Dong Hu explained with an ingratiating smile, but Liu Feng slapped him left and right more than ten times. Afterward, Liu Feng got into his friend's car and left.
"I had no idea that piece of trash Zhang Han could win! I clearly tampered with the car! Damn it!"
Dong Hu cursed angrily, then climbed into the Ford Mustang and slammed his foot on the accelerator.
"Vroom!"
The Ford Mustang shot forward. When Dong Hu stepped on the brakes, he discovered that the tampered brakes really weren't working.
Seeing the steep slope drawing closer and closer, Dong Hu's face went deathly pale, and his pupils contracted.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
A series of violent crashing sounds rang across Wolf Mountain, making the pedestrians turn pale and look over.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhang Han's lips. He started the Ferrari and slowly drove out of Wolf Mountain.
His current residence was a shabby rented apartment outside Shangjing's Fifth Ring Road. As he drove, Zhang Han fell into deep thought.
"Right now, I don't have a trace of true qi, and I can't circulate any cultivation method. I'm just an ordinary mortal."
"Even my storage ring is gone!" Zhang Han's face showed a hint of heartache. "Five hundred years of treasures I collected—all gone!"
"Damn Nine Heavens Divine Thunder! You sent me back to be reborn, so why didn't you leave me a few treasures?"
"..."
Zhang Han muttered for a while, then stopped dwelling on it. His personality leaned toward being broad-minded and optimistic. He wouldn't obsess endlessly over one matter. Of course, there was a limit. Once that line was crossed, Zhang Han could become stubbornly fixated on things. Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured five years of hardship in Shangjing without leaving.
"Do I have any other treasures?"
Zhang Han began to ponder. He had countless treasures—so many that he could barely remember them all.
Suddenly, Zhang Han's eyes lit up. He hurriedly raised his hand and felt around his right ear.
After digging around for quite a while, he finally pulled out a one-centimeter-long object resembling a needle tip.
The needle tip was crystal-white all over, like immortal jade. Zhang Han stared at it for a long time, and the excitement in his eyes grew increasingly intense.
"Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, you did leave me a treasure after all! The Thunder Sun Tree and some seeds—these are exactly what I need to embark on the path of cultivation!"
The Thunder Sun Tree was a relatively rare treasure even in the vast Cultivation World. Its ability was formidable. It was a source of energy that could nourish spirit medicines and herbs. It also grew Thunder Sun Wood, which was needed for many pills. Even if someone simply absorbed its energy wastefully, they could instantly rise to the Innate Stage!
"However, it only produces fruit once every hundred years. Before I was reborn by Crossing Heavenly Tribulation, it seemed to be just about to grow Thunder Sun Wood. It should have needed about five more years, right?"
Zhang Han shook his head. "Forget it. No matter how long it takes, I first need to find a blessed land and plant the Thunder Sun Tree. Once I absorb the energy it releases for the first time, I can advance to the Early Qi Refining Stage. Then I'll be able to use the Treasure Sniffing Nose. With the seeds I placed inside the Thunder Sun Tree, my future will be bright!"
As he thought about it, Zhang Han couldn't help laughing heartily.
His laughter woke Little Princess, who had slept for a while.
She rubbed her eyes cutely and looked at Zhang Han in a daze, then said in her childish voice:
"Daddy, hungry."
Zhang Han's laughter abruptly stopped. He turned to look at Little Princess, having momentarily forgotten about this matter.
"Little girl, I'm not your father. We'll be at my place soon, and I'll find you something to eat." Zhang Han pursed his lips.
Hearing this, Little Princess looked aggrieved and timid. She wanted to speak but didn't dare to. She didn't understand why Daddy kept saying he wasn't Daddy.
He parked the brand-new Ferrari beneath the old building, where it looked strangely out of place. Carrying Little Princess upstairs and entering the room, he found that the furniture was not only old but also disorderly arranged. Only the small bedding on the bed and the pink suitcase beside it were new.
What was going on?
Zhang Han raised an eyebrow. Sitting on the sofa, he placed Little Princess on the coffee table in front of him and examined her carefully.
The little girl had delicate features, graceful eyebrows, a small and exquisite nose, limpid, sparkling eyes, and thin, willow-leaf lips. She possessed the adorable elegance of a princess, but her features didn't resemble Zhang Han's masculine appearance very much.
Fortunately, she didn't look like him. Otherwise, it would have been horrifying for a little girl to have such a masculine appearance. Just imagining it gave him chills.
"Is she really my daughter? No way, right?"
Zhang Han muttered, and suddenly a splitting pain surged through his head.
The memories of more than twenty years came flooding in!
At that moment, Zhang Han understood. His five hundred years of memories had poured into his body, suppressing the body's memories of more than twenty years for a time. Only now were the memories beginning to merge.
After absorbing the memories of this life's first twenty-some years, Zhang Han was left somewhat dazed.
How had the course of this life changed?
In his previous life, his parents and younger sister had died in a plane crash five years ago. Now, however, his memories said that his parents had mysteriously disappeared five years ago. His second uncle, Zhang Ming, still viewed his family with hostility. His younger sister had left home and vanished without a trace, though she sent money every month to her older brother, who was hopelessly disappointing. Zhang Han himself had also been driven out of the Zhang family by Zhang Ming.
"Could this be Heaven giving me a chance to make up for my regrets?"
Joy leaked into Zhang Han's eyes.
After recovering these memories, Zhang Han finally learned the little girl's background.
Her mother was Ziyan. Zhang Han wasn't familiar with her; he only knew that she was a glamorous, aloof celebrity who had acted in quite a few high-grossing films. Five years ago, Ziyan had been on the verge of reaching the peak of her career, while Zhang Han had been a wastrel at the peak of his fall into ruin.
It could be considered a case of a hero saving a beauty. The two had unexpectedly slept together, and after that one "accident," neither of them had expected Ziyan to choose to retire just as her career was reaching its peak, hide away in North America, and give birth to Little Princess.
Little Princess was nearly four years old and had been clamoring for a father. Ziyan also intended to return to the entertainment industry, so she came back to the country.
She took Little Princess directly to this shabby apartment and gave the little girl only seven days to stay with Zhang Han. Perhaps she wanted Little Princess to give up on her down-and-out father.
When Zhang Han and Ziyan met, Ziyan's coldness roused the pride buried in Zhang Han's bones. The two had a huge argument. In the end, Ziyan had left angrily, gritting her teeth, while Zhang Han had remained disdainful. Celebrities were merely actors, after all—what was she pretending to be so aloof for? Of course, that had been Zhang Han's opinion before his rebirth.
Zhang Han's life had begun incorporating the little girl into it. Today happened to be the third day.
After confirming that the little girl was his biological daughter, Zhang Han's expression changed dramatically, as if struck by lightning. He stared blankly at Little Princess and murmured in grief:
"She doesn't have one?"
"Good heavens, are you joking with me? Without one, how am I supposed to pass down the legacy of Immortal Lord Hanyang?"
Zhang Han was suddenly overcome with emotion. Irritated, he picked up a cigarette from the coffee table, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The smoke made Little Princess cough.
Zhang Han's hand paused. Although he had wanted a son to inherit his legacy, the little girl was ultimately his daughter. He sighed softly, stubbed out the cigarette, got up, and prepared a cup of milk for her.
"Thank you, Daddy," Little Princess said weakly.
Seeing his daughter's timid appearance made Zhang Han sigh again. If she had been a man with one, the conversation would probably have been entirely different: "Dad, I'm hungry. Don't just stand there—hurry up and get me some milk."
How could she be like the daughter before him—so delicate and timid?
The emotion came quickly and faded just as quickly. Before long, Zhang Han was carefully watching the little girl drink her milk elegantly. Without realizing it, a trace of tenderness rose in his eyes.
After finishing the milk, the little girl put the bottle on the coffee table, stretched out her slender arms, and said in her childish voice:
"Daddy, hug."
Zhang Han picked her up. The little girl gave a shy smile and happily said:
"Daddy, You are my hero, I love you."
The little girl didn't mind her father's unkempt appearance. She directly kissed Zhang Han on the cheek.
In that moment, Zhang Han's heart melted from the kiss.
That kiss let Zhang Han feel warmth and tenderness he hadn't experienced in a long time.
This bond of blood quickly filled the emptiness of the five hundred years he had spent alone.
"I, Zhang Han, have a child! A daughter is fine. Aren't daughters supposed to be their fathers' little padded jackets?"
Zhang Han laughed heartily.
Little Princess, in his arms, didn't know why Daddy was laughing, but seeing how happy he was made her giggle too.
For a time, the room was filled with laughter and warmth.
"Daughter, has your mother given you a name?" Zhang Han asked gently. Even he didn't know that his normally masculine voice could sound so gentle.
"She did, she did." Little Princess raised her little hand, pointed at herself, and said in her childish voice, "I... I'm called Emily."
The moment she finished speaking, the smile on Zhang Han's face vanished. Even the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched several times, revealing his displeasure.
"Emily?" Zhang Han said angrily. "That woman has gone too far!"
His daughter, Zhang Han's daughter, didn't even have the surname Zhang. And she had been given an English name—what was that supposed to mean?
"Daddy..." Seeing Zhang Han's expression, Little Princess thought he was angry with her. Her aggrieved eyes quickly filled with tears.
"Hey, hey, don't cry. Dad wasn't talking about you." Zhang Han hurriedly tried to comfort her.
"Daddy, don't be angry..." Little Princess said weakly.
Zhang Han shook his head. "Daddy just thinks your name is too tacky. How about we change it?"
"Okay, okay." Seeing that Daddy wasn't angry and even wanted to give her a new name, Little Princess immediately became happy again.
"What should it be..." Zhang Han pondered for a moment. In less than two seconds, he looked at the Little Princess in his arms and said, "From now on, your name will be Zhang Yumeng, and your nickname will be Mengmeng. How about it? Does it sound nice?"
After saying this, Zhang Han looked at Little Princess expectantly.
But the expression of Little Princess in his arms became hesitant.
"But I... I still like Emily. Mommy gave me that name."
Zhang Han's expression stiffened. He said sternly, "No!"
But after only two words, Little Princess's aggrieved expression rose again because of his stern face, and tears were about to spill from her eyes.
Seeing this, Zhang Han softened his tone and said gently, "Oh, my little darling..."
Before you continue