One Year Later
Being thirteen years old is an inherently awkward phase of life, largely because of the raging hormones suddenly coursing through my brain.
I want to find an older woman to pent up some boiling hormones.
However, I managed to control it.
In my past life, I had died a virgin with no real experience with women, so I wanted my first time in this life to be with someone special.
Until then, I could only rely on my trusted right hand for the job.
I did discover during my online dives that prostitution was actually legal in this world.
I guess Hunters facing the constant threat of death needed a place to vent their stress, so the Magic Association turned a blind eye to it.
My relationship with Ye Xinxia was progressing wonderfully.
She came over to my house almost daily.
She would stay in my room, sitting comfortably on my bed, quietly reading a book or watching me do complicated stuff on my laptop that she didn’t entirely understand.
She knew I had created the game that was still incredibly viral.
I originally thought Derpy Griffin was going to lose popularity as the months passed, but no there were still millions of active users logging in daily.
Of course, there were always people who found bugs I had never considered.
For example, I had coded the game so that after a player lost three lives, a mandatory ten second advertisement would play.
But people started getting smart.
After losing twice, they would close the app and reopen it, resetting the counter so they never had to watch the ad.
Because my app was so well optimized, it took less than two seconds to reboot the game.
I immediately patched that exploit in the next update.
This whole process taught me a valuable lesson: just because I could code apps flawlessly didn’t mean I could control human behavior.
There would always be bugs and exploits.
I made the decision that once I formally established my company, I would need to hire a dedicated testing team.
I still hadn’t released ‘Ruin Runner’ because ‘Derpy Griffin’ was still printing money.
Xinxia definitely had a crush on me, but she always hesitated to show it too openly because of her physical disability.
As for me, I was more than happy to wait for her to become an adult before we do adult things.
I had the wealth of a mid-tier magical family, but I was living in a golden cage.
I could do so much, yet I could do absolutely nothing.
There were strict regulations stating that unawakened civilians could not buy magical equipment themselves.
If they wanted something, they needed to hire an official Mage as a proxy buyer.
I couldn’t trust a random Mage with my money, so I didn’t buy any magical defensive tools.
At the very least, I was safe in Bo City for the next few years.
Finally, my physical foundation reached the absolute limit of what a mortal body could achieve without magic.
> [Physical Fitness Theory: Lv.
30 ]
I was now 173 cm tall, making me the tallest kid in my class.
The System skill had perfectly optimized my physique, giving me a highly balanced, lean, eight pack build that I used to watch enviously in movies during my previous life.
I had honed my body so well that if I fought Instructor Lao Chen right now assuming he didn’t use any magic I was confident I could defeat him in seconds.
Due to my intimidating build and my constant presence around Xinxia, nobody ever dared to bully her.
So her childhood don’t have any moments where bullying happening and Mo Fan saves the day by fighting them.
But staying passive was incredibly difficult, especially when the timeline of the original novel finally reared its head.
It happened in the dead of night, mid way through our summer vacation.
I was sitting in my room late at night, digging into the roster for the Chinese National Team participating in the 2014 World Tournament.
One name ‘Zu Xingyi’ caught my attention.
I couldn’t quite remember the details.
If I had an eidetic memory from my past life, I would have connected the dots immediately.
But when I saw another name, ‘Qin Yu’er’, listed alongside him, I finally got the gist of the situation.
‘Zu Xingyi’ was Zhan Kong’s real name before he changed it.
I hadn’t recognized him in the photos because his current physique was much leaner compared to the bulky, hardened Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong I knew from the story.
I knew the tragedy that was about to unfold with him and Qin Yu’er, but I didn’t do anything to stop it.
Why would I throw myself in the way of the Holy City without any magic of my own?
They weren’t targeting me, and Qin Yu’er wouldn’t truly die anyway.
It was better to not involve myself.
A few weeks passed.
One night, at around 11:00 PM, a frantic banging echoed through my house.
When my parents opened the front door, Ye Xinxia practically collapsed inside.
She was crying hysterically, gasping out that Mo Fan had left the city and that Mo Jiaxing had been taken by the Mu Family.
When I stepped out of my room and heard what happened, I was shocked beyond reason.
I thought that by hanging around me, Mo Fan might have developed a few extra brain cells.
But no.
The reckless, impulsive thirteen year old idiot had just initiated the single most infamous event of his childhood.
He had convinced Mu Ningxue the absolute jewel of the Mu Clan, the Ice Princess herself to elope with him.
Between sobs, Xinxia explained that Ningxue had come to their house looking for Mo Fan.
He had packed his clothes into his school bag, said farewell to Xinxia, and left.
Xinxia had initially thought they were just going to the back mountain where they always played.
But then, Mo Jiaxing, who had returned home to sleep after his driving shift, was suddenly ambushed and abducted by Mu Family guards.
Not knowing what else to do, Xinxia had come running to my house for help.
I looked down and realized she didn’t have her wheelchair.
That meant she had forcefully walked or rather, dragged her weak legs for fifteen straight minutes without stopping.
I quickly asked my mom to make her some warm juice to calm her down.
I sat beside her, gently consoling her.
“Don’t worry, Xinxia.
There won’t be any problem.
The Mu Family probably just had a very important VIP arrive unexpectedly, so they needed Uncle Mo for an emergency driving shift immediately.”
After calming her down, I brought her to my room so she could rest.
Eventually, exhausted from the physical strain and the crying, she fell asleep on my grandma bed.
My parents were also incredibly worried, but I repeated the same excuse to them so they could somewhat relax.
Fortunately, my grandma wasn’t home, she had gone to visit a friend in the neighborhood and chosen to stay the night there.
Once my parents went back to sleep, I silently slipped out of my bedroom window and began moving rapidly toward the Mu Family Manor.
I knew they wouldn’t do anything lethal to Mo Fan, especially since it was likely Ningxue’s idea to leave.
But Uncle Mo’s job was definitely gone.
When I reached the mansion, I used my [Stealth] to slip inside.
Because there were no official Magician guards stationed at the outer front gate, it was easy to bypass security and sneak into the gardens.
What I saw made my blood boil.
Mo Fan was pinned to the ground by a heavy set Mu Family guard, struggling violently, his face badly bruised and bleeding.
Mu Ningxue, looking pale and terrified, was being dragged away by her furious father, Mu Zhuoyun.
Ningxue’s mother had passed away three months ago, which had left her looking thin and deeply depressed.
Mo Fan had been sneaking fruits to her every night when they met at the back mountain to comfort her.
He usually shared every detail of his life with me due to our close bond, so I assumed he would have told me if he was planning an elopement.
I could have stopped it.
Who would have thought that Ningxue was the one who initiated the plan, directly asking him to take her away?
“You filthy little street rat!” Mu Zhuoyun roared, his voice amplified by sheer magical pressure, causing the surrounding servants to tremble.
“You dare lay your hands on my daughter?
You dare try to pull her into the gutters with you?!”
I watched as Mo Jiaxing rushed into the courtyard.
He didn’t fight.
He couldn’t.
He dropped straight to his knees on the hard asphalt, bowing his head so low it scraped the ground.
“Master Mu, please!
He’s just a foolish child!
I beg of you, spare him!” Uncle Mo pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.
Mu Zhuoyun sneered, looking down at the groveling man with absolute disgust.
“Your son has ruined her reputation.
A peasant trying to eat swan meat.”
Mu Ningxue, seeing this, cried out, “Father, I am the one who asked Mo Fan to take me away!
They are not involved!”
“Stop it!
You have done enough!” Mu Zhuoyun roared.
“Take her inside!” he commanded the maids.
After she was dragged away, Mu Zhuoyun allowed his guards to beat Mo Jiaxing, who repeatedly begged them not to harm his son.
After beating the father and son sufficiently, Mu Zhuoyun ordered his guards to throw the duo out of the front gates.
I watched them get tossed onto the street like garbage.
I quickly slipped out a side wall and circled around to the opposite street, pretending I had just arrived from my house so they wouldn’t know I had been inside the mansion the whole time.
I ran up to them, helping them to their feet.
I told them Xinxia had come to my house for help, and I explained the “emergency VIP driving” excuse I had used to keep her calm.
I helped them walk back to their house and immediately got to work cleaning their wounds.
> [First Aid: Lv.
9]
It was the most agonizing night of my second life.
But it was also a stark reminder of my reality.
There was no inherent justice in this world.
Whoever had the biggest fist is justice.
A week later, the dust had somewhat settled.
Mo Fan had been locked in his room for days, recovering from the beating the Mu guards had given him.
When I finally went to visit him, I fully expected to find a broken, traumatized teenager.
I brought a bag of steamed buns, fully prepared to offer him a shoulder to cry on.
I knocked on the peeling wooden door of his cramped bedroom.
“Come in,” a raspy voice called out.
I opened the door.
Mo Fan was lying on a cheap mattress on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
His left eye was still swollen shut, and his arm was heavily bandaged, but the expression on his face wasn’t one of despair.
“Hey, Fan-ge.
I brought food,” I said softly, sitting cross legged on the floor next to his mattress.
Mo Fan sat up, wincing slightly as his bruised ribs protested, and snatched a steamed bun from the bag.
He took a massive bite, chewing thoughtfully.
“Monkey,” Mo Fan mumbled through a mouthful of pork and dough.
“Do you know what I learned this week?”
“That you shouldn’t try to kidnap the daughter of the most powerful mage in the city?” I offered dryly.
“No,” Mo Fan snorted, swallowing hard.
“I learned that this world is complete bullshit.
The only reason Mu Zhuoyun can make my dad kneel in the street is because he has magic and we don’t.
That’s it.
It’s not about being a good person.
It’s about who can blow up a building the fastest.”
I stayed silent, letting him vent.
But then, Mo Fan leaned forward, a strange, cheeky grin breaking through his bruised face.
The innocent kid who used to just want to catch bugs in the woods was gone, replaced by a teenager who had suddenly realized exactly how the world worked.
“But you know what else?” Mo Fan whispered conspiratorially, his good eye gleaming with a mischievous, almost lecherous light.
“I actually held her hand, Xiaohou.
We ran through the woods, and I held the Ice Princess’s hand for a solid thirty minutes.”
I blinked, completely thrown off guard by the sudden tonal shift.
“You got beaten half to death alongside your dad, and you’re gloating about holding hands?”
“You’re damn right I am!” Mo Fan laughed, instantly wincing and clutching his ribs.
“Listen to me, Xiaohou.
Mu Zhuoyun called me a toad lusting after swan meat.
He wanted me to feel ashamed.
He wanted to crush my pride.”
Mo Fan took another bite of his bun, a shameless, arrogant swagger radiating from his battered frame.
“Well, if they’re going to treat me like a toad, then I’m going to be the most shameless, thick skinned toad in the entire damn pond!” Mo Fan declared, puffing out his chest.
“I’m going to Awaken magic.
I’m going to become the strongest mage in this city.
And when I do, I’m not just going to hold Ningxue’s hand, I’m going to make her my wife, and I’m going to make that old bastard Mu Zhuoyun serve me tea at the wedding!”
I stared at him for a long moment, my brain trying to process the sheer audacity of this thirteen year old.
“You’re a pervert, Fan-ge,” I said finally, shaking my head with a genuine, relieved smile.
“I prefer the term ambitious romantic,” Mo Fan shot back, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Just you wait, Monkey.
Once I turn fifteen, the girls at Tianlan Magic High won’t know what hit them.
I’ll have a harem of magical beauties, and you can be my wingman!”
“I’ll pass,” I laughed, tossing another steamed bun at his head.
As I walked home that evening, the heavy burden of my golden cage felt a little lighter.
I looked up at the glowing runes of the Mage Association in the distance.
‘Two more years.’ I thought.
To be continued…