"General Zhang Shi, what's wrong?"
Guo Zhou asked in surprise.
"Nothing!" Zhang Shi steadied his nerves and said, "Can you be sure that the biological father of this child is Shen Du?"
Guo Zhou shook his head. "Not completely certain, but about eighty or ninety percent sure."
"Later, I investigated specifically. During the time Yu Zhen was pregnant, Shen Du had been to this place."
"I also asked Yu Zhen about the description of the 'Young Master Shen' she mentioned, and then I went to the Linjiang Shazui Water Fort to inquire about Shen Du's appearance from others. It matched perfectly."
"Plus, Yu Zhen clearly knew that the father of her child was surnamed Shen, so... I deduced that this child is most likely Shen Du's."
"It's just..."
Guo Zhou hesitated, a bit puzzled. "What I'm not clear about is that, according to the information I gathered about the Shen family at Linjiang Shazui Water Fort, they've had only a single male heir for nine generations, with a fragile bloodline—just Shen Du as the sole descendant. It's said he has no known offspring."
"And yet, he never came to look for Yu Zhen."
"I have some doubts."
"Maybe I got it wrong?"
"Otherwise, Yu Zhen should have risen in status through her child, lived in luxury, and been well cared for by the Shen family."
Guo Zhou didn't understand, but Zhang Shi already did.
Why?
Because Shen Du was a hopeless romantic!
He had somehow found a woman named Su Lanxiang somewhere and fallen deeply in love with her, leaving no time or thought for anything else.
But that no longer mattered.
The Shen family of Linjiang Shazui Water Fort feared a break in the bloodline above all else. So this child... send it to them!
Zhang Shi's eyes gleamed with a frightening intensity.
If he could get his hands on that child, the small Linjiang Shazui Water Fort would be within his grasp!
"So this is the true way to unlock Yunjing!"
"This method..."
"I'd call it..."
"The Enhanced Gale Tactics!"
Zhang Shi's confidence surged within him. He immediately said to Guo Zhou, "Let's go. Take me to find this Yu Zhen. Once we find her and secure that child, you'll have rendered a great service."
"You wanted me to protect you, didn't you?"
"Well, if you help me find that child, you'll be one of my trusted men. Me protecting you is no challenge. Instead, I'll recommend you to join the Demon-Suppression Bureau."
"As for that so-called Heart Alliance, against our Bureau's Swords of Severed Feelings, they're nothing but scraps."
Guo Zhou listened, growing excited.
"General Zhang Shi, I... I really have a chance to join the Demon-Suppression Bureau?"
That was the Demon-Suppression Bureau!
Just hearing its name stirred awe and longing.
Was he, Guo Zhou—a mere fisherman scraping by on the catches of the lake—going to join the Imperial-consecrated, execution-without-approval Demon-Suppression Bureau?
Was his ancestral tomb smoking with good fortune?
No, it was probably on fire!
Zhang Shi gave him a dismissive look. "Kid, you're... born and bred for the Demon-Suppression Bureau!"
"If you'd come into contact with the Bureau earlier, you'd already be in a high position by now."
"Enough. No time to waste. Let's move."
Zhang Shi wasted no time. He quickly assembled a squad of personal guards, and the troop set off in an imposing procession.
Light cavalry moved fast, reaching the small town where Guo Zhou lived in less than half a day.
Such small towns usually had some oversight, but with the war imminent, all personnel had been called back to Pukou City by Zhou Xiong. The place was now entirely empty, utterly defenseless.
Not that it mattered, even if there were guards. Defending against Zhang Shi was meaningless.
The Enhanced Gale Tactics were now his primary strategy, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten the basic version. The skills he'd learned on the grasslands were etched into his bones. On these flat lands outside Pukou City, even if troops were present, they'd only end up as corpses under his blade.
"G-G-General Zhang Shi, right... ahead..."
Guo Zhou's face was pale, his breath ragged. His hands clutched the horse's reins tightly, as if afraid he'd be thrown off.
It was obvious he didn't know how to ride.
This was probably his first time on a horse.
And it had been a forced ride at full speed.
That he could endure it through sheer willpower showed decent resilience.
"Miss Su Jin will probably like him," Zhang Shi thought to himself, making a mental note.
"Lead the way," he said.
"Yes!"
Guo Zhou suppressed the storm in his chest after the long ride, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
He wore an expression of... pride.
Yes, pride!
Earlier, he'd feared the Heart Alliance's pursuit, fleeing like a cornered dog. But now...
He, Guo Zhou, had returned!
Behind him marched General Zhang Shi's army!
If not now, when would he ever get to be proud?
He strode ahead, drawing glances from passersby.
Soon, they reached the place where Yu Zhen worked.
Guo Zhou dismounted—not smoothly, but very awkwardly—and walked up to the trembling shopkeeper.
"Relax, it's me, Guo Zhou. You know me. So... where's Yu Zhen?"
"In the back courtyard."
"She's not working today?"
"She took a day off."
"Damn, she dares to take a day off while raising a child?"
"She doesn't usually take them. This time, seems like something came up."
"Alright, I'll go see her."
Guo Zhou walked in slowly, hands clasped behind his back, as if an army of thousands followed him.
Well... an army indeed followed him.
—
In the back courtyard.
Two years had passed, and Yu Zhen was nothing like her former self.
Her once captivating beauty had faded.
Weariness had settled around her eyes and brows.
Clothed in the plain garb of a laborer, she would vanish among a crowd without a trace.
Times had changed.
The hardships of these two years had taught her that lesson well.
So when the Heart Alliance approached her two days ago with their scheme, the thought had lingered in her mind, tangled and unbearable.
"Miss Yu Zhen, a woman like you was born to be part of our Heart Alliance. How can you let a meaningless child hold you back?"
"You should open your heart, embrace a bigger world, and seek a better love."
"Take that child and dump it at Guo Zhou's house, then just run. From then on, you'll be nothing but a poor woman who once met a jerk."
"With your qualities, what kind of love can't you find?"
"Miss Yu Zhen, think it over carefully."
"Once you've decided, come find us at the Heart Alliance. We'll help you find a good husband, so you can soak in a honeypot of love for the rest of your life!"
Those words echoed in her mind, over and over.
They pounded in her heart.
Day after day, fiercer.
By the third day, Yu Zhen had cracked.
"That's right. I'm just a pitiful woman who met a scoundrel. What's worse than before? There aren't just Young Masters Shen in this world; I still have plenty of love to pursue!"
"With the Heart Alliance backing me, what do I have to fear?"
"At worst, I just marry someone rich and powerful instead of slaving away here, enduring needless suffering!"
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
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."
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?”
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
