"The people from our Pukou City Love Mutual Aid Alliance have flooded the streets and alleys, even running to the schools, spreading all sorts of claims that you despise love."
"Right now, the entire city of Pukou is in an uproar."
Zhou Xiong’s face changed drastically.
Had the public sentiment in Pukou City really come to such a point? If he lost the people’s support, holding this city would become difficult indeed.
So he immediately said, "Let’s go take a look."
Zhou Xiong set out with his personal guards.
As soon as they stepped onto the street, they saw groups of men and women gathered here and there across Pukou City, delivering impassioned speeches.
"Zhou Xiong is nothing but trash!"
"Zhou Xiong doesn’t even respect love—how can we count on him to defend our Pukou City?"
"Replace Zhou Xiong! Replace Zhou Xiong!"
"Strong support—replace Zhou Xiong!"
"Replacing him is letting him off too easy. Zhou Xiong should kill himself for the cause!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed plus one!"
"Agreed plus two!"
"Agreed plus ninety-nine!"
...
Zhou Xiong’s face instantly darkened with rage.
Hah, a bunch of clueless men and women, daring to slander him like this during wartime, shaking the people’s morale—utterly insolent.
Zhou Xiong immediately ordered his guards to disperse the crowd.
Just as he caught his breath, a guard came to report again: "General, at the east gate, there are more people from the Pukou City Love Mutual Aid Alliance giving speeches."
"General, near the school, people are still speaking."
"General, at the vegetable market entrance, more people are talking!"
...
Zhou Xiong nearly choked on his own breath. His eyes turned vicious, and his hand went to the blade at his waist, ready to teach these people a lesson with his sword.
But his guard’s next sentence made him collapse completely.
"General, those people from the Pukou City Love Mutual Aid Alliance have bailiffs or officials in their midst—they’re backing them."
"It’s probably on the city lord’s orders."
Now Zhou Xiong understood.
So the city lord was behind this. How could he use his sword now? Drawing it would mean outright conflict. And when he went to war with Ren Tianye later, who would prepare his provisions and weapons? Who would handle his logistics?
"Forget it, forget it..."
Zhou Xiong could only swallow his pride and turned back.
But the nightmare clung to him like a shadow, never letting up despite his retreat.
The guard brought more bad news.
"General, it’s terrible, terrible! The people from the Pukou City Love Mutual Aid Alliance somehow got hold of information about you—everything in detail, even knowing you wet the bed as a child—and now they’re spreading it everywhere..."
"They’ve even rushed to turn it into a play. Right now, every major stage in Pukou City is performing it, drawing huge crowds."
"The streets are deserted—everyone’s gone to laugh at you!"
Boom!
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck right above his head.
Zhou Xiong staggered.
What the hell?
Someone had taken his past deeds, adapted and embellished them, and put them on the stage?
Weren’t they just digging up his entire life? Never mind whether the play was good or bad—just turning his experiences into a performance was an unbearable humiliation!
He was the commander defending Pukou City!
In all of Pukou, apart from the city lord himself, no one should dare show him such disrespect.
And now...
They dared to insult him like this.
Zhou Xiong’s face was filled with a dark, murderous rage. "Come on, come with me. I want to see for myself if these people have grown a lion’s heart or a leopard’s guts."
Zhou Xiong marched out with a squad of guards, full of bravado. Soon they arrived, and he saw a crowd gathered thickly in front of a stage.
It was practically packed—layer upon layer.
Everyone was watching the spectacle. He snorted coldly. His guards moved to disperse the crowd... but the crowd wouldn’t budge.
Because not only were officials of various ranks from Pukou City mixed in, but the men and women of the Love Mutual Aid Alliance also surged forward.
Zhou Xiong was left utterly helpless.
He couldn’t use force, and backing out now would be too humiliating. So, steeling himself, he and his guards began to shove their way through.
After great difficulty, he finally squeezed to the front. By then, he was drenched in sweat, and his frustration had reached its peak.
Still, he swallowed it and looked at the stage.
A new scene had just begun.
A man and a woman came on stage.
From their costumes, Zhou Xiong could tell immediately.
The man was him; the woman was his wife Wanqing, shot dead by his own soldiers.
Wanqing—
Or rather, the actress playing her—was gazing tenderly at the actor playing him.
"Zhou Xiong Ge, I’ve already decided in my heart—I will marry no one but you."
The actress’s performance was clearly skilled; her emotions—perhaps because of her specialty—were deeply felt.
Just that one line sent the crowd below into a frenzy.
"Wow, what a wonderful woman!"
"Miss Wanqing is truly pure and sincere, a model of love. Those words sent chills down my spine."
"Can anyone here relate? The sound of Miss Wanqing’s voice just melted my heart."
...
Amid the noise, Zhou Xiong frowned deeply. Then he saw the play continue.
After the actress playing Wanqing said her line, the actor playing him immediately replied with a smile, "So does that mean I don’t have to give you a betrothal gift?"
Zhou Xiong’s expression changed the moment he heard that.
Because he had really said those exact words.
And the audience burst into an uproar.
"Miss Wanqing loves you so much, and you can’t even be bothered to give a betrothal gift? What a scumbag!"
"This shows Zhou Xiong has been dissatisfied with Miss Wanqing for a long time. I demand a full investigation!"
"Men are all the same—not a single decent one. Such a wonderful woman as Miss Wanqing, and he won’t even offer a betrothal gift? Outrageous, absolutely outrageous!"
...
While the crowd was in turmoil, the play didn’t pause for a moment.
The actress playing Wanqing immediately shouted, "No, that won’t do. You still have to give a betrothal gift. But I’ll be good to you later on."
The actor playing Zhou Xiong said, "So after we marry, you’ll do all the housework?"
"No, no, absolutely not. But I’ll try my best—I’ll give you a fine horse someday."
"I want a Ferghana horse."
"No, no, not that. But I can support you."
"Then starting tomorrow, I won’t go to the barracks anymore. I’ll just stay home."
"No, no, not that either. But I’ll listen to you from now on."
"Then... after we’re married, the money is all mine to manage?"
"No, no, no. After we marry, what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours."
...
By the time he’d seen this much, Zhou Xiong had no heart left to watch.
A chill ran through him, because these were truly scenes he had once shared with Wanqing.
So vividly real.
It was clear the city lord wanted to crush him completely—spilling everything to the public, making sure even those who didn’t know the details would seek them out.
...
nce】【Lighthearted Comedy】【Ultimate Gentleman's Novel】【Viewer Discretion Advised for Under 16】 The mightiest human hero, Sharen Morian, is resurrected after a thousand years by his wife—the Demon King. This is not your typical hero-vs-demon-king tale.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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.
