Early the next morning, after bidding farewell to his mother and Na'er, Tang Wulin cheerfully headed off to school.
A full night of meditation had only deepened his bond with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, to the point that he felt a special sense of closeness with it.
Just then, a familiar figure up ahead caught his attention.
"Fusheng, over here!"
Tang Wulin saw his good friend and eagerly ran over to share the joy of "gaining a little sister."
Nan Fusheng quietly listened, but Tang Wulin suddenly noticed something odd—his friend's face seemed slightly red, and there were purplish marks on his hands. Looking closer, several crisscrossing scars were visible, and even a faint handprint stood out on his cheek.
"Fusheng, what happened to you? Did someone hurt you?" Tang Wulin asked urgently, clearly worried for his friend.
"It's nothing. I'm used to it," Nan Fusheng replied casually.
No matter how much Tang Wulin pressed, he wouldn't say more. The excitement of his "new sister" faded a bit after seeing his friend like this.
The mood between the two turned a little heavy, and they soon arrived at school.
The Soul Master class didn't teach Soul Master content every day. It alternated with cultural studies—today was one of those days.
Nan Fusheng wasn't particularly interested in the academic lessons, while Tang Wulin listened attentively and even received praise from the teacher.
After school at Hongshan Academy…
"Mom? Why are you here to pick me up? Where's Na'er?" Tang Wulin asked as soon as he saw Lang Yue at the school gates.
Lang Yue's eyes showed a trace of concern as she quickly walked over and hugged her son.
"Mom, put me down! I'm a big kid now. If my classmates see this, it's embarrassing!"
Lang Yue chuckled. "You'll always be my little boy, no matter how old you get."
Nan Fusheng, who had been following behind, greeted politely, "Good afternoon, Auntie."
"Oh, little Fusheng! Did Wulin give you any trouble today?" she said while affectionately patting his head.
Then she noticed the marks on him. The wounds were fading, but it was obvious they were recent. She distinctly remembered he hadn't had them when he visited yesterday.
"Fusheng, what happened to you? If someone's bullying you, you can tell Auntie—I'll help you get justice," she said gently.
Nan Fusheng shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Auntie, but it's nothing. I have something to do at home, so I'll head back now."
He politely declined and left.
Lang Yue frowned slightly. Although she hadn't known Nan Fusheng long, her impression of this quiet, well-behaved child was a good one. But since he didn't want to explain, she couldn't push it.
She quickly remembered why she had come to the school in the first place. Kneeling to look at Tang Wulin, she said, "Mom is taking you to Uncle Mang Tian's place today. Are you sure you want to learn forging?"
Meanwhile, Nan Fusheng had no idea what was happening next door. He returned home and resumed cultivating his soul power until nightfall.
Back at Tang Wulin's house, Lang Yue and Tang Ziran discussed their son's desire to study forging. In the end, they decided to let him try it for a while and only pull him out if things didn't work out.
At the dinner table, Tang Wulin sat there massaging his sore arm from forging training. He chewed his food with effort, a goofy smile on his face as Na'er clumsily fed him bite by bite.
The scene stunned both Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, a pair of adorable children, sitting together under the soft glow of the lights, creating a picturesque moment of perfect harmony.
"Fusheng had some bruises on him after school. Wulin, do you know what happened?" Lang Yue suddenly asked, remembering the boy's condition.
She wasn't usually the nosy type, but because of Nan Fusheng's close friendship with her son—and her good impression of him—she decided to ask.
"I don't know either. I asked him this morning, but he wouldn't say. He just told me he's used to it," Tang Wulin replied between bites.
He had already mentioned Nan Fusheng's situation to his father back when they decided to adopt Na'er. Back then, Tang Ziran was impressed with how Fusheng scared off those thugs using knowledge of Federation law and told his son to learn from him.
Tang Ziran frowned and, after a moment's thought, decided to share what he'd learned recently.
"I've asked around a bit about Nan Fusheng's family. It's… not good."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Apparently, his father abandoned the family not long after he was born, and his mother… well, people say she's mentally unstable. She treats him very coldly and sometimes even beats him. She never leaves the house and relies entirely on him to bring her food using a soul communicator."
"Some neighbors tried to talk to her, but they were either ignored or yelled at and kicked out."
"As for Fusheng himself, things are more complicated."
"Stop keeping us in suspense—just say it," Lang Yue urged, clearly curious. Tang Wulin and Na'er were both staring at him expectantly.
"Well… around the age of four, Fusheng started doing odd jobs at small restaurants in exchange for food. Some kind people tried to talk to his mom about taking better care of him, but she just cursed at them or even hit them. Eventually, no one dared to intervene anymore."
"How could a parent treat their child like that? Poor little Fusheng…" Lang Yue sighed, her heart aching even more now that she had a child of her own.
Tang Wulin nodded in agreement, clearly troubled by what he'd heard.
At that moment, the very boy they were discussing was sensing rapid progress in the digestion of his potion.
"As expected, this also counts as swindling."
As a Sequence 8 Swindler, Nan Fusheng's potion required him to act out the role of a swindler to digest it effectively.
That's why, from a young age, he had carefully crafted the image of a child with a tragic background, laying the foundation for the next stage of his progression.
This kind of preemptive acting was viable. In Lord of the Mysteries, the protagonist Klein had also relied on consistent role-playing, even managing to fully digest a Sequence 1 potion the moment he drank it.
Nan Fusheng could now feel that his Swindler potion was mostly digested. The rest would resolve with time—and not much time, either.
Though others helped speed up my digestion… the real MVPs are Tang Wulin and Na'er.