcohol.
My child lived on bran and thin gruel every day, and I hadn't even gone along for a ceremony as solemn as her Martial Soul Awakening.
Little San.
I'd clearly promised Ah Yin I would take good care of the fruit of our love.
Yet I'd broken my word.
I'd failed Tang San. I'd failed Ah Yin.
In an instant, the rain overhead grew heavier, pouring down and washing over everything.
Yet Tang Hao raised her head in the rain.
Icy raindrops struck her dewy face, blurring her vision.
Those past scenes of Tang San's hardship were like the icy raindrops striking her face.
Pain...
It was as though they sent ripples through her heart, drop by drop, until her whole heart churned.
So much... so tangled...
All of it regret and remorse.
"Why? Why was I so weak? I couldn't protect Ah Yin."
"Why was I so selfish? I wallowed in my own grief and didn't take good care of Little San."
"I'm a sinner, a useless wreck."
"I'd be better off dead..."
Tang Hao didn't take shelter inside. The rain fell loudly, but it couldn't swallow her roars.
Yet the rain was still clear, washing away the gloom over his memories, letting him see Ah Yin and the things he had promised her...
"No... no..."
"I can't die yet. Little San still needs me."
"She still needs her dad."
"You want to become a Soul Master, so your dad will clear the way for you."
"I will be your staunchest support."
"Little San..."