Seeing Tang San standing there dumbfounded, Lin Mu sighed helplessly and explained, "Little San, your mother was originally a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form. She had already reached maturity and was almost indistinguishable from a human."
"However... due to a sudden crisis, she had to sacrifice herself to your father, resulting in the loss of all her cultivation and life force, which is why she became what she is now."
Hearing this, Tang San remained dazed, completely lost.
He actually possessed a portion of soul beast blood within him... how could he accept this?
Suddenly, Tang San thought of a crucial question. He looked up at Lin Mu and asked, "Master, since this Blue Silver Grass is my mother, why did Father place her in this dark, sunless cave?"
"Your father must have had his reasons for doing so, likely safety. As for whether it was right or wrong, I cannot say for sure; it is up to you to discern."
Lin Mu said calmly.
Just like when Tang San questioned Tang Hao's neglect last time, Lin Mu did not intend to make the decision for Tang San. This kind of choice regarding family ties had to be made by Tang San himself.
Hearing these familiar words, Tang San fell silent.
Every time the question of his father arose, his master always left it to him to decide. But as a son, how could he judge his father's actions?
At this moment, he desperately wanted his master to make the decision for him.
Even if it meant severing his father-son relationship, he felt he wouldn't hesitate; in his heart, his master was the only elder truly worthy of respect.
"Little San, whatever decision you make, I will support you."
Lin Mu said softly, patting Tang San's shoulder.
Hearing this, Tang San felt reassured. For him, gaining his master's support was paramount.
After calming himself, Tang San took a deep breath and asked in a heavy voice, "Master, what exactly happened back then? Why did Mother sacrifice herself to Father?"
"This matter involves Spirit Hall, and I know part of it."
After a pause, Lin Mu chose not to hide anything and explained in detail: "Back then, for some reason, your mother's identity as a soul beast was exposed and discovered by Spirit Hall."
"You also know the value of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. For a Spirit Master, whether it's a soul ring or a soul bone, they are priceless treasures. However, the strength of transformed soul beasts is relatively weak during their growth period, which naturally attracted the greed of Spirit Hall."
"Therefore, the previous Pope dispatched a large number of high-level Spirit Masters to hunt down your father and mother. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides."
"In the end, faced with a desperate situation, your mother chose to sacrifice herself to become your father's ninth soul ring. Your father's strength increased greatly as a result; he severely injured the previous Pope and broke through the encirclement."
As Lin Mu recounted the story, Tang San's face grew increasingly grim.
Although his mother was a transformed soul beast, she sacrificed everything to protect them. On the other hand, what about that slovenly father of his?
He not only neglected his son for years but also abandoned his wife's remains in such a desolate place. A surge of anger flashed in Tang San's eyes as he thought of Spirit Hall, his heart filled with growing hatred.
"Master," Tang San said, his tone hardening, "you told me that once a transformed soul beast reaches maturity, it's essentially no different from a human."
"Even so," he continued, his voice deep with resentment, "Spirit Hall still hunted and harmed my mother. Shouldn't I seek revenge?"
Even knowing the deep-seated hatred, Tang San wasn't blinded by it completely; he sought Lin Mu's guidance.
"Little San," Lin Mu said, his tone shifting to a serious one, "you must understand that conflict isn't limited to humans and soul beasts. Humans also have their share of internal struggles, especially those concerning power and interests."
He added, "I'm not saying this to make you give up your hatred, but to caution you against involving innocent people in your vengeance. If you want revenge against the specific people in Spirit Hall responsible, I will definitely stand by you."
Although Lin Mu had a relationship with Qian Renxue, it didn't mean he would support Spirit Hall blindly. As long as Bibi Dong remained in power, he would stand on the opposite side of Spirit Hall.
Seeing his master's concern for his moral compass, Tang San was deeply moved and promised, "Master, don't worry. I definitely won't harm innocent people because of personal grudges."
"Good."
Lin Mu patted Tang San's shoulder and smiled slightly.
At this moment, the completion rate of his main quest increased visibly, reaching 55%. He received a system reward: Increase the age of any soul ring by 10,000 years.
Compared to his previous hesitation, Lin Mu was very decisive this time and directly added the age to his second soul ring.
There were only two yellow soul rings left on his configuration. If he kept them, it would feel strange compared to the black and red ones. Now that there was only one yellow ring left, if he got the same reward again, he could strengthen his entire configuration to be ten thousand years or higher.
Just as Lin Mu was internally managing his upgrades, Tang San suddenly realized something.
"Master... I think Spirit Hall is only partly responsible for making Mother like this."
Tang San said very seriously.
"According to what you said, my mother had already entered the mature stage and should no longer have the soul beast aura. Why did Spirit Hall know about her? It was clearly because Father failed to protect her identity well enough."
"So what do you plan to do?"
Lin Mu neither agreed nor disagreed but looked calmly at Tang San.
From his personal perspective, Tang Hao was unqualified as both a father and a husband; that much was undeniable.
But there was a problem: although Tang San was an orphan in his previous life, his mindset was heavily influenced by the Tang Sect's ancient traditions, which demanded absolute filial piety. If Lin Mu forcibly interfered, it might backfire.
In such a crucial moment, he could only leave the decision to Tang San.
"Master... I plan to confront Father directly when I see him. I want to ask him why he didn't protect Mother."
By the end of the sentence, Tang San's confidence was clearly lacking.
Seeing this, Lin Mu frowned slightly, feeling a little disappointed. But then he thought that it was unrealistic to expect Tang San to completely disobey Tang Hao based on this one revelation alone.
So, Lin Mu reached out and patted Tang San's shoulder, saying, "Whatever you decide, I will support you."
"Thank you, Master."
Tang San gave a bitter smile, noticing the fleeting disappointment in Lin Mu's eyes.
Clearly, his almost cowardly behavior had disappointed his master, but Lin Mu, for his sake, didn't show it openly.
"Alright, we'll talk about these things later. Right now, let's consider the possibility of resurrecting your mother."
"What?!"
"Your mother lives in a place like this, unable to receive sunlight, and cannot grow at all. If we move her to a place full of vitality, like the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, she will have a chance to recover her cultivation and transform again."
Hearing this, Tang San's eyes lit up with hope. 'Does that mean I still have a chance to reunite with my mother?'
Compared to the irresponsible Tang Hao, his master was incredibly kind, not only thinking of his well-being in every way but even helping his mother recover.
Now, a certain thought in Tang San's heart grew stronger.
'How wonderful it would be if Master were my father...'