CH 12: Returning home

"Ali! Stop doing that!" Xiao Wu shouted with a pout and a blush as she stomped her foot on the ground. But Ali just smirked provokingly :"Or whatcha gonna do about it?" Xiao Wu gritted her teeth in embarrassment as she pointed at him with a shaky hand :"Y-you... You...!! I-I will have Xiao San beat you up!"

'Why are you bringing me into this?!' Tang San screamed in his head with cold sweat running down his back. And it got even worse when he saw Ali smirking at him from the corner of his eye :"Oh? THIS Xiao San?" Tang San tried to dodge, but Ali was a lot quicker since he also knew his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and had already mastered it thanks to his Omnitrix's Innate Abilities.

So he was able to smack Tang San's ass as well, leaving him in a gloomy state. Ali chuckled as he looked at Xiao Wu smugly with a mischievous glint in his blood red eyes, causing a shiver to run down her spine :"Xiao Wu, I won't be arrogant and say that I can do whatever I want in the world, but I can certainly do whatever I want to you guys since none of you can stop me~."

Xiao Wu took a step back as Ali slowly walked towards her in a threatening manner :"Now get over here! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Causing Xiao Wu to shriek in horror before running away while Ali chased after her :"NOOOOO!!"

Even though Ali would mess with them quite often, Tang San couldn't help but smile fondly at his friends. After all, he was all alone in his past life without a single friend or family. But here, he had his father, his friend that he had known since he was a child, and the two girls that he and his friend befriended in the school.

No matter how much Ali messed with them, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at this boy that would show his love towards others in his own unique ways. But he would seriously appreciate it if he laid off HIS ass at least...

As Ali tickled Xiao Wu who was laughing hysterically while trying to escape, Tang San tried to help out :"Ali, are you and sister Yuena going to go straight to your house and see grandpa Jack, or do you want to come to my house and see my father?"

And fortunately for both him and Xiao Wu, Ali decided to have mercy on her :"Well, might as well go and see uncle Hao since we're already on the way. I hope he won't lose his temper because of Xiao Wu."

"Heeey! What does that mean?!" Xiao Wu called out with a pout before Ali snorted with a smirk :"What do you think it means? It would be an achievement in itself to not lose your cool around you."

Xiao Wu's pout got more intense before she hugged Yuena with puppy dog eyes :"Sister Yuena, Ali is bullying me again!" However, unlike how she thought she would defend her, Yuena patted her head with a smirk of her own :"Xiao Wu, I completely agree with Ali on that matter."

Xiao Wu was shocked before she turned all gloomy and depressed as they continued walking. Even though Yuena was a little bit of an aloof person, she was still quite a dom... Why else do you think she also smacks Ali's ass?

She also isn't embarrassed when doing something. Ali had lost count of how many times Yuena would just hug him from behind Right when they got into bed. Also, after the ass smacking thing got a thing for Ali, she wasn't at all embarrassed to just grab his cheeks instead of smacking them. She would also do it with a smug and provoking smirk when doing it.

But well, confident women were always Ali's time. He wasn't really much into the shy ones or the ones who hide their feelings (tsunderes). Sure, it's cute to see them shy, but that's only from time to time. It just gets annoying at some point.

After they all reached Tang San's house, he went in first as he announced his return :"Dad, I'm back!" And the others followed in right after. "Sigh, it's just as messy as before." Tang San said before he put his bag on a table and called out again :"Dad, I'm back!"

"Uncle Hao~!" Ali also called out before they saw old Jack walk out of a room. "Gramps/grandpa Jack?" The two boys questioned as old Jack looked at them in confusion :"Xiao San, Ali, why did you come back by yourselves?"

The boys looked at each other before Ali shrugged :"Well, we were already together, so there wasn't much to worry about. And besides, we aren't alone. We came with our friends."

"Hello, grandpa Jack!" Xiao Wu came hopping to Tang San's side while Yuena calmly walked to Ali's side and politely nodded :"Hello, Mr Jack." Ali smiled as he introduced :"Gramps, this girl beside me is Gu Yuena, and that girl is Xiao Wu."

"Hello..." Old Jack said with a little surprise in his voice before he gave the boys a thumbs up and a smile :"Good job, you two!" Tang San was confused, but Ali's face twitched as he playfully rolled his eyes :"Piss off, gramps."

"Grandpa Jack, where is my father?" Tang San looked around before old Jack answered with a sigh and handed him a letter :"Sigh, I wanted to pick you up with your father. He left this."

Ali may be an asshole from time to time, but that's his way of showing his affection to the people around him. So he wouldn't be rude enough to look at a private letter. He also stopped Xiao Wu from trying to read it with an unimpressed look, causing her to pout.

After a few moments, the letter was dropped from Tang San's hand with a sad look on his face :"My father has left..." Ali wouldn't have his homie be so sad, so he got to his knees and picked up the letter as he looked at it, it wasn't private anymore since Tang San already said everything:

Xiao San, when you read this letter, I'm gone. Don't look for me. You'll never be able to find me. An eagle can only fly high when it's independent. Dad is useless. I can't help you. You have to choose your own path. I have to get back something that belongs to me. Don't be worried about me. One day, we'll meet again. You're as exquisite as your mother. I believe, you'll be the pride of your mother. If one day, you think soul master isn't a good occupation, then go back to the Spirit Saint Village. Be like me, be a blacksmith. Don't miss me. Tang Hao.

After reading the letter, Ali exhaled softly from his nose as he gently patted Tang San's shoulder in a comforting manner before side hugging him like he had done countless times. Tang San nodded with a small, sad smile as he took the letter from Ali's hand and bowed his head at old Jack :"Thank you, grandpa Jack."

And then he walked away. Old Jack looked at Ali to see if he wanted to come with him, but Ali just nodded towards the bed before pointing at himself and then at Tang San. Thankfully, old Jack understood what he said and walked away after nodding at him.

The three knew that he just needed a little time to digest the information, so they didn't say anything, just accompanied him so he would know that they're here. After a while, as Tang San sat on the stairs with Xiao Wu to his right and Ali to his left, and Yuena to Ali's left, Tang San looked at them all with a sad face :"Thank you for keeping me company, guys."

Ali just smiled as he gently elbowed him :"You're welcome, bud. After all, if I wasn't going to comfort you, who was going to?" Xiao Wu leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at Ali :"What about me?"

"Or me?" They all looked at Yuena with a little surprise as she shrugged calmly :"What? I Know that I don't show it much, but Tang San and Xiao Wu are my friends too." A gentle smile formed on their lips as Tang San nodded at her :"Mhm, thank you, sister Yuena."

She nodded back with a small smile before Ali gently slapped his back :"Hey now, don't look so down. Maybe he left for your sake." Causing him to look at him in confusion :"For my sake?" And Ali nodded :"Yeah, think about it.

He must've known that if he stayed, you would probably worry a lot about him and won't be able to concentrate on getting stronger. So he wanted to take away some of your worry. But well, I guess that isn't that much of a good idea since now you'll be worried about where he is..."

Yuena elbowed his side with a small glare to shut him up before she looked at Tang San :"I somewhat agree with Ali. He probably wanted you to focus on cultivating instead of worrying about him all the time."

Xiao Wu also nodded from his side :"That's right. He probably left so you can grow better and be stronger. If you keep being like this, aren't you letting him down? And besides, you will meet him eventually!"

"Perhaps..." Tang San let out with his spirit being lifted a bit :"But why did he just leave like that? My father is my only family. Without him, home is no longer home..."

Ali sighed with his hand on Tang San's back, gently massaging and comforting him :"Uncle Hao may not show it, but he cares deeply for you. You know that I have a keen eye for things like that.

He probably didn't have the heart to say goodbye to you face to face. And besides, even without uncle Hao, don't you still have me and the girls as your friends?"

Xiao Wu nodded as hopped onto her feet and walked from side to side in front of them :"That's right! If you really want a family, I don't mind being your elder sister. C'mon, call me sister Xiao Wu!"

Everyone looked up at her with raised eyebrows before she pouted :"Everyone calls me that, except you three." They all exchanged looks before getting up as Tang San smiled in amusement :"Aren't you the youngest among all four of us? If you're willing to be my younger sister, I'm fine with it."

"Hmph, dream on!" Xiao Wu scoffed before trying to playfully punch him. But Tang San grabbed her wrist and they both just stared at each for a moment, resulting in Ali narrowing his eyes at Tang San with that "Lolicon" look.

But he stopped when Yuena elbowed his side and Xiao Wu freed her hand with a snort :"I only want to be the elder one, never the younger." Tang San looked at her fondly before he looked at Ali :"Ali, shall we go to the mountain and show that to the girls?"

Ali's ears perked up as he nodded with a smile :"Yeah, been a long time since I've seen it myself. I miss it a little now." The girls looked a little confused, but still followed when the boys led the way.

-

On part of a mountain, filled with all types of beautiful flowers, the four stood as they looked around with amazement. While Yuena was looking around with a comfortable smile, Xiao Wu had an excited smile on her cute face.

"Takes you back, huh?" Ali said as he glanced at Tang San who nodded with a small smile :"Yeah, this was where I would practice martial arts and we would spar against each other... Ali, sister Yuena, Xiao Wu, I want to ask you all a question. I hope you can answer me seriously. Are you willing to be my brother and sisters?"