Late at night. Thick fog.

But fog like this couldn’t affect Xuan Yuan in the slightest.

Perched on the tip of a tree branch was what looked like a perfectly ordinary bird—except it wasn’t. It was a bionic drone, indistinguishable from common sparrows. Its head turned occasionally, and within its agile eyes flickered a faint light invisible to the human eye.

In night vision mode, the area around Xuan Yuan and Huang Rong’s camp was fully displayed from a bird’s-eye view, every detail clearly rendered.

The moment anything abnormal occurred, an alert would be sent directly to Xuan Yuan  .

At some point, just as Xuan Yuan was resting with his eyes closed, a soft beep-beep-beep began to sound.

As he opened his eyes, his external personal terminal immediately synced with his nervous system, projecting a screen only visible to him. At the same time, in the forest surrounding the camp, a human-shaped outline appeared—overlaid like some sort of cheat-code interface from a video game. Each silhouette was marked with a hovering red inverted triangle that tracked them in real time.

«One, two, three, four, five… five people sneaking in?»

Casting a glance at Huang Rong, who was already fast asleep, Xuan Yuan quietly rose to his feet. Beneath the sleeve of his robe, his pale hand gripped a compact high-energy particle pistol. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Moments later, as Xuan Yuan disappeared into the trees, Huang Rong’s eyes fluttered open in confusion.

                                               — Scene Break —

«Big brother, why are we waiting till now to make our move?»

«That fat lamb looks like a soft-skinned weakling, probably doesn’t have any real skills. We could’ve just—»

«Idiot!»

The scar-faced man leading the group gave his younger companion a harsh, low-voiced scolding.

«You noticed that ‘fat lamb’ looks soft and pampered, right? You think any regular family has someone like that? If you dare to rob someone like him in broad daylight and mess it up, do you have any idea what kind of hell we’d bring down on our heads!?»

The scar-faced bandit felt a little smug. He and his brothers had been in this «zero-investment business» for years, and the reason they’d managed to survive so long was because of his caution and prudence.

Earlier that day, they’d spotted Xuan Yuan and Huang Rong riding together on a single horse. From that moment, they started tailing them from a distance.

In times like these, when the world was in chaos, anyone who dared to travel without bodyguards and still look that calm was usually a skilled martial artist. The scarred man wasn’t stupid—he kept far enough back to avoid detection and tracked them using the horse’s hoofprints on the muddy road.

If not for that caution, they might’ve been discovered before nightfall.

After creeping forward for a while, a faint glow from the campfire came into view. The scar-faced man’s heart surged with joy, and he slowly drew his blade.

And then—suddenly—a strange beam of light shot out in front of him.

He lost consciousness instantly.

«Big brother!!!???»

A streak of high-energy light had pierced through the scar-faced man’s skull, scorching the flesh around the wound into blackened charcoal.

His companions were instantly terrified out of their wits, screaming about ghosts as they scrambled to flee. But before they could get far, more beams of light silently fired into the darkness.

Each energy bolt was precise and deadly, utterly silent and perfectly aimed. In just a few heartbeats, every one of the thugs who’d tried to ambush Xuan Yuan was lying dead on the forest floor.

Headshots. Every shot is a kill. Not a single bullet missed.

Hidden in the shadows, Xuan Yuan gave a subtle nod.

It was his first time killing people, yet somehow… he didn’t feel the extreme reaction he’d expected.

As for why his aim was so celestial-like—according to Nuwa, it was one of the benefits of the comprehensive physical enhancements and genetic repairs she had given him. It granted him superhuman neural reflexes and exceptional control over every muscle and bone in his body.

Back in Zishan, Xuan Yuan had trained in marksmanship before. Even then, he’d discovered that, with just a little practice, he could pull off sharpshooting feats that would make even professional soldiers gasp in awe.

Holstering the pistol into his storage ring, Xuan Yuan turned back—only to see Huang Rong staring at him wide-eyed, frozen in place.

«Little brother, what’s wrong? Did I wake you?»

«Big brother…» Huang Rong’s mouth hung open, her eyes filled with shock.

She had no idea what Xuan Yuan had just done. All she saw was him wave around some bizarre object—and from it came strange, luminous beams. The next moment, the sneaky bandits who had crept up on them were all dead. Every last one.

As someone raised in the martial world, Huang Rong wasn’t exactly squeamish about killing. But Xuan Yuan  ’s incomprehensible, supernatural methods had her heart pounding like a drum.

«Don’t be afraid, little brother.» Xuan Yuan deliberately softened his tone. The moment Huang Rong had woken, he’d already been notified by the bionic bird. He also knew—given how clever and perceptive this girl was—there was no way he could keep everything hidden from her on their journey south.

Xuan Yuan returned to the campfire and sat down. Huang Rong numbly followed, her expression conflicted as she looked at him.

Then, Xuan Yuan once again drew out the high-energy particle pistol and placed it on the ground before them.

«This thing’s called a gun. Its power is tremendous, yes—but when you get down to it, it’s just a long-range weapon, no different in concept from a crossbow or a hidden weapon.»

«Gun…» Huang Rong’s expression grew strange as she stared at the object.

You call that thing a gun?

Still, hearing Xuan Yuan explain that it was essentially just a ranged weapon like a bow or dart launcher made her feel slightly relieved. She then asked,»Big brother… Who are you, really?»

«Me…» Xuan Yuan  ’s gaze turned distant again.

«Just someone who, in this world, would probably be called a man without a home.»

«I won’t hide it from you, little brother. I’m actually… not from this world.»

As Xuan Yuan slowly and carefully chose his words, explaining in fragments, Huang Rong’s eyes grew wider and wider with each sentence.

She hadn’t expected that the man she had secretly begun to admire in her heart would have such a mysterious, otherworldly origin.

Was he… a celestial being?

«Big brother… Are you a celestial?»

«Celestial?» Xuan Yuan laughed softly, a bit helpless.»I wouldn’t say that. Although back in Zishan, the locals used to call me Taiyi, I still consider myself a regular person.»

Huang Rong rolled her eyes.»Taiyi…?»

Wasn’t that the name of an ancient supreme celestial from Chu mythology?

Could it be that her big brother really was the legendary Donghuang Taiyi and didn’t even know it?

But her smile quickly faded. Her heart grew heavy, and after a long pause, she asked in a small voice,»Big brother… Will you leave this world someday?»

«I am indeed searching for a way to return,» Xuan Yuan replied honestly.

Seeing Huang Rong’s expression dim at his words, he smiled gently and extended a hand to her.»But if I do find a way… little brother, would you like to come visit Zishan with me?»

«I—I can go too!?» Huang Rong’s eyes widened once more, her joy bursting forth.

Xuan Yuan didn’t know whether it would be possible to bring her along. After thinking for a moment, he said,»I’ll do everything I can to find a way for you to come to Zishan as well.»

With Xuan Yuan  ’s promise, Huang Rong’s heart filled with happiness. She scooted closer.

«Big brother… Can I try the gun?»

«You can—but be careful. Here, I’ll teach you how to use it…»

He wasn’t worried about Huang Rong accidentally firing it at him. The active and passive energy shields he wore could easily withstand a blast from that gun without so much as a scratch.

Like a child with a brand new toy, Huang Rong excitedly examined the gun, unable to put it down. After Xuan Yuan taught her how to use it, she aimed at a nearby tree trunk and pulled the trigger.

A pale beam of light flashed—and a tree thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around was instantly pierced through with a coin-sized hole.

«So… so powerful!»

Now that she had seen the gun’s power for herself, Huang Rong’s mouth opened wide enough to fit a whole egg. In the firelight, Xuan Yuan could even see her soft, pink little tongue—

Utterly tempting.