Fu Hua's Father's Guide to Choosing a Son-in-Law

Fu Xiuran, just like his name suggests.

As he gradually enters middle age, he is an upright and kind person, but perhaps it is precisely because of this character that he has ended up in his current predicament.

His consistent acts of kindness sowed the seeds of this disastrous outcome.

The man lay on the cold bed, his face outlined in sharp, resolute lines by the gradually breaking dawn light outside the window.

It's clear that he looks relatively young for his age, but his once handsome features are now marred by graying temples and wrinkles around his eyes. His face is unhealthy and pale, as if he has lost blood.

"Cough cough..."

The slight cough failed to elicit any response from the air. Fu Xiuran stared at the clock silently ticking on the wall, as if gazing upon the few remaining days of his life.

5:30 a. m.

Even though his body was in a very bad state, his old biological clock stubbornly kept him awake.

For a martial artist determined to reach a higher level of martial arts, rising at the crowing of the rooster is the most basic requirement.

Every minute and second spent forging his body must not be wasted. Fu Xiuran is not a martial artist so pure that he only has martial arts in his eyes, but for him, this path has been melted into his life, so naturally he will not slack off in any way.

Even though his body no longer had the strength to forge itself, the man still had no intention of going to sleep. He began to recall that extremely rare life-or-death battle of his life.

A strange, white humanoid creature, wielding a scythe, suddenly appeared in a corner of the street and began slashing at passersby. Its head was etched with rough facial features, resembling a human face with its expression locked away.

But such things can no longer be considered human.

The man did not stand idly by.

He killed her with just one punch.

The fists and strength honed day and night were not useless. In the blink of an eye, his Mind's Eye perception instinctively allowed Fu Xiuran to fall into a state of wholehearted, undistracted combat.

He locked his mind, channeled all his energy into a single punch, and successfully smashed that fine head.

The scythe, made of an unknown material, fell to the ground and, along with the corpse, turned into nameless, pitch-black [Ashes] that drifted down to a corner of the alley.

But then something ridiculous happened.

He did manage to kill the bizarre monster, but in return, his fist was scraped raw by the teeth inside its face, and blood flowed down his face.

The black blood and bright red blood intertwined to create a picture of death, a vivid contrast of colors resulting from the blood of the monster and his own.

The crowd had already dispersed. Fu Xiuran stood still, forcefully shaking off all the uncongealed blood droplets, and silently began his journey home.

The bad premonition I had back then gradually turned into ominous thoughts as time went by.

Not long after, Fu Xiuran fell ill.

The fragile Honkai Energy resistance meant that even such a trivial contact could easily destroy such a powerful warrior.

The Mind's Eye acumen he once took pride in in his youth had become trash in a pile of garbage, and his well-trained body seemed utterly meaningless.

As the Honkai Energy, as fine as dust, gradually erodes the man, the process is slowed down by the extreme scarcity of Honkai Energy, resulting in what appears to be a nonsensical, serious illness.

This was an undeserved disaster for both Fu Hua and the man himself.

As the only pillar of the family capable of caring for his daughter, Fu Xiuran's collapse was like a bolt from the blue.

But both father and daughter remained calm.

Beneath her calm exterior, the turbulent emotions surging within her remain unknown to anyone.

Compared to Fu Hua's inner turmoil, Fu Xiuran undoubtedly understands better how bad the current situation is.

The daughter probably just thought that her father had always been in good health, and that this was just a minor accident. She thought that Fu Xiuran would be discharged from the hospital soon, and that the man would occasionally buy her small gifts on his way home.

For example, she now has all sorts of old hair clips in her drawer, and little toys in the closet or on the bed.

Look.

Even without saying a word, the girl could understand that her father loved her very much.

She must have thought this kind of life could continue for a very long time, which is why she worries about such trivial things.

For example, whether she can make friends; whether the courses taught in Canghai City are the same as what she learned before, and whether they are difficult; for example, the old lady next door always likes to ask her some rambling questions, which makes it difficult for her, who is not good with words, to answer.

But that's life.

This is the life that Fu Hua loves, cherishes, and is immersed in.

Ke Fu Xiuran understood the answer afterward.

The Mind's Eye's Eye Realm is, in a sense, equivalent to the Sword Heart Still Water. At least a man can use it to understand the terrible state of his body. The definite feeling that his lifespan was being slowly stripped away by the Grim Reaper made Fu Xiuran grow old day by day.

He looks a little older than before; the gray hair at his temples, something that wasn't there yesterday, has faded from its original blackness today, as if symbolizing death knocking at the door.

Its knocking was so elegant and unhurried, as if the outcome was already predetermined.

Just then, the arrival of the transformation plan shattered everything. If this strange disease destroyed the man's potential for martial arts in his later years, then this plan was the tolling of the bell signaling the end of everything.

But perhaps this isn't so bad.

In a brief moment of distraction, Fu Xiuran silently came to this conclusion.

He used to plan to entrust the martial arts school to his daughter, but that was a gradual entrustment, passing it on little by little over ten or even twenty years. Now, it's clear he won't live to see that day.

Let alone twenty years, it's questionable whether a man can even outlive his daughter to adulthood.

That would render Fu Hua the martial arts school a mere pipe dream. And without his support, not to mention anything else, the material aspects alone would be a major problem.

The renovation plan solved Fu Xiuran problem, and it was precisely because of this that he had the funds to send his daughter to study in a prosperous city like Canghai City.

Small towns are always like this; strange and dangerous things can easily happen.

After encountering that monster, Fu Xiuran also realized the recklessness of his choice.

I myself am of no concern about any unfounded danger, but what about my daughter?

Fu Xiuran used to think that sacrificing his future was inevitable in order to preserve his family's martial arts style, so he chose to come to this small city and open a martial arts school.

But he was no longer alone. Even though his wife was gone, he still had to worry about his daughter's future.

If that's the case, finding a way to keep your daughter in Canghai City would be a good option.

At the very least, even if such a monster were to appear, there would be sufficient security and high-tech facilities to protect the public.

Instead of this place, with its slow-responding police, outdated equipment lacking detection capabilities, and this damn school that prevents my daughter from making friends... cough cough.

In short, Canghai City is great. And the change of environment, although it might make my daughter a little uneasy, might also help her make some friends.

Fu Xiuran recalled his daughter's temperament, his sorrow deepened, making his face appear weathered.

Although she is a kind, lovely, gentle, generous, serious, and angelic child, as her father, he has to admit that his daughter's excellence has led to her being alone most of the time.

These thoughts, stemming from his role as a father, exude a strong sense of confidence.

Fu Xiuran sighed softly. He didn't care about the almost non-existent flaws on his daughter, but he was still aware of their existence.

So what if she doesn't like to talk? Isn't that considered quiet and elegant?

So what if you're not good at communicating? According to today's young people, isn't that just being a bit clueless and cute?

Fu Xiuran speechless. In his eyes, it was absurd that his daughter, who was so cute, couldn't make any friends.

Even so, considering the reality that Fu Hua truly has no friends, he felt that his daughter might need a small change.

After all, the world is always cruel; even something as beautiful as an angel needs to make a little compromise with reality.

In fact, if he had allowed Fu Hua to attend a comprehensive school instead of an all-girls school, there would likely have been quite a few boys attracted to her looks, and the number of girls who remained single would have decreased significantly.

But putting aside the fact that this kind of thing can't be considered friendship, you can tell his attitude in this regard from the fact that the school in Canghai City that Fu Xiuran contacted for her was also an all-girls school.

Which scoundrel dares to lay a finger on my daughter?

In the martial arts school, if a student glanced at a girl more than a few times, he would receive a stern, authoritative look from the men, which resulted in the male students and the girls not being very familiar with each other.

Fu Xiuran had no idea that he had done anything wrong. A person who couldn't even look his daughter in the eye was naturally not qualified to develop such a relationship with her.

As for the idea of just being good friends, there's no room for it in a man's eyes. Girls should play with other girls, right? Is playing with boys some kind of childhood sweetheart thing?

No way!

But as life gradually faded, this stubborn idea began to waver. How many years would the little money he left behind be enough to feed his daughter?

The reason for his worried expression can be largely attributed to this problem. A few short years is not a problem, but according to the prices in Canghai City, by the time his daughter graduates, his savings and the government compensation will probably be almost gone.

At that time, she will be all alone, helpless, and penniless, and she will definitely have a very hard time living.

If a reliable person can marry my daughter, it might be a good thing.

Of course, Fu Xiuran had many specific requirements for what he considered reliable. At least among the people he had met so far, none of them met the criteria, which made Fu Xiuran sigh.

These details, taken individually, are not particularly difficult to find, but matching them all is almost impossible.

First, he must be no older than his daughter by three years; he must be very good-looking; he must be devoted, gentle, and upright, and possess a certain amount of courage; his daughter must like him; preferably, he must not have had an ex-girlfriend; he must have the financial means to support his daughter; he should be a little tongue-tied, as he dislikes glib people; and he must like small animals, since his daughter loves cats and dogs.

Ignoring some less important details, let's look at the last requirement.

[Ideally, they should inherit all the martial arts techniques of his ancestral school, and their combat ability should not be lower than one's own; in other words, they should at least possess a martial arts level of Mind's Eye.]

Yeah, that's even worse.

All these factors combined create an almost ridiculously demanding requirement. Other requirements might not be too difficult, but reaching the level of Mind's Eye's Eye before the age of 18 and meeting all of the above conditions is virtually impossible.

After summarizing it up, Fu Xiuran realized that according to this standard, his daughter might have to wait until the next life to get married.

To be honest, he hadn't even mastered his family's martial arts when he was 18, so making these demands was just asking too much of him.

The requirement that someone be very good-looking is quite funny, which indirectly shows that Fu Xiuran is actually a looks-obsessed person.

The other requests, which were completely tailored to Fu Hua's personality and preferences, were even more comical.

Rather than being a personal ad's requirements section, this is more of a reflection of a man's unspoken yet profound love for his daughter.

There are some things he never said, but like an old advertising slogan, love is always there, never leaving.

The same is true for Fu Xiuran. The housework he does, the flowers he changes frequently in the vase, and the serious look on his face as he mingles in the jewelry store during shopping mall promotions all demonstrate his love for his daughter.

Even though his inner thoughts were always numerous and incredibly complex, Fu Xiuran rarely spoke much.

He clearly fits the description of someone who's bad at talking, which is probably why this criterion was added to the son-in-law selection guide.

It's so real it's beyond words.

Time passed slowly, Fu Xiuran stared indifferently at the golden clouds outside the window, his face expressionless.

Oh dear, why hasn't my daughter come to see me yet?

The seemingly serious and weathered man let out a soft sigh, like that of an elderly person left behind in the countryside.

Although he said things like, "You don't need to come see me," "Go out and have some fun these few days," and "You can't be this relaxed once you start school," I still couldn't shake off the loneliness inside.

Damn it.

Why pretend you're not afraid of being alone?

Why not just make an honest request and ask your daughter to spend more time with you?

Why can't my damn mouth do something good?

Just as the storm raged within Fu Xiuran, the door was quietly opened.

The girl walked in with light steps. Today she was wearing a white shirt and a slightly swaying peach-pink skirt. Her pure eyes, like lotus blossoms, were dazzling in the light coming from the window.

Her slender, shapely legs were outlined by black pantyhose, exuding the beautiful curves of youth. The denier of the pantyhose was just right, allowing the nylon surface to reflect light in the sunlight, making it very eye-catching.

This is Fu Xiuran's proudest daughter, Fu Hua.

But the man's joyful mood, which should have been immense, turned into a calculation problem for the boy next to the girl.

Based on his Mind's Eye calculations of the remaining strength in his body, he should still be able to unleash a powerful inch -Inch Strength: Sky Splitting.

He clenched his fists silently, itching to act.