However, the scene of the two parting affectionately was caught in full view by Princess Xiao Xiao, who happened to arrive at the shop.
From the moment she stepped through the door, she had been in a foul mood.
“What’s wrong? Why the long face? Who upset you?” He Yinqing asked while busy counting money.
“Hmph, I see you’re getting along quite well with that Fang the Bitch? Forgotten how she treated you before?”
“No, not at all. That’s just for appearances— she’s a pretty big client after all! Oh, are you jealous? Come, come, try my new product.” He Yinqing grabbed Xiao Xiao’s hand.
“Hmph, I don’t like her either way!”
“I know, I know. I don’t like her either.”
In the imperial study, the emperor stared at the letter in his hand, nearly scratching his head raw: “This Fang Zhiyi… has he finally come to his senses?”
Several ministers watched him pace back and forth, curious about the letter in his hand.
Fang Zhiyi taking the initiative to write to the emperor was strange enough— everyone knew that brute had never willingly spoken to the throne before, and had even secretly complained about the court from time to time.
The letter was filled almost entirely with flattery— first saying the border was peaceful all because of His Majesty’s benevolence, then saying he too wished to kneel in gratitude for imperial grace. The more the emperor read, the more goosebumps he got.
Something was off.
Yet the secret reports from military informants said everything was normal— Fang Zhiyi was still the same Fang Zhiyi.
What was he really up to?
Prince Min, standing nearby, spoke up: “Perhaps he knows his reputation at court is poor, so he’s lowering his posture to show weakness to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, in my opinion, when it comes to guarding the border, it’s safer to use our own people.”
“I see. Let me think about it. You may all withdraw for now.”
The emperor knew very well that Fang Zhiyi was not his man, but removing the border-general his father had personally appointed right after taking the throne would announce to the world that he had no tolerance for others— and slap his own father’s face in the process.
Given that brute’s temperament, he’d likely slip up on his own before long. Even if he held back, his sister was no pushover either. Just wait.
Seeing the others leave, a eunuch stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, Consort Fang visited the beauty shop this morning.”
“Oh? Did she go to cause trouble?”
“No, she went to buy a few more things. From a distance, this servant saw that Lady He was quite affectionate with her.”
“Mm… mm?” The emperor’s furrowed brow relaxed. “That makes sense— since Fang Zhiyi wrote that in his family letter, this woman ought to be sensible too. This Fang Zhiyi, why didn’t I ever notice how shameless he could be? I thought he wasn’t afraid of anything. Let’s go! We’re leaving the palace with me to see Lady He!”
“But Your Majesty, ministers are scheduled to meet this afternoon…”
“Can’t they hold their meeting without me? Whoever comes, let them wait!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At the border, Fang Zhiyi walked through the camp with his hands behind his back, Little Hei following behind him: “Tell me, does sucking up actually work?”
Fang Zhiyi didn’t turn around: “For an emperor whose head is full of posturing and chasing women, flattery and playing weak are the most effective tactics.” He stopped and sighed, “This original host really had it rough— a giant border army full of holes. I bet if he gave an order, no one would even bother listening.”
“Then what? We can’t just lie low forever.” Little Hei shuddered at the thought of Yue Anyao’s expression.
“I’m working on it.” Fang Zhiyi took a few more steps. “I’m willing to bet that if those folks in the capital wanted to, they’d know how many bowls of rice I eat a day and how many times I go to the latrine.”
“So?”
“So for now, the only option is to wait.”
“Wait for what?”
Fang Zhiyi suddenly smiled: “Whatever they’re waiting for, I’m waiting for that too.”
Little Hei was confused: “Talking with you is exhausting sometimes.”
Fang Zhiyi looked at him: “Whether it’s the court or the border, there are people waiting for me to slip up, to have an excuse to come after me. But what if I never slip up— and that other transmigrator doesn’t either?”
Little Hei began to understand.
“They’ll get anxious. When they get anxious, my chance will come. Remember: when the time isn’t right, you play the coward. You take the abuse. You swallow your pride.” His gaze shifted, turning sharp and ruthless. “And when the time is right… heh heh heh…”
“You’re still terrifying.” Little Hei sighed.
No other transmigrator at the Quick-Transit Bureau could do what Fang Zhiyi did— endure humiliation from the natives without complaint.
Deputy General Wang Hui noticed that the general had changed recently. He seemed far more amiable— spending his days inspecting the camps and looking after the troops’ daily needs, and his speech was no longer as harsh as before.
Thinking of certain rumors he’d heard, Wang Hui was baffled. Fang Zhiyi was not the type to clean up his act just to keep his position as grand general.
Even when Yilibu, the Commander of Yongning’s defense, came as rude as ever, Fang Zhiyi didn’t flare up like before. Instead, he listened to the man’s complaints and snide remarks with a smile.
It was too abnormal.
This abnormality showed in his letters to Fang Yunlan as well— he would constantly say things like “His Majesty has been good to our family, don’t cause trouble for His Majesty,” and “we need to raise our political awareness.”
This made the spies who intercepted Fang Zhiyi’s family letters suspicious, but the informants inside the camp could find nothing wrong— they only said Fang Zhiyi seemed about the same, except that his conflicts with other officers had greatly decreased.
Only Fang Yunlan knew that her master must have his reasons. She also managed to find other messages hidden in the letters.
He told her to interact more with the palace servants and to do them favors.
Fang Yunlan couldn’t understand why, but she obeyed anyway.
This month, the emperor had already received Fang Zhiyi’s fifth letter.
The contents remained the same— singing praises and celebrating virtue, saying the border was at peace and His Majesty’s grace was boundless. The emperor frowned harder with each read.
Could Fang Zhiyi be trying to show his loyalty?
It wouldn’t matter anyway. No matter how loyal, he was still a Han civilian. That grand general seat was doomed to be taken away eventually.
In the past, all the emperor had to do was wait for Fang Zhiyi to slip up. But now, not only did the man make no mistakes, he was also being kind to everyone— even the border folk were singing his praises for being fair and friendly. And whenever they did, Fang Zhiyi would immediately correct them.
“That’s all thanks to His Majesty’s benevolence. You should all be grateful to the emperor.”
This left the emperor stuck. If he moved against Fang Zhiyi now, he could imagine with his toes how his reputation would suffer.
Wei An was equally anxious. He had heard from his beloved that the man of her dreams was a great hero— a knight in shining armor. He probably couldn’t pull off becoming a prince, and he wasn’t about to call the emperor “daddy” just for that, but a hero…
After much thought, only the title of Grand General could match the word “hero.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
