NABC Chapter 1: Mom Will Worry
Chapter 1: Mom Will Worry
The sound of water splashing and gurgling through the woods was deafening.
Huo Yuhao suddenly sprang up from the stream.
Water droplets dripped down his wet black hair, and his coarse clothes clung tightly to his body. The sticky sensation mixed with the icy coldness of the river water made him shiver involuntarily.
His gaze fell on those hands, which still looked somewhat childish.
Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked around in confusion.
The towering ancient trees block out the sun, and sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Memories flooded back like a tide, and various events from my past life flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
The final battle with Tang San was an earth-shattering scene, ending in mutual destruction.
A complex look flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
He took a deep breath, bent down, and picked up the white tiger dagger from the stream.
The dagger felt cold and heavy in my hand, carrying a chilling aura.
I walked to the shore and looked at my reflection in the water.
The stream was crystal clear, reflecting the image of a ten-year-old child.
A pair of clear, bright blue eyes framed a youthful face.
A rose-gold light suddenly shone from the blue eyes.
A golden light shone from his forehead, growing brighter and brighter.
Within the light, a vertical pupil slowly emerged, and mysterious symbols gathered and shifted around it.
Within the vertical pupil, a golden dragon shadow rolled and roared, violent and chaotic, carrying an aura of world destruction.
This strange phenomenon lasted only a moment before quickly fading away.
"The Golden Dragon King's divine core?" Huo Yuhao murmured to himself, his voice low and hoarse. "And my Eye of Destiny has also changed. Is this an effect of my rebirth?"
In his previous life, it was under the influence of the Golden Dragon King's divine core that he broke free from that confused state and saw the absurdity of his actions.
Ultimately, even after breaking with Tang San, Tang Wutong still stood with him.
If it weren't for his comrades who risked their lives for him, how could he have dragged Tang San into the temporal turbulence and ultimately perished together with Tang San?
Huo Yuhao gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
He thought it was all over, but fate gave him a second chance.
He raised his head and looked into the distance.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the dense forest and land in the direction of the White Tiger Duke's mansion.
"Mom..." Huo Yuhao murmured softly, his voice trembling slightly.
His mother, Huo Yun'er, is still alive.
She wasn't the soul Tang San had mentioned that he'd retrieved from the underworld; she was still the gentle and kind mother from his memories.
Huo Yuhao carefully placed the White Tiger Dagger in his pocket.
He picked up a few more river fish from the ground, then strung them together with vines and carried them in his hand.
He then started walking towards home.
At first, they moved slowly and cautiously, as if testing the waters.
Gradually, their pace quickened and became more determined.
Finally, he started running, a long-lost smile on his face.
Yes, everything can start over.
The boy held such hope in his heart.
……
Huo Yuhao's mother, Huo Yun'er, was once the personal maid of the White Tiger Duke, and had been by his side since childhood.
The so-called personal maid is nominally a servant girl, but in reality, she is half a woman to her master.
Ten years ago, on a night when the White Tiger Duke was drunk, Huo Yuhao came into this world.
At first, Huo Yun'er and her son were able to have a separate courtyard in the Duke's mansion and live a relatively peaceful life.
However, the good times did not last long.
With the Duke of White Tiger away on campaign, the Duchess no longer concealed her suppression of Huo Yun'er and her son.
She found a pretext and said that Huo Yun'er was suffering from a serious illness, so she expelled the mother and son from their original courtyard and placed them in a dilapidated woodshed behind the servants' quarters. Huo Yuhao was only two years old that year.
Not only that, the Duchess also cut off all financial resources for Huo Yun'er and her son.
This plunged their lives into immediate hardship.
When Huo Yuhao was six years old, he awakened his martial soul.
However, what he awakened was not the Evil Eye White Tiger passed down from the White Tiger Duke, but a mutated martial soul, the Spirit Eye, whose innate soul power was only level one.
This incident made their already difficult situation even worse.
As the son of the White Tiger Duke, not only did he fail to inherit the family's powerful martial spirit, but his talent was also so inferior that he naturally did not receive any respect from others.
Meanwhile, the servants in the Duke's mansion, in order to flatter the Duchess, wantonly bullied Huo Yun'er and her son.
Huo Yuhao clearly remembered that in a few months, his mother's health would completely collapse.
Due to long-term malnutrition and overwork, coupled with a serious illness, he eventually passed away.
But there's still a chance to salvage everything.
Huo Yuhao ran quickly along the path.
In the past, such strenuous movements would have long since caused his frail body to give way.
But at this moment, he felt a warm sensation all over his body, and streams of pure blood energy surged from the depths of his mind.
It moves tirelessly through its limbs and bones, as if it has inexhaustible strength.
The White Tiger Duke's mansion is getting closer and closer.
The high walls stand majestically, and the palaces are magnificent, gleaming in the sunlight.
With its soaring eaves and painted pavilions, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion exudes grandeur and majesty.
However, none of this had anything to do with Huo Yuhao, who, being born of a maid, naturally could not enter through the main gate.
He turned into a secluded alley and headed toward the woodshed behind the servants' quarters.
He had walked this road countless times, and every pothole and every stone was etched into his heart.
My heartbeat grew louder and louder, like a drumbeat, surging in my chest, and even my steps quickened.
Closer, closer.
Huo Yuhao slowed his pace, carefully straightening his clothes to make sure there was nothing amiss.
I took a deep breath, calmed my excited emotions a little, and prepared to go home.
"Huo Yun'er, where's your son?!"
A sharp voice suddenly came from the direction of the woodshed, abruptly interrupting Huo Yuhao's next move.
"Why are we short of firewood again today? What are you two good for?!"
"How could our White Tiger Duke's mansion produce two useless pieces of trash like you?!"
Huo Yuhao stopped and, through the gaps in the trees, saw the scene in front of the woodshed.
An obese steward stood at the door of the woodshed, lecturing Huo Yun'er in an imperious manner.
The steward was dressed in a brocade robe with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, clearly a prominent figure in the Duke's mansion.
Behind him stood several strong and burly guards, all of whom looked fierce and menacing.
Huo Yun'er stood before the steward with her head bowed, not daring to disobey in the slightest. Her coarse cloth clothes were covered with patches, her face was pale, and her body was thin and haggard.
"Steward, my son has gone to collect firewood." Huo Yun'er's voice was low and trembling.
"Gathering firewood? I bet he's slacking off!" The steward sneered, his face full of contempt. "Huo Yun'er, let me tell you, don't think that just because you used to be the Duke's personal maid, you can act like a tyrant here! Now, you're nothing but a servant, a piece of trash even worse than a servant!"
"Yes, yes, the steward is right." Huo Yun'er nodded repeatedly, not daring to resist in the slightest.
"Hmph!" The steward looked at Huo Yun'er's obsequious appearance with smug satisfaction, feeling even more pleased.
Within the Duke's mansion, servants were also divided into different ranks. Now, he was able to arbitrarily reprimand his former personal maid and order around that servant boy at the Duke's command, which gave him a twisted sense of pleasure.
The shadows of the trees swayed, and the branches and leaves danced.
Huo Yuhao looked at his mother's humble posture and the hateful expressions on the faces of those people, and his pupils suddenly contracted, as if turning into two thin lines.
He subconsciously touched the White Tiger Dagger hidden in his bosom; the icy coldness of the dagger instantly brought him to his senses.
"I can't do it here," Huo Yuhao told himself. "I can't let Mom see me kill someone; she'll worry."