Chapter 246: Tang San's Plan; A Discarded Personality
The heavy iron gates of Clear Sky Castle slowly ground shut behind Wang Dong'er, sealing the fortress with a resounding, hollow thud.
A biting night wind poured through the lingering gap before the doors locked, sweeping into the grand hall. It caught the crumpled letter resting on the mahogany table, fluttering the parchment a few times before it drifted lifelessly to the cold stone floor.
Tai Tan remained rooted to his spot. His massive frame stood rigid as he stared at the tightly shut doors, trapped in a heavy, suffocating silence.
A few paces away, Niu Tian sat quietly by the table. He cradled a porcelain teacup between his fingers. The tea inside had long since gone cold, yet he neither took a sip nor set the cup down, his gaze distant and unreadable.
The sprawling hall descended into a deathly quiet, broken only by the mournful wailing of the wind rattling against the high windows.
The tension stretched until it snapped. Tai Tan suddenly spun around, his strong chest heaving as he roared toward the shadowy corridors.
"What are you looking at?! All of you, get lost!"
Several terrified servants, who had been nervously peering from behind the massive stone pillars, instantly shrank their necks. They scrambled away in a chaotic panic, their hurried footsteps echoing before they completely disappeared at the far end of the corridor.
As the sound of their retreat faded, a deathly silence reclaimed the hall.
Snatching his own teacup from the table, Tai Tan downed the contents in one aggressive gulp. The bitter, freezing liquid slid down his throat, but he couldn't care less. He slammed the delicate cup back onto the wooden surface with a dull, heavy thud that threatened to shatter it. Collapsing heavily into his oversized chair, he propped his massive hands on his knees and lowered his head, his face hidden in shadow.
"That girl is increasingly disregarding us now." Tai Tan's voice was a low, dangerous rumble, thick with suppressed irritation and bruised pride.
Niu Tian finally set his teacup down, the ceramic clicking softly against the wood. He cast a calm, sidelong glance at his sworn brother but offered no response.
Tai Tan looked up, his thick brows knitted tightly together in frustration.
"What do we do next? She already knows about the letter. That brat Huo Yuhao surely knows as well. This is going to be incredibly difficult to handle..."
"Then we tell the one above," Niu Tian interrupted, his voice cutting through the heavy air. His tone was entirely flat, yet he enunciated every single syllable with absolute clarity. "We must inform Lord Tang San about this immediately."
Tai Tan froze, the anger draining from his face to be replaced by a solemn gravity. He gave a slow, deep nod.
"You're right. He needs to know."
Understanding the severity of the situation, the two men did not delay for another second.
Pushing himself up from his chair, Tai Tan strode toward a seemingly ordinary stone wall situated deep within the grand hall. He raised his broad hand and pressed his palm flat against the cold surface.
Instantly, complex, hidden patterns etched into the stone flared to life with a brilliant azure light. The heavy wall rumbled, slowly receding inward and sliding aside to reveal a concealed secret room.
The hidden chamber was not large, devoid of any furnishings save for a solitary stone platform resting in the center. The platform was densely engraved with complex, ancient formation patterns that pulsed with dormant energy.
Tai Tan and Niu Tian stepped into the dim space, and with a heavy grinding noise, the stone wall sealed shut behind them, plunging the room into absolute secrecy.
Taking their positions on opposite sides of the platform, the two formidable men raised their hands. They simultaneously injected a surge of their vast spirit power directly into the formation.
The ancient runes lit up one by one in a cascading sequence. A pillar of pure white light rose from the stone base, the beams interlacing and weaving together in mid-air until they finally condensed into a shimmering, translucent light screen.
Within the rippling surface of the light screen, a majestic figure gradually came into sharp focus.
Tang San sat upon an ornate throne within a grand palace in the distant God Realm. The divine Water Mirror floating before him had already synchronized, displaying the dimly lit secret room of Clear Sky Castle.
His handsome features were a mask of absolute indifference, betraying neither the slightest hint of joy nor a trace of anger.
Tai Tan spoke first. He immediately bowed his head in deep reverence, cupping his fists respectfully.
"Lord Tang San, some unexpected complications have arisen."
Tang San did not utter a word to urge him on; he simply watched the burly man with an unblinking, calculating stare.
Under that heavy gaze, Tai Tan began to recount the entire sequence of events. He detailed everything—from Wang Dong'er's sudden, late-night return to Clear Sky Castle, to the violent way she had kicked open the hall doors. He repeated her furious questioning regarding the letter, recited the exact, bitter words she had thrown at them, and described how she had slammed the doors on her way out.
He laid out every single detail with careful accuracy, offering no embellishment and daring to conceal nothing.
Tang San listened in complete silence. Even after the report concluded, his flawless expression remained entirely unchanged. However, his slender index finger began to tap lightly against the armrest of his divine throne.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was a subtle, habitual motion he only displayed when deep in thought—a detail that neither Tai Tan nor Niu Tian missed.
"Rebellious daughter." Tang San's voice was not loud, yet it carried a piercing, absolute chill that seemed to lower the temperature within the secret room. "She truly intends to revolt against me."
Tai Tan and Niu Tian kept their heads bowed low, their breathing shallow as they didn't dare to utter a single word in response.
Tang San fell silent for a long moment before letting out a sudden, cold laugh. The sound was incredibly light, yet it echoed with terrifying clarity within the confined walls of the secret room.
"However, it is about time anyway." His tone smoothed out, returning to a placid calm that was somehow even more chilling than his anger. "The specific role that the personality of 'Wang Dong'er' was meant to play has already been thoroughly fulfilled. I was originally waiting for a more suitable moment to erase her from the board."
Tai Tan's eyes widened a fraction, and he dared to look up at Tang San's projection for a split second before hastily lowering his head once more. Niu Tian remained standing rigidly to the side, maintaining his absolute silence.
Tang San continued, his voice smooth and unhurried, as though he were discussing the weather rather than the fate of his own daughter.
"Since she insists on being so disobedient, we shall simply move the schedule forward. If she refuses to listen, then she can die. After all, isn't she so terribly worried that I might hurt her precious Huo Yuhao? You may rest assured, I will not hurt him. I will make exceptionally good use of him."
His finger resumed its rhythmic tapping against the armrest.
"When Wang Dong'er dies, her tragic end will forge a brand new leash—one that will tightly tether Huo Yuhao to my will. He will remember for the rest of his miserable life that the person he loved most in this world died because of him. He will be consumed by guilt. He will drown in pain. And to escape that agony, he will cultivate desperately to become stronger. Conveniently, the ultimate path to true strength is one that only I can provide for him."
The corners of Tang San's mouth curled upward into a faint, calculating smile.
"Tell me, isn't this far more effective than a slow, tedious taming process?"
Tai Tan and Niu Tian exchanged a brief, complicated glance, but neither dared to speak a word of dissent.
Tang San slowly withdrew his smile, his gaze sweeping over his two subordinates. "You two may return to your duties. Continue doing what you need to do, and ensure you do not reveal any flaws in your behavior. As for Wang Dong'er, I have my own special arrangements."
Tai Tan cupped his fists respectfully. "Yes, Lord Tang San."
Niu Tian mirrored the gesture, bowing deeply. "Your subordinates understand."
The brilliant light of the formation gradually faded, the interlacing beams dissolving into nothingness as the light screen dissipated. The ancient patterns etched into the stone platform dimmed, plunging the secret room back into shadows.
Tai Tan and Niu Tian turned and walked out of the chamber. Behind them, the heavy stone wall ground shut once more, smoothly returning to its original, unremarkable state.
The two men stood beneath the arched corridor of the fortress. The night wind blew past them, carrying a biting chill that seemed to seep straight into their bones.
Tai Tan looked up at the vast, starless night sky. He remained silent for a long time before finally whispering a single, heavy sentence.
"Lord Tang San is truly ruthless."
Niu Tian stood beside him, staring into the darkness, and offered no response.
Shrek Academy, by the tranquil shores of Sea God Lake.
By the time Wang Dong'er rushed back from Clear Sky Castle, the eastern horizon was already bleeding with the pale light of dawn. She hadn't stopped to rest even once during her frantic journey. Bypassing her own quarters entirely, she walked straight to the door of Huo Yuhao's dormitory and knocked with a trembling hand.
The door opened almost immediately.
Huo Yuhao stood in the doorway, still dressed in the exact same clothes he had worn the previous day. A stark section of white bandages peeked out from the collar of his shirt, wrapping tightly around his injured chest.
His complexion was marginally better than it had been during the day, but his skin remained sickly pale. Heavy, bruised-looking dark circles hung beneath his eyes. It was painfully clear that he hadn't slept a single wink all night, waiting in agonizing silence.
He froze the moment his eyes landed on her.
"Dong'er? Why are you back so..."
"I came to apologize," Wang Dong'er interrupted, her voice thick with emotion. She remained standing at the threshold, making no move to enter as she looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "The matter with that letter... it was entirely the work of my First Uncle and Second Uncle. I didn't know anything about it, and I swear I never asked them to do such a thing. I'm so sorry."
Huo Yuhao looked at her for a long, quiet moment. A soft, weary gentleness entered his gaze as he slowly shook his head.
"There's no need for you to apologize. It's not like you forced them to write it."
"But you only went because of me." Wang Dong'er's voice dropped to a fragile whisper, laced with overwhelming guilt. "If it weren't for me, you never would have received that letter. You wouldn't have risked your life going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and you wouldn't have suffered such terrible injuries."
Huo Yuhao fell silent. He looked at the immense sorrow etched into her beautiful features, and then he spoke, his voice incredibly soft but carrying an unshakable resolve.
"As long as you're okay, none of that matters. It's fine."
Wang Dong'er's eyes instantly reddened. She fought back the tears, refusing to cry, but her lower lip trembled uncontrollably. Reaching out, she grabbed Huo Yuhao's wrist. Her slender fingers were freezing cold from the night air, yet her grip was desperately tight, as if she were anchoring herself to him.
Huo Yuhao didn't pull away. He didn't speak a word to break the fragile moment. The two of them simply stood there at the doorway—one standing inside the dim room, the other standing out in the pale dawn—neither of them willing to move.
After a long, quiet eternity, Wang Dong'er finally released her grip. She took a slow step back into the corridor.
"You need to get some rest first. I'll come back to see you tomorrow."
She turned and walked away, her silhouette bathed in the early morning light. Huo Yuhao remained standing at the door, his gaze fixed on her retreating back until she completely disappeared at the end of the corridor. Only then did he finally close the door.
In the days that followed, Shrek Academy returned to its usual, bustling tranquility.
Under the careful administration of medicine and his own strong foundation, Huo Yuhao's severe injuries began to slowly heal. The terrifying wound across his chest had finally scabbed over, no longer threatening to tear open with every movement. The deep gash on his forehead had healed as well, the scab falling off to leave behind a faint, pale scar that barely marred his features.
Their routine settled into a comfortable rhythm. Every single day, he shared his meals with Wang Dong'er, trained side-by-side with her on the practice fields, and took long, quiet walks with her along the shimmering shores of Sea God Lake.
Sometimes, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi would join their little excursions. The group of friends would sit together on the lush green grass bordering the lake, idly chatting about their cultivation progress, academy gossip, and whatever else came to mind.
Slowly but surely, Huo Yuhao began to smile more often. These weren't the forced, polite smiles he used to mask his pain; they were genuine, reaching all the way to his eyes.
He truly believed that the darkest clouds had finally passed, that the most difficult trial of their lives had been successfully endured. He thought that as long as he focused on cultivating well and stayed by Wang Dong'er's side, everything would be perfectly fine.
The days slipped by one after another, as serene and unbothered as the mirror-like surface of Sea God Lake.
Until that fateful day.
It started as a completely ordinary afternoon. The sunlight was warm and pleasant, cascading down from the azure sky to bathe the massive canopy of the Golden Tree at the Sea God Pavilion. The radiant leaves caught the light, reflecting a faint, stunning golden glow across the inner academy.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er had just stepped out of the cafeteria, their stomachs full, casually making their way toward the training grounds for their afternoon session.
Bei Bei walked a few paces ahead of them, holding an ancient text in one hand and quietly reading as he strolled.
Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan trailed at the very back of the group. It was unclear what nonsense Xu Sanshi was whispering to her, but whatever it was made Jiang Nannan offer a rare, beautiful smile, which instantly caused Xu Sanshi to beam like a fool.
Everything was perfectly, blissfully normal.
And then, without a single warning, a terrifying, suffocating aura violently surged out from the direction of the Sea God Pavilion.
It wasn't a slow, gradual climb of pressure. It was an instantaneous, cataclysmic explosion of power, as if a dormant volcano had suddenly detonated in the very depths of the academy.
The oppressive aura erupted from the very peak of the Sea God Pavilion, expanding outward in a visible shockwave that crashed down upon the island, weighing heavily on the shoulders of every living soul.
Huo Yuhao's footsteps instantly faltered. His Spirit Eyes activated completely on their own, a brilliant golden light flaring in his pupils as his body's survival instincts reacted far faster than his conscious mind. He could feel the sheer, unfathomable level of this aura. It was so impossibly high, so fundamentally extraordinary, that his very spirit began to tremble in its presence.
The ancient book slipped from Bei Bei's grasp, tumbling into the dirt, but he made no move to pick it up. He whipped his head around to stare toward the Sea God Pavilion, his usually gentle expression twisting into one of absolute gravity.
Xu Sanshi stopped dead in his tracks. In a flash of protective instinct, he stepped in front of Jiang Nannan, shielding her behind his broad back with his right hand already raised, ready to summon his martial soul at a moment's notice.
Wang Dong'er stood frozen beside Huo Yuhao. Her entire body tensed like a coiled spring, her hand instinctively reaching out to tightly grip the fabric of his sleeve.
And from the direction of the Sea God Pavilion, that apocalyptic aura continued to climb higher and higher, tearing through the heavens as if there were truly no end to its terrifying might.
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