...
Upon hearing the name "Tang Hao," Tang Yuehua's originally dignified and gentle expression instantly changed.
"Tang Hao has appeared?"
She grabbed Xuan Hao's wrist, her voice trembling uncontrollably, her eyes filled with anxiety:
"Is he alright?
Where is he now?
Is he injured?"
Hearing this barrage of questions, Xuan Hao's aggrieved expression froze instantly, and he looked at Tang Yuehua speechlessly.
"No... Sister, are you kidding me?"
Xuan Hao pointed to his nose and raised his voice, "I'm the one who got beaten up!
He almost broke my bones!
Not only do you not care about me, the victim, but you actually ask the perpetrator a question?"
Xuan Hao laughed in exasperation, shaking off Tang Yuehua's hand and giving a self-deprecating snort:
"That's right, what am I anyway?
You're the family, blood is thicker than water.
Excuse me, farewell!"
As he spoke, Xuan Hao made a move to get up and walk out.
"Hey! You child, don't go!"
Seeing that he was really angry, Tang Yuehua felt a mix of helplessness and guilt. She quickly got up and forcibly pulled Xuan Hao back down onto the sofa.
"It's my fault, don't be angry."
Tang Yuehua sighed with a bitter smile, her eyes slightly red.
"I was just worried. He… he's been missing for over ten years, without a single word.
When I first heard news about him, I was really worried."
"He's a Title Douluo, possessing the number one weapon spirit in the world.
He can flatten a mountain with a single hammer blow.
Does he need someone like you, with only level nine soul power, to worry about him?"
Xuan Hao rolled his eyes and muttered irritably, "You should worry about me!
That old bastard is shameless, bullying a fourteen-year-old kid like me when he's over ten!"
Tang Yuehua was both amused and exasperated by his unseemly accusations, but doubts also began to arise in her heart.
She composed herself and looked at Xuan Hao seriously, asking, "But you and Tang Hao didn't know each other at all before, and you had no interaction whatsoever.
Given his personality, why would he attack you for no reason?"
"How should I know?!"
Xuan Hao shrugged and replied confidently, "If I knew what was going on in his head, would I have gotten this beating?"
Beside her, Qian Renxue held a teacup, quietly watching Xuan Hao pour out his grievances, her eyes full of inquiry and incomprehension.
She really didn't understand what the point was of Xuan Hao coming all the way to tell Tang Yuehua all this.
No matter how extensive Tang Yuehua's connections and how much influence she had in the noble circles of Tiandou City, in the end she was just an ordinary person who could never break through to the ninth level of soul power.
Could she possibly interfere with Tang Hao, a Title Douluo who dared to confront even the Spirit Hall?
After chatting idly for a while in the private room, Xuan Hao, having had his fill of tea and snacks, clapped his hands contentedly, then pulled the suspicious Qian Renxue to his feet to say goodbye.
Stepping out of Yuexuan's gate and onto the bustling streets of Tiandou City, Qian Renxue finally couldn't hold back any longer and turned to ask, "You came all this way just to complain to Tang Yuehua?
Why are you telling her all this?"
"Just a heads-up."
Xuan Hao put his hands behind his head, looked at the crowds coming and going on the street, and casually replied, "Tang Hao attacked me first, so this feud is now set in stone.
If Tang Hao is unlucky enough to have an accident and die out there one day, then that guy deserves to die."
"We're friends, after all.
Since future developments might involve the life-and-death feud between her and her brother, I have to give her a heads-up beforehand and consider her feelings."
After hearing this, Qian Renxue frowned even more deeply, her tone revealing a hint of absurdity:
"Aren't you being too naive?
If Tang Hao really dies, even if you are in the right and Tang Hao struck first, do you really think Tang Yuehua will stop hating you just because of your preemptive 'warning' today?"
Whether she hates me or not is her business.
Xuan Hao stopped in his tracks, his eyes becoming incredibly clear. "I simply don't like getting involved in those melodramatic misunderstandings caused by 'information gaps'."
"I've laid out the whole story clearly, including who started it.
As for what others choose to do next, whether they hate me or understand me, that's their own problem."
Xuan Hao turned his head, looked at Qian Renxue's face disguised as Xue Qinghe, and shrugged:
"To put it bluntly, I only strive to do things without leaving any regrets."
"I hate getting involved in those sentimental, self-indulgent, and melodramatic sentimental stories."
"I will say what I want directly and bluntly, and I will even go after it. I will never give up until I get a clear rejection from the other party."
"But similarly, if the other party gives a clear and unambiguous rejection, I will absolutely not pester them anymore, and I won't even waste another word."
"Respecting other people's choices is also respecting myself."
Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue's eyes flashed with suspicion.
She stared intently into Xuan Hao's eyes.
"That sounds so high-sounding. But what if one day in the future, your beloved Na'er suddenly says she doesn't like you anymore and tells you to get lost?
Would you turn around and leave without hesitation?"
Xuan Hao stopped and turned to look at Qian Renxue, but he was not angered by this sharp assumption.
"First of all, Na'er would never do that."
"Secondly," Xuan Hao paused, "even if that day ever comes and she says something like that to me, there must be another reason. I will investigate and find out the whole story before making a decision."
"But if I find out everything, and discover that she really had no secrets, wasn't coerced by anyone, and that she genuinely had those feelings for herself..."
"Then I will naturally leave and never look back."
Qian Renxue sneered, clearly not believing her words:
"It's easy to say.
When it really comes to that, the obsessions and resentments of human nature can't be put down just by talking."
"The reason you doubt me is because you yourself cannot do the same."
Xuan Hao astutely saw through Qian Renxue's thoughts.
"But I won't doubt myself. I don't like to dwell on things because I only live in the present.
If I want something, I will pursue it, fight for it, and get it by any means necessary.
And the only purpose of all this is to make myself happy."
Xuan Hao raised his head slightly, looking at the azure sky above Tiandou City: "But if this forced entanglement ultimately turns into a meaningless mutual torment, then I have no interest in it."
"That's the biggest difference between us."
Xuan Hao withdrew his gaze and turned it back to Qian Renxue.
"I am no more noble than you, nor more merciful than you. In fact, in many things, I have gone far too far and been far more ruthless than you."
"But I know very well what I want, and I'm aware of that. And you…"
Do you know what you really want?
"No, I should say, do you dare to admit what you really want?"
"..."
Qian Renxue remained silent for a long time.
The hustle and bustle of the busy street seemed to be shut out from the two of them at this moment.
She stared at Xuan Hao's face, which was so close yet seemed impossible to see through, took a deep breath, and the mask of gentleness and refinement she had been wearing finally cracked.
"You really enjoy lecturing people."
Qian Renxue coldly retorted, her tone sharp with a hint of hurt, "Since you've explained yourself so clearly, then tell me, what do you think... is exactly what I want?"
Xuan Hao looked at her, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Of course I know."
"You crave power, are obsessed with authority, and yearn for the supreme power that can control everything.
On the surface, you look down on these mundane petty squabbles, but at the same time, you are angry in your heart that these ordinary people do not worship you and look up to you."
"In the end, you are just a half-baked person who can't live without the worship and admiration of the common people, yet thinks he is extraordinary."
Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato