Kunlun Mountain was covered in swirling snow. Inside a wooden cabin near the summit, an angry roar burst from a woman's mouth.
Hearing this, Zhang Ming shuddered all over, instinctively wanting to turn and run.
Yet the woman's speed was terrifyingly fast; in the blink of an eye, she blocked his path.
Realizing he could not escape, Zhang Ming could only force a ingratiating smile. "Sis... well, the weather's nice today, what did you yell for?"
"What for? Don't you know what you've done? How many times have I told you to keep a low profile? Every single time you make me fine promises, and every single time you treat my words as wind past your ear!"
Scolding him continuously, the woman raised her palm and swung it straight at Zhang Ming.
The blow looked effortless, but in reality it was as fast as lightning. Zhang Ming only felt a gust of wind blow past, and the next moment he took a solid slap, flying backward through the air.
Bang, bang, bang!
Before he even hit the ground, a flurry of combo punches followed right behind!
"Ow, stop hitting me, stop hitting me..."
With a bruised face and a swollen nose, Zhang Ming waved his hands frantically to beg for mercy. "I promise this is the last time, stop hitting!"
"Sigh..."
The woman glanced at him and let out a sigh. "Go down the mountain!"
"Huh?"
Zhang Ming was momentarily stunned, then said ingratiatingly, "Sis, didn't I just save someone and accidentally show off a little? There's no need to kick me out of the family, is there?"
"Who said anything about kicking you out of the family?"
"Didn't you just say I should go down the mountain?"
"I just suddenly feel there is nothing left for me to teach you. I'm sending you down to gain some experience, and by the way, go take a wife."
Listening to the woman, Zhang Ming wore an expression of total disbelief.
"Sis, do you take me for some rich landlord's idiot son?"
"What the hell are you blabbering about? I said go down, so go down. You still looking for a beating?"
"No... no... no... I'm going, I'm going." Zhang Ming waved his hands repeatedly.
The woman glared at him in exasperation, then turned and walked back into the room. She retrieved a red marriage contract and handed it to Zhang Ming, saying, "Here. This is the match I arranged for you a few years ago. After you get to Jiangzhou, go find Wei Shuhan, the chairman of River Star Group, and hand him this marriage agreement. He'll marry his daughter to you."
"Ah? Sis, you sold me out secretly ten years ago? And the other person is even three years older than me?" Zhang Ming took the marriage contract in a daze, and upon seeing the bride's birth date and time, he was instantly dumbfounded.
A marriage contract from ten years ago—how was he supposed to know whether she was pretty or ugly now? What if she was some hideous monster, or a three-hundred-pound giant? How could his slender frame ever handle that?
"Sell your big head! This is a proper, formal marriage match. Besides, what's wrong with being three years older? Haven't you heard that an older wife is worth a ton of gold?"
"Fine, let's skip the three-year age gap. But this marriage contract was settled ten years ago—will they even honor it?"
"Not honor it? Does he dare not to? Unless their old man doesn't want to live anymore... Alright, enough chatter, you'll see when the time comes."
"Fine then. Since it's come to this, I'm making it clear beforehand: if the other person is hideous, I'm not acknowledging it."
"Suit yourself, now get the hell out of here. Looking at you gives me a headache."
"Sis, I'm really leaving now, then."
"Get lost already."
Amidst the woman's complicated gaze, Zhang Ming vanished from the summit of Kunlun Mountain.
Right then, having just descended the mountain, Zhang Ming bounded away like a little chick just released from its cage, running wild with joy.
He had lived on top of Kunlun Mountain with his elder sister since he was very small, having no idea where his parents actually were. His sister had always told him he was picked up out of a trash can.
Over all these years, he too had longed for family of his own, wondering if his mom and dad still remembered him after all this time, and whether they were still searching for the son they had lost.
Yet for more than a decade, he hadn't stayed on Kunlun Mountain every single day. Aside from teaching him martial arts and medical skills daily, his sister also made him take on assignments.
Although he was only twenty years old now, he was already ranked tenth on the Earthly Assassin Rankings, under the codename: Reaper!
Unfortunately, all the money he had earned over the years had been completely extorted by his sister, leaving him not a single cent. Occasionally, when she was in a good mood, she would toss him three or four hundred to get by.
"Oh crap!"
As he neared the foot of the mountain, Zhang Ming suddenly halted in his tracks. He abruptly remembered that he had forgotten to bring the secret stash of money hidden inside his bedboard.
"Damn it all, I don't have a single cent on me. Going to find a wife like this without any money, won't I make a total fool of myself?"
Yet he was reluctant to go back either. He had finally managed to get out without a mission and hadn't even had a chance to play around yet. If his sister changed her mind, wouldn't he be at a complete loss?
"Whatever, I'll head to Jiangzhou first and figure out how to make some money later."
With that, taking advantage of the deserted surroundings, Zhang Ming employed some cultivator techniques and sped swiftly through the mountain forests.
***
Jiangzhou, top floor of River Star Building.
Chairman Wei Shuhan was standing before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the dense, bamboo-shoot-like skyscrapers in the distance. He furrowed his brow, deeply troubled and anxious.
Because the old man's illness had acted up again.
The whole of Jiangzhou—no! The entire country!
Even foreign specialists had been invited back to examine him, yet they couldn't even discover the most basic cause of the illness, claiming instead that the old man should have died twelve years ago.
"Twelve years ago... that mysterious, eccentric old man, my daughter's engagement..."
Wei Shuhan muttered to himself.
The twelve-year pact was almost up, but that eccentric old man still hadn't shown his face.
If this continued, the old man's life could not be saved.
The old man was the pillar holding up the family's fortunes. If he fell, his former rivals would inevitably swarm in from all sides, and River Star Group would face a massive crisis!
Over the past few days, those people had already begun stirring restlessly.
In truth, Wei Shuhan had dispatched men to search for that eccentric old man for half a year, yet with all the Wei Family's resources, they couldn't find even a trace of him.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air!
Meanwhile, having trekked through the mountain forests for a day and a night, Zhang Ming finally arrived outside River Star Building.
"Holy shit, awesome! Is this my future father-in-law's company? This is way too rich..."
Gazing up at the towering River Star Building, Zhang Ming's eyes lit up.
The saying about an older wife being worth a ton of gold really wasn't boasting. If he married her, wouldn't he be able to comfortably live off a wealthy wife from then on?
Zhang Ming had already begun daydreaming about a happy life where he no longer had to fight and kill.
"Little beggar... I'm talking to you, yes you, get the hell out of here!"
Right at that moment, a burly, square-jawed guard in the distant security booth waved at him and shouted loudly.
Zhang Ming was dumbfounded. He lowered his head to look at himself, only to realize that after trekking through the mountains for a day, he was filthy and ragged, genuinely looking just like a beggar.
"Pfft! Have you ever seen a beggar this handsome?"
Zhang Ming spat toward him and lifted his leg to walk right inside.
"Holy shit!"
The security guard grew instantly angry, grabbed an electric baton, and rushed out to block Zhang Ming. Brandishing the baton, he barked loudly, "Are you deaf? Don't you have eyes to see what kind of place this is? Is this somewhere a beggar like you can come? Get lost right now! Don't force me to get physical!"
"First, I am not a beggar. Second, I'm here to see someone."
Zhang Ming frowned and said, "Third, you just stole my line. The last sentence is usually something I say."
"Besides, my future father-in-law works inside, so you'd better be polite, or else you might lose your job!"
After this series of remarks, the guard was left utterly stunned.
"Damn it! So he's a mental patient!"
Furious, the guard shouted to several other guards in the distance, "Hey guys, come over here, a nutcase just showed up, chase him off quickly."
Four well-trained, robust security guards rapidly closed in and surrounded him.