**Chapter 22: The Despicable and Shameless Tang Hao.**
Author: Fu Hejun
"Referee, can you announce the result now?"
After casting a look of disgust at Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing turned to the host and said coldly.
"Ah? Oh!" The host was momentarily stunned, then quickly announced loudly, "I declare the winners to be the Glazed Cat Duo!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" The audience immediately burst into cheers.
Amidst the audience's cheers, Zhu Zhuqing slowly walked down from the stage. There, Ning Rongrong waited for her with a smile.
On the other side.
Specialized medical personnel quickly carried Tang San, who was seriously injured and poisoned, and the unconscious Xiao Wu away on a stretcher.
Zhu Zhuqing seemed to remember something, and with a flash, she appeared before the unconscious Xiao Wu. She looked at the five-clawed wound on her chest and wiped it with her hand. Immediately, the black aura emanating from it dissipated.
That was the end of the matter. Then the scene transitioned to nighttime.
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong walked out of the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena shoulder to shoulder, chatting and laughing.
They looked up at the sky.
The sky was bleak that night; dark clouds shrouded it. Neither the stars nor the moon could be seen.
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly frowned. Ning Rongrong, seeing this, asked, "Zhuqing, what's wrong? Did you forget something inside?"
"No, it's nothing." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and suddenly said, "I just remembered I have some personal matters to attend to. Rongrong, you should go back first."
"Personal matters, alright then."
Ning Rongrong, a little reluctantly, waved goodbye to her, then turned, her figure gradually receding into the distance.
As Zhu Zhuqing watched Ning Rongrong's retreating figure, her expression gradually turned cold. Then, without a word, she turned and walked in a certain direction.
Bullet comments scrolled across the Live Broadcast Room at just the right moment.
[Huh, what's going on here?]
[Why did her expression change like that the moment Ning Rongrong left?]
[Did something happen?]
[Something's wrong...]
[...]
Everyone expressed their confusion.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, the person involved, didn't understand what was happening to her. Why did she deliberately send Ning Rongrong away?
But soon, as the video played, everyone finally knew the reason.
In the video.
Under the cover of night, Zhu Zhuqing transformed into a black shadow, moving through the city as fast as lightning. It seemed as though she was avoiding something.
Soon, when she arrived at a rather secluded area, she suddenly stopped. This was because a black figure was blocking her path ahead.
At this moment, the dark clouds covering the moon in the sky quietly dispersed. Soft moonlight shone down, allowing everyone in the Live Broadcast Room to clearly see what the black figure looked like.
The person was entirely enveloped in black clothes, even wearing a black hood over their head. From their appearance, one could only tell it was a tall man.
"You've been secretly spying on me this whole time. What do you want!" Zhu Zhuqing's body tensed. Her Spirit's instinct told her that the Black-clothed Person before her was extremely dangerous! His strength absolutely far surpassed her imagination.
At this point, everyone in the Live Broadcast Room also understood the reason for Zhu Zhuqing's unusual actions earlier.
[So she sensed someone lurking in the dark.]
[Yeah, she deliberately sent Ning Rongrong away so as not to implicate her.]
[This girl is good, worth befriending.]
[But who is this shady character in black, concealing his identity?]
[I think I've somewhat guessed who this person is...]
[No way...]
[No matter what, it shouldn't be...]
Moon Pavilion.
Unlike others, almost the moment the Black-clothed Person appeared, Tang Yuehua recognized him as her second brother, who had been missing for many years. At the same time, considering all the preceding events and the previously revealed video, she secretly had a guess about the boy's identity.
'Alas, Hao, after so many years, why have you fallen to such a state?' Tang Yuehua sighed in her heart, feeling a sense of disillusionment.
Tang Hao's actions were simply too far removed from the upright and formidable second brother she remembered. When did the dignified Haotian Douluo stoop so low as to pick on a young girl? Moreover, that was a fair and open fight on the Spirit Dueling Stage, not a sneak attack. This... Alas.
Shaking her head, Tang Yuehua continued watching.
In the video.
The Black-clothed Person, dressed in black and wearing a hood—making it clear at first glance that he was not a good person—did not answer Zhu Zhuqing's challenge. Instead, he spoke to himself, "The boy you injured on the Spirit Dueling Stage today is my son. I was an unfit father, never really caring for him since he was young..."
"You came for this?" Zhu Zhuqing impatiently interrupted his soliloquy, stating coldly, "On the Spirit Dueling Stage, soul skills are indiscriminate. If you're afraid of getting injured, why step onto the stage?"
"What do you want? Just say it!" She already realized that tonight would not end peacefully.
After all, since this person before her was shamelessly willing to bully someone younger, anything she said would likely be useless.
"..."
The Black-clothed Person paused. Clearly, he hadn't expected the girl before him to be completely fearless in his presence, even daring to question him back.
[Shameless, utterly shameless!]
[This Black-clothed Person is simply too shameless!]
[Just because his son lost on the Spirit Dueling Stage, he comes to trouble a young girl?]
[A person like this is destined to achieve nothing...]
[Ptooey! Disgusting!]
[...]
A string of bullet comments filled with disdain for the Black-clothed Person.
This made Tang Hao, the person in question, flush and pale with anger. He wanted to curse but held it back. Regarding his actions in the video, he could actually understand them upon reflection. After all, looking at Tang San, he was clearly seriously injured; it wasn't just a minor wound.
His son was beaten. How could a father not step up?
Especially since Tang Hao had been self-loathing for years, essentially "free-ranging" Tang San from a young age and giving up on himself. It wasn't until his Spirit Awakening that he regained his confidence. Because of this, he already felt guilty toward his son and wanted to compensate him in every way. Now seeing his son so severely injured, he naturally wouldn't stand for it.
Therefore, Tang Hao wasn't surprised that his future self would seek trouble with Zhu Zhuqing. Based on his own temperament, he truly might do it. As for bullying the younger being shameful and lacking the pride of an expert... that once-indomitable Tang Hao had already died along with his wife on the day of her sacrifice.
All that remained now was a lingering, broken shell.
To vent his son's anger, what did it matter if he bullied someone younger just once?
...
In the video.
The Black-clothed Person was clearly choked speechless by Zhu Zhuqing's well-reasoned words. After a while, he finally said, "Injuries during sparring on the Spirit Dueling Stage are inevitable. However, for someone so young, your strike was so malicious that my son nearly lost his life." As he spoke, he recalled the injuries Tang San had sustained and the poison that covered his body. If not for timely treatment, he feared...
This girl didn't look old, yet her strike was so vicious. If his son hadn't been so lucky as to avoid vital spots, he might have already... Thinking of this, the Black-clothed Person's anger flared up instantly!
(end of chapter)