Take Him Out!!!

Jiangdu City, a renowned private hospital.

Inside the SVIP ward, the lighting was soft.

"Dad, careful, it's hot."

Sun Qingcang scooped up a spoonful of warm porridge and carefully brought it to his father's lips.

Sun Dechang swallowed a few mouthfuls, then gently waved his hand. "Enough. I'm full."

His gaze slowly swept over his son and daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter beside the bed. A ripple stirred in his aged eyes.

"I thought today would be my final day. Who would have thought... the one sent back in the end would be King Yama himself."

He gave a weak smile. "Qingcang, you must properly thank that young man. If not for him, I wouldn't even have had time to leave my last words."

"Dad, what are you talking about? What final arrangements? King Yama said that as long as we recruit a thousand believers, He'll grant you five more years of life in one go."

Sun Qingcang spoke resolutely. "Rest assured, no matter what it takes, your son will get those thousand offerings!"

Sun Xingwen immediately chimed in from the side. "Grandpa, I'll go find my classmates tomorrow! Whoever isn't sincere, I'll beat sincerity into him!"

Sun Dechang smiled, yet he was remarkably open-minded. "How could it be so easy? That is the Underworld, not the Heavenly Court. Some things cannot be forced. Still, being able to live a few more days and see all of you is already enough for me."

As he spoke, he looked at Sun Yourong. "It's just a pity. Grandpa likely won't live to see my precious granddaughter marry."

Tears immediately fell from Sun Yourong's eyes. Clenching her fists, she said, "Grandpa, don't lose heart. There are always more solutions than difficulties!"

At her side, Song wiped away her tears as well. "Xiaorong is right. There are always more solutions than difficulties! Even at worst, there are still four of us here. At the very least... at least we can let Dad live another half month!"

Yet Sun Qingcang's heart grew increasingly heavy as he listened. How could he not understand how difficult this road of "offerings" would be?

Even though Lu Chen had promised to help as much as he could, how could gathering a thousand people possibly be easy?

In the vast sea of humanity, where could they find a thousand people who sincerely believed in the Underworld?

Just then, a crisp ringtone shattered the ward's silence.

Sun Yourong picked up her phone, her gaze sharpening. "Lu Chen?"

Sun Qingcang's pupils contracted. He spun around abruptly. "Answer it! Put it on speaker!"

Sun Yourong nodded, answered the call, and turned on the speaker. "Mr. Lu?"

"Sorry to disturb you so late, Miss Sun."

"You're too polite. You called me... is there something you need?"

"Oh, there's something I'd like to ask you to help with."

The moment they heard he was asking them for help, the tiny flames of hope that had just ignited in their eyes dimmed.

They had originally hoped Lu Chen might bring some good news, such as having recruited a few worshippers.

Sun Yourong paused, then nodded. "All right. Tell me, what do you need us to do?"

"I'd like you to help me find a few buses and have them come to our Southern Mountain Residential Compound tomorrow. After I got back, I gave the neighbors a little introduction and did some persuasion. Now, over a hundred households in our compound all want to go worship King Yama at the temple. So please find a few vehicles to shuttle them back and forth tomorrow morning."

Crash!

The bowl in Sun Qingcang's hand suddenly slipped free and shattered across the floor.

"What was that? Did something fall?" Lu Chen asked curiously from the other end of the call.

The next second, Sun Qingcang practically snatched the phone away, his voice trembling with excitement. "Xiaochen! It's me, Uncle Sun! You just said... more than a hundred people?!"

"Good evening, Uncle Sun. Yes, to be exact, 109 people."

The instant those words fell—

The entire ward sank into deathly silence!

Only the sound of wildly pounding hearts remained, like a barrage of drumbeats.

Sun Qingcang's entire body shook violently as though struck by lightning.

This dignified fifth-rank Spirit Awakened, one of Jiangdu City's top five strongest experts, was shaking so hard that he could barely hold the phone steady.

His voice quavered. "Xiaochen, Uncle Sun thanks you! The great kindness you've shown the Sun family will be remembered by us forever!!"

Lu Chen laughed. "You're overstating it, Uncle Sun. This is my duty to begin with. Then it's settled. Eight tomorrow morning, at the entrance to our compound. See you there."

"See you there!!"

After ending the call, the Sun family stared at one another.

Song muttered as she calculated, "One worshipper means three days, so 109 means..."

Sun Yourong gave the answer outright. "327 days! Nearly a year!"

Bzzz!!!

It was like thunder exploding from level ground!

At that moment, their heartbeats were utterly detonated!

Sun Xingwen swallowed hard several times, nearly gritting out each word. "This... this Mr. Lu—he... is he even human?! How can a person defy heaven to this extent!!"

Faced with an entire year of lifespan falling from the sky, Sun Dechang's chest likewise heaved violently. He let out a long breath, overwhelmed with emotion. "This boy is no creature to be trapped in a shallow pond!"

Every member of the Sun family's pupils contracted, their hearts surging like stormy seas.

Especially Sun Yourong!

While they were still agonizing over how to break the deadlock, Lu Chen had already taken a great stride forward as casually as if it were nothing.

Not one, two, or three.

But a full 109!

Thinking back to everything that had happened to Lu Chen today—

This woman with countless suitors at her feet, Jiangdu City's universally acknowledged number one goddess, could not help but have an unprecedented, strange emotion flicker through her eyes...

"Should I talk to my brother again?"

On the other side, after ending the call, Lu Chen saw that it was already late.

But after thinking it over, he decided against it.

His parents and younger sister still needed to rest.

The soundproofing in this house was poor. If he spoke, he would probably keep Father Lu and Mother Lu awake as well.

"Forget it. I'll tell him tomorrow."

With a yawn, Lu Chen stretched, got up, washed up, and went to bed.

This day had truly exhausted him.

Whoosh!

In the dead of night, Jiangdu City was suddenly hit by a torrential downpour.

At Zhao Residence, one of the Four Great Families—

A convoy of luxury cars silently came to a stop.

Butler Zhao Zhihong had long been waiting in the curtain of rain with an umbrella, bent respectfully at the waist.

"Young Master, you've returned."

A handsome young man slowly stepped out of the car, though a trace of sinister gloom lay hidden deep in his brows and eyes.

Dense raindrops fell, only to be silently repelled by an invisible wall of air as they neared his body. Faint arcs of lightning even flickered across that barrier.

Zhao Zhihong hurriedly moved the umbrella closer.

The Zhao family's young master gave him a long look, then casually patted his shoulder, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.

"Zhihong, you said on the phone that the old master of the Sun family, who should have certainly died, was saved by some nobody?"

Zhao Zhihong was fawning to the extreme. "In reply to Young Master, that is indeed the case."

"You also said that the Lord God of Wealth was taken back by that boy?"

"Y-Yes, Young Master!"

A dangerous curve lifted at the young man's lips. "Zhihong, it seems you're getting worse with age. Before I left, didn't I make myself clear? If the person the Sun family found themselves was useless, then the one who saved Old Master Sun had to be me.

"I told you to wait for my return, so I could personally place the Life-Extending Pill in Yourong's hands. And yet... not only did you botch the job, knowing full well that they had a fated connection, you still let them bring back the Lord God of Wealth?

"It seems you're becoming less and less capable of handling matters~"

The moment Zhao Zhihong heard this, his face went deathly pale.

With a thud, he dropped to his knees in the icy rainwater.

"This subordinate has failed in his duties. I beg Young Master's forgiveness!"

The downpour instantly soaked Zhao Zhihong through, leaving him utterly bedraggled.

The young man crouched down and patted Zhao Zhihong's drenched cheek, neither too hard nor too lightly, as though teasing a dog.

"Forgiveness? How should I forgive you? Come, tell me~"

"Woof, woof woof~"

Zhao Zhihong suddenly began barking like a madman—and he even sounded remarkably lifelike.

Unexpectedly, the Zhao family's young master seemed to have heard something immensely amusing and burst into loud laughter.

"Not bad. You sound even more like one this time!"

With that, he rose to his feet and headed into the residence without looking back.

His laughter rang through the pitch-black rainy night, especially chilling and deranged.

"Remember, put that boy on the observation list. If necessary..."

His steps paused. Turning half his face slightly, his eyes in the shadows were as cold as knives.

"Take him out!"

"But Young Master, the Sun family—"

"Hm?!" A displeased, cold snort.

Zhao Zhihong shuddered all over and immediately lowered himself further. "Yes! This subordinate understands! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"

The Zhao family's young master erupted into delighted laughter again.

"Not bad, not bad! What a good dog, hahahaha!!"