Chapter 234: 253. Xiao Wu and Ah Yin
In response to Gu Rong stepping in to mediate, Tai Tan simply laughed softly. "Your Grace Gu Rong, even if you hadn't appeared, I wouldn't have been able to strike." Then turning toward Tang San, his face filled with loyal servility, he said, "Truly, a case of floodwaters rushing against the Dragon King's temple."
Without hesitation, Tai Tan dropped to his knees before Tang San. "This old servant, Tai Tan, pays respect to the young master!"
He then spun around and barked at the men behind him, Tai Long and Tai Nuo: "He is Tang San, our Power Clan's young master! Do you understand? Why aren't you kneeling yet?"
Though visibly unwilling, both Tai Long and Tai Nuo knelt before Tang San.
What a good little dog, Tang San thought inwardly. Yet, outwardly, he wore an appropriately humble expression. "Senior, there's no need for this formality. You'll really overwhelm this junior."
Tai Tan bowed his head and said respectfully, "Young master, these courtesies cannot be neglected."
"Cannot be neglected," he said. A fine phrase indeed.
From the shadows, Xiao Wu's eyes reddened as she watched the scene unfold.
That night when her mother was killed, she had remembered two names—Tang Hao and Tai Tan.
And now, seeing this very man kneeling to swear loyalty to Tang San only confirmed the truth she dreaded: Tang San truly was Tang Hao's son—her enemy's child.
On the other side, Ning Fengzhi soon arrived. Gu Rong reported everything that had happened regarding Tang San. Ning Fengzhi mused aloud, "This boy's talent is truly extraordinary. If he's Tang Hao's son, then his mother must have been the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor. In that case, his Blue Silver Grass isn't ordinary—it's likely the Blue Silver Emperor itself, otherwise it couldn't coexist with the Clear Sky Hammer."
Gu Rong paused briefly, then added, "The Clear Sky Hammer, the Blue Silver Emperor, and innate full spirit power… this child's talent is dazzling beyond measure, Sect Master. Should I…" He mimed a throat-slitting gesture.
Ning Fengzhi shook his head and pushed his glasses up slightly, his eyes gleaming with strategy. "No need. Uncle Gu, have you forgotten where our real enemy lies? Above us stands Spirit Hall, and below us, Xinghuo Academy. Tang San's existence is not a threat but an opportunity. If we shelter him and let his gifts mature, one day he'll become a weapon—a sword to cut through the tyranny of Spirit Hall and the chaos of those rabble from Xinghuo Academy who seek to overturn the world's order."
Gu Rong considered it for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Abandoning his earlier suggestion, Ning Fengzhi then formally began secret negotiations with Tang San about weaponry—hoping to arm the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan with Tang San's hidden weapons.
He attempted to purchase the manufacturing blueprints, but he didn't realize who he was dealing with. The one before him was not a simple youth but a canny old fox of two lifetimes. Even last time around, Ning Fengzhi couldn't outplay him—so how could he now?
In the end, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan signed a contract with Tang San to buy hidden weapons at a price dozens of times their production cost.
Later, Gu Rong examined one of the weapons and remarked dryly, "Sect Master, these devices are powerful, yes, but it's clear that the cost of making them isn't that high. That Tang San is a shrewd one—he's fleeced us."
"Money is nothing to our clan," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile. "What matters is building ties with a future powerhouse. If a bit of silver can bind our interests and win us his favor, that's an investment well worth making."
"Well, when you put it that way," Gu Rong nodded, "it makes sense."
That night, after escorting Xiao Wu back to her dormitory, Tang San left to train alongside Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Er Ming, and Yu Tianheng in their respective rooms.
But Xiao Wu didn't visit anyone's chamber that night as she had on others. Instead, she lay awake in bed, tossing restlessly.
Her mind drifted back to that meeting in the Sunset Forest—with Ah Yin.
"Hello, Xiao Wu," Ah Yin had said. "My name is Ah Yin. Like you, I was once a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. And Tang San… biologically, at least, he's my son."
Xiao Wu had eyed her cautiously. "So, did you come here to defend Tang San's honor?"
Ah Yin shook her head. "No. Do you know who Tang San's father is?"
"Tang San's father…" Xiao Wu's thoughts traveled back to years ago, when she and Tang San had returned to Saint Soul Village from Nuoding Academy. That was when she first learned his father's name.
"Tang Hao," Xiao Wu murmured, staring at Ah Yin as realization began to form.
In the soul beasts' world, she recalled the old rumor of the Blue Silver Emperor. After transforming into human form, the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor had met the twin prodigies of the Clear Sky Clan, becoming beloved to both. Xiao Wu didn't know the full details, but she knew how it ended: Ah Yin's identity was exposed, and during the humans' pursuit, she had been forced to offer herself as sacrifice to one of them.
"The Clear Sky Clan's Tang Hao... wait—" Xiao Wu gasped.
"Exactly," Ah Yin said coldly. "That Tang Hao you know, the one who killed your mother—that's him. And Tang San is his son."
"So, you came to settle accounts with me then?" Xiao Wu asked, voice low. "For deceiving and using your son like this?"
Ah Yin gave a bitter smile. "Tang San was born of my body, but I do not recognize him as my child. Would you like to hear my story—to understand why?"
Although both were transformed soul beasts, Ah Yin's power far surpassed Xiao Wu's. Realizing resistance was futile, Xiao Wu nodded silently.
Ah Yin began her tale. She had wandered the human world for years, eventually encountering Tang Xiao and Tang Hao. Both men pursued her passionately. In the end, she chose Tang Xiao—only for Tang Hao, enraged by jealousy, to attack his own brother, crippling him. Even the normally gentle Ah Yin couldn't hide her disgust when speaking his name.
After that, Tang Hao kidnapped Ah Yin and ultimately forced her to bear a child. The day Tang San was born, Ah Yin's true identity was exposed to the clan elders, who immediately began a hunt to capture her. Tang Hao, in his rage, turned against the Clear Sky Clan, committed murder against his own sect, even killed his father—all to protect the child she had unwillingly given him.
And eventually, Ah Yin's fate ended in sacrifice—to Tang Xiao.
When Ah Yin finished, Xiao Wu looked at her solemnly. "So you despise Tang San because Tang Hao forced you to bear him. But tell me, I don't believe that. You carried him for ten months—no matter how much hate you have, a mother's nature wouldn't let that hatred completely consume her child."
(END CHAPTER)
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