Zhao Rucheng had met many women in his life.
He didn't need to do a thing. A single glance was enough to win their hearts.
He didn't even need to look at them. All he had to do was take off his mask, and plenty of women would throw themselves at him like moths to a flame.
He had never given his heart to anyone.
Nothing in this world lasted forever.
From a single person to an entire nation, from tangled grudges to love, it was all the same.
He only wanted to live out his life in a pleasant haze.
He couldn't get so drunk that he lost himself completely, nor could he see things too clearly.
If he got too drunk, no one in this world would ever remember those things, those people, that past...
If he saw too clearly... how could he go on living?
Human strength had its limits. The smarter a person was, the more clearly they saw the truth of the world, and the more pessimistic they became.
In some small city, he'd make a few friends. The most successful among them might become the city's City Lord. Or they might teach at the Criminal Investigation Bureau or the Dao Academy, or serve in the City Guard...
If any trouble came up, he'd quietly take care of it.
He'd have more wealth than he could spend in that little city, maintain a cultivation level that was neither high nor low, drink and carouse, and kill a few bandits.
Every now and then, he'd throw his weight around. Sometimes he'd "suppress the strong and aid the weak, roaming the land as a chivalrous hero."
He'd live out his life like that, safe and happy alongside these people.
That was what he'd thought. That was what