Tang San panted heavily as he swung the Clear Sky Hammer with all his might at the Man Faced Demon Spider's human-faced abdomen, which was as tough as cast steel and forged iron. Boom! Metal rang out as tremendous force erupted, smashing a gaping hole in its abdomen. The recoil made Tang San's arm ache so badly that he nearly lost his grip on the hammer. Little wonder: with life and death on the line, he had naturally given it everything he had, seeking that sliver of hope.
But Tang San had clearly underestimated the Man Faced Demon Spider's viciousness and cunning. Realizing how quickly its life was slipping away, the beast suddenly turned savage and drove two long legs into Tang San's shoulders. Blood gushed out.
The Man Faced Demon Spider's legs were not only sharp but also carried a terrifying poison. Tang San dared not be careless and abruptly retreated several steps. Thanks to his experience with poisons in his previous life, the deadly venom was not much of a problem and would not endanger his life. But because he had abruptly checked his attack midway, the Clear Sky Hammer's blow had clearly lacked follow-through. Though it had smashed the spider's "human face" beyond recognition, the beast had survived. Both startled and delighted, the Man Faced Demon Spider ran madly on its long legs, trying to escape with its life.
Damn... if it gets away, I'll have wasted so much effort, only to make a wedding dress for someone else for nothing. Anxious, Tang San could no longer concern himself with finding Xiao Wu; all he wanted was to kill the Man Faced Demon Spider. With that thought, he jabbed several points on his chest and shoulders, then spat out a mouthful of foul-smelling poisonous blood.
This was an acupoint technique recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, capable of drawing poison out of the body and preventing it from spreading. After only a few cycles, most of the Man Faced Demon Spider's fearsome venom had been neutralized and was no longer a concern. But in those few short seconds, the spider had already fled far away. Anxious and furious, Tang San drew the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, intending to let the damned beast experience what it was like to have ten thousand arrows pierce its heart. Though the Man Faced Demon Spider was already beyond the crossbow's effective range, Tang San could only treat a dead horse as though it were alive. After a quick aim, he put his hand on the trigger, hoping to hit his nimbly fleeing prey.
Suddenly, a fierce rush of wind came from behind Tang San. A black-robed, black-haired figure approached him at an astonishing speed. The newcomer had purple wings on his back and moved as swiftly as rolling thunder. In the blink of an eye, he reached Tang San's side and hurled the heavy Black Ruler in his hand forward, wreathed in multicolored flames.
Though the Man Faced Demon Spider had yet to develop intelligence, its instincts as a hunter alerted it to the fierce attack cutting through the air toward it, like the approaching King of Hell. The spider seemed to sense that its life was already a candle flickering in the wind, and it pushed every function of its body to the limit in an attempt to escape alive. Unfortunately, the enormous ruler was like a gigantic, raging dragon. In an instant, it struck the spider squarely on its thick dorsal carapace, robbing it of all ability to move.
A closer look revealed how extraordinary Xiao Yan's skill was. Before the flames on the Heavy Xuan Ruler struck the Man Faced Demon Spider, they had been drawn back into Xiao Yan's body, having served only to guide its direction. Though the ruler's attack was fierce, it had avoided every one of the spider's vital points, striking the armor on its back, the hardest part of its body. Xiao Yan's attack could be said to have turned the battle around in an instant, yet he had held back at every turn, clearly not wishing to steal another's prey. Xiao Yan had acted merely out of his old habit of helping others for the joy of it.
Seeing the Man Faced Demon Spider pinned to the ground, Xiao Yan was excited too. "Do it!" he immediately shouted, afraid that prolonged bleeding would extinguish its life, turning his good deed into a bad one. When Tang San heard his voice, it seemed strangely familiar, but with his prey before him, he wasted no time on courtesy. He took several quick steps forward and fired every arrow in the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, sealing off every last chance the spider had of survival. The beast gave a great roar and lost its strength. Its eight long legs could no longer support its fat body, and it died completely.
A purple Soul Ring floated above its head, shining with an uncanny light. At the sight, Tang San finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, spent. I might well have been able to hunt and kill this Man Faced Demon Spider on my own. That boy was meddling, Tang San thought. Clearly, he did not believe the black-robed boy's intervention had turned the battle around; it had been no more than help he could have done without. But he did not consider himself someone who failed to repay a kindness. Even if it was only a very small favor, he would not ignore it. With that thought, he looked back. The black-robed boy yanked the enormous ruler out of the spider and slung it over his back again. He held out a hand to Tang San and asked, "Need a hand?"
Face-to-face, the two finally recognized each other. Though six years had passed, changing their appearances and bearing, the two who had grown up together were clearly not going to fail to recognize each other over such differences. Xiao Yan looked at Tang San, covered in blood and sweat, and felt somewhat awkward. After all, they had not seen each other for years, and their parting had hardly been a classic example of an amicable farewell. Xiao Yan did not know whether to withdraw his hand or pull Tang San up. Tang San's face was full of awkwardness too. He had clearly never expected to meet Xiao Yan here again. Since parting at six years old, their paths had never crossed, and they had been like strangers. They stared at each other for a while. Finally, Xiao Yan could not help smiling and reached out to pull him up. Tang San clearly had not expected it. He lost his footing and bumped into the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse, falling flat on his face. The sight was so comical that not only Xiao Yan but even Tang San himself could not help bursting into laughter. Afterward, Tang San got up, straightened his appearance, cupped his hands to Xiao Yan, and said, "Long time no see."
Xiao Yan was startled to hear it and replied, "Long time no see." Then the two shook hands again. Time seemed to return to six years ago, to their childhood before either had awakened a Martial Soul, when, though their bond could hardly be called as deep as the sea, they had supported each other.
It was hardly surprising. Tang Hao had spent his days in a stupor, and Tang San and Xiao Yan had supported themselves entirely on their own. As two children, they had only each other to rely on.
Tang San and Xiao Yan faced each other in silence, both thinking of those days. In the end, it was Xiao Yan who broke the awkward silence.
"Are you... all right?"
"I'm fine. It was only poison; it's no longer a problem."
Hearing that, Xiao Yan asked no more and turned to leave.
"Little Yan..." Tang San caught his sleeve and coaxed him gently, "Apologize to Father, and everything can go back to the way it was."
At that, Xiao Yan abruptly pulled his arm back, undisguised sarcasm in his voice:
"I'm not worthy of Your Eminence Clear Sky Douluo's favor. It's best if we each go our own way."
"You-you know?!"
Tang San was shocked. He had clearly never expected Xiao Yan to know Tang Hao's true identity. Fear sprang up in his heart. Xiao Yan's information had clearly come from Spirit Hall, so would Xiao Yan also give Tang Hao's information to Spirit Hall...?
At that thought, Tang San readied his Sleeve Arrow, clearly intending to kill Xiao Yan.
It's not that I, Tang San, fail to repay a kindness. It's simply that you, Xiao Yan, have a way of courting death.
"Don't worry. I haven't told my teacher anything about Tang Hao. I'll take my own revenge; there's no need for Spirit Hall to intervene. If there's nothing else, hurry and absorb the Soul Ring. The road through the jianghu is long; until we meet again."
Then Xiao Yan abruptly punched toward Tang San's chest. Heavenly Flames poured out with the blow, destroying every Hidden Weapon on Tang San's person, and Xiao Yan strode away.
Though the punch had been forceful, it had not been enough to cause any internal injuries. When they had fallen out, Xiao Yan had believed that he and Tang Hao and his son were bound to be enemies rather than friends for the rest of their lives. But the years they had spent together had not been a lie. At least for this meeting, Xiao Yan did not think they needed to fight to the death. As for the next time they met...
Who could say what would happen in the future...?
Let's just say I, Xiao Yan, disdain taking advantage of someone in peril. Xiao Yan thought self-mockingly, then shook his head and continued searching for a Soul Beast suitable for refining pills.
But then an unfamiliar, powerful wave of Soul Power slowly came from the distance. Xiao Yan's gaze froze, and he looked up to see an old man carrying a dragon-headed cane. The old man's hair and beard were white, and eight Soul Rings shone brilliantly around him.
Clearly, Xiao Yan, who had merely been doing his good deed for the day, had probably become involved in a dispute over ownership of unclaimed prey.
Wherever he went, whatever he did could stir up trouble. Perhaps that was something the existence known as "Xiao Yan" could not avoid.
(Many anti-Tang San stories like to portray Tang San outright as a brainless petty villain or a purely evil man. That is obviously OOC: it doesn't fit Tang San's characterization in the original, can't deliver the satisfaction of an anti-Tang San story, and clearly doesn't suit this book's setup either. The affection between two children who supported each other can't simply disappear. Their falling-out is certain, and this will certainly be anti-Tang San; that was my original intention in writing this book. But I want the process to unfold naturally, without being too OOC. Please be patient, readers. The two of them will definitely end up fighting to the death, or I wouldn't be writing this book.)