He locked eyes with the female ghost. A moment later, as if frightened, the female ghost backed away continuously.
Fang Zhiyi knew he hadn't bet wrong. This Buddha statue had received incense offerings from Old Madam He, so it had at least some deterrent effect on these wandering spirits.
Little Hei slapped a paw over its eyes. How could it have forgotten Fang Zhiyi's style? When it came to encountering demons and ghosts, he could cause more of a ruckus than anyone else.
In its eyes, Fang Zhiyi was currently hugging that Buddha statue, puffing and panting as he chased after the female ghost. The female ghost retreated rapidly, while Fang Zhiyi wore a look of sheer excitement.
"Come on, come over here!"
Little Hei gave a brief evaluation: "You're acting a bit like a villain who just got his way."
"What the hell do you know! When have I ever suffered such grievances? Now, the tables have turned!"
The female ghost hadn't expected this person to be so absurd, but upon seeing the Buddha statue, instinctive fear still made her retreat continuously.
The Buddha statue was made of solid wood and wasn't small in size. Fang Zhiyi was visibly panting. "You, don't run, you..."
The female ghost was out of options. Was this guy sick in the head? Seeing Fang Zhiyi's face full of ferocity, she turned around without hesitation and jumped down the dry well.
But she hadn't anticipated just how far this young man who could see her would go.
"To hell with you!" Fang Zhiyi swung his arm and threw the Buddha statue right down after her.
A sharp shriek erupted from the dry well, piercing straight into one's brain like freezing ice.
But after the shriek, the dry well went completely silent.
"It's just a Buddha statue, is that really necessary?" Little Hei muttered.
"You don't understand. Ordinary idols might be useless, but the ones that have received long-term incense offerings... usually have some effect. It's just too heavy."
"No, but you threw their Buddha statue into a well, this..."
Fang Zhiyi acted righteously: "You don't understand. Whether it's gods or Buddhas, the important thing is to deter evil and save all living beings. This, this, this... is exactly where it belongs!"
Little Hei shook its head: "You're crazy too."
"How do you have the nerve to say that? I have a whole set of Daoist arts and you tell me I can't use them? I..." Fang Zhiyi reached out to strangle Little Hei's neck, only to realize it didn't have one.
"Don't be anxious... this world is different... the Heavenly Dao stopped interfering with the world's operation a long time ago."
Fang Zhiyi cursed a classic expletive, turned around, and left. He was going to sleep.
He was awakened by the noise outside. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard someone exclaiming outside.
"This is bad! The Eldest Miss has run away from home!"
"Somebody come! The Eldest Miss is missing!"
Fang Zhiyi sighed, scratched his messy hair, and rolled over to sit up.
He had actually been having nightmares all last night. Even though he had beaten up those things in his dream, it was still a nightmare! When had he ever been this miserable?
He got dressed, went out, and asked around. Obviously, his words yesterday had given that foolish young lady a new idea. She had packed her valuables and run away overnight, leaving a letter saying she was going to find He Chusheng. Old Master He's face was full of anger, but upon seeing Fang Zhiyi arrive, his anger turned into apology.
"Worthy nephew... this is truly..."
Although Fang Zhiyi was shameless, he really was the one who instigated this. He cupped his hands in greeting: "Uncle He... I thank you for your care and attention these past few days... Yuling doesn't like me, I understand. What happened last time was already... very out of line. This time, Uncle He, your nephew begs a favor of you."
Old Master He stared at him blankly, making Fang Zhiyi feel a little embarrassed.
"Your nephew earnestly requests Uncle He to dissolve the marriage contract between Yuling and me."
"You... this..." Old Master He also understood. The previous incident was already devoid of human decency, and he had finally managed to pacify Fang Zhiyi. Now his daughter had actually fled overnight; this was unjustifiable no matter what.
"I am unworthy of being a father!" He clutched his chest in anger. "To have raised such a disgraceful daughter! I have let you down, and I have let your father down!"
Little Hei poked Fang Zhiyi with its hand: "Don't you feel ashamed?"
"A little."
"Uncle He, times are different now. Children have their own thoughts, so please don't be angry with Yuling anymore," Fang Zhiyi said. "Since this matter is off, your nephew will pack up and move out today."
Watching him turn to leave, Old Master He wanted to speak and ask him to stay, but didn't know how to say it.
"Worthy nephew! Please wait!"
Fang Zhiyi smiled slightly, his face returning to a calm expression the moment he turned his head.
"Worthy nephew, your family has suffered such a misfortune. If you leave the He family, how will you make a living?"
"Me? I don't know."
Old Master He pondered for a moment and ordered the butler to fetch some silver. He took the silver and pressed it into Fang Zhiyi's hands: "Worthy nephew, there isn't much I can do to help you. Keep this silver safe. If you ever need help in the future, feel free to come find me."
Fang Zhiyi nodded.
"This old man is too stingy! He didn't even offer to give you a couple of shops to do business with!" Little Hei clamored.
"You don't understand. Giving me a shop would mean he considers me family. But now that the marriage has fallen through, what head of a household wouldn't consider things from a standpoint of interest? This is human nature. Even if he really wanted to give me a shop, what should I do? Shamelessly accept it? And then be endlessly entangled with the He family? Don't forget, even if I married that person, I would be marrying into her family. This house will always be managed by those surnamed He." Fang Zhiyi walked out hugging the silver. "We aren't related. It's already rare enough that they were willing to keep their promise, and now they've even given money. Be content..."
He weighed the silver in his hand, a hint of fierceness flashing in his eyes.
"I'm not taking this money for nothing. This is the money to buy his life."
"Stop bragging. There aren't that many Buddha statues outside for you to throw around." Little Hei's single sentence dragged him straight back from his lofty realm to reality.
But Fang Zhiyi didn't panic at all: "With money, there are plenty of ways."
"Such as?"
Fang Zhiyi didn't answer, simply packing his luggage and leaving the He family.
During the day, those ghosts and demons didn't dare show themselves, which provided Fang Zhiyi with a rare moment of peace and quiet.
First, he went into the city and bought some cinnabar, ink, brushes, and yellow paper. Then he immediately went to a timber shop and ordered some wood.
Little Hei just watched him fuss about. By the time Fang Zhiyi rented a place to stay, the sky was already growing dark. There weren't any entertainment activities in this era, so everyone rested quite early, and it gradually quieted down outside.
Fang Zhiyi, meanwhile, began drawing talismans on a simple, crude table.
One sheet, two sheets, three sheets. He concentrated intently, bead-sized drops of sweat dripping down.
Little Hei was puzzled: "No, these talismans you're drawing are all for seeking the power of heaven and earth. They're useless..."
Fang Zhiyi smiled: "You'll understand later."
"Crazy." Little Hei shook its head.
A faint rustling sound echoed outside the window, drawing closer and closer until it finally stopped at the door.
Fang Zhiyi felt his vision darken. Where were all these ghostly things coming from?
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."
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
