"Even if you didn't put that shoe..." [Zhang San] wanted to comfort him.
But [Xiu Wangchou] interrupted: "I've told myself these self-comforting words many times over the past 20 years...they're useless, the facts are there."
Leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, [Xiu Wangchou] murmured: "I was so close, really, just a little bit more..."
...
...
The incense in the corner had already burned halfway.
"Can you help me?" [Xiu Wangchou] suddenly spoke.
[Zhang San] looked up and met [Xiu Wangchou]'s gaze.
[Xiu Wangchou] said: "Your lightness skill is so good, your martial arts can't be bad either. [Lin Nu]'s left arm was crippled by me, killing him should be easy for you."
In those desperate eyes, hope shone through!
Could you bear to say "no" to someone like this?
[Zhang San] looked at [Xiu Wangchou], then said solemnly: "Alright, I'll kill him."
[Zhang San] was lying.
Although it was a kind lie.
The two looked at each other for a long time.
Silence filled the room.
[Xiu Wangchou] asked: "Why...why did you lie to me?"
[Zhang San] was startled.
This was the first time someone had seen through his lies.
His acting skills seemed to suddenly fail.
[Zhang San] slowly lowered his head, acquiescing.
[Xiu Wangchou] was not angry, just puzzled: "Since you're also a survivor from back then, don't you want revenge too?"
In those desperate eyes, hope shone through!
Could you bear to say no to someone like that?
[Zhang San] looked at his hands.
Because he had treated [Xiu Wangchou]'s injuries earlier, his hands were covered in blood streaks.
[Zhang San] glanced at the half-burned incense stick in the corner and said, "You just told me about your 20 years of nightmares, so let me tell you about a recurring nightmare I've had over the past 10-odd years."
The root of [Xiu Wangchou]'s nightmare was a shoe, while [Zhang San]'s was a white-haired old man.
Over 10 years ago, a famine broke out in the northern “Ya Commandery” of the Great Wu Nation.
The central government intended to purchase relief grain from the rice-rich “Nan Commandery” in the south.
At that time, [Han Wang], the largest rice merchant in [Nan Commandery], was already over 80 years old. Perhaps because he was over 80, he no longer cared about worldly possessions. Not only did he not want official disaster relief money, he was willing to exhaust his family’s wealth to provide disaster relief to [Ya Commandery].
But before the disaster relief efforts began, [Han Wang] died. He died in an assassination, with hundreds of assassins charging into the [Han] family’s manor in one night, killing the white-haired old man.
In fact, the [Han] family had been warned beforehand, so righteous martial artists who still had conscience and integrity spontaneously came to the [Han] manor to guard it.
That night, the assassins had all been held off.
[Han Wang] could have lived.
But [Han Wang] was still killed by the youngest assassin.
Later, other rice merchants colluded with certain “men of influence” in the court. In the end, they divided up [Han Wang]’s rice shops. The central government had no choice but to spend heavily to purchase relief grain.
But was the famine in [Ya Commandery] alleviated? No. Because what was transported there was grass, tree leaves, and even soil.
Where did the actual relief grain go? It turned out the profiteering merchants knew that besides the [Ya Commandery] famine, two small neighboring countries were at war. At this time, grain could be sold for several times the normal price.
So the domestic relief grain became military provisions for foreign wars. The grain that could only be sold once was resold at an even higher price.
The rice merchants of [Nan Commandery], as well as the officials responsible for relief efforts, all made a fortune from this incident. The cost was only the death of a white-haired old man and some “lowly commoners.” The powerful people didn't care one bit.
Indeed, in this strange world, only the crafty can profit immensely.
...
...
What was that white-haired old man thinking when I killed him?
In fact, it was only after completing the mission that [Zhang San] found out what kind of person the old man was and what he intended to do.
But it was too late.
Later on, [Zhang San] passed through [Ya Commandery] with his master...
In [Zhang San]'s secret chamber. [Zhang San] lowered his head, not daring to face [Xiu Wangchou] and [Wang Xiaoer], just murmuring to himself: “Have you ever seen what it's like when people starve to death... Have you seen what it's like when walking through a village with dead bodies everywhere and not a living soul... Have you seen crows on bodies that should still be alive...”
“Master...” [Wang Xiaoer] interrupted [Zhang San]’s reminiscence.
[Zhang San] silently raised his head and looked into [Wang Xiaoer]’s clear eyes, understanding that [Wang Xiaoer] didn’t want him to continue recalling such things.
But looking at [Wang Xiaoer], [Zhang San] recalled that just this morning, he had heard from the old man in yellow that [Wang Xiaoer]’s mother had passed away, while [Wang Xiaoer] was still completely unaware.
That’s just how the world is.
[Zhang San] said to [Xiu Wangchou]: “So now you know, right? I’m a killer, not a hermit.”
[Zhang San] then asked [Wang Xiaoer]: “So Xiao Er, do you understand now why the first lesson I taught you was that as a killer, you can’t bother with concepts of good and evil? We killers are just killers, nothing more.”
Under [Xiu Wangchou]’s gaze, [Wang Xiaoer] nodded at [Zhang San] and said, “I remember Master said we have to think this way, otherwise we’d live too wearily.”
No one spoke for a while.
The incense in the corner kept burning.
[Zhang San] turned his gaze to [Xiu Wangchou] and asked, “Both you and I were lucky enough to survive, but I think our lives over the past 20 years have been very different. Your master was a righteous hero who hated evil, while mine was a killer. Of course, my master was always good to me.”
“To be honest, when I first started learning martial arts, I did think about getting revenge. But over the past 20 years, especially after that famine more than 10 years ago...I've lost heart for that.”
Being raised by a killer is a very different concept from being raised by a hero.
One life is filled with hating evil and upholding justice and chivalry.
The other makes a living in the dark corners, sinfully taking lives.
Even two people from the same place, 20 years is enough to make them completely different.
[Xiu Wangchou] silently nodded, seeming to understand why [Zhang San] no longer wanted revenge.
Actually, it wasn't that [Zhang San] didn't want revenge.
[Zhang San] said self-deprecatingly, “Actually, when you knelt before me saying you knelt for those who died unjustly in your hometown, I knew then the one you wanted to kill was also my enemy. But if I really wanted revenge, I could have killed that prefect while you were recovering over those few days, yet I didn't go.”
“Because...” At this, [Zhang San] took a deep breath.
It took courage to utter the next sentence.
[Zhang San] said, “Because I'm no different from [Lin Nu] and those bandits.”
Finally [Zhang San] looked deeply at [Xiu Wangchou], the meaning very clear.
Who am I to seek revenge?
[Lin Nu] may have killed hundreds or thousands, but how many have died by [Zhang San]’s hands?
Surely even more.
How ridiculous for one devil to kill another devil.
[Xiu Wangchou] was silent. In the end, he could only find one sentence to say.
“But even if you didn't personally kill that elderly gentleman in the end, they would still send more...” [Xiu Wangchou] wanted to console [Zhang San].
But [Zhang San] raised his head and gave [Xiu Wangchou] an ugly smile, interrupting: “I've told myself these self-comforting words many times...they're useless, the facts are there.”
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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 + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
