Yan Zu’s pupils contracted slightly.
“He didn’t dare to actually lay hands on her—the Spirit Hall has its reputation to consider.” Yan Hu’s voice sounded as if it were being forced through clenched teeth.
“But he said some… despicable things. He claimed that if your mother wanted to register, she would have to ‘visit the branch hall a few more times’ and ‘receive his personal guidance alone.’ He even said… he even said that with your mother’s talent, if she were ‘sensible,’ he could help her apply for higher subsidies…”
Yan Hu didn’t continue.
But Yan Zu understood.
It was the usual tactic of those seasoned schemers—never stating things outright, never crossing the line completely, but making the meaning perfectly clear: if you want the benefits, you have to pay the price.
And what kind of fear and helplessness must a young woman in her early twenties, a new mother, have felt, alone in such a place, facing an older man in a position of power, smiling while hiding a knife?
Yan Zu’s hands clenched tightly under the covers.
“What happened after that?” he asked, his voice unexpectedly calm.
“After that?” Yan Hu gave a bitter smile.
“After that, your mother ran. She didn’t complete anything, just ran straight home. When she got back, she held you and cried half the night.”
Su Qing’s tears finally fell.
She wiped them away with her hand but said nothing.
“The next day, I wanted to go to Nuoding City and settle the score with that old scoundrel.” Yan Hu’s voice was filled with suppressed anger.
“But your mother stopped me. She said we couldn’t afford to provoke him. He hadn’t left any evidence with his words. If we made a scene, we’d be the ones to suffer in the end. And besides…”
He looked down at Yan Zu, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Besides, there was you. If we earned the Spirit Hall’s enmity, what would become of you in the future?”
Yan Zu fell silent.
He thought of that attendant named Ma Xiunuo from the original story.
An insignificant extra, in Tang San’s tale, he was merely the old man who greeted him at the entrance of the Spirit Hall, relatively kind in demeanor.
Many readers even remembered him as “not bad.”
Yet the same person, in this unremarkable little mountain village, in another young mother’s story, had played an entirely different role.
Human nature was never simply black or white.
But for the victims, that didn’t matter.
What mattered was that this man’s existence had made their family of three live in constant fear for a full five years.
The room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by Yan Hu’s heavy breathing and Su Qing’s faint sobs.
This past event was like a heavy boulder that had weighed on this family’s heart for years.
Looking at his angry and pained parents, the frustration he had felt over his “hellish start” suddenly faded considerably.
In its place was a heavy sense of responsibility and an even firmer resolve.
He stepped forward, gently taking his mother’s cold hand, then looked up at his father, who still seemed like a trapped beast.
“Father, Mother, you did the right thing.” Yan Zu’s voice was not loud, yet it carried a soothing power.
“Money like that, once taken, would truly be impossible to wash clean for a lifetime. Our family may be poor now, but we are poor with integrity, poor with dignity. That is more important than anything.”
He paused, steering the conversation back to the original question: “So, this is precisely why I absolutely cannot go to Spirit Hall for awakening.”
Yan Hu let out a heavy sigh.
After the immense anger came deep exhaustion and the harsh reality of their predicament: “Awakening at home… an Awakening Stone? That thing isn’t cheap.” Having dealt with other Soul Masters for years, he naturally knew the market.
“Even the lowest-grade Awakening Stone costs a full fifty Gold Soul Coins. For our family…”
Su Qing also wore a troubled expression.
The family’s savings mostly came from Yan Hu hunting spirit beasts, and even with frugal living, they had only saved a little over thirty Gold Soul Coins, still far short of fifty.
Moreover, if Yan Zu were to attend the Nuoding Academy in the future, tuition and living expenses would be another significant burden.
The scars of the past had been reopened, yet the cold, hard reality of their difficulties still lay squarely before them.
Yan Zu saw his parents’ distress.
He took out a small cloth pouch from his storage bracelet and handed it over.
“There are fifteen Gold Soul Coins in here, which I saved.”
Because the daily sign-in rewards didn’t give many Gold Soul Coins, these were what remained after he had given his father one hundred last time.
Yan Hu and Su Qing opened the pouch.
Seeing the gleaming golden coins inside, their eyes filled with astonishment.
“A’zu, this money…” Su Qing’s words trailed off, unspoken.
She knew her son harbored many secrets; those rewards from the “White-Bearded Grandpa” always seemed to come in handy at critical moments.
Yan Hu was silent for a moment, then pushed the pouch back.
“Keep this money for yourself. I’ll figure out a way to get the Awakening Stone.” He stood up, a flash of determination in his tiger-like eyes.
“I’ve already reached level thirty, a Soul Venerable now, and your mother has broken through to level twenty-six. If we team up and go deep into the mountains near the outskirts to hunt a spirit beast over three hundred years old, selling the materials—forget fifty Gold Soul Coins, we could even gather a hundred!” New chapters come out on g.com first.
The deep mountains near the outskirts were far more dangerous than the periphery, often home to spirit beasts over three hundred years old.
Correspondingly, the price of their materials multiplied several times.
After breaking through to level thirty, Yan Hu’s third soul skill, “Immovable Vajra,” offered both offense and defense, greatly boosting his strength.
Combined with Su Qing’s Green Sprout support and the enhancements from the Nine Yin Manual, Verdant Wood Chapter, he was confident they could handle a three-hundred-year spirit beast.
“But it’s too dangerous,” Su Qing worried.
“The spirit beasts deep inside are much more formidable than those on the outskirts.”
“Don’t worry, dear.” Yan Hu patted his chest.
“I’m a Soul Venerable now, and with the cultivation techniques A’zu taught us, it’ll be fine. Besides, for A’zu’s sake, taking this risk is worth it.”
Yan Zu looked at his father’s resolute gaze, warmth surging in his heart.
He knew his parents were always willing to give everything for him.
“Father, Mother, I have something here for you to take along.” Yan Zu retrieved a porcelain bottle from his storage bracelet.
“This bottle contains three high-grade Healing Pills. No matter how severe the injury, taking one will quickly restore soul power and heal wounds.”
These high-grade Healing Pills were all rare rewards he had obtained from consecutive full-month sign-ins.
Yan Hu took the porcelain bottle, feeling its warmth in his hand.
“Good lad, always full of surprises.”
Su Qing’s eyes were filled with seriousness.
“We’ll set off first thing tomorrow morning and aim to return within three days.”
“Dad, Mom, please be careful,” Yan Zu urged.
“If you encounter a spirit beast you truly can’t handle, don’t force it. Come back first.”
“Understood,” Yan Hu said, ruffling his son’s hair with a hearty laugh.
“Your dad is a Soul Venerable, not so easily taken down.”
As night deepened, the oil lamp in the simple little hut finally went out.
Yan Zu lay on his small bed, gazing at the dark rafters overhead.
In his heart, he silently repeated that name—
Ma Xiunuo.
Steward of the Nuoding City Martial Spirit Hall Branch.
Remembered.