Joyce Chade cared about why his family was slaughtered. What Lin Yao cared about was: “Then why did you massacre every last citizen in Chade’s royal capital?”
As a task-oriented traveler, he didn’t care about the deaths of one or two individuals, but he cared deeply about the indiscriminate slaughter of an entire city. That kind of ruthless atrocity repulsed Lin Yao to his core, which was why he had orchestrated a cruel, uncompromising plan of revenge against Cody right from the start.
“That was not my command.”
The words floated into the breeze, scattering lightly into the air. Yet they sent Lin Yao’s mind into a tailspin. He instinctively bit his lip and asked, “Then who was it?”
Cody did not name the person explicitly, letting out only a faint sigh: “He is already dead.”
Lin Yao fell silent. Even when Cody carried him back down the tower and brought him to his bedchamber, he remained completely quiet. Cody did not disturb him; he simply tucked him in and quietly departed after watching him drift off.
As the doors closed, Lin Yao rolled over softly. Ever calm and composed, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh in the empty room.
[What’s wrong, Host?] The System was thoroughly caught off guard, hastily chiming in to offer its concern.
Lin Yao closed his eyes and shook his head gently. Even if he no longer harbored deep resentment toward Cody, their opposing stances remained—and that man still had to die.
Just as Cody had said up on the high tower earlier, taking Lin Yao’s hand and pressing it against his chest: “I often think that one day, I too will end up like other kings, with a sharp blade driven through my chest by someone else. Opposing sides leave no middle ground—it’s either kill or be killed.”
They were enemies, bound by a bloody feud. The chess pieces had already been set, and there was no turning back now.
Eight years was enough time to conquer nation after nation, but the wounds left behind by war were not visible within the polished walls of the royal capital. Peace and recovery were desperately needed to heal those scars.
Yet along the distant coastline, a beautiful kingdom that had seemingly surrendered began quietly seizing dozens of Onassis’s border cities. The news had reached the capital several days ago—and had reached Lin Yao’s ears as well.
Venus—that stunning sea kingdom—had launched an overt offensive under the banner of avenging their fallen princess. No one knew where they had procured such a formidable army, but in just one short month, the flames of war were reignited across the newly unified realm of Onassis.
At this moment, the people of the capital still firmly believed that Prince Cody, their invincible god of war, would once again deliver victory to Onassis. Yet beneath that trust lurked a lingering thread of dread.
“Are you insane?” Lin Yao gasped in utter disbelief upon hearing Cody’s decision.
All the decorations and grand arrangements throughout the palace were never intended for the Duke’s daughter at all—they had been prepared specifically to marry him.
“I was thinking back then, if you were forced to marry your bitter enemy, you would definitely be miserable. And if you were miserable, I’d feel satisfied,” Cody admitted candidly. Even with war looming at his doorstep, he showed not a shred of anxiety.
Lin Yao looked at him with a complex expression. “How do you know that I’m willing now?”
“Because whether you are willing or not, you will be mine,” Cody traced a thumb over his cheek. “I am willing to offer up my life to love the person standing before me.”
He dropped to one knee, removed the royal crown from his head, and held it out before Lin Yao: “Will you do me the honor of accepting my proposal?”
Lin Yao lowered his eyes. As if sensing something, he reached out and accepted the crown.
The wedding was held alongside Cody’s coronation ceremony. Clad in the majestic royal robes, he looked devastatingly handsome. The citizens offered their unwavering devotion to their new king—until Lin Yao stepped into view.
A face of such peerless beauty possessed the power to spellbind anyone. As long as he belonged to no one, he was an object of reverence; but the moment he belonged solely to one man, he ignited the bitter envy of the entire world.
“Your Majesty, High Priest Yao belongs to the gods!” An official declared respectfully. “You cannot marry him and desecrate his sacred purity, or the gods will punish us and bring disaster upon all of Onassis!”
“Desecrate? That word is used only by those with foul intentions. Tell me, when any of you sleep with your own wives, do you call it ‘desecration’?” Cody fired back without hesitation. He pulled Lin Yao by the hand and placed the consort’s crown firmly upon his head.
With his silky black hair floating in the breeze, Lin Yao looked less like a demon and more like a captivating deity, drawing the eyes and hearts of everyone present.
“I will protect you and keep you safe until the very end of my days. If the gods seek to punish anyone, let them direct their wrath at me alone,” Cody leaned down and kissed the back of Lin Yao’s hand. Before the envious and dissenting eyes of the crowd, he swept Lin Yao into his arms, bringing the grand ceremony to a close.
That night, their bodies intertwined in a deep, passionate embrace. With flushed cheeks, Lin Yao yielded to his every touch. Sweet, breathless murmurs echoed throughout the grand hall—a intoxicating sound that ensured anyone who caught even a fleeting whisper would find no sleep for the rest of the night.
On the morning after the coronation, Cody mounted his warhorse. His cloak billowed in the wind, his golden hair bound tightly behind his head, radiating an aura of overwhelming majesty. He raised his riding crop in farewell toward Lin Yao, who stood atop the city wall, before turning away without a single backward glance.
In that fleeting exchange of glances, both knew it might very well be their final farewell.
Because the previous night, while Lin Yao drifted in and out of consciousness, Cody had whispered softly in his ear.
He said he knew why Onassis had lost dozens of cities in rapid succession before the news even reached the capital: Sound-Transmission Stones Lin Yao had given him had long since turned into a useless, ordinary rock.
The cheapest Sound-Transmission Stones only lasted a year.
He said he also knew who was behind the endless shipments of Posuo Flowers supplied to Venus, granting their warriors martial strength equal to those of Onassis.
He knew just as well who had instructed them in defensive tactics, boiling oil, and rolling logs.
He had said: “If I return alive, I will forgive everything you’ve done. But if I die, the royal guards staying by your side will take your life. Don’t be afraid—it will be poison wine. It won’t hurt, nor will you look hideous in death. I simply can’t bear the thought of leaving you behind alone.”
Without his protection, a breathtakingly captivating beauty like Lin Yao would only be left to the mercy of others. My person can naturally only be bullied by me; no one else is allowed to lay a single finger on him.
Days trickled by, and war reports arrived at the capital one after another—some heralded victories, others detailed defeats. Eventually, all news ceased entirely.
The citizens of the capital grew restless. Some rumored that this was divine punishment for the King marrying the High Priest; others whispered that a beauty like him was a sin merely by existing.
Countless commoners began to flee, knowing all too well the horrors of falling into slavery without ever having to experience it firsthand.
The once-thriving capital began to empty out. For now, those remaining only dared to hurl accusations verbally.
And when the enemy army finally advanced upon the city, the people were far too preoccupied with saving their own skins to care about hurling accusations at anyone.
The force arriving was not Cody returning in triumph, but the army of Venus—equally majestic, yet brimming with the arrogant posture of ruthless invaders.
Yet they were fundamentally different from Cody.
The System’s voice sounded muffled and low: [Host, Cody is dead. He was struck by countless arrows and slashed by many blades and even after he died, many people used their swords to—]
[Say no more,] Lin Yao took a deep breath. [I understand.]
He stood atop the city wall, looking down at the army below. The palace behind him was now completely deserted, leaving him as its sole inhabitant.
The final command given to those royal guards had not been to offer him a cup of poison wine, but to escort him safely out of the city.
Cody’s handwriting had revealed sharp brilliance beneath its restrained strokes:
Yao, with a mind as brilliant as yours, you will live well even without my protection. Congratulations—your revenge is complete.
Yet, since he was destined to leave this world anyway, he might as well grant that man a sense of closure—even if, in a mission world like this, the only truly existing soul belonged to the task commissioner.
Lin Yao’s silky black hair was more than enough to draw the gazes of every soldier below. Even from such a distance, they whistled, raised their bloody blades, and cheered as they breached the palace, eager to catch a glimpse of what the realm’s most beautiful priest looked like—and, if lucky, perhaps even feel his skin.
Yet every step they took was halted outside a blazing inferno.
Fiery red light painted half the sky. The magnificent palace, every shred of love and hate, and the peerlessly beautiful priest were all reduced to ashes within the flames.
In later generations, many legends circulated, with wildly differing versions regarding that breathtaking beauty.
Some claimed he had set the fire to immolate himself in martyrdom; others whispered that he had been punished by the gods for his indulgence. Naturally, most stories focused on descriptions of his peerless countenance—so vivid that anyone hearing even a few words felt the storyteller must be lying.
Yet at the same time, they envied that fallen king for having possessed such a beauty in his lifetime.
The rumors of others faded into distant stories as the System officially concluded the mission. Perhaps in such a mission world, everyone aside from the commissioner was merely an illusion—yet to experience it firsthand was real enough.
[System Evaluation: Mission completion rated Grade S. Earned star credits: 10,000,000. Funds have been deposited into your account.]
The System sounded even more excited than Lin Yao: [Host! Your assets have doubled! Aren’t you happy?]
Lin Yao’s gaze swept over the long string of zeros, yet no trace of excitement showed on his face: [Isn’t that only natural?]
For a moment, the System almost suspected its Host was a fake miser and a closet stingy-cat.
[What does this tiny amount of money matter? I can earn much more,] Lin Yao rolled his eyes without an ounce of decorum, despite wearing his peerlessly exquisite face, attempting to shake off the lingering emotions from the previous world that felt almost frozen in his blood.
Love is something you shouldn’t mess around with lightly. Otherwise, it really is a matter of inflicting a thousand wounds on the enemy while sacrificing eight hundred of your own.
It was only thanks to his strong psychological resilience that he could safeguard his core self.
[Host, why are you trying to earn so much money anyway?] The System, still a naive infant when it came to financial concepts, didn’t quite understand.
[Because I’m poor,] Lin Yao tapped his finger against the screen of the enclosed space—a virtual realm constructed by the System. If he wished to log out, he would return to reality.
Yet there was no need. He required a massive amount of money. Though he didn’t know the exact reason why, his heart told him he needed far more money than he currently possessed to accomplish something he absolutely had to do—and he could not afford to slow down.
[Let’s start the next world,] Lin Yao said calmly.
The System was astonished: [Don’t you need to take a break?]
[No need.]
Lin Yao’s answer was absolute and unyielding.
Wind and snow raged fiercely.
When Lin Yao awoke, even subtle movements of his hands and feet carried a stiff, frozen sensation.
Countless snowflakes had piled atop his small, young body, nearly burying him beneath the white expanse. In a secluded alley like this, it was unlikely anyone would discover the corpse until winter passed.
Lin Yao had arrived only after the original body’s breathing had completely ceased; clearly, the previous owner had been frozen to death.
Lin Yao rubbed his hands together frantically, breathing warm air onto them. If he didn’t find a way to get warm soon, he would likely freeze to death here all over again.
Trembling, he propped himself up against the wall and rose to his feet, leaving the alley to follow the main street.
This was a modern, bustling city. Though not quite as advanced as the world he originally hailed from, it was an era that had long shed traditional robes.
Lin Yao shivered uncontrollably from the biting cold, his stomach rumbling loudly. Yet he was penniless and covered in grime; if he wanted to survive, he had to put away his pride.
Spotting a shopping mall, Lin Yao walked straight inside under the scrutinizing gaze of the security guard. The moment warm air washed over him, his heart—which felt as though it were shrinking to its absolute limit—slowly relaxed.
People bustled back and forth under the bright lights, men and women dressed in elegant, fashionable clothes. Lin Yao took a moment to inspect himself. Once his hands and feet regained a bit of warmth, he wiped his face, walked up to a female student, and gently tugged at the hem of her clothes.
“Sister, I’m so hungry,” he whispered softly.
His small face was covered in grime, yet his large eyes were strikingly clear, looking utterly pitiable.
The girl looked kind-hearted and instinctively reached for her wallet, only for her companion to yank her back: “Hey, be careful! The streets are full of scam artists using kids to trick people out of money these days.”
“No way, is he really—”
“Is he really a scammer?” The girl seemed a bit hesitant. She offered him a kind smile and asked gently, “Little boy, where is your mom? Did you get lost? How about I take you to the mall’s information desk to make an announcement?”
“Okay,” he nodded eagerly, though his stomach betrayed him with a loud, rumbling growl.
The two girls exchanged a quick glance, and one of them walked over to a nearby food kiosk.
After surviving the peril of nearly freezing to death, Lin Yao soon found himself sitting inside the mall’s broadcast center, basking in the warm air, sipping hot milk tea, and munching on a hamburger while waiting for his supposed “parents” to arrive.
[Initiating memory download…]
Having solved his most immediate problem of food and warmth, Lin Yao turned his attention to his new mission.
The original owner of this body was named Zhang Xiaojun. He was supposed to have had a happy, even prosperous life, enjoying a wonderful childhood.
However, his nightmare had begun three months ago. His father’s company went bankrupt, pursued relentlessly by debt collectors who eventually broke his leg. Desperate and cornered, his father leaped from a high-rise building, ending his life. His mother, unable to bear the burden alone, fell to her knees begging the creditors to spare her child, only to be struck down by an oncoming vehicle in her panic—blood staining the asphalt a vivid red. Just like that, the young boy was left entirely alone in the world.
And all of this had been orchestrated by a single, utterly cold-blooded man—or rather, a ruthless young man who, wearing the triumphant smirk of a victor, had systematically pushed this family to the brink of ruin.