Scorching summer days felt like a steaming cage no matter where one went!
Only up on Mount Longhu was there a hint of cool breeze!
Before the doors of a Daoist temple stood two massive trees.
Beneath the trees, an old man and a youth sat facing each other.
The old man wore Daoist robes and had the ethereal appearance of an immortal, while the youth beside him possessed handsome, sharply defined facial features, especially a pair of striking, sword-like eyebrows that instantly caught the eye!
"Master, it's getting late. You should go back and rest!"
After some unknown amount of time, the youth spoke.
Although the old man looked to be eighty or ninety years of age!
The moment he opened his eyes, however, one could see they were as bright and piercing as a newborn child's!
"Ah-hao, you've been up on the mountain for six years now, haven't you?"
"Yes, counting today, exactly six years!"
The youth's name was Wu Hao!
Six years ago, he had just turned twenty. Fresh out of college and returning home after attending his graduation party, he was suddenly ambushed, knocked unconscious, and thrown into a valley. Fortunately, he crossed paths with the old man, who not only saved his life but also passed down his lifelong skills!
In the blink of an eye, six years had flown by.
The boy of the past had transformed into a young man today!
"Six years. Ah-hao, it's time for you to go down the mountain," the old man said calmly, stroking his wispy goat-like beard.
Hearing this, Wu Hao felt a pang of reluctance: "Master, I won't go down. I want to stay here on the mountain and keep you company!"
"You brat! You keep talking about practicing cultivation in seclusion, but tempering yourself in the mortal world is also a form of cultivation. By now, you've mastered all of my skills—you're even stronger than I am. It's time to go out and experience the mortal world!"
The old man pulled out a photograph: "Six years have passed, and it hasn't been easy for that young woman raising a child on her own!"
"A child?"
Wu Hao took the photograph and looked at it, bewildered: "Master, whose child is this?"
"You reckless fool! Have you already forgotten about that one-night fling from six years ago?!"
Boom!
Wu Hao's heart sank. He thought of his girlfriend from back then, then looked down at the child in the photograph, his brow furrowing deeply: "Master, don't tell me... this child is mine?"
"Nonsense! I've already secretly divined it. This child is indeed the offspring you share with Liu Yafei, the president of the Hecheng Liu Group. Now that six years have passed, you should go back and check on them!"
Wu Hao never expected that after six years of seclusion on the mountain, he had suddenly become a father overnight!
"After you go down the mountain, if you run into any trouble, just look for your senior sisters. Otherwise, don't call me!"
「Senior sisters? Master, what are my senior sisters even up to these days? I hope they don't end up having to rely on me for a living!」
The old man stood up, waving his hand as he said, "Rest assured, they're doing more than fine!"
.....
Two days later, Hecheng Airport!
Wu Hao stepped off the plane and hailed a taxi.
"Driver, take me to the Liu Group in the city center!"
The driver frowned: "The Liu Group? Which Liu Group?"
Wu Hao looked surprised: "The Liu Group, of course! How many Liu Groups are there in Hecheng? The president of the group is Liu Yafei!"
"Oh, that one. Young man, didn't you know? The Liu Group went bankrupt four years ago!"
Bankrupt?
Wu Hao was stunned: "I really had no idea about that. Then... where do the members of the Liu family live now?"
"After the bankruptcy, the head of the Liu family and his wife fell ill and passed away. They have a daughter who's been scraping by to raise a child. It seems they live in an urban village in the Longshui District of Hecheng."
"Then... then take me to the urban village in Longshui District!"
The driver glanced sidelong at Wu Hao: "Young man, who are you to them?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. Just drive!"
"Ah, got it!"
Before long, as the car entered the city center, long-forgotten memories resurfaced in Wu Hao's mind.
What he never expected was that the Liu Group, once the leading enterprise in Hecheng, had actually gone bankrupt.
As they chatted along the way, Wu Hao learned the reason behind the Liu Group's collapse: they had been betrayed by a member of the board of directors!
One wrong step, and every subsequent step led to ruin!
An hour later.
Wu Hao arrived at the urban village in Longshui District.
The housing here consisted entirely of dilapidated old apartment blocks and private residential homes!
After walking for I don't know how long, his eyes lit up as he spotted a child of about five or six years old in the distance being bullied by several other kids his own age.
Wu Hao looked closer and instantly recognized the child as an exact match for the one in the photo his master had shown him.
For a moment, a wave of emotion washed over Wu Hao—wasn't this his very own son?
"Liu Chenghao, you fatherless loser!"
"You're the fatherless one! My mom says my dad is definitely coming back!"
"Hah! Your dad dumped your mom and ran away. He doesn't want you anymore!"
"You're lying! You're lying!"
Liu Chenghao was only five or six years old, but he was bold. He lunged forward and shoved the boy who was mocking him to the ground!
Immediately, a full-on scuffle broke out among the children!
Seeing this, Wu Hao hurriedly stepped forward to pull them apart. Shielding his son behind him, he barked at the other boys: "What do you think you're doing? Apologize!"
"Why should I apologize? Who even are you?!"
Wu Hao glared at him: "I said apologize, so apologize! Cut the crap!"
"No way! I won't! I won't!"
Furious, Wu Hao grabbed his son by the hand and prepared to leave, but the other children blocked their path again. Wu Hao gave them a gentle push, sending them tumbling to the ground.
"Waaah! Waaah! You hit me, you hit me! I'm going to tell my dad you hit me! Just you wait!"
Too lazy to argue with them, Wu Hao picked up his son and walked away.
Along the way, Liu Chenghao looked up at the strange man before him and said, "Mister, thank you!"
"What's there to thank me for? It's only right."
"Mister, who are you? Why did you help me?"
Liu Chenghao blinked his double-lidded eyes and asked again.
"I'm your dad!"
Hearing Wu Hao say that, Liu Chenghao burst into tears: "Waaah! You're a bad man! You're a bad man! You're not my dad! You're not my dad!"
What the—!
Wu Hao was utterly dumbfounded!
Before he could even react, Liu Chenghao wriggled out of his arms like a slippery little monkey, then turned and bolted back home, crying and wailing at the top of his lungs.
Their home was on the third floor of an old residential building.
At that moment, Liu Yafei was busy cooking lunch. Hearing her son's crying from far away, she panicked and rushed out to the doorway just in time to see her boy running back in tears.
"What's wrong, what is it, Haohao? Who bullied you?!"
Liu Chenghao ran straight into her arms: "Mom, I'm scared! I'm scared!"
"What happened? Don't panic, take a deep breath and tell me slowly!"
"Just now... a bad mister said he was my dad!"
"What?"
Liu Yafei froze for a second, then quickly leaned over the stairwell to look down, but there was no one in sight!
"Haohao, someone was just teasing you. Come on, let's go inside!"
Once inside, Liu Chenghao went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Liu Yafei walked back to the kitchen and stared blankly out the window while continuing to cook.
"Sigh, it can't be. I must be overthinking things!"