Three days later. The foot of Dragon's Hidden Mountain.
If Dragon's Hidden Mountain was previously a desolate patch of suburban woods, today it looked like a high-stakes logistics hub.
Over a dozen heavy-duty trucks were lined up on the newly paved dirt road. The Su Clan had pulled every string they had, managing to procure most of the items on Shan Hu's bizarre shopping list in just three days.
Su Qingxue, dressed in a sharp athletic outfit, was directing a group of Su disciples as they unloaded the cargo. Her gaze was sharper than before, her every movement radiating the authority of someone who answered only to a higher power—the confidence of the "Immortal Emperor's Agent."
"Easy with that! That crate contains premium raw jadeite from Myanmar! If you crack even one piece, selling all of you wouldn't cover the cost!" Su Qingxue barked sternly.
Just then, Shan Hu strolled down from the mountain, a foxtail grass dangling lazily from his mouth. He looked at the mountain of supplies and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. Looks like that twenty million was well spent."
Seeing Shan Hu, Su Qingxue immediately switched to a respectful demeanor and hurried over. "My Lord, five tons of Hetian jade, three tons of raw jadeite, and two hundred lightning-struck logs have all arrived. And…"
She pointed to a truck parked at a distance, completely covered in black tarp, her face turning slightly pale. "The live poisonous creatures you requested are in that truck. Should we… call professional snake catchers to handle them? There are thousands of King Cobras and Black Scorpions in there. It's too dangerous."
During the unloading process, even the Grandmaster-level elders of the Su Clan felt their scalps tingle just hearing the hissing and scratching from inside those crates.
Shan Hu chuckled, spitting out the grass. "Dangerous? For you guys, maybe it's a disaster. For me? These are vitamins."
He walked over to the black truck and signaled the driver to open the cargo bay.
The driver, hands trembling, unlocked the latch and immediately sprinted away.
The doors swung open, and a pungent, metallic stench instantly filled the air. Inside, dozens of massive transparent plastic containers were packed with writhing, venomous nightmares: colorful spiders, centipedes as thick as a forearm, hissing snakes… They were tearing at each other, the air thick with their aggression.
Su Qingxue instinctively took two steps back.
Shan Hu, however, stepped right into the cargo bay.
"Alright, little guys, break it up. From now on, you're the security guards of Dragon's Hidden Mountain."
Shan Hu extended his right hand. In his palm, the black Storage Ring he had taken from the Black Fiend Elder flickered.
"Elder Jing, get to work. Release the 'Death Qi' from the ring and feed them."
Inside the ring, Elder Jing was humiliated. He was the artifact spirit of the Heavenly Profound Sect! He used to guard legendary treasures! Now, not only was he a glorified garbage man, but he was also a zookeeper?
But he didn't dare disobey. He meekly released a thick stream of cold, Yin-attribute Death Qi.
The agitated creatures, sensing the energy, reacted like sharks smelling blood. They instantly stopped fighting each other and began greedily inhaling the dark mist.
Shan Hu seized the moment to cast a Beast Taming Mantra.
Golden runes rained down like droplets of light, drilling into the body of every single creature.
Ten minutes later.
The army of venomous horrors was completely silent. They lined up neatly in their boxes. The King Cobras even lowered their hoods and bowed their heads toward Shan Hu in submission.
Shan Hu casually reached into a box and picked up the largest Mutated Red Centipede, a survivor of the internal deathmatch. It was hideous, its shell a dark, reddish-black, screaming toxicity.
"You look unique. You're the Bug King now. You're in charge." Shan Hu flicked the centipede's head. The creature, venomous enough to kill an elephant, docilely nuzzled Shan Hu's finger.
Su Qingxue watched, dumbfounded. These weren't monsters anymore; they were behaving like well-trained puppies!
"My Lord… are you practicing Gu Sorcery?" she asked cautiously.
Shan Hu tossed the centipede back into the box. "Gu Sorcery? That's amateur hour stuff from the southern borders. This is the 'Myriad Poison Sky Net Array.' With them around, any martial artist below Grandmaster who steps in here dies. Even an Innate Master would lose a layer of skin trying to get through."
He clapped his hands. "Bury the jade and lightning wood according to the diagram I drew. As for these bugs, I'll release them into the mist in the back mountain. Tell the Su family: stick to the main road. If anyone wanders into the woods and gets eaten, don't say I didn't warn them."
"Yes!" Su Qingxue felt a chill run down her spine. Her awe for this mountain deepened yet again.
Nightfall. The Peak of Dragon's Hidden Mountain.
As the final log of lightning-struck wood was buried, Shan Hu stood at the summit, overlooking his domain.
He formed a seal with his hands and whispered a single command:
"Rise!"
Hum—
The entire mountain seemed to come alive!
Five tons of buried jade lit up simultaneously underground, connecting to form a massive spiritual network. The scattered mist, guided by the array, thickened and grew heavy, completely shrouding the mountain. From the outside, it now looked like a forbidden zone of clouds.
Deep within that mist, thousands of refined poisonous creatures lurked in the shadows, integrated with the array to become lethal living traps.
This was a true Cultivator's Dojo!
"The Guardian Array is complete. Next step: move Mom, Dad, and my sister here."
Living in that old apartment was unsafe and spiritually barren. This was the proper place for his family to retire (and cultivate).
Just as Shan Hu prepared to descend, his phone rang.
It was his sister, Shan Qing.
"Bro! Where are you? Come home quick! We have a guest!" Shan Qing sounded excited but also nervous.
"A guest? Who?" Shan Hu frowned.
"It's… someone from the Capital! And she's super gorgeous! She says she's your… your fiancée!"
"Huh?"
Shan Hu paused.
He lived on Earth for eighteen years and never even held a girl's hand aside from Cuihua in the next class. He goes away for a thousand years, comes back, and suddenly has a fiancée from Beijing?
Did his unreliable parents arrange a childhood marriage behind his back?
"Got it. I'm coming back."
Shan Hu hung up, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Beijing? Fiancée? This should be interesting."
He blurred, vanishing from the peak. This time, he didn't take a car. He rode the wind, streaking across the night sky like an invisible meteor, heading straight for home.
Shan Hu's Apartment. Living Room.
The atmosphere was weird.
Shan De and Wang Fang sat on one side of the sofa, wringing their hands, wearing awkward, polite smiles.
Opposite them sat a young woman.
She wore a tailored black trench coat over a white silk blouse, her hair pinned up to reveal a slender, swan-like neck. She was incredibly beautiful, but unlike Su Qingxue's cold "ice queen" vibe, this woman carried an innate air of nobility and dominance.
It was the aura of someone used to giving orders from a high position.
Behind her stood two expressionless bodyguards in black suits. Their breathing was steady—both were Early Grandmaster level experts!
Using two Grandmasters as bodyguards meant her status in Beijing was astronomical.
"Uncle, Auntie, no need to be nervous," the woman said, putting down her tea. Her voice was elegant but carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "I am Ye Qingcheng. I came to Longcheng to fulfill the engagement from years ago and take Shan Hu to Beijing."
Wang Fang stammered, "Miss Ye… when did our Xiao Hu get engaged to you? We didn't know about this?"
Ye Qingcheng smiled faintly and pulled a yellowed jade pendant from her bag, placing it on the table.
"This is the token my grandfather sent when Shan Hu was born. Grandfather Shan saved my grandfather's life years ago. This marriage was arranged by the two elders."
Shan De looked at the pendant, memory striking him. "Ah! I remember now! That was twenty years ago… but after the Shan family fell on hard times, we thought this matter was long forgotten…"
"The Ye family honors its promises," Ye Qingcheng said coolly. "However, I am not here to get married."
Her tone shifted, a shrewd glint appearing in her eyes.
"I am here to break the engagement. But not completely."
"I know Shan Hu has been missing for ten years, and now that he's back, he's just an ordinary man. Having him marry into the Ye family, or actually marrying him, would be unfair to both him and me."
"So, I have prepared a contract."
Ye Qingcheng produced a document.
"He can come with me to Beijing. I will arrange a decent job for him with a million-yuan annual salary, ensuring he is fed and clothed for life. In exchange, he will retain the title of 'Ye Family Son-in-Law' in name only for three years, helping me block those annoying suitors in the capital."
"After three years, the engagement will automatically dissolve, and I will give him a breakup fee of fifty million."
Shan De and Wang Fang were stunned. What was this? A fake marriage? Being a human shield?
Just then, the door pushed open.
Shan Hu walked in, wearing his cheap T-shirt and carrying two bags of greasy barbecue he'd just bought downstairs.
"Yo, pretty lively in here. Is this the wife I've never met?"
Shan Hu tossed the barbecue onto the coffee table. A few drops of grease splattered right onto the exquisite contract.
Ye Qingcheng frowned, unable to hide her disgust.
Cheap clothes, zero class, rude behavior. Just as the report said: missing for ten years, came back a loser.
"You are Shan Hu?" Ye Qingcheng looked at him coldly. "Since you're here, I'll be direct. Sign this contract, and you become my 'husband in name.' But let me warn you: aside from the title, do not harbor any delusions about me. We are people from two different worlds."
Shan Hu picked up a lamb skewer and took a bite, grease coating his lips. He didn't even look at the contract, simply using a greasy finger to slide it back toward her.
"Miss Ye, right? You're beautiful, but your imagination is a little too wild."
"In this life, I, Shan Hu, only marry the woman I like. I don't act as anyone's shield."
"As for your 'two different worlds' comment…"
Shan Hu smiled, a brilliant, dazzling smile.
"You're right. How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan? That wealthy world of yours in Beijing… in my eyes, it really is too small."
"I'm breaking this engagement for you. You can leave now."