Intimidation

By the time Zuo Yi returned home again, it was nearly dark.

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

He kept his old phone number. Before going abroad three years ago, Zuo Yi had topped up plenty of credit. Although it had gone unused for three years, there was enough balance in the account to keep it from being canceled, saving him a great deal of trouble.

Then he ran into Uncle Zhong, which truly announced his return.

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

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

The fallen leaves and dirt that had once covered the courtyard had vanished completely. The ground looked as though it had just been washed clean, and the texture of the bluestone paving was clearly visible. The fading light of the sunset filtered through the camphor tree branches, casting dappled spots of light across the house walls.

Quiet and beautiful.

When he stepped into the living room, it was equally spotless and tidy. Not even a speck of dust could be seen on the windows. The air was fresh and pleasant; even the best cleaner could not have achieved such a result.

The Giant Spirit Witch Slave, the hero behind it all, floated silently above the oil lamp. Upon seeing Zuo Yi, it immediately bowed. "Master, I have completed your command and 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 these away. Also, bring me some bowls and chopsticks. Oh, right..."

He beckoned to the Giant Spirit Witch Slave. It immediately floated over before him 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, utterly different from the technologically advanced Blue Star World. Zuo Yi needed it to understand the basics of life here before it could serve him better.

There would be no problem asking it to clean, but if he asked 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 memories of daily life to the Giant Spirit Witch Slave was a simple matter. He merely had to condense a tiny Spirit Seed and implant it into the latter's body.

"I shall obey your will!"

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

Meanwhile, Zuo Yi personally carried a chair and small table into the courtyard. He arranged the braised dishes and cooked food he had brought on plates, opened a can of beer, and sat down to savor them slowly.

How many years had he missed these flavors?

He took a bite of braised meat, drank a mouthful of beer, leaned back in the rattan chair, and gazed up at the sky. As darkness gradually fell and stars quietly emerged one after another, 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.

Yet his good mood was soon disturbed by the roar of motorcycles approaching from the distance.

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

"Brother Haonan, this is the great place you were talking about? It's really out in the sticks!"

"Whoa, what a beautiful villa!"

"Is nobody really living inside? Could it be haunted?"

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

"Hahaha, sounds fun!"

"Quit yapping and listen to me first!"

A gruff, ducklike voice drowned out the others. "I'm telling you, the Zuo Family used to be the biggest landowners in Riverside Town. See all those empty lots and woodland around here? They all belong to the Zuos. Impressive, right?"

"So awesome!" "Damn, that's rich!" "At least a few hundred million, right?" "A real landowner!"

The lackeys were incredibly enthusiastic, throwing out every kind of exclamation, envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Impressive my ass!"

The duck-voiced man cackled. "I heard as soon as I got back that the guy surnamed Zuo went abroad years ago and never came back. He probably died somewhere overseas and his bones have already rotted away. Even if our town gets redeveloped, he won't live to enjoy it. What use are a big house and lots of land when you're dead?"

The moment he finished speaking, his companions went wild.

"Hahaha, rich but dead!"

"So can we do whatever we want now?"

"If he was such a big landowner, doesn't that mean there are lots of antiques and paintings in the house?"

"Hurry up and go take a look!"

"Smash the gate open!"

The motorcycles revved again.

But before the gaudy-bike punks could start ramming the gate, the tightly shut courtyard gate suddenly opened from within.

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

The boiling clamor came to an abrupt stop.

Tall and resolute, Zuo Yi's powerful build and naturally imposing presence instantly intimidated the entire group of gaudy-bike punks.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on one of them: a thin, wiry man in a black T-shirt, wearing a gold chain and sporting a shaved head. With a sneer, he said, "Skinny Monkey, you've gotten bold after not seeing me for a few 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 films, he had renamed himself Chen Haonan and smugly made everyone call him "Brother Haonan."

Skinny Monkey usually loafed around all day. Eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, smoking—he indulged in everything, and he was hated by everyone in town.

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 on the ground looking for his teeth. In their last fight, Zuo Yi had nearly broken his leg. He had probably been beaten so badly that he fled elsewhere, and there had been no news of him ever since.

Who would have thought that this guy had returned to Riverside Town and even brought people to raid Zuo Yi's home!

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

Zuo Yi's gaze turned icy.

Skinny Monkey's expression changed dramatically. He had never imagined that Zuo Yi, who was said to have died abroad, had actually returned—and was right at home. He had truly run straight into the barrel of a gun!

The scenes of Zuo Yi beating him senseless in the past surfaced in his mind. His entire body began trembling uncontrollably, especially his left leg.

But the wannabe delinquents Skinny Monkey had brought did not share his experience. Instead, Zuo Yi's contemptuous attitude enraged them. Relying on their superior numbers, they began shouting loudly.

"What the hell are you?"

"You wanna die? Get down on your knees!"

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

"Showing off in front of us? Show off your mother—"

Smack!

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

He was neither dead nor unconscious, but blood gushed from his nose and mouth. Struggling into a sitting position, he clutched his swollen face and wailed loudly.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!"

His miserable state was enough to make anyone who heard it grieve and anyone who saw it weep. It was truly too pitiful to behold.

The gaudy-bike punks were all dumbfounded!

They had not even seen how Zuo Yi had attacked. Their companion had instantly performed an extremely difficult spinning aerial backward landing, face-first into the ground. All that was missing was a score from the judges.

Every one of those who had been shouting fell silent, trembling like frightened cicadas.

At this moment, Zuo Yi, still standing before the gate, looked to everyone like a terrifying beast ready to devour its prey.

And they were incomparably weak prey!

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

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

Smack! Another slap. "Please spare me!"

The slapping, begging, and wailing from behind blended together in a strangely rhythmic harmony.

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

His tone was calm, yet it carried an indescribable majesty.

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

Zuo Yi waved a hand. Skinny Monkey and the gaudy-bike punks immediately felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly fled in utter disarray.

Taking out a cigarette pack and lighter from his pocket, Zuo Yi lit a cigarette and watched them vanish panic-stricken into the night.

He was not afraid that they would return. The Mental Intimidation he had just imposed would last for an extremely long time. This place would become a nightmare for Skinny Monkey and the others, and they would never dare come near it again!

This kind of spiritual pressure from a higher-order lifeform upon a lower-order lifeform was practically impossible to resist.

Ring, ring, ring~

Before he could finish 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 it. "Hello?"

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

"Hello."

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

Zuo Yi hung up immediately.

What a joke!

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

Regarding updates: during the current free public period, there will be at least two updates a day, with each update containing no fewer than 2,500 words. Extra updates may be added depending on the situation. After release, there will be at least three updates a day.

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