Being powerless was not a sin. But falling from the height of absolute power into
total helplessness—that was when life turned from heaven into hell without warning.
Alex had no strength left, no hidden force, nothing at all to stop her.
None at all.
So he lunged forward on instinct and caught the de with his bare hand.
The knife sliced through his fingers. Flesh split open.
Blood spilled instantly.
The de slipped from her grip. Alex snatched it away and flung it aside, where it ttered across the floor.
"Stop it," Alex said.
"Why?" the young woman screamed. Tears streamed down her face. Desperation burned in her eyes-raw, hopeless, and broken. "My whole life is already ruined because of you. Why shouldn''t I die now?"
Alex stared at her.
She was small. Too small. Barely fifteen, at most. A child forced to grow up too fast because fate had saddled her with a monster like Bai Xiaochun as her brother.
Her eyes locked onto Alex''s, demanding an answer.
"Why won''t you let me die?
Why push me this far, then refuse to end it?
Why keep torturing me?
"You ruined my life," she said through clenched teeth.
Alex nodded. "That''s fair."
Her anger stalled. "That''s it? No denial?"
"I''m not stupid," he said calmly. "If I deny it, you''ll stab yourself again. If I admit it, you''ll just re at me."
Bai Yuhan did exactly that she only red at Alex.
"First," Alex said slowly, "our father left behind a box of gold. I still have it. I''ll give it to you."
Her eyes flew open in disbelief.
"Liar."
"Wait here,” Alex said. “I''ll bring the box.”
He turned and walked out, blood dripping from his hand.
Inside his body, nanobots were already stitching torn flesh back together.
A few steps past the door, he slipped a hand into his storage ring and took out another wooden box.
Inside were nearly four hundred gold ingots.
Alex grabbed the handle and tried to lift it.
It didn''t budge.
He tried again, straining. Nothing.
The box was enormous—at least a hundred kilograms. Far too heavy for one person in his condition.
Grinding his teeth, Alex gave up and dragged himself back to the main room empty- handed.
"Where is the gold?" the young woman snapped, her voice sharp with usation. "You lied to me."
“No,” Alex said quickly. "It''s just too heavy. I can''t lift it alone. I can''t bring it here."
He met her gaze.
"So we have to go to it."
"Just say you don''t have it,” the young woman said, her voice thick with disbelief.
“Bai Yuhan,” Alex called out, using the name he had pulled from Bai Xiaochun''s memories. “If there''s no gold outside, you can go kill yourself. I won''t stop you. But what if there is gold out there?"
Bai Yuhan shouted back without hesitation, "If there really is gold, I''ll be your ve." "Good," Alex said tly. "Follow me."
He didn''t care about promises. He didn''t care about oaths. He just wanted her to stop trying to die—and to stop wasting his time.
Alex walked out first. Bai Yuhan followed, with the old woman trailing behind them.
"This is the box," Alex said, pointing at the wooden chest.
Bai Yuhan stepped forward slowly, staring at it. Even now, she was certain her bastard of a brother had lied again. That this was another cruel joke.
Then she lifted the lid.
Her breath caught.
Gold ingots filled the box-stacked, solid, unmistakable.
The old woman gasped. Her eyes turned red instantly.
"Thank Heaven,” she cried. "My wages... my wages can finally be paid."
She looked at Alex as if seeing him for the first time. "I thought I would never receive my sry in this lifetime. But Heaven truly has eyes. That disaster Bai Xiaochun... he''s finally turned over a new leaf."
Bai Yuhan tore her gaze away from the gold and looked straight at Alex. "Where did you get this?"
Alex clearly didn''t want to answer. "Family treasure," he said shortly. "Father only told me where it was."
Bai Yuhan''s eyes narrowed into thin slits. "I remember you spending all the family fortune at pleasure houses."
Alex spoke quickly, afraid she wouldn''t listen. "I had to pretend I wasted it. I kept this part hidden."
“Why?” Bai Yuhan pressed.
"Our uncle, Bai Xi," Alex said, forcing the words out. "He wanted me dead. All of us dead. I had to pretend to be a useless bastard so he''d lower his guard."
Her gaze didn''t soften. "Then why did you give the City Lord position to Zhuge Liang?"
Alex let out a sharp breath. "Come on, sister. If became City Lord, our uncle would never stop sending assassins. The citizens would hate us too. But with Zhuge Liang as Acting City Lord, he has to protec me. Because if I fall, he falls with me."
"So you mean you want them to tear each other apart so you can survive," Bai Yuhan said slowly.
"Exactly,” Alex replied.
"Let them fight. Zhuge Liang will use everything he has to suppress Bai Xi. Bai Xi will strike back with everything he has. They''ll bleed each other dry. We stand aside, recover, and wait until one of them falls."
"Brilliant move, Young Master," the old woman said, pping her hands. Her eyes sparkled with mockery. "Who would have thought the most useless rascal in all of Qingshui City could suddenly grow a brain?"
"I''ve always been smart," Alex protested.
“No,” Bai Yuhan cut in sharply. "You''re the biggest asshole I''ve ever known. I even heard that when you go to pleasure houses, only the lowest women are willing to serve you."
"Why?" Alex blurted out, genuinely shocked. "Aren''t pleasure houses all about money?"
"They said even the high-ranked women there refuse you,” Bai Yuhan said tly. "They have standards."
"What?" Alex was stunned. Even prostitutes had standards now? And Bai Xiaochun
didn''t meet them? Just how low had this body''s reputation sunk?
The old woman smirked. "They also say you''re a one-minute man.”
Alex stared at her. "...Why do you know that?"
She smiled. "The servants gossip."
Bai Yuhan crossed her arms. "They weren''t gossiping. They wereughing."
Alex pressed a hand to his chest. "I was framed."
“By who?” Bai Yuhan asked coldly. "Time itself?”
"Even the lowest women refuse you," Bai Yuhan continued mercilessly. "They say
you''re bad for morale."
Alex frowned. “That doesn''t make sense. I pay on time.”
"They said," she went on, "that no amount of money is worth emotional damage."
Alex inhaled slowly. "So my reputation is dead."
The old woman nodded. “Buried. Mourned. asionally spit on.”
Alex choked on his breath.
So bad that he might need to personally visit a pleasure house just to restore Bai Xiaochun''s reputation.
He wanted to drown them in a night so excessive it became unbearable—pleasure pushed past all limits, driven until bodies broke down and voices begged for mercy,
until even desire turned into pain.
And even then, he wouldn''t stop.
How could a prostitute dare look down on a man?
As part of the brotherhood of men, he had to defend the dignity of man itself. A man could be broken, ruined, even destroyed—but never reduced to something that could be sneered at by a prostitute.
He had to visit the pleasure house for the greater good for the dignity of all men.
A necessary sacrifice. A righteous cause.
“Big Brother,” Bai Yuhan said, carrying the hundred-kilogram gold box with one arm
as if it weighed nothing. “How could you not lift something this light?"
Alex could only stare.
Then again... maybe not.
The women in this ce were built like bulls. At this rate, he might not survive a
single night in the pleasure house.
"Big Broth servants. They haven''t been paid for months. We need to bring them back."
er,” Bai Yuhan called. "How do we divide the gold? We need it to pay the
"What''s there to divide?” Alex said casually. "Take it all."
"Are you serious?” Bai Yuhan''s face lit up with joy.
Then her expression darkened. She stared at him sharply. "Don''t tell me you still
have more gold hidden."
"No!" Alex replied immediately. "How
rich do you think our father was?
Two boxes, that''s all. One box
already went to the citizens, for ou Safety This is thest one. You handle it. I''m going back to my room
to cultivate."
Both Bai Yuhan and the old woman froze.
"Young Master... wants to cultivate?" the old woman asked in disbelief.
Bai Yuhan''s eyes hardened as she stared at Alex.
She suddenly grabbed Alex''s arm, her grip so fierce it nearly crushed the bones.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "You''re not my brother. Tell me who are you
really?"