"Yuan'er, look who's here."
Fang Mo lifted his one-year-old son onto his shoulder, pride glowing in his eyes. Beside him, Jiaying held the other child close, her face soft with motherly warmth.
"Hah! Nephew, come here!"
A burly man with a thick mustache and trimmed beard reached out with eager hands. But the child only shrank back, clinging tighter to his father's neck, his small fingers digging into Fang Mo's robes.
Jiaying let out a quiet laugh. "Brother Dong Tu, Yuan'er is shy. Why don't you hold Zheng'er instead?" She gently passed over the younger twin.
Dong Tu's heavy arms wrapped around the child. Fang Zheng gurgled, saliva dripping from his lips, as Dong Tu's grin faltered into a sigh.
"Brother Mo, you're truly blessed. I've been married for twenty years without a single child… yet you wed within one, and Heaven gifts you twins." His voice carried envy veiled by forced cheer.
Fang Mo's expression softened. He clasped his cousin's shoulder firmly.
"Dong Tu, even though you are my cousin, you're like a brother to me."
"My children are yours as well. Don't let your heart grow heavy."
On his father's shoulder, Fang Yuan's tiny lips parted.
"Father… food."
The word was slurred, infantile—yet unmistakable.
Dong Tu's eyes widened. He looked at the silent, drooling Fang Zheng in his arms, then back to the speaking child, astonishment dawning.
"Already talking…?"
"Fang Mo, this child is extraordinary. A genius, without doubt."
Pride flared in Fang Mo's gaze. Still, he forced his tone into calm certainty.
"Genius? Hmph."
"Jiaying and I both have B-grade aptitude."
"It's only natural our blood flows with talent.
"This is no miracle—only our blood." He let out a booming laugh, chest swelling.
Jiaying swatted his back with a playful pout. "Brother Dong Tu, enough talk. Come inside for lunch."
Dong Tu shook his head, forcing a weary smile.
"No, sister-in-law, I've already eaten. I came… to borrow primeval stones."
His voice lowered, heavy with shame.
"We're all Rank Two Gu Masters—you understand."
"I was wounded years ago, my foundation ruined."
"My talent slipped… and I'm thinking of stepping back from the frontlines."
His mustache twitched as he sighed.
"I'm nearly forty, yet still at Rank Two peak stage."
"While you two, still in your early twenties, are already at Rank Two middle stage."
"Brother, sister-in-law… please. Show mercy."
"A few primeval stones."
"I'll repay you the moment I earn from a clan mission." His words hung heavy, his face etched with sorrow.
Fang Mo's expression darkened.
He passed Fang Yuan into Jiaying's arms, then carefully took Fang Zheng from Dong Tu, giving him back to his wife.
"Brother Dong Tu," his voice was steady, but carried the weight of finality, "you are the only kin I have left in this world."
"But you must understand—Jiaying and I are Gu Masters too."
"Our expenses bleed us dry. We cannot spare even for family."
He waved Jiaying inside with the children. His back straightened, his tone clipped.
"I won't see you off."
Without another glance, he turned and stepped into his home, the door shutting behind him.
Dong Tu stood frozen on the threshold. His fists clenched, teeth grinding beneath his mustache.
The warmth in his eyes curdled into fury, and a shadow crossed his face as he stared at the Fang household.
...
Fang Mo stepped inside, his expression dark as storm clouds. His voice carried a cold edge as he said to Jiaying,
"Dong Tu… I've tolerated him only because he's older. Yet he dares press his weight on my head."
His jaw clenched.
"A few days ago, he borrowed a hundred primeval stones. I lent them without a word."
"But now, he dares ask for more without even returning the first."
His eyes narrowed to slits, sharp with contempt.
"Does he really believe that just because his cultivation is slightly higher, I'll yield to him?" A low snort broke from his chest, heavy with anger.
Jiaying placed a gentle hand on his arm, whispering, "Don't waste yourself on him."
"Think of him as nothing more than a fool clinging to the scraps of his past glory."
Her calm steadied him.
Fang Mo exhaled slowly, his fury ebbing. His gaze softened when it landed on Fang Yuan, crawling about the room without a care, while Fang Zheng babbled nearby, still struggling to form words.
A faint smile tugged at Fang Mo's lips.
"Yuan'er, come here. Let's eat."
He reached out, but Fang Yuan swerved aside, slipping past his hand with playful defiance.
The child stopped, plopped down, and grinned with innocent joy.
Chuckling, Fang Mo scooped him up and fed him milk poured from bamboo leaves.
At the same table, Fang Zheng nursed at Jiaying's breast.
Fang Yuan tilted the leaf to his lips, sipping quietly. Yet his gaze did not linger on Jiaying, nor even the room itself.
His eyes shimmered faintly, fixed upon the transparent panel hovering before him—his secret.
[Imitated Crawling like an Ant]
[EXP +0.001]
Fang Yuan—no, William Kingston—had stepped into this world a year ago. Along with his rebirth came the presence of a system.
Not truly his. Borrowed, maybe.
Before him, faint light rippled as a translucent panel unfolded in silence.
System 007
A cold note was etched into its frame:
The Host and System are not bound. This is symbiosis—mutual benefit, nothing more. Should either party deem the other unworthy, the contract ends. The host returns to the exact moment before reincarnation. The system retreats to its origin.
Rules of Symbiosis:
Benefits must be exchanged in equal measure.
1. To belittle the other without cause is deemed immoral—blacklisting will follow.
2. A twenty percent levy shall always be exacted by the ******* Authority.
3. Should the host's soul or will perish, the corresponding Symbiote will also be destroyed.
4. Host and system alike may assign tasks, but each must reward the other upon completion.
Warning: All knowledge of the system is forbidden to outsiders. Breach will invite punishment under the Authority's laws.
The details burned into his sight, line after line.
Host: Fang Yuan (William Kingston)
Age: 1
Location: #0929822332 (Gu World)
EXP: 0.013
Authority's Main Task:Offer a Rank 10 Destiny Gu of #0929822332.
Time Remaining: –999 Years.
Reward:Return to original worlds. Entry to the Ascension trial for the seat of a God.
Failure to complete this within the appointed time… means annihilation. For both host and system alike.
In this world of gu and fate, William's second life, as Fang Yuan is shackled not only by heaven's will—but by this alien contract of cold steel and profit.