"Let's do it!" a subordinate said through gritted teeth.
Following Fang Zhiyi's instructions, the men brought the deer into the city overnight. They found a craftsman and forced him to process the antlers. Everything was done without making a sound.
Once everything was finished, they sought out Fang Zhiyi, who was wandering aimlessly, to report back.
"Young Master, what do we do now? Are you going to present this... auspicious omen directly to the Emperor?"
Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes at him. "Do you think the Emperor is a fool?"
The men looked at each other in dismay. After a moment, one asked, "Then..."
"We wait."
"Wait for what?"
"Wait for the day the antlers fall off."
"The antlers fall off?" His subordinates were even more confused. However, since they were already in the same boat, they naturally listened to whatever the Young Master said. Besides, ever since they started following him, their days had become much more leisurely. They didn't even have to report to the Imperial City Department on time every day.
Gao Qiu also couldn't quite figure out what his adopted son was doing every day. He only heard from the servants that the boy would go out as soon as he woke up and wouldn't return until dark. But seeing that he was in good spirits, Gao Qiu figured it was fine.
That was until Fang Zhiyi suddenly came to him, saying he wanted to present an auspicious omen to the Emperor. Gao Qiu was startled.
"An auspicious omen? What auspicious omen?" He knew his adopted son too well. If you asked him to find two famous courtesans for Emperor Huizong of Song, that might be possible. But an auspicious omen? What kind of shameless auspicious omen could he possibly stumble upon?
However, when he saw the slightly dazzling pair of antlers in Fang Zhiyi's hands, Gao Qiu's eyes went wide.
"This, this is..."
"I was out taking care of some business with a few of my men when we suddenly encountered a snow-white deer. It was glowing with white light. We were all stunned by this divine beast. By the time I snapped out of it and tried to approach... guess what happened?"
Gao Qiu blanked for a moment. "What happened?"
"The deer suddenly let out a cry, shook its head, and then these antlers fell right off! After that, the white deer vanished into the forest! Look, there are even faint words on the antlers..."
Gao Qiu leaned in for a closer look. There were indeed two lines of small characters clearly visible on them.
"A wise and holy Emperor."
"Peace and prosperity for the nation."
He looked at Fang Zhiyi with a face full of surprise. But as his eyes darted around, he immediately understood. Gao Qiu had climbed the ranks by kissing up to people; of course, he wouldn't believe any nonsense about a white deer appearing. What kind of proper deer would have gold and silver inlaid on its antlers?
But when he carefully pondered Fang Zhiyi's words, he realized there wasn't a single flaw!
Where is the white deer? It existed! It ran away! Where is the proof? The antlers are the proof!
"Genius!" Gao Qiu became excited, slapping Fang Zhiyi hard on the back. "I never expected this, I never expected this! My boy, you've finally seen the light! I will submit a memorial to the Emperor for you right away! I guarantee you'll be credited with a great merit!"
The current Emperor didn't care about anything. Every day, he was either eating, drinking, and playing, or listening to all sorts of flattery. If Gao Qiu laid a little groundwork for his adopted son, this would definitely count as a great achievement!
Watching Gao Qiu enthusiastically prepare, Fang Zhiyi suddenly felt a bit curious and asked Little Hei, "Tell me, in this world where fiction and reality are intertwined... the Jingkang Incident will still happen, right?"
Little Hei was also a bit bewildered. "I'm not too sure... Don't look at me like that, I really don't know. You were the one who suggested taking the initiative. We're on their turf right now. The fact that I can ensure we aren't discovered is already pretty good!"
"Useless."
"Who are you calling useless?!"
Sure enough, with Gao Qiu's groundwork, Fang Zhiyi soon received a commendation from the Emperor, who even asked him to enter the palace personally to present the treasure. Terrified that Fang Zhiyi might show cowardice, Gao Qiu repeatedly instructed him on what to do.
However, when Fang Zhiyi met Emperor Huizong of Song, he behaved with perfect manners and propriety, earning a massive amount of brownie points with Emperor Huizong of Song.
"Gao Qiu, this son of yours... is not bad! How could you have kept him from serving me all this time?"
Gao Qiu's face was full of joy, but he remained very humble. "Your Majesty, the child is too young and inevitably a bit unsteady..."
"I think he is very steady!" Emperor Huizong of Song put down the antlers in his hand and looked at Fang Zhiyi with great interest. "Where are you currently serving? Do you need me to arrange a post for you?"
Fang Zhiyi cupped his hands in a salute. "To reply to Your Majesty, this lowly one is currently serving as an Administrator in the Imperial City Department, working directly for Your Majesty."
Emperor Huizong of Song was taken aback. "You're in the Imperial City Department? How come I've never heard of you... Never mind, how about I grant you the position of Superintendent of the Imperial City Department?"
A Superintendent was one rank higher than an Administrator. Gao Qiu was ecstatic, but Fang Zhiyi just cupped his hands again. "Your Majesty, this lowly one lacks the qualifications. I would rather continue as an Administrator and serve Your Majesty from there!"
At these words, Gao Qiu was stunned, and Emperor Huizong of Song was also stunned. A moment later, he burst into loud laughter. "To be so young yet have such a good grasp of the bigger picture! Rare! Truly rare! I will remember you! Since you have presented this auspicious object, I shall grant you... the privilege of moving freely in and out of the palace. How does that sound?"
Fang Zhiyi expressed his gratitude.
Gao Qiu couldn't quite understand his adopted son's thinking. He just chalked it up to youthful arrogance and let it go after a few complaints.
Only Fang Zhiyi himself knew that with Gao Qiu's connections, he would definitely climb the ranks quickly. But those people would never be giving face to Fang Zhiyi himself; they would only be wary of Gao Qiu behind him. A castle in the air built like that was utterly useless. Furthermore... Gao Qiu had quite a few enemies in the court. If Fang Zhiyi suddenly shot to the top, he would have to guard against their open attacks and hidden arrows, which would be far too exhausting.
However, he didn't mistreat the men following him. Instead, he first painted a grand picture of their future and then handed out a generous amount of silver rewards to each of them. Jokes aside, he wasn't short on money. If he ever needed money, he just had to hold out his hand and ask Gao Qiu.
But having gained a preliminary understanding of this Emperor's habits, Fang Zhiyi let go of his restraints and went all out.
Today, he spent a fortune to find a long-lost famous painting and presented it to Emperor Huizong of Song, making the Emperor so happy his eyes crinkled into slits as he repeatedly praised Gao Qiu for having a good son. The next day, he picked up a broken rock, carved some crooked runes on it, and had his men spread rumors everywhere. After catching the attention of Emperor Huizong of Song, he showed up to decipher it, spouting nonsense about the Great Song Dynasty enduring for thousands of years and unifying the realm, which filled Emperor Huizong of Song with wild ecstasy.
Nowadays, Gao Qiu felt a bit alarmed whenever he saw Fang Zhiyi. This kid's ability to forge things and flatter people was even better than his own!
But it was undeniable that the more Fang Zhiyi won the favor of Emperor Huizong of Song, the more Gao Qiu benefited as well. Thus, he intentionally or unintentionally cooperated with Fang Zhiyi in pulling these stunts, and he agreed to every single one of Fang Zhiyi's requests.
In fact, Fang Zhiyi's requests were quite simple: he just held out his hand for money.
Getting treasures for the Emperor cost money, creating fake auspicious omens cost money, treating his subordinates to meals cost money... Only someone like Gao Qiu could handle it; anyone else would probably have worried themselves to death.
And Fang Zhiyi's actions allowed him to gradually establish a firm foothold in the Imperial City Department. The people who used to refer to him simply as the Young Master now referred to him as... Lord Gao.
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.
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.
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."
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...
