After saying those words, Tang San lowered his head deeply, not daring to look at Xiao Wu.
"Three questions, all answered correctly," the voice said.
Hearing this, Tang San and Tang Hao both breathed a sigh of relief.
The last questioner was Xiao Wu.
"First question—how do you view your husband, Tang San?"
Hearing this, Tang San immediately raised his head to look at Xiao Wu. He wanted to know how Xiao Wu saw him in her heart.
"He's a man with an extremely strong possessive desire, yet utterly useless, a disgusting piece of trash!" Xiao Wu said, giving Tang San a look of contempt.
In an instant, Ah San suffered a mental blow.
"Second question—as a wife, have you ever fulfilled your responsibilities as one? Have you ever had relations with your husband and borne children for him?"
"No. I've never once been with him, let alone borne him children. Tang San isn't worthy!" Xiao Wu said without hesitation.
The heavenly curtain continued:
"Third question—after taking human form, how many men have you been with? How many green hats have you placed on your husband's head?"
"Ten." Xiao Wu said proudly, almost like flaunting an achievement. "If we're counting men, that's ten hats. If we're counting times… well, Xiao Wu's lost count."
When the three questions ended, two miserable baboon-like cries rang out within the space of the Love Trial.
Tang Hao roared furiously:
"Xiao Wu, you slut! My Xiao San is such an outstanding man, destined to become a god! Remember this—it's not that he isn't worthy of you, it's you who isn't worthy of him. Xiao San even considered you, let you become my Tang family's daughter-in-law, step into our household—that was your fortune! Yet you weren't content, and instead sought wild men behind his back!"
"Xiao Wu, you—" Tang San said bitterly, filled with regret. "You must be doing this deliberately to anger me, right? I know you have grievances with me, but you can't just deny all those nights we spent together."
Xiao Wu first looked at Tang Hao, laughing mockingly:
"Hahaha, how ridiculous! Dead rat, didn't you hear just now? Your little brat admitted it—his so-called love for me was never pure. Don't think I don't know—he approached me only for the Asura God's Sword Scabbard. And I am the Scabbard. Without me, you two would never have opened the Asura God's trials. I am the bearer of the Asura God! Remember this—I never had any interest in your brat. On the contrary, your brat clung to me like a mangy dog!"
"You… you dare call me a dead rat?!" Tang Hao said furiously.
"And you wouldn't even call me Ah San giegie?" Tang San suffered yet another mental blow.
Then Xiao Wu turned to Tang San:
"And you, rat Ah San… I'm not afraid to tell you now. I've never once been with you. All those memories you have are nothing but illusions."
"Illusions?" Tang San froze. He remembered every night after their marriage—so real. He quickly shook his head. "No, impossible. You're lying to me, aren't you?"
"Of course, you can think I'm lying," Xiao Wu sneered. "But little brat, if your memories are real, then how come after so many times with me, not a single one of the seven seeds in my me belonged to you? Doesn't that mean you're utterly useless?"
Tang Hao was stunned. Tang San's face darkened, his lips trembling as he pointed shakily at Xiao Wu:
"No… this can't be true. You must be trying to anger me. You must be!"
Tang San raised his head to the heavenly curtain:
"Tell me, what Xiao Wu said must be false, right?"
The heavenly curtain responded coldly:
"Three questions, all answered correctly. Now officially entering the second round."
Tang San's mind instantly crashed.
He thought back on all the happy moments since his rebirth—his wedding night with Xiao Wu, having children with her. When he discovered the children weren't his, his heart had already shattered once. And now? You're telling him even the wedding night itself was an illusion??
"Second round rules: within thirty minutes, the God Candidate may ask the two participants questions. For every question asked, participants must answer truthfully. False answers will result in punishment from the God Trial space."
After hearing the rules, Tang San calmed down. The first round had left him full of doubts, and this second round finally gave him a chance to find the answers.
He first looked at Xiao Wu. He didn't know what had happened to her in this life to turn her into this. But he had a feeling—the truth wasn't something he could endure.
So, he decided to save his questions for Xiao Wu until last.
Tang San turned to his father and asked:
"Dad, my first question for you—what exactly happened between you and my mother?"
At this, Tang Hao's gaze wavered slightly, but in the end, he said:
"Xiao San… I hadn't planned to let you know so soon. But… sigh, fine. Your mother… she should've loved me, Tang Hao. But I don't know what trick that bastard Tang Xiao used, what kind of spell he put on her, to make her love him so much all her life. So…"
Tang San's face darkened. He recalled the words he'd once heard in his father's heart.
"So… you mean I was conceived when my mother was unwilling?"
"Yes!" Tang Hao said firmly. "Xiao San, you have to understand me. I truly loved Ah Yin. She should've loved me back! How could I possibly let Tang Xiao, that bastard, have her?"
On the side, Xiao Wu mocked him in Tang Hao's own tone:
"Only by possessing Ah Yin can Xiao San remain my son. When Xiao San becomes a god, I can reclaim my place as Lord of the Dimension, ruling over the fate of all beings. So I must have Ah Yin—even if I use the dirtiest, most despicable means!"
Tang San's face turned as black as coal. He staggered back two steps. He had heard these words before—they were supposed to belong to Qian Xunji! How could his father say them? If that were true, then how would his mother view him, Tang San? Wasn't this supposed to be Qian Renxue's fate? Why had it fallen upon him instead?
"Xiao San… I never dared tell you before. I only wanted to wait until after you became a god. I hoped you could revive Ah Yin and make her the Ah Yin I once knew. You should understand me, shouldn't you?" Tang Hao said.
"Dad… let me think. I need to calm down." Tang San held his forehead.
It took Tang San quite a while before he finally calmed down.
Of course, he harbored resentment toward his father. Yet Tang San could also understand him — because in many ways, they shared the same feelings.
In his previous life, he and Xiao Wu, his father and mother, had been deeply in love, living in harmony, united as the Tang family. Together, they had taken control of the entire Douluo Continent, turning it into the Tang Clan's domain. If not for Huo Yuhao, that ungrateful traitor, they would have transformed the God Realm into a Tang family dynasty.
But after his rebirth, everything was different. Xiao Wu no longer loved him, and his mother no longer loved his father.
Tang San could understand his father's yearning to restore Ah Yin into the woman whose heart had been entirely his. It was the same as his own desire to make Xiao Wu once again the girl who had only him in her eyes.
To accomplish this, the only path was to become the Asura God. This realization made Tang San's determination to achieve godhood even firmer.
"Xiao San…" Tang Hao looked at him, his voice guilty and uncertain.
"Father, I understand you," Tang San said softly.
"Xiao San, you are my pride. I'm so glad to have such an obedient and sensible son." Tang Hao spoke with deep emotion.
Across dozens of meters, father and son staged a moving picture of familial affection.
But the harmony was shattered by Xiao Wu's mocking voice:
"What a disgusting sight. Little vermin, you really are that old rat's son after all. Like father, like son — a vile father gives birth to a vile child. The son of a rapist is nothing but a rapist in waiting!"
"Xiao Wu, no, that's not what I meant!" Tang San hurried to explain.
"Xiao Wu, do you hold a grudge against my Tang family? Those weren't my words, and I am not a rapist! What I feel for Ah Yin is slow, patient love!" Tang Hao angrily defended himself, terrified that his son might misunderstand.
"Hmph, an explanation is just a cover-up," Xiao Wu sneered.
Tang San took a deep breath and said, "Xiao Wu, I'm not what you think I am."
He invoked the authority of the second round of the divine trial's questioning and asked:
"Xiao Wu, I want to know — why do you see me this way? Where does your prejudice against me come from?"
Xiao Wu looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you really want to know the answer?"
"I'm sure! Tell me. What have I done wrong? I'll change, isn't that enough?" Tang San asked desperately.
Xiao Wu laughed bitterly. "Since you want to know, I'll tell you. Have you heard the saying, love me, love my house? It means if you love someone, you also love everything connected to them. The reverse is also true: hate me, hate my house. If you hate someone, you hate everything tied to them."
At that moment, Xiao Wu no longer hid her feelings. She looked at Tang Hao with eyes full of hatred and said:
"I hate Tang Hao. Naturally, I hate everything connected to him."
Tang San froze. Tang Hao's pupils trembled violently.
Xiao Wu turned back to Tang San and said:
"So, Tang San, you've done nothing wrong. The only mistake you've ever made is being Tang Hao's son. That is your original sin. I could never, ever fall in love with the son of my mortal enemy."
"You… you…" Tang Hao pointed at Xiao Wu, stammering as if he had seen a ghost.
Tang San looked at his father, then at Xiao Wu, in disbelief.
In his heart, Tang San suddenly realized something, but he refused to accept it.
"Xiao Wu, what are you saying? Why would you hate my father? When did my father become your enemy? Isn't your true enemy Spirit Hall?"
Xiao Wu retorted coldly:
"Little vermin, don't delude yourself. Who told you Spirit Hall was my real enemy? Yes, Spirit Hall took my mother's spirit bone — but that doesn't mean I don't know who my true enemy is. As for why, you shouldn't ask me. You should ask your precious father — ask him where his ninth spirit ring came from!"
"Ninth spirit ring?" Tang San turned his head toward Tang Hao, already suspecting something, though he refused to accept it. "Father, your ninth spirit ring came from my mother's sacrifice, right? Right?!"
"Xiao San…" Tang Hao glanced at his son, then quickly shifted his gaze away.
"Answer me, Father!" Tang San pressed him with divine trial authority.
Tang Hao had no choice but to say:
"Xiao… Xiao San, your mother sacrificed herself for Tang Xiao. My ninth spirit ring… was a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit."
"A hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit?!" Tang San's face darkened.
If he remembered correctly, aside from Xiao Wu herself, there had only ever been one other hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit in the Star Dou Great Forest — Xiao Wu's mother.
But in his past life, Xiao Wu's mother had clearly died at Spirit Hall's hands. Why? Why was it different now? How had his father become the killer of the mother of the girl he loved most?!
Tang San's eyes turned bloodshot. He gasped for breath like an enraged bull and shouted at Tang Hao:
"Father! You must have known she was Xiao Wu's mother. Why did you kill her? Why?! Why—"
Why? I didn't know! Back then, in my past life's memories, I never knew Xiao Wu even had a mother… Tang Hao's face twisted with pain.
"Why? Isn't it obvious?" Xiao Wu's voice was sharp and merciless. "Your beast of a father is nothing but a hypocritical, vile scum. In his eyes, if a hundred-thousand-year soul beast is useful, then she's just a breeding tool — and he dares to call that love. But if she's no longer useful, he kills her without hesitation to take her spirit ring and spirit bone!"
"So no, it's not that I don't love you. It's that I cannot love you. You are the son of my mother's killer. Tell me, how could I possibly love you?" Xiao Wu struck Tang San with blow after blow.
Tang San's face grew darker by the moment, while Tang Hao was drenched in cold sweat. Finally, unable to bear it, Tang Hao roared at Xiao Wu:
"Enough, Xiao Wu! I admit your mother's death is my fault. But Xiao San has never wronged you! You gave him a green hat, you made him the laughingstock of the world — isn't that revenge enough? I know you carry hatred in your heart. After I realized she was your mother, I searched for ways to resolve this grudge. If Xiao San can ascend as a god — if he takes the seat of the Asura God — then he will be able to revive your mother! Isn't that enough? Why can't you let go of the past?!"
"Heh." Xiao Wu let out a cold laugh. "Tang Hao, you make it sound so easy. You kill my mother, and then with a single promise of future resurrection, you think the debt is settled?
And besides, your son — that little vermin — can only become a god because of me. I, Xiao Wu, am the Scabbard of the Asura God's Sword!"
"Your son's so-called love for me is mixed with nothing but calculation. He pursues me because I am the Scabbard. He uses me to claim the divine seat, then uses that to revive my mother, and finally wants me to bear children for your Tang family. And you think this blood debt is erased so easily?"