Fang Zhiyi walked out of the courtyard, and Old Yu watched his retreating figure with deep concern in his eyes.
"We'll do our best to protect him. We’ve already told him that if he senses danger, he can stop immediately," Section Chief Zhang adjusted his collar. "But I think this young man should be fine."
Old Yu remained silent, and Section Chief Zhang patted him on the shoulder.
Fang Zhiyi reached the ground floor just in time to see Wang Xiaoqiang scratching a bicycle with a small knife. He stood with his arms crossed, watching for a while. When Wang Xiaoqiang turned and noticed him, his eyes flashed with disdain. Wang Xiaoqiang often heard his grandmother call this jobless orphan a "good-for-nothing." Though the tattoos looked intimidating, the guy was actually a pushover—last time Granny Wang had cursed him out, he hadn’t even fought back.
But then, without warning, Fang Zhiyi lunged forward and slammed Wang Xiaoqiang against the wall. The spot was a blind corner, hidden from view upstairs.
"You little brat, recognize me now?" Fang Zhiyi’s left hand clamped down on the back of Wang Xiaoqiang’s neck, making him grimace in pain. When Wang Xiaoqiang tried to scream, Fang Zhiyi’s right hand immediately covered his mouth, while his knee dug into the boy’s stomach. "Make a single sound, and I’ll break your arm right now!"
His grip shifted from Wang Xiaoqiang’s neck to his arm, applying just enough pressure. For the first time, the usually fearless Wang Xiaoqiang felt a surge of terror. Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth and hissed, "From today on, stay the hell away from me. If I catch you causing trouble again, I’ll throw you off the building—no, I’ll break your legs first, then toss you down."
Wang Xiaoqiang was twelve, tall for his age, but under Fang Zhiyi’s glare, he trembled uncontrollably. He was convinced this "good-for-nothing" genuinely wanted him dead. Fang Zhiyi glanced down and saw liquid trickling down the boy’s pant leg. Disgusted, he shoved Wang Xiaoqiang away, letting him collapse to the ground.
"Go home and tell that old hag of yours, along with your useless parents—if you ever cross me again, I’ll end you."
Wang Xiaoqiang scrambled home, too terrified to eat, which sent Granny Wang into a frenzy. But no matter how much she pressed, he couldn’t utter a word until midnight, when he finally wailed about a demon threatening to break his legs. After hearing the story, Granny Wang flew into a rage and stormed upstairs to pound on Fang Zhiyi’s door.
"You piece of trash! Come out!"
Fang Zhiyi woke up but didn’t respond, listening as the old woman’s shrill voice pierced the night, rousing the entire neighborhood.
The young couple across the hall opened their door, irritation written on their faces, but they faltered at the sight of Granny Wang.
The elderly couple upstairs, however, had no such reservations. "Granny Wang, what the hell are you screaming about at this hour? We’re old—our sleep is already light enough without your nonsense!"
Granny Wang only grew more incensed. "None of your damn business, you old fossils! Get lost! Fang Zhiyi, come out here, you bastard!"
Unlike the others, the old couple didn’t back down—they were just as shameless as she was.
"Is that how you talk to people?" Old Man Gao’s temper flared. "Disturbing everyone at night and still acting righteous?"
Encouraged, the young couple chimed in, "Yeah, if that punk messed with you, deal with him in the daytime. Who knows if he’s even home at night? Probably out causing trouble."
Granny Wang planted a hand on her hip and jabbed a finger at them. "What? Ganging up on an old woman, are you?" Emboldened by her fury, Wang Xiaoqiang, who had been cowering earlier, regained his confidence and stomped up to the couple, chest heaving.
His parents trailed behind, hesitant.
"Let it go. We’re all neighbors," Father Li tried to mediate.
The other residents watched from their doors but stayed silent—no one wanted to get involved with these lunatics.
The "refined" young couple backed down first, muttering curses under their breath before shutting their door. Wang Xiaoqiang turned his glare to the elderly pair on the stairs. Old Man Gao squared his shoulders. "What are you staring at? Touch me, and I’ll drop right here. See who’ll testify for you!"
Granny Wang hesitated, her beady eyes narrowing at Old Man Gao. "Go ahead and drop! Let’s see who’ll back you up!" As if to prove her point, the other onlookers retreated into their homes.
Old Man Gao glanced at Wang Xiaoqiang. Everyone knew the kid was unhinged—if he actually lashed out, it wouldn’t end well. He tugged his still-muttering wife back inside.
With the meddlers gone, Granny Wang turned to Father Li’s family. "Stop pretending to be saints! I’m doing everyone a favor tonight!" Wang Xiaoqiang’s beady eyes locked onto Li Tiantian, who hid behind her father.
The look made Mother Li uneasy, and she quickly pulled her husband and daughter inside.
"What about Brother Fang?" Li Tiantian asked.
Father Li patted her head. "Don’t worry. If he were home, he’d have opened the door by now." Their impression of Fang Zhiyi wasn’t bad—despite being jobless, he’d never caused trouble and was always kind to Tiantian.
Hearing Granny Wang’s continued screeching, Fang Zhiyi knew the spectacle was over. He yanked the door open just as Wang Xiaoqiang raised his foot to kick it. The boy lost his balance and did the splits, his agonized howl echoing through the building.
Granny Wang whirled around, barking at her son and daughter-in-law to tend to the boy while she squared off with Fang Zhiyi, hands on hips.
Clang! A sharpened steel pipe struck the doorframe. Fang Zhiyi rested a hand on Wang Xiaoqiang’s head, and the boy instantly clamped his mouth shut, the terror from earlier flooding back. His parents froze, unsure what to do.
"Old hag, did I give you too much leeway before? Keep yelling if you want to collect your grandson’s corpse." Fang Zhiyi slowly lowered the pipe.
"You—" Granny Wang started, but the sharp end of the pipe now pressed against Wang Xiaoqiang’s throat cut her off.
"Say one more word, and I can’t guarantee where this might ‘accidentally’ land." Fang Zhiyi smirked, every bit the villain. "Did you forget what I’m capable of?"
"You wouldn’t dare!" Granny Wang pointed, but her voice lacked conviction.
"Breaking into my place and getting killed in ‘self-defense’? At most, I’d get fifteen years." As a street thug, Fang Zhiyi knew the basics of Northern laws. "With parole, I’d be out in thirteen."
"Who’s breaking in?" Granny Wang panicked.
Fang Zhiyi spread his hands. "Then prove you weren’t."
Granny Wang faltered. It was true—those spineless neighbors wouldn’t testify for her, just like they wouldn’t for him. All of them were selfish cowards!
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
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.
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."
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
