Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

Huo Yuhao didn't respond, and the entire room immediately became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The light scattering from the soul-guiding lamp above seemed to freeze, and the tiny particles floating near the lamp suddenly slowed down. The water pipes outside seemed to be loose, and the dripping sound of water could be heard intermittently, long and rhythmic. Even through the bamboo curtain, Huo Yuhao could be heard gasping sharply, his heart pounding.

After a long while, Huo Yuhao's somewhat hoarse voice broke the oppressive silence.

"I was born in the White Tiger Duke's mansion. My mother, Huo Yun'er, was a maid there. She had no official status and was born into the White Tiger Duke's mansion. She never had the chance to see the outside world. Her entire life was spent serving and waiting to serve that so-called military god of the Star Luo Empire, the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao!"

"I often saw my mother secretly taking out the token of love that Dai Hao gave her in the middle of the night and examining it. She would always gently stroke it and speak to it carefully. My mother didn't have a portrait of that man, but it seemed like she was constantly recalling his appearance. She never said that she was his wife, nor did she ask for any title. But when she said that I was that man's child, just that one sentence made my mother and me lose all hope of living."

"At first, my mother and I lived in a large place with a small courtyard, and everyone was very friendly. My mother and I lived a decent life. Unfortunately, those days quickly vanished. That man was ultimately the pillar of the frontier, and he rarely returned. The White Tiger Duke's Mansion was now entirely ruled by the Duchess! She was the absolute ruler of the entire White Tiger Duke's Mansion!"

"Gradually, the Duchess's jealous fangs were revealed, tearing at my mother and me bit by bit. That kind of jealousy that buries people in the ground did not appear all at once, but rather by gradually reducing the firewood we were given, cutting back on our food time and time again, and the servants leaving one by one, until soon only my mother and I were left in that small courtyard."

"One day, my mother asked me to go to her house to visit the only concubine who was kind to us. She also had a son named Dai Luoli, and we got along well. When he saw that I was hungry, he gave me a lot of delicious food."

"But when I secretly took the food my aunt had given me back home, I found a lot of people crowding the courtyard. I sensed something was wrong! I quickly squeezed through the crowd and saw my mother curled up on the ground, with several footprints on her clothes. I tried desperately to stop those people for my mother, but how could I? In the end, because of my appearance, my mother had to protect me and was beaten even more..."

Her voice was already choked with sobs. The process of pouring out the long-buried pain in her heart to others was no different than tearing open the scar and rubbing salt into the wound!

"Then my mother and I were thrown into the woodshed behind the servants' quarters. My mother sold all the valuables except for that man's so-called 'token of love'!"

"I think I was only two years old then, but I clearly remember that day. Behind the crowd of my mother and me, there was a woman watching coldly. That was the Duchess! Every time I saw her, she would sweep me over with the coldest, most contemptuous look. Every time she mentioned me, she would call me 'little bastard' in the most vicious tone! And after that day, her most hateful face in the world was forever etched in my heart, and the coldness she brought me, I will never forget in this lifetime!"

"The woodshed was drafty and bitterly cold in winter. It leaked in summer and was unbearably hot and humid. But the hardest thing wasn't the environment, nor the heat or cold, but that no one dared to help us anymore! In the beginning, an old woman would sometimes sneak us some food. But after that day, I didn't see her for a long time, and when I saw her again, she looked like she had aged several years in an instant! From then on, everyone knew that the Duchess was going to punish those who had helped us, and our status plummeted to the dust, where anyone could trample on us."

"My mother washed clothes for others in exchange for food in order to make a living. She would often get up quietly before dawn and wrap me in the only thin quilt she had. After going out, she would wash clothes from day to night, one piece after another, basin after basin. Her hands were always white and wrinkled, with cracks full of blood."

One rainy night, she finally finished washing clothes and came into the house. I saw water running down her hair, and I rushed over and hugged her, who was soaking wet, and cried. My mother pushed me away and said that I was wet and that I shouldn't get the water on me. When we went to sleep, she held me and warmed my frozen feet with her body. She told me that with her there, I didn't have to be afraid.

"I remember one night, I heard my mother shouting happily from inside the house. I went out to see what was happening and saw her running towards me from a distance, holding something in her hand. When she came inside, I found that she had stuffed a still-warm sesame seed cake into her bosom, afraid that she wouldn't be able to eat it while it was still hot! I couldn't help but cry when I saw her reddened chest. My mother laughed and fed me the sesame seed cake, saying, 'Silly child, we finally have something good to eat today, why are you crying!' Unfortunately, I was crying so hard that I didn't even think to leave some for my mother! That night, she kept rubbing her chest, and I couldn't help but clench my fists, but all I could do was quietly wipe away my tears, trying not to make a sound and let my mother notice and worry."

"When I turn six, I can finally awaken my Martial Soul! All the children in the White Tiger Duke's mansion will awaken at that time. As long as I have the White Tiger Martial Soul, my mother and I can escape this miserable life!" That moment felt incredibly long. The Duchess's contemptuous and indifferent gaze, the encouraging look from that aunt in the distance, and the majestic White Tiger portrait on the wall... But then the Duchess suddenly laughed, a sinister laugh that pierced my heart like a knife. The world seemed to go silent. I only heard words like "little bastard" flowing from the mouths around me, and then I was dragged away. On the way, someone kept kicking my butt, making me fall over again and again. I scrambled back home, but suddenly I was terrified. I didn't know how to face my mother's bright eyes before I left! I found a corner and curled up, sobbing alone. I didn't dare go back. I was afraid my mother would be saddened to see me like this! I was afraid of the look of disappointment on her face when she knew our hopes had been dashed!

"I cried for a long, long time until my throat was swollen and I couldn't make a sound. Someone gently patted me, and when I looked up, it was my mother who had come looking for me! She didn't say anything, but just gently hugged me and patted my back."

"Later I learned that this precious opportunity was also fought for by the only aunt who dared to help us. I can't imagine how much pressure this kind person, who taught me to read and write from time to time, had to endure to fight for such a life-changing opportunity for us when everyone else was putting us down!"

"It's a pity I didn't seize the opportunity. My martial soul is not the White Tiger martial soul inherited from the White Tiger Duke's mansion, but rather the eye martial soul I inherited from my mother. More importantly, because of my eye martial soul, my eyes did not transform into double pupils when they awakened like the other White Tiger Duke's children. As a result, the Duke considered me a 'little bastard'! And he constantly used this to torment my mother's mind and body!"

  

"My innate soul power is only level one, but I work hard. I want to become stronger, become a soul master, and then take my mother away from this place of trouble!"

"My mother loved me as much as ever. She coughed and said gently that she only hoped to see me grow up healthy. But she was overworked and her health was deteriorating day by day. And the White Tiger Duke she spoke of never came to see us, and didn't even know I existed! He is the absolute culprit for the way my mother and I have lived!"

"One day, I was cultivating in my room when I suddenly heard my mother's startled cry from the courtyard. The noise then became loud and chaotic. I realized something was wrong and rushed out to see what was happening. It turned out that the eldest son, Dai Huabin, was passing by. My mother was hanging up the clothes she had painstakingly washed. But this little rascal said he was blocking his way, so he tore all the clothes off and threw them on the ground, then stomped them hard into the mud with his noble boots."

"When I came out, I happened to see that bastard lightly wave his hand, and the guards and servants around him rushed over and started punching and kicking my mother. I panicked and tried to rush over to fight back, but I was immediately pinned to the ground. That bastard's frivolous voice reached my ears: 'You little bastard, you still have the nerve to show your face in front of me, young master? Get lost!'"

"My mother rushed over to protect me, and the sticks and punches that were meant to hit me landed on her back instead, and I couldn't do anything! Suddenly I felt something warm and wet on my face, and when I wiped it with my hand, I realized it was blood! My mother had been beaten until she vomited blood..."

At this moment, Huo Yuhao stopped speaking, his voice choked with sobs, and the calm warmth he had been exhaling seemed to become restless with his convulsions. Chen Cheng raised his hand, releasing a gentle breeze from the bamboo, attempting to soothe Huo Yuhao's grief.

"From that day on, Mother's health deteriorated day by day. She couldn't eat enough, couldn't sleep well, and fell ill from overwork. There was no medicine to cure her injuries. All I could do was try to use my soul power to infuse Mother's body to make her feel a little better."

"But when I was ten, my mother finally couldn't walk anymore. That day, she lay in bed, desperately raising her hand to touch my face, and then made me take out the hidden White Tiger Dagger from a hole under the bed. She looked at that so-called token of love so calmly and gently, and then, then I felt her hand, slowly, slowly getting cold..."

Huo Yuhao slammed his fist into the water and burst into tears. Chen Cheng didn't say anything; he had been holding it in for too long, and this emotional release wasn't a bad thing. He simply turned his head away and wiped away his own tears. Even after reading the original story so many times in his previous life, he still felt sad for Huo Yuhao's tragic experiences; how much more so when he heard him recount it face to face?

The crying gradually subsided, eventually turning into sobs, and then slowly calmed down. The steam behind the bamboo curtain stopped rising and falling, and the sound of water splashing filled the air. The action of dressing was reflected on the bamboo curtain, revealing a sense of determination and perseverance.

After Huo Yuhao finished changing and came to Chen Cheng, the tear stains on his face had disappeared, but his red nose and pale face revealed the vulnerability he was trying to hide.

Huo Yuhao raised his right fist and slammed it into his chest, solemnly saying, "Since my mother's death, revenge has sustained me all this time. For this goal, I endured humiliation and stayed in the White Tiger Duke's mansion for a full year to cultivate before secretly leaving with my mother's only heirloom, the White Tiger Dagger. I came to the Star Dou Great Forest alone to obtain a Soul Ring. I must become a Soul Master; I need power to have the ability to take revenge myself!"

Chen Cheng stared intently at Huo Yuhao's clenched fist, his nails digging deeply into his palm. He pulled out the White Tiger Dagger with his left hand, his fingertips turning white from gripping it so tightly. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice was icy as he said, "From the moment I stepped out of the White Tiger Duke's mansion, I swore that my surname for this lifetime would only be Huo, the Huo of Huo Yun'er!"

"One day, I will become strong enough to return to that place and avenge my mother with my own hands!"