Cheng Father's Thoughts

In the center of Lingquan City, within Hanhai Imperial Garden, the largest manor-style villa, on the second floor, in the study.

A young woman with an ordinary appearance but an exceptionally outstanding aura had Cheng Hao's arms pinned behind his back, pressing him down against the side of a mahogany desk.

Behind them, Cheng Hao's slightly overweight father, holding a leather belt and panting heavily, roared with a red face and thick neck.

"You've gotten brave, haven't you! Not cultivating properly, thinking about women day and night!"

"You still dare to ask me for money? Thirty million? Back when I married your mother, I only spent three hundred thousand in betrothal gifts!"

"Damn it, you're making me so angry. Do you think our family's money grows on trees? I'll beat you to death!"

After roaring, he caught his breath, and Cheng Hao's father, with arms like a brown bear, raised the belt again.

"Aow! Don't hit me! Mom, let go of me! You're supposed to be my mom, can't you stop him! Are you even my mom?"

Cheng Hao struggled and wailed. With his Vitality Value of 67, he was practically a mini-Superman, but under his mother's restraint, he couldn't move an inch.

When the young woman heard about the 300,000 betrothal gift, her eyes flickered towards Cheng Hao's father. She then used one hand to gently pat Cheng Hao's back.

"Hao, it's precisely because I'm your mother that I haven't personally taken action. Hehe."

Hearing this, Cheng Hao couldn't help but shiver.

In their family, his father was just an ordinary person, but his mother was a genuine Fourth Order Essence Refining Realm Martial Artist.

Over the years, how could the Cheng family's local businesses have been so stable without his mother holding things down?

If his mother were to actually spank him, his backside would likely be more than just red and swollen.

Another belt strike landed, and Cheng Hao gritted his teeth, glaring. "Cheng Dongsheng! Hit me, keep hitting me! Even if you beat me to death, I still need that 30 million!"

"Ouch!" Cheng Hao's father trembled with rage. "You're still arguing with me! You want to die, don't you? I'll beat you to death right now!"

"I'll make you argue!"

"I'll make you chase women!"

"I'll make you want 30 million!"

"I'll make you brainless!"

"Any little vixen can steal your soul! Have you got any backbone at all!"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"A fool like you is better off dead. If you become a Martial Artist, you'll just be a menace!"

Cheng Hao had already given up struggling.

His father was just an ordinary person. While the hits hurt, they didn't do much damage to him, a Quasi-Martial Artist with a Vitality of 67.

But hearing those last few words ignited his anger.

"She's not a vixen! I won't let you talk about her like that!"

"Pfft~ Hahaha!"

Cheng Hao's younger brother, Cheng Qian, who was only fourteen this year, was peeking from the doorway and burst into laughter when he heard his brother's words.

Cheng Hao turned his head, glaring angrily. "What are you laughing at? Is it that funny? Cheng Qian, you just wait!"

"Aow~"

"You dare to threaten your brother?"

Half an hour later, Cheng Hao was lying on the long sofa, his pants pulled halfway down, as his mother applied medicine to his backside.

On two separate single sofas sat Cheng Hao's father and Cheng Qian.

The former, with a dark expression, asked in a deep voice, "Tell me, who is the woman you're asking money from? I want to see what kind of enchantress asks for 30 million."

Cheng Hao snorted and defiantly turned his head away, ignoring him.

"You!"

Cheng Hao's father was about to get angry when Cheng Qian raised his hand, his face full of innocent sincerity.

"Dad, my brother set that sister as his phone wallpaper. I saw him licking the screen in the middle of the night last year!"

"Cheng Qian, you! Ouch~" Cheng Hao suddenly sat up, trying to grab his phone, but his movement was too large, and he aggravated the injury on his backside, slumping back down.

In that moment of delay, his mother took his phone from his pocket.

With an interested expression, she forcefully pulled her eldest son's left hand and pressed it on the screen to unlock it.

Behind them, two heads, one fat and one thin, one large and one small, leaned in to look.

On the lock screen, a schoolgirl sat by a classroom window, holding a pen in one hand and resting her chin on the other, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as if lost in thought.

Sunlight filtered through the ginkgo trees outside the window, dappling the surroundings and casting a watery sheen on the space.

Though still in this play of light and shadow, she seemed to sway, vibrantly alive.

She was like a clear spring, like the bright moon.

Like a gentle breeze, a wisp of floral fragrance, a drop of morning dew...

"Slurp—!" Cheng Qian slurped, staring blankly. "No wonder he licks the screen at night... If it were me, I'd lick it too."

"Ouch, honey, stop it, stop it!"

"You old Cheng, you've gotten bold! You dare get infatuated with other women when I'm right here?"

"..."

The commotion lasted for a minute or two. Cheng Hao seized the opportunity to get his phone back.

His face was flushed red, filled with anger, embarrassment, and smugness. Various emotions filled his heart, leaving his mind blank.

"Original photo? Not photoshopped?" Cheng's father sat back on the sofa and asked sternly.

"Not photoshopped, I guarantee it's the original," Cheng Hao replied affirmatively.

"She wants 30 million, what for?" Cheng's father continued to ask.

Cheng Hao looked up in surprise, "You agree?"

"First, tell me, what does she want 30 million for?" Cheng's father didn't answer, his tone becoming even more serious.

Cheng Hao deflated, but for the sake of the money, he honestly said, "Her brother has black blood disease, it's congenital. He needs thirty million to save his life."

"Oh?" Cheng's mother raised an eyebrow. "30 million to find a Master to intervene?"

"Yes..." Cheng Hao was more honest with his mother, lowering his voice as he replied.

"Heh..." Cheng's father let out a cold laugh. "30 million to hire a Master? Have you been watching too much news?"

"No, isn't that right?" Cheng Hao was stunned. Judging by his father's tone, there was more to it?

"I call you stupid, and you still don't admit it..." Cheng's father looked like he was disappointed in his son's lack of progress. "The news only reported that the family offered 30 million in cash, but they didn't say how much in behind-the-scenes benefits were transferred, nor did they mention the relationship between the family and the Master who intervened."

"To cure black blood disease, a Master would need to go all out, performing cleansing meridians and marrow for at least four hours daily for two to three months..." Cheng's mother added. "Hao, do you think 30 million is enough?"

Cheng's father continued, "Besides, it's not just about the money. This kind of money is hard to earn! What Master doesn't have easier ways to make money? Hiring a Master to treat black blood disease requires not only money but also connections and favors!"

"..."

Hearing this, Cheng Hao's face visibly paled. He felt as if he had been flattened into a black and white photograph.

He clearly remembered that Li Wei's condition was to cure Li Cheng, and the money was merely a tool to achieve that goal.

And the Master connected to his family, the one they wanted, was his mother's grandfather.

But considering his mother's status in her family... he knew that old man would definitely not intervene.

Cheng's mother sighed and patted her eldest son's fluffy head. "Poor thing, if it weren't for this, they probably wouldn't even look you in the eye, would they?"

"That hurts, Mom..." Cheng Hao broke down, burying his head in the cushion and falling silent.

Suddenly, Cheng's father asked Cheng Hao very seriously, "Call your White Moonlight. I have something to ask her."

"Do you have a solution?" Cheng Hao shot up, looking at his father with surprise.

Cheng's father glared at him, his tone stern. "It's not about your business! It's something more important! It concerns whether our family can reach the next level, whether your mother can advance to Fifth Order, and your future prospects!"

Cheng's mother suddenly looked at Cheng's father, as if remembering something. "Are you talking about that person's matter?"

"Yes!" Cheng's father nodded forcefully.

Cheng's mother was stunned. Then she looked at her son, who was still looking clueless beside them, and felt genuine pity.