This was the first time Luo Luxi had left home for an extended period. As the year-end approached, the academy finally began its holiday.
He packed up his things non-stop and hurried home, having not received any message from that person for three days, his heart had been feeling anxious all along.
Upon returning home, Luo Luxi sensitively noticed some changes.
These changes were not obvious, only someone as familiar with his grandmother’s habits as Luo Luxi would find them strange.
For example, the flowers on the dining table seemed to have not been changed for several days, their petals were curling inward from dehydration.
Another example was the cluttered arrangement of items in the house, as if everything had been tossed aside carelessly after use.
All these subtle details of daily life were not something his picky and meticulous grandmother would like.
Luo Luxi suppressed the turmoil in his heart and swiftly searched the rooms. That always lazy figure, however, was nowhere to be seen.
Her room’s wardrobe was a mess with clothes thrown all over the floor, some of which were her particular favorites.
On the other hand, several pieces of old-fashioned, conservative, dim-colored long coats and pants were hung inside the wardrobe.
A surge of panic rose in Luo Luxi’s heart, an ominous premonition looming over him.
He returned to his own room with a grim face and, as he suspected, under his desk in a hidden compartment was a small note.
The note detailed the various assets transferred into the shadows for "fragrance," the substantial amounts sufficient for him to do anything he wished.
Even to overthrow the entire Empire, there was enough financial support.
Unbeknownst to him, who had long dealt with fragrance matters, his grandmother had developed several other properties, her vast network spreading across the entire Empire.
It was truly astonishing.
And now, she had transferred everything to him.
That is to say, he was now probably the youngest and wealthiest Duke in the Xingyao Empire.
Yet, his heart harbored not a tinge of joy.
Back when he was before five years old, his sole wish was to rise above others.
Luo Luxi waited a whole day at home until, in the evening, that familiar figure finally appeared.
With just one glance, he knew this person was not the same anymore.
"What kind of look is that in your eyes? Can’t even greet someone when you see them?"
Still the same face, but it had lost its usual luster, now dull, exuding a rotten scent from within.
Luo Luxi lowered his head, his palms by his sides clenched into fists, his voice neither loud nor soft, "Grandmother."
Despite this, Mrs. Su was still furious, "Really an ungrateful wretch, so white-eyed after all I’ve done; not caring even for the fate of your two uncles."
Luo Luxi, though unwilling, had to accept that person had already left.
This woman in front of him provided him a meal before he was five, and henceforth for the rest of his life, he would provide for her until her old age. As for anything else... he no longer entertained the thought.
"Tomorrow we will set off to bring back your two uncles. It doesn’t make sense for us to eat well while they chew on tree bark."
Hearing this, Luo Luxi abruptly raised his head, his voice cold as he interrupted his grandmother, "That’s impossible..."
This angered Mrs. Su greatly, "What are you saying, you little brat? Don’t forget, all you enjoy now is given by me. I’ll do as I please, and it’s not your place to speak."
Luo Luxi: "Is that so, we shall see then."
With that, Luo Luxi turned and left, not wanting to see this person’s face any longer.
His grandmother was not like that... Luo Luxi gently wiped his eyes with his hand.
How annoying, his eyes had gotten some dust in them.
The next day, early in the morning, it was anything but peaceful downstairs—the clanging and banging sounds woke Luo Luxi from his sleep.
His eyes, still somewhat red and swollen, snapped open, and endless darkness surged in his pupils in an instant.
Those tragic events in his dreams, it was as if he had experienced them too.
Luo Luxi had a feeling that, had that person not appeared, what he went through in his dreams would have been his true fate.
If one could say that before yesterday there was a trace of softness in Luo Luxi’s heart, now it had turned as hard as iron.
In the dream, that which he had yearned for but couldn’t obtain, now that person had presented it right in front of him.
Yet Luo Luxi found that everything started to taste dull.
Walking downstairs, his grandmother wanted to scold him when she saw him, but Luo Luxi simply treated her as air and walked out.
Mrs. Su was so furious that she jumped up and down, threatening to strip him of everything he currently possessed.
To this, Luo Luxi just let out a few cold laughs.
What he now had was given by that person, and no one else besides that person had the qualification or the right...
Not long after Luo Luxi left the house, a group of people skilled in Martial Arts filed into the house and, amidst Mrs. Su’s shouts of shock, lifted her up and threw her into a vehicle.
They packed a few pieces of clothing and quickly drove her out of the city.
Luo Luxi watched the disappearing vehicle expressionless.
Since his grandmother missed his two uncles so dearly, then let her have her wish and send her back to keep those people company.
He would remember to provide her with a meal each month.
What happened afterward might be something no one in the entire Xingyao Empire could believe.
The vast Empire vanished into dust within the hands of a child.
Not that it was entirely eradicated, but rather, Luo Luxi had decisively excised the already rotting tumor.
A new order was swiftly established, the lives of the commoners improved significantly, and even the lives of the upper-class Nobles weren’t too difficult, they just lacked their special privileges.
Within a short span of ten years, Luo Luxi had ascended to the peak of power.
That woman who had once abandoned him and his family was now groveling at his feet.
That’s right, after he had reached the summit, those shameless people came running back to recognize their kin.
His biological mother and the Lu Xi family each tearfully talked about how hard they had it.
But what they did not know was that Luo Luxi was born with memories, their venomous faces had been exposed long before in front of him.
Now, with just one word from him, these annoying flies would disappear from his sight never to bother him again.
Yet there wasn’t a shred of pleasure from revenge in his heart, only desolation.
Without ever experiencing warmth, one would never seek it. The most despairing thing in the world was to have had, then lost, something and never be able to find it again.
That’s right, Luo Luxi had known from the moment that person first came.
He was his grandmother, yet not...
He cautiously guarded against that person, unaware of their true intent, but gradually, he became lost in the little bit of kindness offered.
He had never thought that person would leave again; sometimes, he was also tempted to seize his grandmother and study her, to see if there was a way to summon her back.
But he knew, that person would certainly not like it.