After returning home, Lu Ming cleared a small space to rest inside his roofless house.
“Ouch... Ow... Big Yellow, you’re so disloyal! You ran so fast and left me to take all the beatings.”
“Woof...”
Big Yellow’s eyes were filled with exasperation. It was his own fault for having zero situational awareness; who wouldn't run the instant they saw the servants make a move?
“No, we can't just let this go!”
Lu Ming rubbed the swelling on his forehead and muttered.
“Woof?”
Big Yellow turned to look at him, as if asking if he hadn't had enough of being beaten.
“They have numbers on their side. We have to outsmart them!” Lu Ming muttered, grimacing.
“Woof?”
Big Yellow’s eyes lit up, and it stared intently at Lu Ming.
“Here’s the plan. We do this, then we do that...”
Lu Ming spoke with spit flying everywhere, his eyes filled with absolute determination.
“Woof! Woof!”
Big Yellow’s eyes gleamed as it nodded in agreement. Good, very good, excellent.
...
It was a dark and windy night—perfect for murder and arson.
A man and a dog stood outside a small side door of Chen Dayou’s residence. His face wrapped in a piece of tattered cloth, Lu Ming whispered:
“Big Yellow, are you sure you have a connection who can open this door?”
Big Yellow, who also had a piece of tattered cloth draped over its face, nodded with absolute certainty.
Then, Big Yellow trotted up to the door, raised its front paw, and gave it a few sharp scratches.
A moment later, the sound of a latch sliding came from behind the door. Lu Ming’s eyes lit up, and he gave Big Yellow a thumbs-up.
He had never expected Big Yellow to have this kind of connection.
With a creak, the side door swung open. Lu Ming saw a large white dog holding the latch in its mouth, looking at Big Yellow with eyes full of excitement.
Lu Ming was instantly dumbfounded, his face frozen in utter shock.
His face practically screamed the three ultimate philosophical questions: Who am I? Where am I? What am I looking at?
Lu Ming looked at Big Yellow, then back at the large white dog that had opened the door.
He had never imagined that Big Yellow’s network of connections—or rather, canine connections—would turn out to be a large white dog.
Truly, humans have their ways, and dogs have theirs. One should never underestimate them.
With a thud, the white dog dropped the wooden latch onto the ground and began running around Big Yellow in excitement.
It didn't spare so much as a glance for Lu Ming standing right beside them.
“Woof~”
Big Yellow gave a cool, aloof toss of its head, as if telling her to go play elsewhere because Big Brother Dog had serious business to attend to today.
Only then did the white dog turn and leave, looking back with every step as she reluctantly vanished into the night.
Witnessing this, Lu Ming gave Big Yellow another thumbs-up.
“Dongfang Big Yellow, you are truly amazing. As expected of my brother, the protagonist's companion. You have a bright future ahead of you...”
“Let's go.”
Lu Ming then followed Big Yellow all the way to Chen Dayou’s warehouse.
But after taking one look, the man and the dog turned around and left.
Not only was the warehouse heavily guarded, but it was also built entirely of massive stones.
It didn't even have a single window, leaving them with absolutely no way to break in.
After leaving the warehouse, they used the cover of night to slip quietly into the backyard, heading toward the ancestral hall.
Looking up at the four large characters reading “Chen Family Ancestral Hall,” Lu Ming took a deep breath, turned to Big Yellow, and whispered:
“Big Yellow, keep watch for me outside.”
Big Yellow nodded and slipped into the nearby shadows to hide.
With a soft creak, Lu Ming gently pushed open the doors of the ancestral hall and slipped inside.
A thick scent of burning incense immediately rushed to greet him.
He saw an altar table positioned directly opposite the entrance.
Atop it sat an incense burner, offerings, and a pair of lit ever-burning lamps.
Behind the altar table stood a row of ancestral tablets. Lu Ming counted them; there were eighteen in total.
Stepping quickly up to the altar, Lu Ming picked up some incense sticks, lit them, and placed them into the burner.
“Ancestors of the Chen family, please don't blame me for this. If you must blame someone, blame your unworthy descendants. They are absolute scoundrels who have done nothing but evil...”
“Ancestors of the Chen family, please bless this operation to be a complete success. Thank you very much...”
Having finished his muttered prayer, Lu Ming yanked off the cloth covering the altar table and spread it out on the floor.
Then, with swift and nimble movements, he lined up all the ancestral tablets on the cloth.
Gathering the corners of the cloth, he tied them together into a bundle, slung it over his back, and quickly made his way out of the ancestral hall.
“Big Yellow, let's go.”
The man and the dog then vanished into the darkness.
...
Meanwhile, inside Lu Ming’s roofless, dilapidated house, a young man covered in wounds lay breathing his last.
“Pfft...”
A moment later, the man suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. His breath faded entirely, and he died.
Suddenly, the newly deceased man’s eyes snapped open once more.
He stared blankly for a moment, then sat up cross-legged. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes as he muttered to himself:
“Ye Fan... Heh, to think he shares the same name as this Immortal Emperor.”
“Cuckolded by his wife, hunted down, forced to burn his essence blood, and left with a shattered dantian...”
“Rest in peace. Since this Immortal Emperor has inherited your body, I will naturally avenge you. I will not spare a single person who harmed you!”
With that, the Immortal Emperor now known as Ye Fan closed his eyes, preparing to mend the broken body.
“Hmm?”
Ye Fan suddenly opened his eyes, staring warily toward the outside.
“Big Yellow, let me tell you, this time I am definitely going to get back every single copper that Chen Dayou swindled from me over the years.”
Carrying the bundle of the Chen family’s ancestral tablets on his back, Lu Ming boasted excitedly to Big Yellow, who trotted alongside him.
“Woof~”
Big Yellow nodded in agreement.
“Woof, woof!”
Suddenly, Big Yellow barked sharply at the house.
Seeing Big Yellow's warning, Lu Ming’s temper flared instantly.
“Dammit! I’m so poor I don’t even have a roof, and yet some thief actually came to rob me?”
After all, he couldn't fathom who in their right mind would break into a roofless shack in the middle of the night.
Fuming with rage, Lu Ming unslung the Chen family tablets from his back and set them on the ground, then searched the courtyard by the moonlight until he found a wooden club.
“Big Yellow, guard the exit. Don't let this guy escape!”
Clutching the club, Lu Ming marched angrily to the doorway and let out a fierce shout:
“You little thief! Where do you think you're going?”
Based on his experience, thieves were usually faint-hearted. If he put on a powerful, intimidating display first, he could easily overwhelm them.
To prevent any sneak attacks, Lu Ming swung the club back and forth as he stepped inside.
Whoosh! Before Lu Ming could even register what was happening, a figure materialized right beside him.
Fast! Incredibly fast...
To Lu Ming, the stranger’s speed was completely beyond comprehension.
Most importantly, a glowing longsword was already resting against his shoulder.
“Haha... Great hero, this is all a misunderstanding. Please, take whatever you like from my house. Feel free...”
Feeling the icy bite of the blade against his skin, Lu Ming’s scalp went numb and his face turned deathly pale.
In both of his lifetimes combined, he had never had a sword held to his neck!
If this person's hand shook even a little, his head would be rolling on the floor.
At the same time, he couldn't help but complain in his mind. Are the thieves in this world really this powerful?
Sigh... Truly, such is the fate of a protagonist. Obstacles at every step. I can't even avoid mortal peril in my own home.
Meanwhile, Ye Fan was also incredibly infuriated. As a grand, once-mighty Immortal Emperor, he was actually being treated like a common thief!
Besides, this place was so poor it didn't even have a roof. What the hell was there to steal?!
It wasn't that he didn't want to kill this mortal with a single strike, but rather, his current body had already reached its absolute limit.
He had only just resurrected in this body and hadn't had any time to recover.
At this moment, his sword-bearing hand was trembling violently. He simply lacked the strength to finish Lu Ming off.
He had to stall for time and give this body a chance to recover.
Rate on N.U.
