Chapter 124: You Already Chose the Path to Death
The real Yu Xiaogang had only just arrived at Heaven Dou City.
Looking at the familiar city gates, his eyes grew hot with emotion.
Ever since he was driven out more than ten years ago, he had never dared to return, afraid that the mysterious person lurking in the shadows would kill him.
"I should find Xiao San first." Yu Xiaogang hadn't forgotten the "mission" that Tang Hao had entrusted to him.
With that thought, he entered the city and soon found the Moon Pavilion Tang Hao had mentioned.
He had heard of such a place before but had never actually been there.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Do you have an invitation? Do you think this is a place you can just walk into?"
Before Yu Xiaogang even stepped inside, he was blocked by one of the attendants.
He had traveled here in a hurry, dusty and exhausted from the road. Afraid of being discovered by the Spirit Hall, he didn't dare go there to collect his stipend.
During these past ten-plus years, he had almost no income and relied solely on the Spirit Hall stipend to survive.
After taking in Tang San as his disciple, he had frequently used his savings to supplement Tang San's meals, almost completely draining his small stash of money.
Then he rushed all the way to Heaven Dou City. Naturally, he had already spent almost everything.
His soul tool had also been given to Tang San, and in his haste to leave, he had left many belongings in the dormitory at Nuoding Academy.
Now he didn't even have a change of clothes, wearing only a shabby hemp robe, looking almost exactly like a beggar.
And the Moon Pavilion was a place for nobles to gather, hold banquets, and receive etiquette training. How could they possibly allow someone like him inside?
The Grandmaster frowned. It wasn't as if he had never lived as a noble before, so he immediately put on airs.
"Do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me so rudely?" he snapped, releasing a faint trace of soul power.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious. A beggar like you putting on an act and trying to get into the Moon Pavilion? You think you're the only soul master in the world?"
The attendant was actually a soul master himself and looked down on Yu Xiaogang's soul power.
This was the Moon Pavilion, a place nobles from across the Heaven Dou Empire scrambled to enter. The attendants here were responsible for security; how could they have no cultivation at all?
"You—! I am an old friend of your Pavilion Mistress Tang Yuehua. You'd better report to her at once!" Yu Xiaogang said sternly.
Outrageous! To call him a beggar? Even in Nuoding City, he had never suffered this kind of humiliation.
"Heh, like I'll report just because you say so. Who doesn't know the mistress of the Moon Pavilion is named Tang Yuehua? You think you can see her just by dropping her name?"
"Get lost, or don't blame me for getting rough," the attendant said coldly.
Everyone who entered this place wore proper formal dress. If he let this "beggar" inside today, he might lose his job.
If this man were a Soul Ancestor, the attendant might reconsider. After all, a Soul Ancestor-level soul master in the Heaven Dou Empire could be granted baron status.
But even as a baron, he would still need to wear formal attire to enter the Moon Pavilion. Otherwise, it would damage the pavilion's image.
"You… you!" Yu Xiaogang pointed at the attendant, shaking with anger.
He was a soul master, yet he was being treated like a beggar.
"You what? If you don't scram now, don't blame me for using force!"
Thinking he was still refusing to back off, the attendant moved to attack and drive him away. His martial soul was a staff, and his cultivation had already reached Soul Elder.
Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to be beaten out of the Moon Pavilion with a flurry of blows, an arrow flew out from the corner and pierced straight through the attendant's throat.
The attendant's eyes widened. Blood bubbled out of his mouth as he made a choking, gurgling sound.
"You insulted my teacher. You already chose the path to death."
"Xiao San?" Yu Xiaogang's heart stirred. From the corner, a youth with an ordinary face walked out—it was Tang San.
"Teacher, are you alright?" Tang San asked with concern.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "I'm fine. But Xiao San, wasn't that too heavy-handed? This is the Moon Pavilion."
"If it were anywhere else, fine. But here, I'm afraid they might run into a true expert and suffer a loss."
"Teacher, don't worry. I have my own plans," Tang San replied.
He had been observing Yu Xiaogang for quite a while and realized that he himself might not be allowed inside the Moon Pavilion either.
But if he killed an attendant who had bullied Yu Xiaogang, that should be enough to draw the attention of the Moon Pavilion's mistress—his aunt.
Only by meeting Tang Yuehua could he then return to the Clear Sky Sect and seek shelter.
"As long as you have a plan," Yu Xiaogang said, no more.
He had long since realized that his disciple was very mature and opinionated, and handled many things far better than he did.
For example, the first time he helped him hunt a soul ring—if not for Tang San, he would have already died from the Datura Snake's poison.
"Who's committing murder out here? How dare you kill the staff of the Moon Pavilion?"
The soul power fluctuations from below finally drew the attention of the people upstairs.
A magnificently dressed lady descended the staircase slowly, flanked by two guards.
She looked to be in her twenties and carried an air of great nobility that somehow blended perfectly with a natural elegance, soothing away negative emotions.
Her appearance instantly calmed the frightened crowd.
"Is this my aunt, Tang Yuehua?" Tang San's eyes narrowed.
He could tell that the two guards at her sides were not opponents he could handle. His earlier attitude vanished in an instant.
Tang Yuehua stared intently at Tang San, as though seeing the shadow of someone else from her memories in him.
"Aunt, I am—" Tang San started to speak, but Tang Yuehua cut him off.
"Come upstairs and talk," Tang Yuehua said.
As for the attendant lying on the ground, she didn't spare him a single glance, simply having others deal with his dying body.
How could the life of an attendant possibly compare to that of her nephew?
Tang San let out a silent sigh of relief. His method today had been risky, but fortunately, it had worked.
Tang Yuehua continued to look at him as she led him upstairs.
"How is Hao?" Tang Yuehua asked.
Tang San paused for a moment before realizing that she was referring to his father, Tang Hao.
"Father has already been killed by people from the Spirit Hall," Tang San said sadly.
Although he didn't know Tang Hao's actual condition, Tang Hao had already removed his soul bones. There was no way he could have survived.
Yu Xiaogang had taught him about the dangers of forcibly removing soul bones.
"What?" Tang Yuehua swayed slightly, almost losing her balance.
As someone who excelled at hiding her emotions and thoughts, she could no longer maintain her composure at this moment.
In the face of the powerful Spirit Hall, she had long expected a day like this might come, but hearing the news… she still couldn't accept it.
"Did he say anything?" Tang Yuehua asked.
Tang San thought for a moment. "Father told me to find you. He wants me to return to the sect and recognize my ancestors."
As for the soul bones, he temporarily kept that part hidden.
"Sigh. Come with me to see the Sect Master. This is something only the Sect Master and the Elders can decide. But I will help you," Tang Yuehua said.
Although she was somewhat unwilling to return to the sect, this was beyond her authority.
In her eyes, Tang Hao had taken the blame in place of her older brother Tang Xiao, so her relationship with her big brother was not exactly good now.
And that woman had left Tang Hao only to get entangled with Tang Xiao again, which she found unacceptable.
So, in recent years, she had rarely returned to the sect.
"Thank you, Aunt," Tang San said with a sigh of relief.
Finally, he thought he was going to a safe place to cultivate.
Tang Yuehua led Tang San out of the Moon Pavilion but was stopped by Yu Xiaogang.
"Teacher, do you need something?" Tang San asked.
Yu Xiaogang relayed "Tang Hao's" final words:
"Xiao San, Your Excellency Clear Sky Douluo asked me to tell you that he is not long for this world. If you need those two inherited soul bones, then absorb them yourself."
"He said that the disciples of the Clear Sky Sect all hate you and your father to the bone. Even if you hand over the soul bones, they may not accept you."
"You can ask your aunt to confirm this. She should be the only one in the Clear Sky Sect who still sides with Your Excellency Clear Sky Douluo."
Tang San believed him because the matter of the inherited soul bones was known only to him and Tang Hao.
"Teacher, I understand. I'll seriously consider it," Tang San replied. He decided he would observe the situation a bit more first.
"Good. I'll wait here for a few days," Yu Xiaogang said.
"If you don't come back, I'll head to Shrek Academy. If you need anything, then you can go there and find me."
—
End of Chapter