The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Chen Dong first sat down and circulated his True Qi for several cycles. He was surprised to find it was more condensed and immense than before, but he still couldn't 'cool down'. He had no intention of taking matters into his own hands, so he straightened out his 'mindset,' picked up the Dragon Abomination Flower and the porcelain vial, and started back the way he came.

When he reached the cave entrance, he found it was sealed. No wonder no one had ever come in.

He casually blasted the entrance open with a palm strike. Chen Dong was dumbfounded. The entire mountain was draped in white, surrounded by a thick blanket of snow.

"How long has it been?" Chen Dong wondered aloud.

He had entered the cave to investigate at the beginning of October, but when he emerged, it was already winter! He couldn't be sure if a few months or a few years had passed. It felt as if a lifetime had gone by.

He re-sealed the cave entrance and headed toward Yan Village. The bone-chilling wind still couldn't 'cool' Chen Dong 'down'. He continued walking ramrod straight, frantically looking around for something to cover his modesty. This wasn't like being in the cave; it would be bad if someone saw him.

Just his luck.

Chen Dong sensed the auras of a group of people rushing in his direction, likely drawn by the sound of him blasting open the cave entrance.

He quickly hid. A moment later, a four-person team walked right past him. They were all strangers. Judging by their appearance, they didn't look like construction workers; they seemed more like explorers. Chen Dong quietly tailed them, hoping to glean some useful information.

"Captain, do you really think that Chen Dong guy is still in this area?"

"Who knows? The Li, Tang, Yang, and An families have joined forces to offer a ten-billion-dollar bounty for whoever finds Chen Dong. We're just here to try our luck. What if we actually find him!"

"The strange noise just now came from here. It snowed heavily yesterday, so no one should be around. Let's hurry up and check it out!"

"Captain, honestly, I don't think there's anything to see here. This whole area's been picked clean. What are the chances it'd be our turn to find something?"

"Stop complaining. We're all here to try our luck. There's no harm in taking a look!"

Chen Dong raised an eyebrow. 'So, they think I'm missing,' he thought, 'and they've even put out a bounty.' These men didn't seem to have any more useful information. With a wave of his hand, Chen Dong sent a flurry of snow and a few pebbles flying toward them. They were knocked out instantly.

A few minutes later, they woke up to find one of them was missing his coat.

Now with clothing to cover his modesty, Chen Dong sped directly toward the Li Family Manor.

He had also checked the time on one of their phones and learned that he had been missing for exactly seventy-two days. It was now December 20th.

Without being detected, Chen Dong returned to his room in the Li Manor. He planned to take a shower first to wash away the faint scent of blood that clung to him.

Due to the heavy snow, the members of the Li Family were all resting at home. In the living room, Li Wang, who was playing on her phone, suddenly piped up, "Daddy's back!"

This startled the Li Family members, who hurriedly asked, "Where?"

"In the room upstairs!"

None of the Li Family members believed her, assuming she only said it because she missed Chen Dong.

Li Huiran, however, couldn't sit still and got up to go check the room.

When she opened the bedroom door, she heard a sound from the bathroom. Without a second thought, she pushed the bathroom door open to take a look.

AHHHHH—! A scream echoed through the Li Manor.

Chen Dong quickly shouted, "It's me, stop screaming!"

Only then did Li Huiran come to her senses. She stared at the bald man—it was actually Chen Dong.

"Are you going to get out, or do you want to join me?" Chen Dong asked, slightly irritated. He had been meditating on the new memories in his mind; who could have known Li Huiran would suddenly barge in.

Li Huiran stared unblinkingly for another moment before finally closing the door. Her face instantly turned beet red.

Hearing the scream, the rest of the Li Family rushed over.

"What's wrong, Huiran?" they asked, one after another.

"It's nothing. Chen Dong is just taking a shower," Li Huiran replied distractedly, her mind still on Chen Dong's body.

"Xiaodong, is he really back?"

Li Huiran nodded.

"Everyone, back downstairs. We can talk to Xiaodong after he's finished his shower," Li Qinghe said.

When Chen Dong appeared before the Li Family, everyone's breath caught in their throats. It wasn't just that his hair was gone, or that his skin had become incredibly fair and smooth, or even that he had gotten much more handsome. What truly stunned them was an alluring, almost dangerously seductive aura about him.

What Chen Dong didn't realize was that this was a side effect of his rebirth via the Evil Flood Dragon Essence Blood. The allure was irresistible to everyone, regardless of gender, making them want to get close to him.

Fortunately, with the exception of Li Huiran, the rest of the Li Family viewed him as a junior, so the feeling of attraction was just a fleeting moment for them.

Before the Li Family could ask, Chen Dong explained, "I had a sudden breakthrough in my Martial Dao cultivation and found a place for secluded training. That kind of epiphany is a rare opportunity, so I didn't have time to inform you all."

He told a white lie; there was no need to worry them by mentioning his near-death experience.

Hearing this, the Li Family members became pensive. They figured Chen Dong's current appearance must be the result of his breakthrough.

"Daddy's bald now, but he's more handsome!" Li Wang said innocently.

Chen Dong picked up Li Wang and said to the rest of the Li Family, "I have something to say to Li Wang." He then walked toward the door.

Among the memory fragments he had obtained, some concerned Li Wang.