Chapter 329: Tang Chen's Sacrifice (Part 1)
After enduring countless hardships, Tang Hao and A Yin finally reached the point of their wedding, hand in hand.
However, the thought of marrying into the Qian family filled Tang Hao with resentment. "Qian Dongxu is dead, and I still have to marry into the Qian family and become their son-in-law?!
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! After my Tang Xiao San is born, I will raise him to be a powerful figure, then destroy the Qian family and wipe away my shame!"
With this thought in mind, Tang Hao could only accept the reality of becoming a son-in-law.
However, just before the wedding, a tragedy struck the Qian family.
When Qian Geng returned from school and learned that her mother was going to marry Tang Hao, she immediately stood up and said, "Mom, I don't want you to marry that dead rat! If you dare to marry that dead rat, I won't have you as my mother anymore!"
A Yin felt a pang of pain in her heart upon hearing this.
Tang Hao, furious, stepped forward and said, "You brat, what are you saying? I earn money to support your schooling, your expenses, and your hunting for spirit rings. Why can't your mother marry me?"
Qian Geng sneered, "You dead rat, your purpose has been exposed. Grandma said that the only reason you're so good to us is to take my mother away from us. Let me tell you, you're not worthy to marry my mother. With me here, there's no way."
After saying that, Qian Geng said to A Yin, "Mom, I don't have a 'dead rat' as my dad. My dad is Qian Dongxu. If you dare to marry 'dead rat,' then I won't have you as my mother anymore."
"Bang Geng."
Xiao Dang and Huaihua also stepped forward. They grabbed A Yin's left and right hands and cried, "Mom, I don't want you to marry rat. Mom, I don't want rat to take you away from us. Please, don't marry rat, okay?" Seeing that her three children all opposed her marrying Tang Hao, A Yin looked at Tang Hao with a troubled expression.
If it weren't for that bastard Qian Dongxu, Ah Yin would only have one son, Tang San. But because of Qian Dongxu, these three bastards were born.
Tang Hao's forehead creased with anger; he wanted nothing more than to punch those three wretches to death.
But he couldn't. After years of living together, Tang Hao knew that in Ah Yin's heart, these three wretches held the highest position, followed by Granny Qian, then Ah Yin herself, and finally himself. If Tang Hao wanted to elevate his status in Ah Yin's heart, he couldn't kill these three little bastards. Killing them would only make Ah Yin hate him.
To improve his position, he could only please Ah Yin, please the Qian family, and eventually marry Ah Yin, give birth to Tang San, and have a child. This would divert some of Ah Yin's love from those three little bastards. Finally, when the family of three was living happily together, he could kick those three little bastards away.
"Alright, alright, you can leave now."
"I don't want to, Mom! You have to promise us you won't marry this dead rat!" Bang Geng said firmly.
Helpless, A-Yin could only say, "Alright, alright, I promise you, I won't marry Tang Hao, okay?"
The three children left, satisfied.
Only Qian Zhangshi, A-Yin, and Tang Hao remained in the room.
Tang Hao, his eyes red and panting, asked, "A-Yin, tell me, was that your true feeling just now?"
A-Yin shook her head painfully and said, "Brother Hao, I really want to marry you, but I can't disregard the children's feelings."
Tang Hao clenched his fists, cursing the already dead Qian Dongxu in his heart.
Qian Dongxu, you bastard! When you were alive, you stopped me and A-Yin; now that you're dead, your three bastard children are trying to stop me and A-Yin too.
"Ah Yin, how can you say such things to me?" Tang Hao roared, "After Qian Dongxu died, I treated Qian Geng, Qian Dang, and Qian Huaihua as my own children. I paid for their tuition, living expenses, and the family's expenses. I even used Tang's Blacksmith Shop as a betrothal gift, and I agreed to become your Qian family's son-in-law, all for this final moment."
"And now you're telling me that because of those few ungrateful wretches, you don't want to marry me? How can you do this to me? Huh—?"
Ah Yin felt guilty after being yelled at by Tang Hao, but upon hearing the words "ungrateful wretches," a mother's strength kicked in, and she retorted angrily, "Tang Hao, I'm sorry, but it has nothing to do with the children. My children are my pride, not ungrateful wretches."
Qian Zhangshi, standing to the side, twitched her triangular eyes and said sarcastically, "Well, you've exposed yourself. So, in your eyes, my good grandson is an ungrateful wretch. You just want to marry my Ah Yin and then discard the Qian family, is that it?"
"Banggeng and the other two did the right thing. It's best if this marriage doesn't happen," Qian Zhangshi said.
Hearing Qian Zhangshi and Ayin's words, Tang Hao panicked. If the marriage didn't happen, what had he done for all these years?
Helpless, Tang Hao could only bow his head and apologize to Qian Zhangshi and Ayin, slapping himself twice as he said, "Ayin, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I'm not human. I shouldn't have scolded Banggeng and the other two."
Qian Zhangshi rolled her eyes and said, "Alright, stop pretending. Whether you're truly sincere to Banggeng and the other two isn't proven by how many times you slap yourself. We don't need you to prove anything."
"Mom, do you agree to let Ayin marry me?" Tang Hao asked excitedly.
"To ensure you don't abandon Banggeng and the other two after marrying Ayin, I have one condition: you must wait until Banggeng is 25 years old before I agree to let Ayin marry you," Qian Zhangshi said.
"What? I have to wait more than ten years?" Tang Hao's eyes reddened again.
"You can refuse; at worst, the marriage can be called off," Qian Zhangshi said.
Tang Hao looked at A Yin beside him, who gazed at him tenderly and said, "Brother Hao, Bang Geng and the others will understand our good intentions when they grow up and won't stop us."
The options from the Top Eight Trials reappeared in Tang Hao's eyes!
The Eighth Trial of the Asura God:
Your mother (Qian Zhangshi, whom you recognized after marrying into the family) hopes to agree to your marriage only when Qian Geng and the others are 25 years old. A Yin also hopes you can wait for her.
Option 1: Refuse to wait, demand all the dowry from the Qian family, then find other happiness and live to death. Reward: End of the top-level eight trials, clear all of Ah Yin's favorability, Ah Yin's dislike value +500, all soul ring years +10,000 years, end of the divine trial.
Option 2: Accept the Qian family's conditions, wait until Qian Geng grows up, marry Ah Yin, achieve a happy ending, and live to death. Reward: Ah Yin's favorability +500, end of the divine trial.
Looking at these two options, Tang Hao swallowed hard. He absolutely could not choose to give up Ah Yin. For Ah Yin, he killed his brother, his father, betrayed the Clear Sky Sect, crippled himself, and even became the Qian family's live-in son-in-law. In the end, he hadn't even had a bite of meat yet. How could he back out?
His virginity was meant for Ah Yin!
Helpless, Tang Hao could only nod and say, "Alright, Ah Yin, I'll wait for you for over ten years."
Hearing this, Ah Yin's sorrow vanished. She took Tang Hao's hand and said emotionally, "Brother Hao, you're so good to me."
Seeing Ah Yin's gratitude and feeling the soft touch of his hand, Tang Hao felt that his choice was worthwhile.
The marriage didn't happen, and the Qian family didn't return the wealth Tang Hao had accumulated over most of his life. Tang Hao, however, was now pursuing Ah Yin like a madman.
Over the past ten years, Tang Hao worked tirelessly to support the Qian family, while Ah Yin's three children grew up one after another.
Among them, Qian Geng had the strongest talent. At 17, she was already a Soul Saint, at 20, she advanced to Soul Douluo, and at 25, she was a Title Douluo with the title Blue Silver!
Qian Dang was already a Soul Douluo, and Qian Huaihua was a Soul Saint.
Tang Hao's marriage to the Qian family became the laughing stock of the whole town.
Every day after leaving the blacksmith's shop, Tang Hao's only interest was going to the tavern for a bowl of cheap ale!
Entering the tavern, Tang Hao, dressed in a long robe, walked in listlessly.
His entrance immediately silenced the noisy tavern, and the diners all looked at him with amusement. One of the waiters seemed to recognize Tang Hao and joked, "Isn't this Tang Hao? Have you become the Qian family's live-in son-in-law yet?"
Tang Hao didn't answer, but said to the counter, "Warm two jugs of cheap ale, and a plate of fennel beans."
He then produced nine copper soul coins.
"You got rejected by Ah Yin again, didn't you? Looking at you, a good-for-nothing, I bet Sister-in-law Qian will dump you sooner or later," one of the tavern's jesters said.
"Nonsense! Ah Yin would never dump me! Ah Yin and I are truly in love. I need to support her three children. How can you spread rumors about me like this?" Tang Hao said, his eyes red and his breath ragged.
"Look at yourself! Do you think you're worthy of the Qian family's wife? Look at the three Qian siblings, each one a dragon among men. They don't need you to support them. I bet they're just keeping you hanging on to see you make a fool of yourself," another entertainer said.
"Nonsense! Ah Yin and the others promised me that Qian Geng would marry me when she's twenty-five. Ah Yin and I are truly in love; she wouldn't lie to me," Tang Hao said stiffly as he sat down. After the cheap ale and fennel beans arrived, Tang Hao sipped the warm liquor while chewing on the fennel beans.
The other entertainers all turned their attention to Tang Hao, waiting for him to get drunk.
Sure enough, after two jugs of liquor, Tang Hao was completely drunk. In the tavern, he suddenly cried out in grief and indignation,
"Heavens, why, why are you doing this to me, Tang Hao?"
Hearing Tang Hao start talking nonsense again, the diners immediately fell silent, watching him with amusement, drinking and enjoying the farce.
The entire hotel was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
That year, Tang Hao finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and was able to propose marriage.
He dragged his already aged body to propose, and looking at Ah Yin, whose skin was still so supple and beautiful, radiating a mature charm.
Tang Hao swallowed hard. Their love, a marathon of over twenty years, was finally about to blossom!
"Ah Yin, today has finally arrived, the day we agreed upon," Tang Hao said, tears streaming down his face.
Finally, he had endured until that rebellious son, Qian Geng, turned twenty-five. Finally, he could marry into the Qian family and become Ah Yin's man. Tang Hao's aged body trembled violently.
Ah Yin said with a troubled expression, "Brother Hao, I'm sorry."
(End of this chapter)