Chapter 71 82.83. Gangzi: Where is my Tamashi
When he woke up, Yu Xiaogang was sweating all over. He remembered what had happened in the Eternal Questioning Abyss and the unbearable bathhouse adventure.
It felt too real, too much like it actually happened.
This must be a dream, it must be a nightmare, right?
Yu Xiaogang kept reassuring himself. After a long while he stood up, ran his hands over his body, and finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, it's okay—just a nightmare."
Everything that happened in the bathhouse felt so real and too shameful; Yu Xiaogang's memory automatically filed it away as a nightmare.
Liu Erlong woke up too. She sat up on the bed.
She thought about the dream where Yu Xiaogang refused to take on the soul power penalty for her and refused to grant her the celestial item, and she couldn't help feeling a stab of pain.
But when her eyes swept the surroundings and she realized she was in her own room and lying on her bed, as a hopelessly lovesick person she began consoling herself:
"I must have been dreaming. Yes, it was a dream. How could Xiao Gang be that kind of person? How could I dream such a thing?" By the end she was blaming herself.
Freland also woke up. At first he too thought he'd had a dream.
But soon he realized something was wrong.
"My martial soul…" Freland felt his martial soul's element had changed from wind to fire.
He hurriedly summoned his martial soul, the Flame Owl.
Freland looked at the Flame Owl in shock and said, "So it's true — what happened in the Eternal Questioning Abyss really happened."
Freland didn't know what had occurred between Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong; in his mind he thought Yu Xiaogang had already agreed to give the celestial item to Liu Erlong.
At that thought Freland felt a bit of pain but also a sense of relief.
"Well, feelings can't be forced," Freland shook his head.
Among the Golden Iron Triangle, both Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang treated what happened in the Eternal Questioning Abyss as a nightmare, while Freland buried the matter in his heart and didn't say anything.
The day after they woke up was Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong's wedding.
That night the stars were exceptionally bright. Under Freland's officiation, Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong completed their ceremony.
Freland watched the beautiful Liu Erlong in her white wedding dress and felt heartache— the woman he adored was about to marry his brother.
Still, Erlong and Xiaogang were a perfect match.
Freland forced down his loneliness, patted Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Gang, Erlong is in your care now, and that puts my mind at ease."
"Mm, I'll take care of her, and look after your share too, Freland," Yu Xiaogang said, proudly pulling Liu Erlong close by the waist.
Freland winced inwardly. The three sat down and drank together.
After the wine, Yu Xiaogang was preparing for the wedding night while Freland intended to take his leave and go roam the continent. At that moment the little hall's door was kicked open and several uninvited guests came in.
Yu Xiaogang, Freland, and Liu Erlong looked and saw Yu Luomian and several disciples of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect.
When Yu Luomian appeared, the three reacted differently. Liu Erlong's joyful face instantly clouded over; Freland looked at her with worry; Yu Xiaogang first looked astonished and then surprised, as if he didn't understand what was happening.
Yu Xiaogang pretended to be confused and said, "Second uncle, what are you doing here?"
"Yu Xiaogang, you still remember I'm your second uncle," Yu Luomian strode up to Yu Xiaogang, looked at Liu Erlong in her wedding dress and said, "You're about to be able to call me father-in-law, huh?"
"Father-in-law?" A furtive light flashed across Yu Xiaogang's eyes and he hurriedly said, "Second uncle, what do you mean?"
Yu Luomian reacted quickly. The plan had failed — he couldn't marry his daughter to Yu Luomian's daughter in the bridal chamber, what a shame. But Yu Xiaogang still had Plan B.
"What do you mean? The one you married today is my daughter — your cousin." Yu Luomian's face darkened with anger. "If I'd been a little later and you'd completed the ceremony, were you planning to enter the bridal chamber next?"
"Your cousin marrying your cousin — Yu Xiaogang, don't you know shame?" another Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus disciple sneered.
Those words struck Yu Xiaogang like lightning. He was stunned and blank for a moment. He turned to Liu Erlong and asked, "Erlong… is what he said true?"
Liu Erlong realized the gravity of the situation. She knew Xiao Gang cared about his reputation; if he found out she was his cousin, he would surely reject her.
She hurriedly said, "No, it's not like that. My name is Liu Erlong. I have no father."
"Erlong, I know you resent me for not caring enough for you and your mother back then, but you can't change the blood of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus coursing through you." Yu Luomian finished with a sharp look at Yu Xiaogang. "Let's not even talk about the immorality of your marriage. Yu Xiaogang, how dare you, a waste, touch my daughter?"
The word "waste" stabbed Yu Xiaogang deeply and intensified his hatred for Yu Luomian. Very well then, Yu Luomian — don't blame me for using your daughter against you.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Liu Erlong with reddened eyes, then at his second uncle, and (pretending to) break down: "I should've realized long ago the connection between your fire dragon and the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus. Erlong, your martial soul must be a mutation from the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus, only your main attribute changed from electric to fire, right?"
"No, that's not it," Liu Erlong weakly protested.
Yu Xiaogang gave a bitter smile and a trace of tears at the corner of his eye: "Erlong — you and Freland actually knew your identity all along, but you kept it from me, didn't you?"
Freland didn't know what to say. Liu Erlong quickly added, "No, Xiao Gang, that's not what I meant. Even if we were siblings, so what? I wouldn't care. Xiao Gang, even if you were my cousin I'd still love you."
Yu Xiaogang put on a face of rejection and shook his head, loudly accusing, "Liu Erlong, you can say you don't care, but you can't deceive me. This is marriage by deception. Are you going to tell me after the wedding? Do you want the world to know I, Yu Xiaogang, married an incestuous cousin?"
Saying that, Yu Xiaogang stumbled out and ran away; Freland hurried after him.
"Xiao Gang!" Liu Erlong rushed to follow but Yu Luomian grabbed her roughly.
"Let go of me." Liu Erlong shook off Yu Luomian's hand and looked at him with eyes full of hatred. "You ruined my wedding — are you satisfied now?"
Yu Luomian felt awkward under his daughter's resentful gaze and scolded, "What does Yu Xiaogang have that's worth you pining for? If I hadn't stopped you, what then? Would this be covered up forever or exposed? If it were exposed — Erlong, I know how Yu Xiaogang behaves. He would use this as an excuse to abandon you. You'd lose your innocence and your life would be ruined. Is he worth that?"
"He wasn't a waste just now!" Liu Erlong shouted.
Then she pushed Yu Luomian's hand away and chased after Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Luomian got angrier and planned to stop her by force and drag her back.
In the original Douluo timeline, he did just that, which separated Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang for twenty years.
But this time a surprise occurred: a hand pressed down on Yu Luomian's shoulder, instantly suppressing all his soul power. Yu Luomian was shocked and looked toward the owner of the hand. The intruder wore the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect uniform of the men Yu Luomian had brought, but his face was unfamiliar.
Such a person had mixed in with his retinue and he hadn't noticed at all.
The man wore a strange smile and said, "Don't go any further. Ahead is the dessert my lord has waited so long for after the main course."
After Yu Xiaogang ran out, Freland caught up and grabbed him.
"Xiao Gang, is cousin status really that important?" Freland asked.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Freland with a wounded look and charged, "Freland, you knew Liu Erlong's identity, and she knew it too. I, Yu Xiaogang, was kept in the dark. You've deeply deceived me."
"Sorry, Xiaogang." Freland said guiltily. "But we didn't mean it that way."
"That's enough—" Yu Xiaogang yelled at Freland.
Then, in a weary tone, he said: "Even if I love Erlong and want to be with her despite her being my cousin, what can I do? You saw for yourself — her father would never allow us. Freland, maybe I shouldn't have appeared at all. If I hadn't shown up you two would be together. It makes sense — you two are more suitable."
"Xiao Gang." Freland looked at him.
"Stop. Freland, I'm leaving. I entrust your sister Erlong to you; I'll feel more at ease." Yu Xiaogang's expression was sincere, like a man painfully giving his beloved to another, and then he turned his head and a smug smile appeared at the corner of his mouth!
Yes — this was Yu Xiaogang's Plan B. Because of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Freland would not betray him, and Liu Erlong would not dishonor herself with Freland.
He trusted Freland to never cross that red line. By giving Freland a lingering hope, Yu Xiaogang could keep Freland pining after Liu Erlong forever. The more miserable Freland's life, the more it would soothe Yu Xiaogang's wounded heart, and Freland would be kept away from family affairs and child-rearing so he could be kept as steady material for Yu Xiaogang's Golden Saint Dragon plans.
Next Yu Xiaogang planned to vanish — disappear completely from Liu Erlong's world. As time passed, Liu Erlong's love for him would only deepen while she grew to hate Yu Luomian even more; father and daughter would battle each other, and Yu Xiaogang would achieve a magnificent revenge.
"No, Xiao Gang, don't entrust me to anyone. Where are you going? I'll go with you." Liu Erlong ran after him.
"Erlong, you—" Yu Xiaogang was startled to see Liu Erlong follow. He thought of Yu Luomian and cursed inwardly: you old bastard, you can't even hold on to her — how can I disappear now?
In the divine realm, the Eternal Temple—
In view, the Golden Iron Triangle was struggling with the limit-tug. Huo Yuhao sneered wickedly, "Although we've finished the main course, there's still a dessert. I'm very much looking forward to it. Evil Emperor, how are things on your side?"
The Evil Emperor replied, "My lord, I'm ready. That ten-thousand-year soul beast has arrived at the designated position. Tonight your masterpiece will have its grand stage."
Having spoken, the Evil Emperor immediately commanded the soul beast under his control in the lower world to make its appearance.
Huo Yuhao picked up a bottle of wine brewed with Golden Dragon Fruit, poured a glass and savored it, saying, "Then I'll wait and see."
As the limit-tug unfolded, when Liu Erlong reached out to grab Yu Xiaogang and take him eloping, the ground trembled violently.
"Oh no, something's drilling out of the ground," Freland said urgently.
The three hurried away from the epicenter. Soon the ground at their original spot cracked open and two huge claws split the earth. A gigantic soul beast, twenty meters tall, emerged before them.
Its body resembled a mole, with claws as sharp as steel. Its head bore features of a mole and a dragon. At the first moment the dragon-headed mole appeared, its cold eyes locked onto the three and it let out a hissing cry.
"This is a dragon-headed mole. It looks to be at least fifty thousand years old," Yu Xiaogang said, hands clasped behind his back. A gleam of insight passed through his eyes as he continued to describe the dragon-headed mole: "Its name includes 'dragon' because its bloodline carries a trace of dragon blood."
"Xiao Gang, stop talking. This beast obviously regards us as its target. None of us can handle it," Freland interrupted.
You dare interrupt one of my rare moments to look impressive, Yu Xiaogang's eyes flashed with displeasure, but Freland was right. The dragon-headed mole was not something any of the three could take alone. To defeat it there was only one way — the Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Golden Saint Dragon.
At that thought, a smug smile crossed Yu Xiaogang's mouth. Only in such a moment could his value be fully displayed.
"Freland, Liu Erlong, get behind me," Yu Xiaogang commanded, as if a Level 29 Soul Master could protect two Soul Kings.
Freland and Liu Erlong stood behind him.
Looking at the dragon-headed mole, Yu Xiaogang's eyes showed contempt as he arrogantly said, "You only have a trace of dragon blood. Today you'll see what a true dragon is."
"Day and Moon Shine, Golden Rotation!" Freland and Liu Erlong began to compel their soul power.
Yu Xiaogang summoned his Luo Sanpao and said proudly, "Let me, Yu Xiaogang, deal with you. Come out, my Golden Saint Dragon, my pride, my Tamashi."
However—
An accident occurred. The imagined martial soul fusion barrier did not appear. After he and Luo Sanpao were summoned they awkwardly just stood there.
In the haze of fate, Yu Xiaogang felt that the Martial Soul Fusion Technique he was supposed to be leading was missing one piece. Because of that missing piece it could not be triggered.
What's going on? My Golden Saint Dragon, my pride, my Tamashi — where is it?
While Yu Xiaogang was bewildered, two surging waves of fiery red soul power came from behind him, accompanied by a dragon's roar and the bright call of the Flame Owl.
(END CHAPTER)
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