Intimidation

When Zuo Yi returned home again, it was nearly dark.

He had gone into town to replace his ID card and SIM card.

He used the same old phone number. Before leaving the country three years ago, Zuo Yi had topped up quite a lot of credit. Although it had gone unused for three years, the account still had enough balance to avoid being canceled, saving him a great deal of trouble.

Then he ran into Uncle Zhong, truly announcing his return.

Zuo Yi also bought some prepared food and beer to bring home for dinner.

Since he had gotten the spare key earlier, he opened the door and entered this time. The sight before him was already completely different.

The fallen leaves and dirt that had covered the courtyard were gone without a trace. The ground looked as though it had just been washed, the texture of the bluestone slabs clearly visible. The setting sun shone through the camphor tree branches onto the house walls, casting mottled patches of light.

Quiet and beautiful.

When he stepped into the living room, it was equally clean and orderly. There was not even a speck of dust on the windows, and the air was fresh and pleasant. Even the best cleaner could not have done such a thorough job.

The Giant Spirit Witch Slave, the one responsible for all this, floated quietly above the oil lamp. Seeing Zuo Yi, it immediately bowed. "Master, I have completed your command. I am ready to continue serving you!"

"Very good."

Zuo Yi nodded. Pointing at the dust covers protecting the sofa and furniture, he said, "Put all of those away. Also, bring me the bowls and chopsticks. Oh, right..."

He gestured to the Giant Spirit Witch Slave, which immediately floated over and respectfully lowered its head.

Zuo Yi extended his right index finger and touched its head. A glimmer of golden light flashed from his fingertip.

The Giant Spirit Witch Slave had been born in Sadeya, a world ruled by wizards, knights, and demons, completely different from the technologically advanced Blue Star World. Zuo Yi needed it to understand the basics of life here so that it could serve him better.

Cleaning was no problem for it, but if he told it to heat food in a microwave, it would have no idea what to do.

For a powerful knight like Zuo Yi, imparting some of his own life memories to the Giant Spirit Witch Slave was very simple. He only needed to condense a tiny Spirit Seed and implant it into its body.

"As you wish!"

Having received the new memories, the Giant Spirit Witch Slave accepted the order and busied itself once more.

Meanwhile, Zuo Yi personally moved a chair and a small table into the courtyard. He arranged the braised dishes and prepared food he had brought back onto plates, opened a can of beer, sat down, and slowly enjoyed himself.

How many years had he missed this taste?

He ate a piece of braised meat, took a sip of beer, leaned back in the wicker chair, and looked up at the sky. As darkness gradually fell and stars quietly emerged one by one, Zuo Yi felt more relaxed and at ease than ever before.

Like a sailboat that had weathered a storm at sea and finally returned to a peaceful harbor.

After years of wandering and fighting in the Sadea World, his heart had long since grown weary.

"To Sol!"

Zuo Yi raised his beer can and offered his most sincere greeting to the Lord of the Abyss who had sent him home.

However, his wonderful mood was soon disturbed by the roar of motorcycles approaching from afar.

One, two, three... Seven motorcycles with modified exhaust pipes stopped in front of Zuo Yi's house. Amid bursts of obnoxious dance music, noisy voices drifted into the courtyard.

"Brother Haonan, this is the great place you were talking about? It's pretty remote!"

"Whoa, what a beautiful villa!"

"Does nobody really live inside? Could it be haunted?"

"It'll be more fun if it's haunted. We're staying here tonight!"

"Hahaha, sounds fun!"

"Stop making so much noise. Listen to me first!"

A raspy, irritable duck-like voice suppressed the others. "Let me tell you, the Zuo Family used to be the biggest landowners in Riverside Town. See all those empty lots and wooded areas around here? They all belong to the Zuos. Impressive, huh?"

"Impressive!" "That's awesome!" "At least a few hundred million, right?" "A real landowner!"

The lackeys played along enthusiastically, exclaiming and voicing all kinds of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Impressive my ass!"

The duck-voiced man laughed harshly. "I heard as soon as I got back that the Zuo guy went abroad years ago and never came back. He's probably dead somewhere overseas, his bones already rotten. Even if our town gets redeveloped, he won't live to enjoy it. What's the use of having such a big house and so much land?"

The moment he finished speaking, his companions erupted.

"Hahaha, rich but dead before he can enjoy it!"

"So we can do whatever we want now?"

"If he was such a big landowner, there must be lots of antiques and paintings inside, right?"

"Hurry up and take a look!"

"Smash the gate open!!"

The motorcycles roared again.

But before the ghost-rider punks could start ramming the gate, the tightly shut courtyard doors suddenly opened from within.

Zuo Yi stepped over the threshold and stood on the stairs. The beams from several motorcycle headlights shone on him, allowing the uninvited guests to see his face clearly.

The boisterous clamor stopped abruptly.

Tall and resolute, Zuo Yi's powerful build and naturally imposing presence immediately intimidated the entire group of ghost-rider punks.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on a skinny, bald man in a black T-shirt and gold chain. With a derisive laugh, he said, "Skinny Monkey, you've really grown capable after all these years. Bringing people to cause trouble at my house? Looks like your legs are itching again."

The man was a local hoodlum from Riverside Town. His real name was Chen Xiangnan, and his nickname was Skinny Monkey. After watching too many Young and Dangerous Hong Kong movies, he had renamed himself Chen Haonan and smugly insisted that everyone call him Brother Haonan.

Skinny Monkey usually loafed around all day. Drinking, gambling, whoring, smoking—there was nothing he did not indulge in. He was the sort of person everyone in town despised.

Zuo Yi had known him for a long time. They had fought fiercely several times in the past, and every time Zuo Yi had beaten him until he was crawling around looking for his teeth. In their last fight, Zuo Yi had nearly broken his leg. Skinny Monkey had probably been scared into fleeing elsewhere, and there had been no news of him ever since.

Zuo Yi had not expected this guy to be back in Riverside Town, much less bring people here to loot his home!

Zuo Yi was immensely glad that he had returned in time. Otherwise, if they had broken into his house...

The look in Zuo Yi's eyes turned icy.

Skinny Monkey's expression changed drastically. He had never imagined that Zuo Yi, who was rumored to have died abroad, had actually returned—and was right at home. He had walked straight into the line of fire!

Scenes of Zuo Yi beating him mercilessly in the past surfaced in his mind. His whole body began trembling uncontrollably, with his left leg shaking especially hard.

But the gaudy-haired delinquents Skinny Monkey had brought did not share the same memories. Instead, Zuo Yi's contemptuous attitude enraged them. Relying on their numbers, they started shouting loudly.

"What the hell are you?"

"Want to die? Get on your knees for us!"

"Who the hell are you? How dare you talk to Brother Haonan like that?"

"Trying to act tough in front of us? Screw your—"

Slap!

With a crisp sound, the ghost-rider punk spouting obscenities instantly spun into the air, flying backward four or five meters before crashing heavily onto the grass.

He was neither dead nor unconscious. Blood sprayed from his nose and mouth as he struggled into a sitting position, clutching his swollen face and wailing loudly.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!"

The sight was so miserable that it broke the hearts of those who heard it and brought tears to the eyes of those who saw it. It was almost too painful to watch.

All the ghost-rider punks were dumbfounded!

They had not seen how Zuo Yi had made his move at all. Their companion had instantly performed an incredibly difficult spinning aerial backward landing face-plant maneuver. All that was missing was a score from the judges.

Every one of those who had been shouting moments ago shut their mouths, trembling in silence.

At that moment, Zuo Yi, still standing at the gate, looked like a terrifying beast ready to devour prey in everyone's eyes.

They were helpless prey!

And Skinny Monkey—their Brother Haonan—dropped to his knees with a thud and began slapping himself across the face with both hands.

Slap! One slap. "Brother Zuo, I was wrong!"

Slap! Another slap. "Please spare me!"

The slapping, the begging, and the wailing from behind blended together with an oddly rhythmic cadence.

Only after Skinny Monkey had slapped himself dozens of times, until blood flowed from his nose and mouth, did Zuo Yi speak. "Get lost. Don't let me see you in Riverside Town again."

His tone was calm, but it carried an indescribable authority.

Skinny Monkey's teeth chattered as he desperately forced out an utterly ridiculous smile. "Th-thank you, Brother Zuo!"

Zuo Yi waved his hand. Skinny Monkey and the ghost-rider punks immediately felt as though they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly fled in panic.

Taking out a cigarette pack and lighter from his pocket, Zuo Yi lit a cigarette and watched them vanish into the darkness in terror.

He was not afraid that they would return. The mental intimidation he had just imposed would last for a very long time. This place would become the nightmare of Skinny Monkey and the others, and they would never dare approach it again!

Such an overwhelming pressure of will from a higher-order lifeform upon a lower-order lifeform was basically impossible to resist.

Ring ring ring~

Before he had even finished his cigarette, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

He took it out and saw that it was an unfamiliar number, but he still answered. "Hello?"

This was the first call Zuo Yi had received since returning. Even if it was an advertisement, telemarketing, harassment, or scam, he wanted to hear it.

"Hello."

The voice from the receiver was quite pleasant. "Is this Mr. Zuo? Your daughter is at our childcare center..."

Zuo Yi immediately hung up.

What kind of joke was this?

Where would he get a daughter? Scammers these days were really getting worse.

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