52: Fang Yuan's determination

The villa gate slowly closed behind him.

A scream, so shrill it didn't sound human, pierced through the house, only to be instantly cut off by the heavy door.

Shen Miao's steps faltered, and she instinctively looked back.

"He..."

"He brought it upon himself." Xie Wangsheng's hands were in his pockets, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.

He glanced at Shen Miao, and on his usually expressionless face, he uncharacteristically offered an explanation.

"Don't worry, he won't die."

"I added something extra to that 'Karma Retribution Array'."

"As long as he harbors any evil thought, even a trivial bad intention, the illusion array will activate immediately."

Xie Wangsheng pushed at his nose as if adjusting non-existent glasses, a subconscious gesture.

"He will fall into his most feared Reincarnation, over and over, until he actively abandons that thought, or... his mind completely breaks down."

"Wake up on his own?"

"Impossible."

Xie Wangsheng gave a definitive answer.

"Unless he can instantly see through his Heart Demon and achieve enlightenment. Do you think he can do that?"

Shen Miao thought of Chen Cong's blustering yet cowardly face and shook her head.

This was even more ruthless than killing him.

This was very much to her liking... In the illusion.

In the endless darkness, Chen Cong was undergoing the eighteenth tongue-pulling torture.

Two green-faced, fanged imps used a red-hot iron pincer to clamp his tongue and yank it out!

"Ah—!"

Excruciating pain!

Pain that made his Soul tremble!

He wanted to die, but here, death was a luxury. After each "death," he would wake up perfectly fine in the same place, only to face the next, more cruel punishment.

Why?

Why was this happening?

He regretted it.

He truly regretted it!

He shouldn't have provoked that deliveryman, shouldn't have broken his arm, and certainly shouldn't have asked that foolish question, "Who is your brother?" in front of that girl!

If time could flow backward, he would willingly kneel before that deliveryman and kowtow a hundred times!

However, there was no if.

Who knew how much time had passed.

In the real world, the cleaning lady responsible for the villa pushed open the door and then screamed at the sight before her.

Their usually arrogant Young Master Chen was now slumped like a pile of mud on the expensive carpet, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, and convulsing all over.

Below him was a mess, urine and feces everywhere, emitting a pungent stench.

"Murder! Someone, come quickly!"

The shrill siren of an ambulance broke the tranquility of the high-end villa district.

Chongshan First People's Hospital, VIP ward.

Chen Cong lay on the hospital bed, utterly devoid of life, hooked up to various tubes.

The doctors couldn't find any physiological problems and could only diagnose it as acute mental disorder.

He wasn't crazy; he was perfectly lucid.

The pain of his tongue being clamped by iron pincers, molten copper poured down his throat, and his body ground into a meat paste by a stone mill in the illusion was still clearly seared into his mind, vivid and unforgettable.

It was too terrifying.

Those two people were not human at all! They were devils!

He was utterly terrified, to his very bones.

He tremblingly touched the cool jade pendant around his neck, with only one thought left in his mind.

He couldn't provoke them again.

This life, next life, the life after that, he must absolutely never provoke those people again!

...Chongshan Airport.

In the departure hall, Shen Miao looked at Xie Wangsheng, who was about to board, with genuine gratitude on her face.

"This time, I really thank you."

"It was no trouble at all." Xie Wangsheng still maintained his unperturbed demeanor.

"Next time you come to Chongshan, I will definitely treat you well and take you to all the delicious and fun places!" Shen Miao promised, patting her chest.

"Next time for sure."

Xie Wangsheng nodded, turned, and followed the crowd towards the boarding gate.

Only after his somewhat slender back disappeared at the end of the aisle did Shen Miao retract her gaze, take out her phone, and open the Kunlun Cultivation Academy's new student group chat.

In the group, Han Li and Liu Lian were still excitedly asking about the results.

Shen Miao smiled and sent a message.

【Shen Miao: Done, thanks everyone for your concern. @Xie Wangsheng, big boss is awesome!】

【Han Li: ??? It's done already? Tell us the details!】

【Liu Lian: Holy crap, Old Xie went alone? What did he do? Drowned that kid in the river?】

Shen Miao didn't reply again, put away her phone, and headed home.

At the same time.

Thousands of miles away in Jiangcheng, in an old residential building.

Fang Yuan was sitting at the dining table, happily shoveling rice into his mouth.

On the table were home-cooked dishes made by his mother: braised pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a bowl of spare rib soup.

"Xiao Yuan, how do you feel after working for a month outside?" Fang Yuan's mother carefully asked, placing the largest piece of braised pork into his bowl.

"It's pretty good, Mom." Fang Yuan replied vaguely, "The company provides food and lodging, my leaders and colleagues are nice to me, and I get paid on time."

"That's good, that's good."

Fang Yuan's parents exchanged glances, both sighing in relief.

They were just afraid their child would suffer grievances outside and keep them bottled up, not telling his family.

After all, failing the college entrance exam had been a huge blow to him.

After a moment of silence, Fang Yuan's father put down his chopsticks, as if having made a great decision.

"Son, Dad asks you, do you... still want to go back and repeat a year?"

"Your mom asked around, and the best cram school in Jiangcheng, although enrollment has ended, we can still get you in if we spend a bit more money."

The atmosphere at the dining table instantly froze.

Fang Yuan's action of shoveling rice stopped.

He was slightly stunned.

Then, he looked up, a brilliant smile on his face, a smile filled with unprecedented confidence.

"Dad, Mom, no need."

"My current job is pretty good, really."

"I've found the Dao I want to follow."

Looking at the genuine smile on their son's face, Fang Yuan's parents exchanged glances again, eventually turning into a sigh.

Their child had grown up and had his own ideas.

After finishing his meal, Fang Yuan wiped his mouth.

"Dad, Mom, I'm full. I'm going out for a walk to digest."

"Go ahead, come back early."

His parents didn't stop him.

Fang Yuan walked out the door, and the moment he closed it, the gentle smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a sharp and stern look unsuited for his age.

These past two days at home, he had been accompanying his parents, making up for his previous neglect.

But he hadn't been idle.

In the new student group, Lin Xiao was slaying demons in Gusu University Town, and Shen Miao and Xie Wangsheng were punishing the wicked young master in Chongshan... one incident after another, it made his blood boil.

As a student of Kunlun, why should they be able to uphold justice while I'm stuck at home?

No!

I want to eliminate evil and promote good too!

Fang Yuan took out his phone, opened a Jiangcheng map he had downloaded long ago, and his gaze fixed on the area on the map with the most chaotic public order, a legendary place where Dragons and snakes mingled—West City Old Street.

Today, he planned to go there and try his luck.