"Tang Xiu, where did you hide the money? Take it out right now!"
"Tang Xiu, even if your family in need of money, you can't just steal it! As people say "stealing needles when young, you'll steal gold when you're old". You can't make a habit out of stealing, or else your life will be finished."
"Tang Xiu, I know that you owe the school three thousand yuans of the tuition fee. Are you going to take the money to pay for it?"
A dozen or so people surrounded Tang Xiu and spoke endlessly. Doubt and disgust filled their eyes with impatience in their tones.
Tang Xiu's face was flushed red, as a trace of blood could be seen as he bit his lips. His eyes turned misty, but he firmly said with neck raised, "I didn't steal the money!"
"Shangwen, Meiyun, you two have seen Xiu'er grow up. He's always been honest since childhood. His studies and behaviors have always been excellent and he never lies! Since he said that he didn't take the money, then the three thousand yuan lost was not related to him!" Su Lingyun tightly hugged her son in her embrace, begging a middle-aged man and woman in the room.
"Lingyun, we never said Xiu'er stole the money. We just think that he may hide that three thousand yuan and possibly because he wanted you to be less worry!" The middle-aged man turned his head to the side. He didn't even dare to look straight at Su Lingyun.
"His studies and behaviors have always been excellent? Hohoho. Indeed. Before your son entered the Star City First High School, his studies and were really excellent. But after staying there for a year, his marks sharply fell and he's placed first for the entire grade from the back. If it weren't for your begging, your son would've probably been kicked out from school, right?" The middle-aged woman coldly spoke. She completely disregarded Su Lingyun's expression which almost near desperate.
After hearing his younger brother, Su Shangwen and her sister-in-law, Zhang Meiyun, Su Lingyun's face turned pale as her eyes turned dejected. But after seeing her son in her embrace, she braced and forced herself, mustering her courage again to attempt to defend her son's innocence.
However, at this time, before Su Lingyun was even able to speak, two sharp voices interrupted her.
"Hey Auntie, you don't need to protect Tang Xiu anymore. For a while, you might be able to protect him. But you can't protect him his entire life! There are only a few people at home, and you say that Tang Xiu didn't take the money, so that means the money just flew by itself?!"
"Auntie, the reason why we're suspecting Tang Xiu is that he's the most likely to steal the money in the house. In your eye, Tang Xiu naturally is the most outstanding. But you also know that he's doing awful things at school this year. Copying schoolwork, cheating at the tests, fighting… as his cousin, I can't even lift my head up high at school!"
The ones who interrupted Su Lingyun were the son and daughter of Su Shangwen and Zhang Meiyun. If Su Shangwen and Zhang Meiyun couple's words were spoken rather using euphemism as they knew how to soften their words, however, their son and daughter obviously didn't.
"Su Yanning, Su Xiangfei, you're both speaking nonsense and spitting false accusations!" Tang Xiu shouted he almost screaming.
"Shangwen, Meiyun, I beg you not to make things difficult for him! If you can't find that three thousand yuan, then consider it as I'm borrowing the money from you. You also know that ever since the accident a year ago, Xiu'er became a bit disoriented and cannot take stimulation. If something bad truly happens to him, I won't be able to continue living." Under the aggressive oppression of her younger brother's family, Su Lingyun's tears dripped down as though a broken line of pearls as she begged helplessly.
After she finished speaking, Su Lingyun seemed to have exhausted every ounce of strength in her body.
Recalling the bitter experience and treatment her son had to go through this year, Su Lingyun couldn't help but feel sad and sob soundlessly.
Although her son had lost his father from an early age, however, he was very obedient ever since he was a child and his studies were particularly outstanding. Even two years ago, he entered the Star City First High School and placed first for the High School test for the entire city. Similarly, he also stood out in all sort of exams and competitions, including being placed first in all subjects during his first year.
However, due to a car accident when he was just entered the first semester of his sophomore year, her son's brain suffered from a strong impact; resulting in serious damage with his memory and comprehension ability. Even the doctor once diagnosed him to have a mental disability. If it weren't for her plead, and the school also saw a trace of hope, that her son would have likely been expelled from school.
Su Yanning and Su Xiangfei siblings glanced at each with expressions that looked like they were bored and couldn't bear it upon seeing Su Lingyun's deeply grieved appearance and the house went to silence.
When everyone's attention was attracted to Su Lingyun, Tang Xiu's body in her embrace was slightly trembling, as a glint of light emitted from his eyes.
"What's this place? Where's this? Didn't I die after failing a tribulation? What's going on?" Tang Xiu looked at the surrounding with eyes full of confused expression.
Tang Xiu remembered that he was standing at the peak in the Immortal World. He was passing the Divinity tribulation. As long as he succeeded in crossing the tribulation, he would be able to become a God in the Immortal World and obtained the qualification to enter the door to eternal life.
Trying hard to remember everything and recalled what really happened, Tang Xiu's facial muscles gradually distorted as an extremely painful expression flashed from his eyes. The last scene before he was reawakening here, finally appeared within his mind…
It was the most critical moment of Tang Xiu's tribulation. When his strength was nearly spent; when he completely focused his strength and spiritual force on fighting back the Divinity tribulation from above; his back was opened and devoid of any protection. He was completely defenseless against the used-used-to-be several good friends of his whose cultivations were just a bit inferior, who were also at the peak in the Immortal World, with numerous Divine Armaments and Divine Tools in their hands.
Immediately after, just as he barely passed through the nine levels of lightning tribulation; when he was preparing to face the last wave of formless yet most dreadful tribulation—psychological-mental, and at the same time he began to undergo the first Demonic Tribulation, the very people—his several good friends who were supposed to protect him, launched a fatal strike towards him.
And of those people, outrageously, was the companion he fell in love with for hundreds of years, Xue Qingcheng.
Under their joint attack, Tang Xiu's fate was nearly doomed. Even, before his body was completely shattered and he lost his consciousness, those people had already impatient and rushed to snatch the mysterious ancient manual which he accidentally obtained from the ancient demonic god remains—the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis manual.
"Human nature is so unexpectedly loathsome, even love and friendship are nothing before an absolute secret Divine cultivation method!"
"But, since I failed the tribulation, it should be no chance for me to survive. My body should have become ashes and my soul should have scattered. Yet now, what's happening?"
Within a daze, a familiar—déjà vu—woman fragrance drifted to his nose.
Inhaling, smelling this fragrance, an extreme enjoyment expression revealed on Tang Xiu's face as his emotions gradually calmed down.
After a long time, only then was Tang Xiu slowly turned his head, to look behind at the woman who was embracing him.
A gentle face clearly presented in front of him, a familiarly close and kind face. And in comparison with the face in his memories, there were traces of shallow "fishtail" imprint at the corner or her eyes.
"Inner Demon! Damned inner demon! I already died, so how can I be disturbed by this inner demon?!" Tang Xiu shook his head quickly and forced himself not to look at the face, that he had dreamed of for thousands of years.
When Tang Xiu looked at the others in the house, he couldn't help but be taken aback for a moment.
Of ten thousand of years within the Immortal World, Tang Xiu had experienced all sorts of mental and sentimental tribulations; both big and small. However, even after having so many, severing himself from all of his family members, the one he could never give up was his mother. So in the later heart tribulations, only his mother appeared and no other relatives.
"Are the ones in front of me now, not my inner demons?" Tang Xiu suspiciously looked around whilst his mouth muttering.
Then, after a huge explosion inside his head, the ten thousands of memories Tang Xiu rarely touched before, instantly opened. At the same time, obscure and enigmatic memories also appeared within his mind.
"I've actually returned back to Earth I so long desired? Ten thousand years passed in the Immortal World, and yet only a year passed on Earth?" After a long while only then did Tang Xiu realize what happened.
All the obscure memories that appeared inside his mind, was his body memory accumulation in the one year that had passed.
In the car accident a year ago, although Tang Xiu's physical body was fine, his soul was damaged. That caused his intellect to drop sharply which in turn made him experienced horrid days at school. He was as though a bystander-observer that could only absorb all the information around but he would rarely participate in activities.
However, all of the information was stored inside Tang Xiu's mid, letting him understood everything that had occurred for the past year on Earth.
A strand of Tang Xiu's damaged soul actually traveled to the Immortal World and took possession of the grandson young master of the Vermillion Bird Holy Sect' Master. There, he lived an exciting dream-like life for ten thousand years!
But he just had never thought that when he was schemed against and died in the Immortal World the strand of his soul would once again return back to his body on Earth. And at this time, only a year passed on Earth.
"Fairy Wanhua, Great Emperor Danqing, Zither Demon Jiuyao, on the day this Tang Xiu come back to the Immortal World will be the time all of you die violently!"
Recollecting carefully the bits and drops of his life in the Immortal World, and when the final section of his life memories, Tang Xiu nearly screamed out and gritted his teeth.
Tang Xiu's roar broke the silence in the house, attracting everyone's eyes on him.
"Xiu'er… you… what happened?" Su Lingyun was the first to react as she hugged Tang Xiu in panic and asked with an anxious expression.
Seeing Tang Xiu's extremely distorted facial muscles and then remembered his physical condition, dozens of people looked at him with a regretful expression as they cast blaming gazes toward Su Shangwen's family.
Su Shangwen family clearly had never thought that Tang Xiu would suddenly turn "insane". Moreover, judging by circumstances, it was them who evidently caused it. They couldn't help but look at each other with a guilty and afraid look.
"Tang Xiu, stop acting here. What was those immortals, emperor, demons? Do you think you're playing a game? I've never heard a game that has bosses such Fairy Wanhua, Great Emperor Danqing, or Zither Demon Jiuyao." Just as the entire people in the house were at a loss, a cold snort sounded in the house. It was from Tang Xiu's cousin, Su Xiangfei, who sneer out loud.
"You damn idiot, you even knew how to feign insanity now? Damn, I was almost tricked by you. Do not think that we'll ignore the three thousand yuans just because you act pitiful like that! I'll clearly say to you--mother and son, that if you don't take out that three thousand yuan out today, don't ever think that you can walk out of this door!" After a brief of panic, Zhang Meiyun couldn't help but secretly look at Tang Xiu and furiously snapped at the short instant afterward.
After he roared loudly, Tang Xiu himself knew that he lost his self-control a bit. And then as he immediately felt the anxiousness and deep worry his mother had toward him, he hastily adjusted his emotions and quickly consoled her, repeatedly saying that he was fine. This scene fell to Zhang Meiyun's eyes, and naturally, made her furious.
"Dragon births dragon, and phoenix births phoenix. Just like the apple doesn't fall far from the trees, the offspring of a rat continue digging holes!" Tang Xiu coldly glared at Zhang Meiyun then his eyes fell on Su Xiangfei as he said indifferently, "Su Xiangfei, are you certain to keep on playing this game? If you think it will become more interesting, I won't mind keeping you entertained!"