This letter was written by his younger brother’s girlfriend, ‘Zhen Nan,’ to his brother, yet Luo Feng felt uneasy just handing it over for his brother to read… Considering his brother had attempted suicide by jumping into the lake just yesterday, his emotions were highly unstable. If the letter contained anything provocative, it could easily cause his brother to lose control further; Luo Feng dared not take that risk.
“I need to see what’s written in here,” a flicker of anger crossed Luo Feng’s face as he unfurled the paper.
As he read, Luo Feng’s expression gradually softened.
“Sigh.”
Luo Feng shook his head. “My brother didn’t choose the wrong person after all.” From the letter, Luo Feng learned that Xiao Nan’s parents had actually spoken to Luo Hua entirely behind her back! Xiao Nan didn’t even know her parents were aware of her relationship with Luo Hua until the news of Luo Hua’s suicide attempt spread through the neighborhood yesterday, at which point she finally found out.
Upon hearing the news, Xiao Nan nearly fainted.
Her parents explicitly forbade her from seeing Luo Hua; her crying and protesting were useless. Later, Xiao Nan threatened to take her own life, saying it would be the last time she saw Luo Hua, only then did her parents relent.
However...
Xiao Nan couldn't reach Luo Hua by phone from the entrance of the Mingyue complex. Unable to see him, she finally resorted to writing this letter and asking someone to deliver it.
“Their relationship goes underground? Hiding it from her parents? Planning to marry after graduation?” Luo Feng sighed softly, reading what the letter described. It was clear that Miss Xiao Nan was also quite stubborn, obviously not convinced by her parents’ objections.
At Villa 199 in the Mingyue complex—Luo Feng’s home—the atmosphere was palpably heavy. His father, Luo Hongguo, sat on the living room sofa, looking as if he had aged years overnight.
“Dad,” a voice called from outside.
“Xiao Feng.” Luo Hongguo stood up. Just then, Luo Feng walked in from outside. Luo Hongguo lowered his voice, “Your mother is in the room with your brother. His mood has stabilized slightly, but no matter what we say to him, he remains silent.”
“I know,” Luo Feng took a deep breath and headed towards his brother’s room.
Creak!
Pushing the door open, his mother, Gong Xinlan, who was sitting by the bed, stood up upon seeing Luo Feng. “Xiao Feng.”
“Mom, you should go out and rest first,” Luo Feng said.
Gong Xinlan glanced at her younger son, Luo Hua, sitting silently in his wheelchair on the balcony, shook her head, and left the room.
“Brother really is…” Luo Feng noticed his brother’s complexion was noticeably paler, sitting motionless, staring blankly out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
“Luo Hua,” Luo Feng called out.
The younger Luo Hua, in the wheelchair, didn't move, appearing not to have heard his older brother’s voice.
“Luo Hua, I promise you—you will marry Xiao Nan,” Luo Feng said for the second time.
Luo Hua’s body shuddered in the wheelchair. He slowly turned his head to look at Luo Feng, revealing a bitter smile, and shook his head, whispering softly, “Brother, don’t say that here. It’s useless. Xiao Nan and I have no future… and I’ve given up hope. I will never marry any woman in my life! Never! I’m not worthy.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Luo Feng frowned and snapped.
“Nonsense?”
Luo Hua suddenly became agitated. “Am I wrong? Should a cripple with both legs severed expect to marry Xiao Nan? Yes, Xiao Nan is willing to be my wife. But what about later?
Later, people around will point fingers at Xiao Nan, saying her husband is a cripple. How will Xiao Nan’s relatives and friends view her?”
“I am a cripple! Just a cripple!”
“Marrying me, both Xiao Nan and her parents will lose face with relatives and friends, constantly being gossiped about. Even if I have money, people will assume Xiao Nan is only with a cripple for wealth!” Luo Hua shook his head. “I don’t want that. Xiao Nan is such a good girl. I don’t want her to end up being pointed at and looked down upon.”
“I don’t want to harm her!”
“Whoever I marry, I harm them. I might as well stay unmarried my whole life. A cripple like me—what right do I have to dream of a girlfriend, of marriage?” Luo Hua managed a smile, a smile tinged with something manic.
Slap!
A sharp, loud slap landed across Luo Hua’s face, causing him to lurch violently, nearly falling out of the wheelchair. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Brother.” Luo Hua froze.
For so many years.
Since childhood, Luo Feng had never hit him.
“Coward!!!” Luo Feng’s face was grim.
“There are countless examples of people overcoming physical disability to achieve astonishing feats! Even the War God of our Jiangnan Base City, ‘Yu Yang,’ had severely underdeveloped arms since childhood, yet he relied solely on his legs to earn the moniker ‘Giant Axe’ Yu Yang. His legs were comparable to a giant axe! There are countless similar examples in the martial arts circles, let alone among ordinary people,” Luo Feng’s words caused Luo Hua’s expression to shift repeatedly.
Examples of overcoming disability—Luo Hua certainly knew them.
He had seen too many such examples growing up; he could list a hundred of them offhand.
“This is the letter from your girlfriend. Look at it.” Luo Feng handed the letter over.
Luo Hua hesitated before taking it, opening it, and his expression began to change as he read.
“Marriage?”
“Xiao Nan is a good girl, very good. Being with her is something I’ve dreamed of, but I don’t want people gossiping about her behind her back in the future. Really, I don’t,” Luo Hua put the letter down, tears uncontrollably streaming down his face, dripping onto the paper. Luo Hua looked up at Luo Feng. “Brother, as long as I can watch from the shadows and see Xiao Nan living a good life in the future, that will be enough. More than enough.”
“Being with her is what’s best for both you and her,” Luo Feng retorted sharply.
“But I am…” Luo Hua couldn't help but reach for his legs, which had been severed above the thigh.
“Come with me.” Luo Feng pushed the wheelchair and propelled his brother directly out of the room.
“Xiao Feng!” His father Luo Hongguo and mother Gong Xinlan outside were greatly startled.
“I need to discuss something with Luo Hua.” Luo Feng exerted a slight force with both hands, easily lifting the wheelchair and swiftly carrying his brother up to the second-floor audio-visual room.
In the AV room.
“Brother,” Luo Hua looked at Luo Feng.
“Look at the screen,” Luo Feng issued a voice command simultaneously. “Activate!”
Beep… beep…
The projector rapidly shot out a beam of light onto the wall screen, while Luo Feng sat on the sofa, tapping the wireless trackpad module, entering the ‘Limit Home’ Wargod-level Martial Artist Forum.
He then typed ‘Water of Life’ and searched the posts.
The ‘Water of Life’ was rarely discussed on the forum.
It was too scarce; Wargod-level martial artists almost never obtained it, so information about it was minimal. Yet, there were still over a dozen related threads. Luo Feng immediately clicked on one; he had already reviewed these dozen or so posts beforehand—he needed to gather information on the Water of Life.
“What is this…” Luo Hua stared blankly.
“Look at this post, and finish reading it,” Luo Feng said coldly.
Luo Hua turned to look. This post detailing the ‘Water of Life’ was not long but outlined some of the precious materials required, as well as its efficacy. Naturally, it also mentioned the price from the last auction. This Water of Life was extremely rare, having a market but no price; whenever it appeared, it was usually auctioned.
“The essence of the Overlord-level existence, the SS-rank King-level monster ‘Earth Dragon King,’ as the main ingredient—can it regrow severed limbs? Regrow severed legs? As long as one isn’t dead, no matter how severe the disability, it can regenerate?” Luo Hua was completely stunned by the post’s description, and simultaneously, his eyes began to gleam.
Regardless of the ingredients or the effects…
“Market but no price? The most recent Water of Life sold for the astronomical price of 30 billion Huaxia currency?” The agitated Luo Hua felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
“Thirty billion?” Luo Hua specialized in financial stock investment.
He understood the economic sector quite well and knew exactly what an immense sum 30 billion Huaxia currency was!
“Did you see? Your legs are broken, but if you take one dose of the ‘Water of Life,’ they can grow back! Then, brother, you can stand confidently before Xiao Nan. Stand before her parents!” Luo Feng stated, but Luo Hua shook his head.
“Brother, thirty billion.”
“Yes, my Huaxia nation has super-rich individuals with assets approaching a hundred billion. But that’s only in terms of stock value. First, their stocks are restricted; they don’t have the right to sell everything. Second, even if they could sell, flooding the market with that volume of stocks, even if valued near a hundred billion, selling 40 or 50 billion would be fortunate,” Luo Hua shook his head. “Thirty billion in cash—looking across all of Huaxia, very few people can produce that much cash.”
Luo Feng pulled out his phone from his pocket and began accessing the unregistered account within the ‘Shi International Bank.’
In just a moment…
He entered the account.
“Brother, what are you doing?” the younger Luo Hua asked Luo Feng curiously.
“You look,” Luo Feng handed the phone over.
Luo Hua, full of suspicion about why his brother was handing him the phone, looked down at the screen, which displayed a clear deposit balance.
“One zero, two zeros, three zeros…” Luo Hua stared blankly at the figure ‘28,800,000,000.’
“28.8 billion!”
Luo Hua looked up at Luo Feng in shock. His brother had only become a martial artist recently—how could he have accumulated such a massive sum of money! This was undeniably a terrifying fortune. He didn't know the immense risk Luo Feng had taken for this money, almost losing his life, and that he had achieved it by leveraging his unique spiritual consciousness abilities.
“Luo Hua.” Luo Feng spoke.
Luo Hua stared blankly at his older brother, unsure what to say.
“I just want to show you that your brother has the ability to buy one vial of the ‘Water of Life.’”
Luo Feng looked solemnly at his younger brother. “And you will stand up again!”
Luo Hua’s body trembled slightly.
He wasn't foolish; to acquire 28.8 billion, his brother Luo Feng must have taken tremendous risks, as there was no free lunch in this world—huge gains always came with huge risks.
And all of this… his brother had already done, silently, for him.
“Brother!” Luo Hua suddenly hugged Luo Feng, tears finally flowing uncontrollably.
Luo Feng gently patted his brother’s back.
After a long moment…
“Luo Hua, your mind is sharp, smarter than mine,” Luo Feng said gravely. “You should also know that such a large fortune will invite immense trouble. Therefore, you are not allowed to tell a single word of this to anyone else. Including Mom and Dad, including your girlfriend. If you speak of it… your brother might die because of it!”
Luo Hua jumped in alarm. “I’d rather die than tell anyone, Brother. I don’t want you to risk…”
“Don’t worry,” Luo Feng smiled.
Saying those words was just to make Luo Hua understand the seriousness of the situation. In reality, the higher Wargod couple, ‘Vulture’ and ‘Poison Scorpion,’ wouldn't be able to track this money. Even if his brother foolishly spoke of it, how many people would believe him?
“Luo Hua, I said I would let you stand confidently before Miss Xiao Nan, before her parents. I keep my word,” Luo Feng whispered softly.
“Mm.” Luo Hua nodded heavily.
He knew that he would probably never forget the astonishing astronomical figure of the deposit he saw on his brother’s phone in that AV room for the rest of his life.
Nor would he forget… his brother’s promise to him.