"Bamboo Sis, I'll head off first—got things to take care of at home."
After saying what needed to be said, Lin Yu prepared to leave. He stood up and bid farewell.
"Mhm."
Xia Muzhu wiped the tears from her face with her hand, forcing a smile as she replied,
"Be careful on your way back."
"Yeah, I will."
Lin Yu nodded, his heart a tangled mess of emotions, before turning toward the private room's door.
His hand gripped the doorknob, and just as he was about to pull it open, Xia Muzhu's voice, choked with sobs, called out again.
"Lin Yu."
The trembling, soft voice drifted into his ears, and for a split second, Lin Yu's body stiffened involuntarily. But he quickly composed himself, turning back with a smile.
"What is it, Bamboo Sis? Something else on your mind?"
Xia Muzhu's eyes were brimming with tears again, though Lin Yu couldn’t tell when they had welled up. She sniffled lightly, and the glistening droplets rolled down her cheeks. She hurriedly wiped them away before fixing her gaze on Lin Yu, her tearful eyes earnest.
"If you ever run into trouble in the future, come find me."
"Don’t worry about me."
"I’m not afraid of bad things happening."
"..."
"Ah."
"Okay."
"Th-thanks, Bamboo Sis."
Lin Yu strained to curve his lips into a smile before swiftly pulling the door open and stepping out...
...
Walking briskly out of Mountain City Restaurant, a late autumn gust swept over him, slightly dispersing the restlessness in his chest.
The city was already shrouded in darkness. Lin Yu heaved a heavy sigh, unable to understand how things had ended up this way.
Hadn’t he done a good deed, like Lei Feng?
Helping the female leads avoid tragedy—wasn’t that righteous?
Yet now that everything was resolved, instead of feeling the satisfaction of a good deed done, he was weighed down by guilt, as if he were some heartless scoundrel.
What a headache.
Needing to vent his frustration, Lin Yu decided a cigarette might help.
He pulled a pack from his jacket, tapped one out, and clamped it between his lips. Just as he flicked open his lighter, a mischievous chuckle sounded beside him.
"Heh heh, Lin Yu-ge."
Seeing Xia Yueshan sidle up, Lin Yu didn’t even bother lighting the cigarette. He immediately grabbed the kid’s head and shook it violently, grinding his teeth.
"You dare show your face after tricking me?"
"You think I don’t have a temper?"
"It was my sister who wanted to see you! Don’t blame me!" Xia Yueshan protested, not resisting as Lin Yu manhandled his head like a gearshift, his words slurred.
Deep down, Lin Yu didn’t actually hold it against him. He’d suspected it might be a trap before coming.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t rough the kid up a little.
No reason needed!
Pure catharsis!
Honestly, smacking Xia Yueshan around was more effective than smoking anyway.
"Alright."
"Get lost!"
"Just seeing you annoys me!"
After playing with Xia Yueshan’s head for a bit, Lin Yu felt slightly less gloomy. He gave the kid a light kick to the rear, signaling he was free to go.
But to Lin Yu’s surprise, after stumbling a few steps from the kick, Xia Yueshan smoothly looped back like an airplane banking midair, returning to his side with a grin, not a trace of irritation on his face.
"What now?"
"You got something else to say?"
Lin Yu could tell Xia Yueshan wasn’t leaving without a reason, so he cut straight to the point.
"Yeah!"
Xia Yueshan’s expression turned serious as he nodded. Just as Lin Yu wondered what warranted such gravity, the kid broke into an awkward, sheepish smile.
"So, uh…"
"Lin Yu-ge."
"Teach me a few more moves, will ya?"
Lin Yu nearly laughed in disbelief.
This little brat.
Just scammed me, and now you’re asking for lessons?
Couldn’t you at least wait a day for me to forget?
"No."
Lin Yu rolled his eyes, bluntly refusing.
Not in the mood today. Not happening.
"Come on, Lin Yu-ge!"
Xia Yueshan grabbed Lin Yu’s arm, shaking it while whining,
"You wouldn’t want my sister getting bullied by bad guys again, right?"
????????
Lin Yu’s mind flooded with question marks.
What the hell?
Why does that line sound so familiar?
Wasn’t that MY script?
Now I’m the one being guilt-tripped?
Lin Yu gnashed his teeth, wanting to retort but finding no words. He considered shoving Xia Yueshan away, but the kid had a point—teaching him a few techniques would help protect Xia Muzhu in the future.
But still!
...
Damn it!
So irritating!!!
As Xia Yueshan grinned up at him dopily, Lin Yu suddenly remembered something. He yanked his arm free and delivered a sharp knuckle rap to the kid’s head, his tone sharp.
"You’ve got some nerve bringing that up."
"What the hell happened back there?"
"Getting pinned and beaten up?"
"Where were the moves I taught you?"
Xia Yueshan winced, rubbing his head while sucking in a pained breath.
"I had no choice!"
"When I got home, that bastard was already dragging my sister inside. I was behind him—pressure points were useless from that angle!"
"And the Monkey Steals the Peach?"
"Don’t tell me you can’t ‘steal’ from behind?"
Lin Yu demanded angrily.
"I did! I did!"
Xia Yueshan hurriedly explained, though his voice grew quieter, tinged with guilt.
"Just… used my foot. Might’ve missed the spot. After I knocked him down, didn’t expect him to still fight back. Got sucker-punched."
"Tch."
Lin Yu sighed, ruffling the kid’s hair resignedly.
"Fine, can’t blame you. You’ve only been training, no real combat experience. Mistakes happen."
"But don’t get sloppy next time."
Lin Yu warned,
"With schoolyard fights, hold back. But if it’s a real threat? Go for the kill. No mercy."
"See how I handled it the other day?"
"Dislocated both his arms—zero chance to fight back."
"Mmhm!"
Xia Yueshan’s eyes sparkled as he nodded eagerly.
"Alright, I’ll teach you some joint locks and bone-twisting techniques. And with pressure points—adapt. If your hand strength’s good enough, even hitting non-vital spots can wreck someone."
"Like joints."
Lin Yu pressed the soft spot between Xia Yueshan’s shoulder and armpit.
"Right here."
"Or just punch the stomach."
"Stomach’s weak but hard to seriously damage. One solid hit, and most people fold like a shrimp."
"I promise I won't fight back!"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
