Liu Xiaohua was still thinking about what the ghost had said the night before as she went to school.
Even when the classmates who usually bullied her threw her book away, she only reflexively picked it up, which made those few girls somewhat unhappy.
"Liu Xiaohua, who are you making that sour face at?"
"Exactly!"
"Look at that deadpan expression. You didn’t run into a ghost, did you? Hahahaha!"
Liu Xiaohua looked up at the girls in front of her. They were originally from the same village as her, but they were also the ones who bullied her the worst.
"I, I..." She instinctively wanted to apologize, but suddenly, Fang Zhiyi’s words flashed in her mind.
"You can see ghosts, right? Why should you be afraid of them? They should be afraid of you!"
"If you don’t fight back, they’ll only think you’re easy to push around. Think about it—weren’t the chickens your grandma raised poisoned before? You know who did it, but you didn’t dare say, right?"
"Your weakness will also drag your grandma down."
She forced the word "sorry" back down her throat.
Just then, the bell for class rang. The girls glared at her before returning to their seats one by one. Liu Xiaohua, meanwhile, reached into her bag and touched a jade pendant.
An old ghost had given it to her last night, saying that with it, he could stay by her side. But for now, she didn’t see the old ghost anywhere. Thinking about it, no ghost could come out in broad daylight anyway.
Even though she was distracted all day, those village girls still found ways to bully her.
When school let out, Liu Xiaohua avoided the crowds and ran home along the back roads. She didn’t know what she should do. All she wanted was to hide.
But as night fell, she suddenly heard a sigh near her ear.
"Child, you really are too pitiful."
Liu Xiaohua instinctively curled up, but then she saw a figure walk out of her room.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she jumped off the bed and wanted to follow, but when she reached the front door, she faltered again. After much deliberation, she opened the door and looked around. At that moment, a piercing scream made her shrink back inside.
That direction—it was Zhang Ling’s house!
The next day, she heard that Zhang Ling, for some reason, had fallen into the latrine pit while using the outhouse the previous night. When her family pulled her out, she was yelling nonsense like "Don’t come near me!"
Because Zhang Ling had taken leave, there was one less bully in class that day. The others also seemed a bit subdued.
That night was quiet, nothing happened. But the day after, one more person took leave.
Wang Jing was also absent, no one knew why.
Hu Linlin deliberately knocked Liu Xiaohua’s book off her desk as she passed by, smirking proudly. But after the past two nights, Liu Xiaohua finally showed some change. She hesitated for a moment, then bravely looked Hu Linlin straight in the eye.
Hu Linlin was surprised, then frowned. "What? Do you think because Jing and Ling aren’t here, I won’t deal with you?"
Feeling the jade pendant in her bag, Liu Xiaohua felt an unprecedented sense of calm. "Try me. If you want to end up like them, go ahead!"
"You!" Hu Linlin wanted to retort, but suddenly realized something. "Did you set them up??"
Her voice wasn’t quiet, and several classmates turned to look.
"What are you talking about? I go straight home after school. I never go out."
Hu Linlin glared at her, lowering her voice. "I’m not afraid of you. If you dare come to my house, I’ll beat you like a thief!"
Looking at Hu Linlin’s expression, Liu Xiaohua felt a strange satisfaction. "I won’t go to your house..." she also lowered her voice. "But do you still remember? You all said I was a freak, that I can see ghosts... What if..."
Her eerie expression made Hu Linlin shiver. She instinctively stepped back two paces. "Hmph, you’re just putting on an act. Just wait—don’t think I can’t handle you!"
But despite her tough words, Liu Xiaohua’s strange behavior left Hu Linlin unsettled. She remembered now that it had started when the adults in the village said Liu Xiaohua could see ghosts and had even "killed" her parents. That was why they all bullied her.
Could she really talk to ghosts?
No, that’s wrong. She must be bluffing.
Even though she tried to comfort herself, Hu Linlin knew it was too weird—one of her two friends was talking nonsense, and the other was burning with fever.
By the time she got home, it was already dark.
"Trying to scare me, huh? I’ll make you pay tomorrow!" she muttered through gritted teeth. But the moment she stepped through the door, goosebumps spread across her skin. A shadow was hanging from the lamp above her.
Hu Linlin froze.
"Hanged" figure slowly turned until it faced her.
"I died so miserably..."
A scream once again shattered the stillness of the village.
Fang Zhiyi crouched on a tombstone, watching a newly arrived ghost wander aimlessly, occasionally sighing.
"Look at this useless chosen vessel you picked! Doesn’t even have a decent burial accessory!"
Little Hei knew he was in the wrong and said nothing.
"I finally thought of a way to get out, and now it’s all wasted, and that old ghost gets the benefit."
He cursed under his breath. The old ghost he was talking about, Liu Sandao, returned smugly from outside.
"Going out for a round is so refreshing, hahahaha... Kid Fang, why are you so glum?" He paused. "Let me tell you, those little bullies are in for a real lesson this time."
Fang Zhiyi reached out, pushed his face away, and shoved him aside.
A small figure trotted into the cemetery.
Liu Xiaohua, no longer as scared as before, glanced at Liu Sandao and bowed to him. "Thank you, Grandpa!"
Liu Sandao was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. "No need for that! No need! Hahahaha!" But when he saw Fang Zhiyi’s grim face, he quickly composed himself. "Ahem, scaring people burns a lot of Yin energy. I need to rest."
With that, he scurried back to his cozy little tomb.
Liu Xiaohua fixed her gaze on Fang Zhiyi. "Brother, tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. I’ll repay you both!"
Fang Zhiyi looked her up and down. "No need for much... But are you sure you want to follow my advice? This path isn’t quite like ordinary people’s..."
"I’ve thought it through. I’ve always been unlucky anyway. I... I’m willing to walk a different path!"
"Alright... Listen to me, and you won’t go wrong." Fang Zhiyi nodded. "But for now, the first thing is to claim what’s rightfully yours."
Seeing that Liu Xiaohua was still hesitant, Fang Zhiyi knew that grave robbing was indeed immoral.
"Forget it. Starting tomorrow, keep an eye out for anyone in the area running into strange problems they can’t solve."
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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.
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
