"Someone"s here to see me?" Tang Wulin was rather perplexed to see this.
"It"s a middle-aged man who looks to be in his forties, and he"s... not all that great to look at," Yang Nianxia replied with a peculiar expression.
"Alright, thanks for informing me of that; where is he right now?" Tang Wulin asked.
"I took him to the conference room. There"s something kind of off about him; I can"t detect his exact cultivation rank," Yang Nianxia said.
"Oh?" Yang Nianxia was already very close to the Soul Douluo level, so for him to be unable to detect the visitor"s cultivation rank indicated that there was a very good chance that this man was at least a t.i.tled Douluo. Who could it be?
In any case, this was Shrek Academy so he had nothing to worry about. Thus, Tang Wulin went to the conference room in the academy"s main school building.
As soon as caught sight of the man in the conference room, he was immediately rooted to the spot. Never did he think that it would be this man who had come to see him.
"Tong Yu? Why are you here?"
The man sitting in the conference room had a layer of fine five-colored scales all over his face, and Yang Nianxia"s description of his appearance had been very flattering. The man had already sensed Tang Wulin"s arrival, and he stood up as soon as Tang Wulin entered the room.
"I had no choice but to come! I came here to ask you something."
The man was none other than Qilin Douluo Tongyu, whom Tang Wulin had faced in one of the matches of the Trial of Five G.o.ds.
Never did Tang Wulin think that he would meet this man again.
Tong Yu was looking rather exhausted, and this clearly wasn"t normal for a Limit Douluo like him.
"Please take a seat, and feel free to ask me anything you"d like." Tang Wulin hurriedly invited Tong Yu to take a seat before also sitting down himself. He was very curious about why Tong Yue had come to see him.
Tong Yu was a Limit Douluo with a tragic past, and in order to atone for his past sins, he had been willing to acc.u.mulate all of his power into a Five-elemental Qilin Bead to be given to the victim"s son. However, Tang Wulin had stopped him, while Yali had saved his life.
Wasn"t he supposed to be searching for the son of his past lover?
Just as these thoughts were running through Tang Wulin"s mind, Tongyu asked him a question that completely rooted him to the spot. "Is your father"s name Tang Ziran?"
Tang Wulin immediately sat bolt upright upon hearing this, and a wary look appeared in his eyes. "Why do you ask?"
A wry smile appeared on Tong Yu"s face. "I bear no ill will; I just want to know if your father"s name is Tang Ziran."
Tang Wulin"s brows furrowed slightly as he replied, "That"s right."
Tong Yu suddenly slapped a hand to his own forehead, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes. "Why must fate be so cruel!"
Tang Wulin was rather perplexed to see this, but an astonis.h.i.+ng thought then slowly occurred to him, and his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Surely not..."
Tong Yu turned to Tang Wulin with a complex expression, and said, "I"m afraid so. Your father is the person I"m searching for."
Tang Wulin immediately rose to his feet with incredulity in his eyes, and he stared blankly at Tong Yu, unsure of what to say.
His father was the person Tong Yu was searching for? That would mean that his grandmother was Tong Yu"s past lover!
Memories of his childhood immediately began to surface in his mind, and he recalled that his father never seemed to have mentioned his grandparents, nor did he seem to have any relatives.
His mother had been an orphan, so it was normal that he didn"t have any relatives on his mother"s side, but whenever he asked about his grandparents, his father would always turn as pale as a sheet, as if some type of traumatic memory had been triggered, so eventually, Tang Wulin didn"t dare to ask anymore.
Tang Wulin was at a complete loss for what to do. All of a sudden, Tong Yu had become the person who had murdered his grandmother in cold blood!
However, he couldn"t help but recall what Tong Yu had said back in the Star Luo Empire. Who could be blamed for this tragedy? Who was at fault? Was it Tong Yu? Was it his grandmother? Or was it... fate?
The two of them stared at one another, and neither of them knew what to say.
After a long while, Tong Yu sighed, "Sect Master Tang, there"s no need for you to feel troubled by this situation. I"ve been constantly searching, so I"m sure you can tell that I"m sincere in my quest for atonement. When I first arrived on the Douluo Continent, I had no idea where to go. Finally, I discovered some leads and began to follow them, and I tracked down an academy that you had been to in the past. After that, I went to your former home, and I met a blacksmith there, who told me your name."
Tang Wulin immediately became rather anxious upon hearing this. "You didn"t hurt him, did you?"
Tong Yu hurriedly replied, "Of course not. However, I lied to him by telling him that I was a senior of Tang Ziran"s, and that I was paying him a visit after many years. He told me that Tang Ziran and his wife had disappeared long ago, but you were at Shrek Academy and are the current Tang Sect Master. I could tell that he was very proud of you."
"He"s my teacher," Tang Wulin said.
Tong Yu sighed, "You know about my past; fate sure can be cruel! To think that this would all be over if I had just given my Five-elemental Qilin Bead to you back then. I only have one wish: please allow me to see Tang Ziran. I want to repent to him, and after that, he can do with me as he sees fit."
Tang Wulin was still completely stunned by this situation.
Tong Yu had clearly been very relieved to hear that his father was Tang Ziran, as if a ma.s.sive weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but Tang Wulin wasn"t very happy to see this.
His first impression of Tong Yu was one of empathy, so even though it was his own grandmother who was the victim of this tragedy, he didn"t really hate Tong Yu.
"My father has already pa.s.sed away," Tang Wulin replied. He knew that Tang Ziran had most likely been resurrected in another world, but the fact of the matter was that he was completely unable to contact his foster father.
"How did he die? Was it because of me?" Tong Yu exclaimed.
Tang Wulin replied, "It had nothing to do with you. If he had pa.s.sed away due to your actions, I wouldn"t even exist right now. Both of my parents perished by the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult"s Blood Demon."
Tong Yu completely slumped back into his chair upon hearing this. He had been searching for so long, only to receive such a tragic answer, and his face had turned completely pale. "How could he have pa.s.sed away? I won"t even have a chance to repent now! Why must fate be so cruel to me? Can"t I even die on my own terms? Why can"t I have an opportunity to atone for my crimes?"
Tang Wulin didn"t know what to say. If Tong Yu really had been a brazen criminal, then the decision would be simple: he would avenge his own grandmother at all costs. However, was Tong Yu really at fault?
Besides, Tong Yu wanted nothing more than to die; he would most likely instantly take his own life if Tang Wulin told him to do so, and ironically, that placed Tang Wulin at a complete loss for what to do.