Work Text:
“If I Don’t Make It Back, tell him the truth” - Huo Yuhao said to Dai Laoli. Taken from ep 123 of Soul Land 2: The Peerless Tang Clan
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The battlefield still trembled from the aftermath of the battle. Dust and shattered stone rained down from the ruined fortress wall. The air smelled of scorched metal and blood.
Huo Yuhao fell like a broken star.
For one suspended heartbeat, no one moved.
Then—
“YUHAO!”
Tang Wutong’s scream tore through the smoke as Xu Sanshi lunged forward, catching Yuhao just before his body struck the rubble below. The impact still jarred through Xu Sanshi’s arms; Yuhao’s weight felt wrong—too limp, too still. Bloodied and battered. His breathing was shallow. Uneven.
“Stay with us… come on… don’t you dare…” Xu Sanshi muttered, lowering him carefully to the ground while still holding his upper body, making sure Yuhao's limp head was supported by Sanshi's left shoulder. He transfered some spiritual power from his right hand to Yuhao’s naked chest, and he frowned, noticing many ruptured meridians.
Tang Sect members rushed forward. Tang Wutong dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling as she almost reached for his face, but dropped her hand halfway. She didn’t know why her heart felt heavy. Her eyes shone with unshed tears of worry.
“Yuhao… Yuhao, wake up…”
No response. His eyelashes didn’t even flutter.
"The situation is terrible. Many meridians are ruptured. His vitality is extremely weak." Xu Sanshi sighed, his right hand was still desperately transfering qi.
Tang Wutong stood up, and turned around, facing the soul masters around them. "Seniors," she said. "Are there any soul masters good at healing among the troops?" She searched desperately.
The soul masters and soldiers around them looked at each other and shook their heads. They were, after all, soul masters specified for wars and battlefield.
"How is Yuhao?" A comanding voice boomed from the distance, followed by thundering bootsteps. The White Tiger Duke had arrived, looking harried. Dai Hao strode across the ruined field, his silver armor streaked with ash. Behind him were Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli. Soldiers parted instinctively, forming a path.
Dai Hao’s sharp eyes scanned the chaos—then froze.
On the ground. That familiar youth he came to admire lay motionless, his head supported by his comrade. His torso was naked, exposing his bloodied chest. His face and chin were smeared by blood. He looked younger, somehow. He looked his age, a teenager of only 18. His breath caught.
“Move.”
It wasn’t loud, but it carried command.
The Tang Sect members stiffened as the Duke approached. Dai Hao dropped to one knee beside Yuhao, something tight and unfamiliar twisting in his chest.
Yuhao’s face was pale. Too pale. His lips were tinged with red.
For a terrifying second, Dai Hao saw not the composed young commander. Not the prodigy. Not the strategist who had fought beside him. He saw a child. Small. Fragile. Unprotected.
His hand moved before he could stop himself. He brushed blood-matted hair from Yuhao’s forehead. "Call Immortal Physician Master!” he barked to one of his soldiers. “Call her here, quick!” But even as he shouted, his gaze lingered on the prone body before him.
That necklace.
The white tiger fang pendant resting against Yuhao’s chest, next to the dragon scale pendant. The heirloom he had given him right before the mission. Why does this hurt? Why does this feel—
“Ge!”
The cry cut through everything.
High. Raw. Breaking.
Everyone turned.
Dai Luoli had stepped forward without realizing it. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. His eyes were wide—terrified.
He stared at Yuhao. “Ge… please…," he whispered. His voice cracked.
Silence.
The word hung in the air like a blade.
Tang Wutong blinked.
Xu Sanshi frowned.
Dai Yueheng’s head snapped toward his younger brother.
Dai Hao slowly turned towards Dai Luoli. "…What did you call him?” He asked.
Luoli froze. His breath stuttered. Too late. He averted his eyes, avoiding his father's gaze.
Dai Hao’s voice dropped—quiet, controlled, dangerous. "Luoli.”
The young boy swallowed. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but then only an eeped whimper came out. He wetted his lips, buying for time. His brain tried to come up with an excuse, but it came up blank.
“I asked,” Dai Hao said evenly, “what you just called him.”
Luoli’s eyes flickered to Yuhao.
Then to his father.
Then back.
His chest rose and fell too fast.
Everyone was watching.
Tang Wutong felt her heart pounding for a reason she couldn’t explain.
Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan both glanced between father and son.
Dai Yueheng narrowed his eyes.
“Explain yourself,” Dai Hao said.
Luoli’s lips trembled. “He’s… he’s my—” His voice cracked, and he glanced at his wounded half-brother, lying there motionless. He glanced at the blood staining the Duke’s right hand; Yuhao's blood. And his resolve shattered.
Luoli squeezed his eyes shut. “He’s my brother!”
The battlefield felt suddenly smaller. Silence, as if no one breathed. Then smal gasps came from the women of Tang sect members. Nan qiuqiu and Tang Wutong had her hands in front of her mouth. Ye guyi's eyes were as wideas saucers.
Dai Hao didn’t move. "…What?"
Luoli’s shoulders shook. “He’s my older brother! He’s— Yuhao-ge is...He’s—”
“Luoli.” Dai Yueheng’s tone was sharp. “Watch your words.”
“I’m not lying!” Luoli shouted, tears spilling over. “He told me not to say anything—but I can’t— I can’t if he—” He pointed at Yuhao helplessly.
“He’s Aunty Yun's son! Huo Yun’er’s son!”
The name hit like thunder.
Huo Yun’er.
Dai Hao’s fingers tightened involuntarily against Yuhao’s limp hand. The hand he didn’t even motice he was holding. His vision narrowed. “…Say that again.”
Luoli was crying openly now. "He’s your son.” He whispered.
The world seemed to stop moving.
Tang Wutong’s breath left her lungs.
Xu Sanshi’s mouth fell open.
Dai Yueheng’s expression went rigid.
Even the surrounding soldiers exchanged stunned looks.
Dai Hao did not react outwardly. But inside— Inside him, something shattered.
Huo Yun’er.
A gentle woman with soft eyes.
A promise he had buried beneath war and duty. A memory he had locked away because it hurt too much.
“…That’s impossible,” Dai Hao said finally.
Luoli shook his head fiercely. “It’s not! I met him several times when we were little! Mom always took me to there to visit them. Then he did the blood test with me when we met in the barrack. He trained me too, made me stronger. Even when he had to drop me from hundreds of meters in the air while teasing me, but he actually helped me. He—” His voice broke. "He’s your blood.”
Dai Hao’s gaze lowered slowly to the unconscious youth in front of him: the sharp eyes, the stubborn will, the way he fought like he had something to prove.The way his spirit flared—white tiger martial soul…but not; they said he had mutated martial soul. The way his presence had felt strangely familiar from the very beginning.
And that necklace. Why did he give it to him so easily? Why did it feel… right to hand over an heirloom? An heirloom that has been passed down for generations; fathers to sons. He thought he passed it down to a stranger. But it should have been his by right. From father to son...his son.
Xu Sanshi muttered under his breath, “No wonder…”
Dai Yueheng stepped forward, frowning deeply. “Luoli. Do you understand the weight of what you’re saying?”
“I do!” Luoli shouted. “You think I’d joke about this?! He told me— if he didn’t make it back— to tell Father the truth!”
That sentence hit harder than all the others. Dai Hao’s chest tightened violently. He flinched like he'd been slapped.
If he didn’t make it back...
His hand trembled.
Yuhao had known. Known the danger. Known the possibility of death. And still— He hadn’t come to him. He hadn’t claimed anything. He had chosen silence.
Why?
A commotion broke the silence as an old lady with a veil and face cover came through. She carried an aura of wisdom and hope. The Immortal Physician Soul Master. She was ranked 95 and her martial soul is of a healer.
Dai Hao's eyes found hers immediately. "Thank you for coming here, Immortal Physician Master!” he said, voice shaking now, with desperation. "He is not allowed to die! Please..."
Tang Wutong stared at Dai Hao. She saw it now. The resemblance. The same eyes' shape. The same commanding presence. The same stubborn pride.
Xu Sanshi swallowed. “So that’s why he reacted weirdly… every time the Duke was involved…”
Dai Yueheng’s fists slowly tightened at his sides. A brother. Another brother. And he hadn’t known. He went to the Soul Master Elite Competition with his own little brother, witnessing his increasing progress in cultivation, his steadfast determination; a true Shrek monster. His heart was filled with unknown warmth subconciously.
Dai Hao looked at Luoli.
“Everything,” he said hoarsely. “Tell me everything.”
Luoli sniffed hard.
“Aunty Yun… she lived in a shed in the outer estate. She was sent away by the duchess, forbidden to enter the manor. Yuhao-ge grew up with her. He ran away when Aunty Yun died. He said he hated you for it. He said he wanted revenge."
"Yet he saved me twice," whispered Dai Hao, mesmerized by the truth of how pure his son was. Even when he wanted revenge, he ended up helping the person he claimed to hate. Oh, his sweet, sweet son. He truly had his mother's compassion.
Dai Hao’s breathing grew uneven. All those years he spent away from home, defending the country in the border, and he never knew her sweet Yun'er had actually given her a son. Nobody told him about Yuhao's existance. He realized when he noticed his Yun’er's grave. It said "Beloved mother, Huo Yun’er". But it was too late. Nobody knew of his wayward son. They said he'd died.
He thought of Yuhao standing in front of him during strategic meetings—calm, respectful, distant, and maybe filled with hatred. Never once revealing the truth.
Instead— He fought. He bled. He earned everything himself. He made a name of his own. The youngest Haishen Pavilion member, and the heir to the Haishen Pavillion. Founder and Chief of the Soul Spirit Pagoda. Only a year older than Luoli, and he was already a Soul Saint with seven soul rings. Unbelivable. Pride warred with devastation in Dai Hao’s chest.
Dai Hao lowered his head. His shoulders shook once. Very slightly, he brushed trembling fingers against Yuhao’s cheek. “You stubborn child,” his voice broke. “You foolish, stubborn child…”
For the first time in decades, the White Tiger Duke looked less like a war god— And more like a father who had just realized what he had lost.
Tang Wutong’s vision blurred. She didn’t know when tears had started falling. Jiang Nannan already had tears streaming down her pretty face. Xu Sanshi quietly stepped back, giving space.
Dai Yueheng stared at Yuhao with new eyes. So this is why. Why he always felt different, eventhough he first heard of him from Huabin's words of envy about Yuhao. How he bested him in every test and ompetition at school. Why Father looked at him longer than necessary. Why something invisible tied them together.
During the drama and revelation, the Immortal Physician
Master Wang Xian'er, the top healing-type soul master in the world, who was also the outstanding deputy head of the Offering Hall in Xingluo Empire, had her green-colored qi tendrils connected to Yuhao’s chest and palms, assessing him. She was a healing master at the level of Super Master. As long as there was breath, she could bring the dead back to life and restore broken bones.
"His injuries are strange." The Immortal Physician Master finally said, pulling her green-colored qi back from Yuhao's palms. "Almost all his meridians are severed, but his main organs are all intact. It seems there's a pure and powerful vitality far beyond that of ordinary people slowly repairing his body."
"Then how should we treat him?" Dai Hao asked, half relieved that Yuhao was healing, and half worried about the state of his meridians.
"With his self-healing ability, excessive medical treatment will only cause unnecessary injuries." The Immortal Physician Master decided. "I'll inject some vitality to speed up his self healing."
The wise old lady then revealed her Martial True Form, in the shape of a young lady, hovering above them all. Her body was several meters in height, and she had gigantic wings spanning on her sides. Bright golden light surrounding her, making her look like an angel. The healing aura was unmistakeable and could be felt by the people below.
She lifted Huo Yuhao from Xu Sanshi's arms, making his body hover in front of her. Her giant Martial True Body made him look tiny. Then she held him in her huge palms, and the wings folded forward, covering both the healer and the patient in a folded wings cocoon. Golden light seeped from the wings, bright and stunning. And suddenly the light intensified, making the people below them avert their faces or cover their eyes.
Several minutes passed before finally the bright golden light started to fade into soft golden. Slowly, the wings opened and revealed Huo Yuhao who was slowly lowered down to the ground. His body was now clean from dirt, blood and wound, and but he was still unconscious. His eyes were still closed and his hands hung limply by his sides. Dai Hao quickly positioned himself below his slowly descending son, gathered his limp body in his arms and craddled him close. He looked down at him in awe. Amazed that this outstanding young man in his arms was actually his own son.
"The pure vitality in Yuhao’s body actually helped me through my bottleneck," the Immortal Physician Master said, changing back to her old real body, golden light disappearing slowly as she retracted her power. "I just reached level 96. You have an amazing son, Duke." She smiled at the White Tiger Duke's stunned face. The other people who heard also gasped in wonder.
"Okay, he is out of danger now," she continued. "He needs to rest. We must move him inside to heal properly.”
Dai Hao did not hesitate. He already had Yuhao in his arms. Then he lifted him, careful to arrange Yuhao's head to lay on his shoulder, and started to walk with his son in his arms. Carefully. Like something irreplaceable.
“I will carry him.” The White Tiger Duke said.
No one argued.
As they moved toward the temporary medical tent, Dai Hao spoke quietly—so only the unconscious boy in his arms could hear him, if he were able. “You thought you could die without even calling me Father?” His voice trembled. “You stubborn boy,” His grip tightend. "Now rest. I've got you."
Behind them, Luoli wiped his eyes. Dai Yueheng exhaled slowly. The other Tang sect members all looked relieved, but they also realized something.
Huo Yuhao wasn’t just their friend and commander. Not just a prodigy. Not just the strategist who saved them again and again.
He was—
A son who had, subconciously, fought his way back to the father who never knew he existed. Driven by revenge to said father, but twisted by national and fillial duty. They came to respect each other.
And even now…
Huo Yuhao lay unconscious. Unaware that the truth had finally come out. Unaware that the world had shifted. Unaware that when he opened his eyes again, nothing would ever be the same.
Hours later, inside the medical tent, Dai Hao sat beside the bed. Yuhao’s breathing was slow and steady. He was healing nicely. He looked so young without his intense eyes focused on something. His brows were smooth in sleep. The white tiger fang pendant rested against his chest. Dai Hao reached out and gripped it gently. “You returned it to its rightful place,” he murmured. His eyes softened.
“When you wake up… we will speak.”
A pause.
His voice lowered.
“…Son.”
Outside the tent, Tang Wutong stood beneath the fading light of dusk. Her heart was still racing. She was confused why she felt like her heart was breaking when Yuhao fell from the sky earlier. She gripped her chest. Her heart was still pounding uncomfortably. What was wrong with her? She thought. That rude person Huo Yuhao made her felt things she had never felt before.
“Idiot…” she whispered softly.
END SCENE