I Have A Sword-Chapter 1322: Whose Child Is He?

When Ye Guan disappeared, Hao Ran chuckled. "Ah, youth... It's a wonderful thing."

Just then, a faint voice echoed behind him. "Very few people ever catch your eye... That young man must be pretty exceptional."

"Yes," Hao Ran replied with a smile. "Seeing him gives me hope for this world."

"Are you really doing this just to make him experience hardships?"

Hao Ran shook his head slightly. "No. I just have this unresolved question in my heart. I've always wondered if the true geniuses of this world could do better than I did if they were to go through the same hardships as I did.

"Unfortunately, over the years, not a single talented swordsman has caught my eye. Now that I've finally found one, of course, I have to test him."

"That young man seems promising. Don't make it too hard on him."

"Hahaha." Hao Ran chuckled. "I'll be watching over him."

***

Inside the library, a complicated light flashed in Shi Yu's eyes. "He was chosen."

Zhou Hann was startled. "By True Saint Hao Ran?"

Shi Yu nodded. "Yes."

Zhou Hann glanced at Shi Yu and asked, "Are you feeling a bit disappointed, Uncle?"

Shi Yu stared at Zhou Hann.

Zhou Hann grinned mischievously before dashing away. Only a few people were aware that Shi Yu was also a swordsman and was the strongest one in the Other Shore World.

His goal had always been to receive True Saint Hao Ran's approval, but unfortunately, it never happened.

"Wait!" Shi Yu called out.

Zhou Hann stopped, and an ancient book landed in front of her. She turned to Shi Yu in surprise. "Uncle... this isn't following the rules, is it?"

Shi Yu said calmly, "I'll put it under that kid's name. If they investigate, they'll go after him."

Zhou Hann was at a loss for words.

***

When Ye Guan woke up, he found himself inside a thatched hut. The surroundings were pitch black, and the cold was bone-chilling.

Frowning slightly, he was about to get up and look around, but he froze immediately afterward.

He couldn't control his body!

Wait, no!

He checked his condition and realized that he was inside the body of a completely unfamiliar young boy. His consciousness resided deep within the boy's mind, allowing him to sense everything the boy felt.

The boy was completely unaware of his presence, but Ye Guan could feel every sensation the boy was experiencing.

What was going on? Ye Guan was confused, but he quickly calmed himself. He knew what was going on. This boy was most likely the younger version of Hao Ran!

It seemed that Hao Ran truly wanted him to persevere through his hardships in the distant past.

Ye Guan examined his condition closely and realized that this boy's original consciousness was sealed away. In other words, he had become the boy!

Master Pagoda was still with him, but he had no cultivation base!

Ye Guan sat up, and a wave of excruciating pain tore through him. He looked down and saw that he was covered in wounds. He had been beaten to a pulp!

Recalling what Zhou Hann had mentioned about Hao Ran's tragic past, cold sweat ran down his back. Hao Ran's dantian was destroyed, and his eyes were blinded as well.

Ye Guan forced himself to calm down. No, he absolutely could not allow himself to be tormented. He closed his eyes and began to absorb the boy's memories.

From those memories, he learned that the boy was indeed Hao Ran. At the young age of eleven, Hao Ran's mother died under mysterious circumstances.

Shortly afterward, the Clan Leader of the Hao Clan, Hao Yuan, remarried.

From that moment on, Hao Ran's tragic fate began.

Hao Ran firmly believed that his stepmother had murdered his mother. Thus, he constantly clashed with his father and repeatedly provoked his stepmother.

The result was predictable. His reckless words only deepened his father's dissatisfaction, and he became a thorn in his stepmother's side.

After piecing together the full story, Ye Guan's expression darkened.

Senior Hao Ran had gone through a lot! He was beaten and locked up in a dark room, as he had publicly insulted his stepmother, enraging his father.

And yet, his stepmother hadn't done anything to him directly. On the contrary, she always acted like she was protecting him. The more she "defended" him, the worse his situation became...

When Ye Guan absorbed this part of the memory, his face turned grim. His stepmother wasn't an ordinary person at all.

Just then, he heard multiple footsteps from outside.

The door creaked open, revealing a woman dressed in an intricate palace gown. She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she was still attractive. She also had thin lips, making her appear borth sharp and calculating.

Thirteen servants stood behind her, and the woman was carrying a food container.

From the boy's memories, Ye Guan instantly recognized her as Hao Ran's stepmother, Zhou Yan. Her maternal family was a powerful clan on par with the Hao Clan.

When she stepped into the thatched hut, her expression was full of concern and kindness. She walked up to Hao Ran and gently said, "Ran'er... You must be hungry, right? I brought you some food."

Ye Guan stared at the woman's pretentious act, remaining silent.

She was extremely vicious.

If Senior Hao Ran were this body, he would kick the food container away and unleash a torrent of curses at the woman before him. The incident would inevitably reach Hao Yuan's ears, and Hao Ran's fate would be predictable.

Ye Guan emptied his mind and quietly accepted the food container from Zhou Yan. He ate a couple of bites before lowering his head and "crying."

Zhou Yan was caught completely off guard. She noticed something amiss with Hao Ran's actions, so she hesitated briefly before asking, "Ran'er, what's wrong?"

Hao Ran swallowed a few more mouthfuls of the food before saying, "You treat me like your own, yet I-I've been insulting you time and again."

"I...!" Hao Ran threw himself into Zhou Yan's arms and sobbed, "I'm truly beyond redemption... I deserve to die a thousand times over!"

Hao Ran's unexpected actions left everyone in the room utterly stunned.

Even the servants exchanged bewildered glances.

What happened to Young Master? Why is he acting like a completely different person?

Zhou Yan was also frozen in shock. She had never expected that the little bastard would pull off something like this, which disrupted her plans.

Seeing her stepson wailing in her arms, a flicker of disgust flashed in her eyes. However, she had carefully cultivated her image as a "kind and loving" stepmother, so she couldn't push him away.

She couldn't even scold him, as she had to continue her act. She gently patted Ye Guan on the shoulder and said, "It's great that you've acknowledged your mistakes."

The servants were astonished.

They could not believe that their young master had actually admitted his mistakes!

He had been fiercely stubborn all this while. Even after getting beaten to within an inch of his life, he refused to bow his head. For some reason, he finally relented.

Although everyone was surprised, overall, they saw it as a good thing.

After all, the mistress had been working hard to nurture him.

Since her rise in power, she had been exceptionally kind to the servants and remarkably patient with the young master, even though he opposed her constantly.

Many of them felt that she was wasting her kindness on an ungrateful brat, but the young master had finally acknowledged his wrongdoings!

The mistress' years of kindness had finally moved his heart.

"So Young Master has finally come to his senses..."

"He finally realizes how good Madam is..."

"Let's go tell the Clan Leader!"

Upon hearing the whispers of the servants, Zhou Yan's face darkened. She was planning on completely crippling the little bastard tonight, but she hadn't expected him to pull such a move, which disrupted her plans.

Her gaze slowly turned cold as she stared at the wailing Hao Ran. Her instincts told her that something wasn't right. The transformation was too sudden.

Is he doing this just to protect himself?

At that thought, a flash of killing intent appeared in Zhou Yan's eyes. Of course, more than anything, she was curious. This rebellious bastard had always been a brainless fool, so why had he gotten smarter all of a sudden?

Even though he had lost his cultivation base, Ye Guan was still highly sensitive to killing intent. The moment he sensed it from this woman, his face darkened.

Damn it, she actually wants to kill me right now.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan wrapped her arms around Ye Guan and gently said, "It's good that you've understood your mistakes. We're all family here, so we should get along from now on.

"Don't make things difficult for your father. He carries the burden of leading the Hao Clan, and it's not easy to do such a thing. As his family, we should assuage his worries."

The middle-aged man who had just entered the room paused upon hearing those words. He glanced at Zhou Yan with a tender look in his eyes before he strode toward Ye Guan.

His face was dark as he stared down at his son.

Ye Guan immediately knew that he was the Hao Clan's leader, Hao Yuan.

Whether he could keep his "life" intact depended entirely on this man.

Hao Yuan asked in a deep voice, "Do you finally understand your mistakes?"

Ye Guan quickly nodded and said, "I was foolish, so I believed that Aunt was responsible for my mother's death. I-It's all my fault. I was too young, and I couldn't see the difference between good and evil.

"I wrongly accused you, Aunt. I-I am truly beyond redemption..."

Hao Yuan caught onto the key point and narrowed his eyes. "Who told you that your stepmother was responsible for your mother's death?"

Ye Guan hesitated, as if he wanted to speak but ultimately stopped himself.

Hao Yuan stared at him. "Just say it. I won't punish you."

"No, this is all my fault!" Ye Guan shook his head vehemently. "If there's someone you must punish, then punish me!"

"You fool!" Hao Yuan roared, "Someone wants you dead, yet you're still trying to protect them? Y-You're going to be the death of me!"

Ye Guan looked confused and stammered, "T-that can't be. Manager Gu wouldn't harm me..."

Manager Gu was the one who had beaten him to within an inch of his life. When Zhou Yan appeared, he immediately hopped onto her side and had been acting according to her will since then.

Zhou Yan's expression changed drastically upon hearing Hao Ran's remark.

Just as she was about to speak, Hao Yuan roared, "That wretched beast!"

Then, he turned around and stormed off.

***

Hao Ran saw that and was silent for a long time. Finally, he muttered, "Whose child is he? How is he so cunning?"