Chapter 105: Evil deeds lead to evil consequences, even death is hard to stop. Jealousy raged within him…

"How could I, Hu Guangdao, have such an idiotic son like you!" The young man named Hu Guangdao knocked over the cups on the table and threw the book in his hand at the kneeling child, seething with rage. "Other children your age, you idiot pig, have already passed the entrance exam to the academy. But you, I've taught you step by step, word by word, and yet, in the end, it's like playing the lute to a cow; you still don't know a thing! You're as stupid as a pig!"

The kneeling boy didn't dodge, and the book hit him on the head, leaving a bloody mark. The spilled tea flowed down the edge of the table and dripped onto the ground. The boy lowered his head and brows, watching the tea gather into a thin line.

"If it weren't for you, your mother wouldn't be dead. If your mother had known she'd given birth to such a fool, she wouldn't have had you!"

The boy heard these words more than once. Even for an adult, these words would be enough to hurt, let alone a six-year-old child.

When Hu Shuo first heard these words, his eyes widened, unable to believe they came from a father's mouth. This look earned him a beating from his father. From then on, whenever Hu Guangdao scolded him, he lowered his head and remained silent. Only this way would he receive fewer beatings.

After this curse, Hu Guangdao walked away with his hands behind his back.

Hu Shuo slowly stood up, rubbed his numb knees, and picked up the broken teacup on the floor. As he picked up the book, he suddenly remembered what his elders had said behind his back.

His mother hadn't given birth to him—

"Our Hu family has produced exceptionally gifted cultivators in every generation. How could we have such a loser like Hu Shuo? He's incapable of teaching anything. He even drove his mother away."

"His mother, Li Rulan, was truly remarkable. A once-in-a-century cultivation genius, she could even discern a person's innate wisdom at a glance. After giving birth to Hu Shuo, she took only one look at him and passed away a few days later. The letter she left behind was very blunt, explaining that she had yet to achieve the Great Dao and had no time to teach a child whose spiritual roots were yet to blossom."

Hu Shuo returned the book to its place, then pulled another from the shelf and opened it, unable to comprehend a single word. His mind was still swirling with the words he'd overheard that day.

He knew that after his mother left home, she quickly adopted a child as her adopted son. The reason was simple: the child was gifted beyond the average, a once-in-a-century cultivation genius, just like his mother, Li Rulan.

Later, his mother died in battle, trying to save her adopted son. I heard that the adopted son inherited his mother's legacy, upholding justice, helping the weak and fighting the strong, constantly questioning and practicing the principles his mother steadfastly upheld.

His mother would die to save a blood relative, but wouldn't stay alive for her own child. Did she really resent him so much?

Hu Shuo, watching the dampness spreading across the paper, pondered silently.

Can the child of a genius only be a genius?

His hand, turning the pages, paused on a page in the Analects, his expression darkening.

Hu Shuo also knew that his father had given the unborn child a meaningful name during pregnancy. But after his mother passed away, the name was forgotten.

The original name belonged not to him, but to the child they had hoped for.

And he, who had caused their hopes to be dashed, deserved only to be casually called Hu Shuo. There was no meaning behind it; it was simply because his father hated people who talked nonsense the most.

In other words, his father hated him.

Some things are fine when considered vaguely, but when unraveled, they are always heartbreaking and distressing.

In the past, Hu Shuo would always curl up in the corner of his bed with his pillow in the dead of night, counting the stars outside the window until dawn.

He was afraid of the dark and dared not sleep alone.

But because no one cared, he had no one to talk to.

The days passed one by one. Hu Shuo grew up to six years old and faced his first major exam. As expected, he failed. His father's disappointed eyes were more angry than before.

Closing the book, Hu Shuo looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the window and listened quietly to the footsteps of someone coming. It was his father.

Why is he here again? Hasn't he beaten enough? Do I need to kneel again...

Hu Shuo looked up and met his father's eyes as he stood at the door.

Hu Guangdao left a sentence "Report to Wuya Academy tomorrow" and left in a hurry.

He always walked quickly and never looked back.

Hu Shuo looked out the window again woodenly. Just do what he said.

After entering the academy, Hu Shuo learned the reason for his access to this sacred place coveted by all cultivators. The academy's Elder Feng Yi claimed to be able to transform rotten wood into miracles, and he also advocated tailoring his teaching to each student's aptitude, encouraging them to embrace virtue.

Everyone inside and outside the academy, upon learning of this, praised Elder Feng Yi as a truly kindhearted person, devoting his energy to teaching a hopeless loser.

Upon hearing this, Elder Feng Yi would smile softly, "He's only six years old! How can you jump to conclusions?"

Such words were truly moving. Hu Shuo, who had never been recognized before, felt a surge of freshness in his dry heart when someone spoke up for him. He thought he was about to be saved, but he never expected to enter another level of hell.

Elder Feng Yi's tailored teaching method was to praise his bright disciples and punish the foolish ones with beatings and scolding.

All the cultivators admitted to Wuya Academy were truly exceptional. With the exception of Hu Shuo, this was done to demonstrate the kindness of those in high positions.

Hu Shuo was the child who received the most punishments.

Elder Feng Yi, who beat him, would use magic to erase the wounds on his body after he felt vented, so that others could not tell that he had been injured. He also put a silencing spell on him, not allowing him to tell anyone.

Hypocrisy.

Beast.

Every time Hu Shuo saw the gentle smile of Elder Feng Yi, his master, these two words would pop up in his mind. Many times when he was beaten so badly, he always wanted to jump off the cliff to get rid of it, but Wuya Academy had a barrier and he could not get out. In the academy, he was under surveillance everywhere.

The desire to die became stronger and stronger, and it became harder and harder to suppress it.

Until he met Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua. After

returning from hunting, the sisters and brothers heard that a little brother had come to the academy, so they went to visit him with treasures they had found from the hometown of monsters and goblins.

This was the first time Hu Shuo received a gift, and he was so nervous that he didn't know what to do.

Mu Wanzhou noticed his awkwardness and smiled, letting him accept it. He then instructed, "If you have any difficulties, come to me. If you're bullied by other cultivators, come even more. Senior Sister will teach them a lesson for you!"

"Don't forget me, Senior Brother. I'll help you too," Wen Hua said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile.

Hu Shuo thought it was just politeness, as he firmly believed that help never came without reason. He remained wary of them and kept a respectful distance.

However, when he was later bullied by a group of cultivators, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua actually taught them a lesson. After discovering his fear of the dark, Wen Hua even moved into his room, making the excuse that her own room was infested with rats and uninhabitable.

During their daily practice, the two learned the skills incredibly quickly. Once they mastered them, they would tirelessly teach him, never showing any impatience. Even if they failed, they would simply blame themselves, declaring them unfit to be masters.

Despite this, they would still continue teaching the next day.

Hu Shuo's guard gradually relaxed, and he wanted to know why Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua were so dedicated to helping and protecting him.

It wasn't until nightfall one day that he finally found out.

He'd caught a cold and gone to bed early. Thirsty at night, he got up for a drink and heard voices on the rooftop. The academy was encircled by a barrier, preventing anyone but the monks from entering. Hu Shuo's heart went on high alert, fearing a bad guy had sneaked in. He listened carefully, realizing it was the voices of Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua.

"Our junior brother is truly miserable. Neither his father nor his mother loves him. What's the difference between him and the two of us who lost our parents young?" Wen Hua sighed. "We can at least still imagine that if our parents were still alive, they would have loved us dearly—but junior brother can't. His father is still alive, and his mother is a renowned chivalrous warrior, a martyr who sacrificed her life for the cause. You must have heard all the stories about her."

Wen Hua quietly put his arm around Mu Wanzhou's shoulders. "Abandoned by his own mother, ignored by his clan and his father, can you imagine how heartbroken he must be?"

Gazing at the starry sky, Mu Wanzhou slapped her hand off her shoulder and stood up. "We must treat our junior brother well, treating him like our own brother."

Cultivators admitted to Wuya Academy required not only natural talent but also a wealthy family to support their cultivation expenses. Wuya Academy's current size was due not only to the rewards earned from exorcising demons but also to donations from the families of the resident cultivators.

Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua were unlike the other cultivators at the academy. Their families had perished in the brutal slaughter of foreign enemies, and they were rescued by a Taoist priest who had come to avenge their grievances and deliver their souls. The Taoist priest brought them to Wuya Academy, where Elder Feng Yi, recognizing their exceptional spiritual roots and remarkable aptitude, admitted them as true prodigies.

The two remained at the academy, and in addition to their daily training, they were tasked with more tasks than their fellow disciples—dispelling demons, slaying evil spirits, and searching for spiritual treasures. They took on any job that paid well, often returning wounded.

Only in this way could they meet the required spirit stone payments and establish themselves at the academy.

Mu Wanzhou leaped from the roof and peered inside.

Hu Shuo and the two were different, yet in many ways, they were alike.

Flirting in his bed, Hu Shuo listened to the two men's footsteps receding, and his doubts finally resolved.

It was out of sympathy.

He actually disliked sympathy. But if it was them, as long as they didn't leave him, whatever emotions or intentions they harbored towards him was fine. He could accept it.

After that night, the three of them grew closer than ever. They promised to be lifelong family, never leaving each other.

But later, overwhelmed with love, and having repaid their master's debt, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua asked to leave the sect. Hu Shuo stayed, saying he couldn't let his father down. They promised him they would visit often.

The first time the three of them met after their separation, Wen Gu was born. Mu Wanzhou, holding the then-infant Wen Gu, smiled and said to Hu, "This kid tortured me so much when he was in my belly."

The smile on Mu Wanzhou's face was the most dazzling Hu Shuo had ever seen, more dazzling than a blooming flower, a sight that made it impossible to look away.

Hu Shuo looked down at the swaddled boy, his smile frozen.

Jealousy surged within him.

So this is what a mother's love is like.

So the smile a mother gives her child is captivating.

So a mother can love her child.

He had never experienced all of this before.

Why had his mother abandoned him at birth and fled far away?

Hu Shuo, who had seized Elder Feng Yi's discerning eye, could also see and hear, and therefore possessed a natural talent even greater than his parents'.

Why—

his parents had abandoned their master for him, willingly forsaking years of achievement and fame. And he, too, had inherited their supreme gifts.

A child of genius truly is a genius.

Hu Shuo silently lowered his head, then slowly raised it again, congratulating and bidding farewell with an exaggerated smile. As he departed, he vowed to achieve his own path.

He must not allow this little bastard to steal all the attention of his senior brothers

and sisters. He was their only family left in the world, and he could only be theirs.

Hu Shuo had done so much for this.

The crowd, observing the gossip within the lantern painting, now looked at each other in bewilderment, speechless.

They all knew what Hu Shuo would do later.

After coming out of the lantern painting, Ye Qingzhan supported Wen Gu and looked at Dr. Fox who was leaning against the pillar with him.

During his abnormal growth, he did what he thought was right in the wrong way.

- If he wanted all the love from others, he had to kill the people they cherished. He wanted no more children in this world to be abandoned because of their dullness, so he would sacrifice innocent people to complete his great path.

His path was to make all people in the world the same, without any more "comparisons".

But... there was one thing she couldn't figure out. Ye Qingzhan looked at Mingche.

Why would Taoist Fox let Mingche go? Mingche's sword-making talent was also unparalleled.

Is it because he has no wisdom?

Dr. Fox, who was leaning against the pillar and smiling, became more and more crazy in the eyes of everyone, and suddenly slammed his head back.

"Ah -"

By the time everyone reacted, blood had already dyed the pillar behind him red.

Hu Shuo opened his eyes, his body slid from the wooden pillar to the ground, and opened his eyes to look at the night sky.

The sky was so high, his path couldn't fly.

But it didn't matter. If he died, he could go find his senior brothers and sisters, fulfilling Mingche's mother's wish.

Mingche was a gifted person.

He just didn't want to take her away.

Mingche's mother loved her child so much; how heartbroken would she be if she met her on the road to the underworld?

... No, he was a villain; why should he care about the sadness of an unrelated person?

Perhaps he also wanted to see how a child, as foolish as he was and fatherless as he was, could survive in this unfair world with his mother's love.

For this reason, he turned against Jin Chan. Jin Chan, heartbroken by the loss of her son, blamed him for everything, claiming he had done it on purpose and refused to tell him about Jin Guan's fate.

Jin Chan, unable to vent his resentment on Hu Shuo, took it out on those Hu Shuo cared about.

This led to the countless raids on Wuya Academy.

After Feng Yi's death, Wuya Academy fell into Hu Shuo's hands. He used the reputation of the academy to recruit many talented people, created countless accidents to catch monsters and hunt down criminals, and cleverly took away their wisdom.

The academy was slaughtered, and the collection of wisdom slowed down. Hu Shuo allowed Ye Mei to kill Jin Chan. The feud between the two ended there.

Falling to the ground, Hu Shuo glanced at a corner of a fox mask left not far away, and recalled his last memory.

In his youth, he and they all liked to escape from the vast ancient books and ancient methods. They all had a half-day of leisure in their lives, nestling in the pavilion to read storybooks and strange anecdotes. He came across the story of "Dr. Fox Lectures" in a book about strange and supernatural things.

At that time, he laughed: "Foxes can teach, and deceive mortals one by one. As a human, let alone teach, I can't even understand simple things."

Wen Hua continued his words: "Junior brother, you can also teach. You are very patient in doing things, and you have the style of a teacher."

Mu Wanzhou also smiled at him and said, "You can do it."

Whether it was sincere or a joke, he believed it after all.

He became Dr. Fox and had many followers.

But he couldn't teach anyone.

Hu Shuo closed his eyes.

Because until his death, he didn't understand what he wanted to understand the most.