Chapter 2: The Snobbish Hong Family

In his memories of the previous life, Hong Guishan’s wife, Xu Huiping, had always been known for her dignified demeanor, but beneath the surface, she was a narrow-minded woman. The Hong family originally had a daughter, Hong Yingying, who was the same age as Zhang Pu and attended the same modern high school. However, the year before Zhang Pu moved to Qingwu City, Xu Huiping’s elder sister’s entire family perished in a shipwreck during a trip to Southeast Asia, leaving only one survivor: Wu Xiaomei. Xu Huiping had no choice but to take in Wu Xiaomei, raising her as a second daughter.

Hong Guishan’s business was considerably more successful than Zhang Pu’s parents’, so the extra expense of supporting another child was of no consequence to him. Thus, the Hong household consisted of Hong Guishan, his wife Xu Huiping, and the two young girls: Hong Yingying and Wu Xiaomei.

Wu Xiaomei kept her late father’s surname after moving in with the Hongs; she did not take the Hong surname, nor did she use Xu Huiping’s. Though she was a year older than Hong Yingying, she attended the same high school and was, like both Hong Yingying and the newly transferred Zhang Pu, just moving up from the second to the third year.

Both Wu Xiaomei and Hong Yingying were beautiful, considered among the school’s most attractive girls. Yet, Zhang Pu could clearly sense their disdain for him, the country bumpkin from the rural hinterlands.

He remembered all too well how, in his previous life, he had lived as a dependent under this roof, suffering at the hands of these two girls, whose outward radiance belied less-than-kind hearts. He had endured what could only be called “domestic abuse.”

But all that belonged to a former life. In this one, he was returning with pride, destined to surprise them time and again, perhaps even to the point where they would plead with him and express gratitude for his mercy. As he walked towards the Hong family’s residence, Zhang Pu could not suppress his growing sense of satisfaction.

Moreover, while the two young women were indeed beautiful, he did not hold them in high regard and never considered them as potential wives. In his previous life, he had met a woman who truly won his heart, someone more deserving of his love. He had given himself wholeheartedly to that relationship, never suspecting that fate would be so cruel: not only was that romance ruthlessly destroyed, but he himself was murdered. Fortunately, the Celestial Lord of the Radiant Sun from the True Immortal Hall, traveling through the universe, discovered him. Moved by Zhang Pu’s inherent goodness and the unfairness of his fate, the immortal saved his life and brought him to the world of cultivation, where he would go on to achieve greatness.

Now, although Zhang Pu had lost all his powers after his failed tribulation, he retained the memory of countless secret techniques and divine arts that he, as the Immortal Emperor Zhang, had collected over a millennium. Though all his books and scrolls were lost in the passage back to Earth, his mind was so deeply steeped in these arts that he could recall and reconstruct them at will.

His failure in the tribulation had cost him his cultivation, but not his memories of the immortal world. With such a foundation, Zhang Pu knew he had every opportunity to begin anew. He would rebuild his life on Earth, wielding his unparalleled “golden finger,” and in the near future, return to the world of cultivation. In this, he was confident.

Zhang Pu quickly realized he could soon select from his former imperial collection a set of techniques best suited for someone not yet in the Qi Refining stage. Even though Earth’s spiritual energy was thin and unsuitable for cultivation, he was confident that, relying on advanced methods, he would swiftly reach the Qi Refining stage and then proceed step by step to even greater heights.

As these thoughts occupied his mind, Zhang Pu found himself nearing the residential community where the Hong family lived. He reminded himself to set aside such plans for the moment—first he needed to settle in before he could focus on his cultivation.

Originally, Hong Guishan, busy with his own affairs, had instructed his wife and children to meet Zhang Pu at the train station. However, for reasons unknown, the wife and daughters seemed to resent the arrival of this country youth and made excuses, informing him by phone of their address and leaving him to find his own way.

Zhang Pu felt he understood their motives but did not dwell on such trivial matters. He even chuckled to himself—he was hardly a child who could get lost on the short journey from the train station to the Hong residence.

Following the directions given, Zhang Pu soon arrived at the “Guanghua” residential community. He was impressed by its garden-like environment and could not help but marvel at how much better Hong Guishan had done in life than his own father. In his small hometown, he had never seen such a beautiful neighborhood.

Yet, having been to the grandest palaces across the star realms of the immortal world, Zhang Pu did not truly envy this. Those celestial palaces, dazzling and magnificent, were beyond the imagination of mere mortals, let alone Xu Huiping, Wu Xiaomei, or Hong Yingying.

Zhang Pu asked the gatekeeper to call upstairs. Though Xu Huiping was at home, she still did not come down to greet him, merely telling him their flat was on the ninth floor of Building Five, and that he should come up by himself.

He found her attitude somewhat telling, but did not resent it. After all, as a young man, even if he got lost or walked a little farther, it was no great hardship. Things would not unfold as they had in his previous life. In due time, this snobbish mistress of the house, who did nothing but live off her husband’s wealth, would find herself begging him for help, perhaps even tearfully pleading for his forgiveness for her past neglect.

But this time, Zhang Pu did not get lost, thanks to his memories from his previous life.

When he arrived and the door opened, all three women were inside, including the two young girls, Wu Xiaomei and Hong Yingying. He guessed they’d probably been too busy with their games or hobbies to bother coming to meet him. Yet he felt no anger.

In his previous life, perhaps he had been infatuated with this garden community and with Wu Xiaomei and Hong Yingying, hoping one day to win one as his girlfriend. But now, after living two lives, he saw through the shallowness at their core. In the wider world, there were countless women far more worthy than they.