Section 112 (Part 2) Lin Qiye: My house is actually quite large! [4.4K words, please subscribe!]

Of course. It would be quite difficult. After all, if Lin Qiye were to use the Genesis Deduction to locate the Empress, it would cost 2,000,000 Walker Points. A full two million! Although Lin Qiye possessed a substantial reserve of 4,000,000 points, he was reluctant to spend so much at once.

"Walker Points are my foundation, a trump card for when I encounter insurmountable problems; I cannot use them lightly. It seems I will have to resort to a carpet search. Since the Empress is definitely within Jiangcheng, I can just search through the city's household registration system bit by bit."

He had a month left—plenty of time. Therefore, Lin Qiye decided to invest more effort. Things were different now compared to the past. Previously, he had to exhaust himself tempering the [Annihilation Divine Thunder], but now, the [Annihilation Divine Thunder] had reached 100% perfection, his [Thunder God Dharma Manifestation] was at 70%, and [Thunder Light Transition] was at 20%. Basically, no powerhouse could pose a direct threat to his life anymore; he only needed to proceed step by step. He could certainly afford to spend a month to save those 2,000,000 Walker Points.

With this thought, Lin Qiye picked up the dedicated phone Ning Luo had provided and accessed the backend of the Jiangcheng household registration system. Opening the database, the records of every citizen in Jiangcheng appeared before him. Lin Qiye typed the name "Zhu Yuheng" into the search bar and clicked search. The records flashed by at light speed. A minute later, the screen below the search bar remained blank.

[No records found matching the criteria.]

"Huh? Nothing? Is that not her name? But the [Destiny-Annihilating Divine Arrow] appeared; it has to be Zhu Yuheng." Lin Qiye frowned slightly. "Could it be a self-protection mechanism?"

He deleted the last two characters and searched for the surname "Zhu."

"With a population of ten million in Jiangcheng, there are only ten households with the surname Zhu." Lin Qiye carefully screened the ten households but found that none of them were Zhu Yuheng.

"Still nothing..." He input "Yuheng." One result appeared, but it clearly was not her. "This is her final reincarnation; hiding herself must be a protection from the Heavenly Dao. It seems I need to change my approach."

Lin Qiye wasn't worried. As long as he paid attention, the clues provided by the Life Lamp Gem were quite substantial. The most critical point was that when she was born, her mother died in childbirth. Her biological father later brought in a stepmother, only for the father to die a year ago, after which the stepmother brought in a stepfather. This specific family dynamic was rare even in a city as large as Jiangcheng.

Lin Qiye quickly filtered for households where both biological parents were deceased and the stepmother had remarried. Still, no results.

Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. "How is that possible? Is the search system broken?" After a brief moment of frustration, he changed his strategy. "Perhaps the stepmother hasn't officially remarried yet; the stepfather just wants to marry her in name while actually coveting the mother and daughter. Hah, what a disgusting creature."

He removed the "remarried" filter and left only "both parents deceased." This time, thousands of records popped up. Without a doubt, there were many orphans in Jiangcheng. After all, this was not a peaceful era; there were internal troubles and external threats.

"But the target has been narrowed down. I just need to screen them one by one. Zhu Yuheng must be among them." Lin Qiye was full of fighting spirit. If he could find her, he would save two million points! His eyes burned with focus as lines of information and photos flashed before him.

Three days later, Lin Qiye finally found a girl who appeared to be the Empress.

"An old, dilapidated residential area in Jiangcheng. She had her ID card reissued at age ten. Her father casually named her 'Li Zaisheng' (Disaster Star)." Lin Qiye muttered to himself.

According to the records, her mother died in childbirth. Her father, consumed by grief, believed she had killed his wife and considered her a disaster, never even bothering to give her a proper name. She was raised by her grandmother, but her grandmother died when she was five. Her father grew even more resentful, subjecting her to constant abuse. When she was six, her father remarried. Because he called her a "Disaster Star," her stepmother and stepsister treated her with cruelty, forcing her to do menial labor and never allowing her to attend school.

When she was twelve, her father died of illness. Her stepmother began an affair with a man who was a petty criminal and a womanizer, and he set his sights on both the mother and the daughter. After the stepfather broke his leg in a theft, he heard about the girl's "disaster" nature and grew to hate her intensely, plotting to kill her. The stepmother, also believing she was a curse, escalated the abuse...

These were records from local authorities. Lin Qiye's brow furrowed deeply. "It seems this life is truly wretched..." Looking at the photo of the timid, sallow-faced girl—so different from the fair-skinned, confident Empress he knew—Lin Qiye let out a long sigh and vanished from his room.

...

The old, dilapidated residential area on the outskirts of Jiangcheng was decades old and filled with unsavory characters. Hoodlums with dyed hair hung around the street, and upon seeing Lin Qiye in fine clothes, they surrounded him, cigarettes dangling from their mouths. "Kid, this place is my—"

*Slap!*

Lin Qiye delivered a few strikes, and the hoodlums spat out their teeth along with their cigarettes. "Get lost! Or I'll break your legs!" The hoodlums collapsed on the ground, clutching their faces and howling. Lin Qiye walked away and entered the building, heading straight for the floor where Zhu Yuheng lived.

"What excuse should I use to save her?" he wondered. Just then, he caught the scent of blood. "That’s not menstrual blood. That’s fresh blood." His expression changed. A strand of lightning extended, sealing off the apartment. The sounds from inside reached his ears.

"You damn disaster! Not only did you kill your parents, but you also ruined me and your father for years! Why don't you just kill yourself?"

"Go on, kill yourself! You're a waste of air! You disgust everyone related to you!"

"Look at your pathetic face! Your mother died the moment you were born, you killed your grandmother, and your father died miserably because of you!"

"Here's the knife, go on and do it!"

It was verbal abuse. In the depths of winter, a single drop of water feels like ice; for the young Zhu Yuheng, already trapped in darkness and suffering, these words were like poisoned needles piercing her heart. The timid girl, face soaked in tears, bit her lip, her expression heartbreaking.

*Click.*

Lin Qiye's lightning silk picked the lock, and the door swung open. The two dogs inside jumped in terror. "Who, who are you!" they pointed at Lin Qiye, trembling.

Lin Qiye glanced at them with disgust. They were truly hideous. The middle-aged woman wore thick, cheap makeup, looking like a washed-up madam from a brothel, while the man had a rat-like face, his eyes murky and shifty. As the saying goes, the appearance reflects the heart.

As for the girl being forced into the corner, it was Zhu Yuheng. Those phoenix eyes and dragon-like brows were iconic. But she was sallow and gaunt, looking like a person crushed by fate. She had no desire to live; the knife her stepmother handed her was already gripped tightly in her hand. She pressed it to her wrist, and the blade, sharpened in advance, easily sliced through her skin. Blood began to pour out.

"You two are truly wicked. To get full inheritance of this apartment, you're actually driving a young girl to suicide. Heh." Lin Qiye walked toward them.

The young Empress looked up, her tear-filled eyes clouded with confusion, but mostly despair. Lin Qiye's words only added to her pain.

The woman screamed, "You beast, who are you? How dare you break into our home! We're calling the police!" The rat-faced man brandished a knife, trying to look intimidating.

Lin Qiye sneered. "You want to use a knife on me?" With a flick of his finger, a strand of lightning severed both of the man's arms.

"Ahhh!" The man shrieked, rolling on the ground in a pool of blood like a slaughtered hog. Lin Qiye looked at him coldly. "Trash like you can only bully a little girl."

He turned to the woman, but then his eyes landed on the little Empress. He rushed over to her. She stared blankly at him, her face pale from blood loss, and she fainted into his arms. The woman tried to flee, but Lin Qiye severed her leg with a flick, causing her to pass out from the pain.

Lin Qiye remained cold, channeling energy to heal Zhu Yuheng’s wounds and nourish her body. A few minutes later, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Lin Qiye holding her. She bolted away like a startled deer.

"My wounds... they're healed?"

"Why did you save me? Wouldn't it be better if I just died? My life has no meaning; I am a disaster..."

Lin Qiye shook his head. "You are not a disaster. You are a savior. If you die, the entire world will be destroyed."

The little Empress looked bewildered, timidly hunching her shoulders in the corner. "They... they..." She saw the horrific wounds on the two people on the floor and felt dizzy. "You... you'll be arrested. Run! Run away! I'll take the blame; I don't want to live anyway."

Lin Qiye: "No one can lay a hand on me. By the way, they were trying to kill you for this apartment. Do you want them to die?"

She lowered her head, feeling inferior and lost. "I... I don't know."

"Then I'll kill them for you." With a flick of his finger, the two of them were reduced to dust. "They're dead."

The little Empress stood there, stunned and terrified. "From now on, no one will ever abuse you again." Hearing this, she seemed to relax, though she couldn't help but shiver at the memory of the abuse she had endured for years.

"Tha... thank you..." She knew Lin Qiye had saved her from an abyss she could never have escaped on her own. "Thank you... what is your name? I will... repay you..."

Lin Qiye looked at her seriously. "Yes, you need to repay me. My only request is that you live well, and be happy and joyful every day."

Zhu Yuheng looked up, stunned. She couldn't believe that in this world, someone would care about her. She had been treated like a plague; even her father had only ever beaten her. Lin Qiye's words hit her like a thunderbolt. She was speechless, her lips trembling, her eyes misting over with tears that were heartbreaking to witness.

Lin Qiye studied her, sighing slightly. "You are so different from back then..." The Zhu Yuheng of his previous life was eccentric, stubborn, and possessed an inexplicable competitive spirit and confidence. But now, there was only fear, inferiority, and pity.

"You... have you met me before?"

"Of course. In a previous life." His strange words made her look at him with suspicion, her bright eyes filled with shyness, fear, and confusion.

"I also feel... like I've seen you somewhere before. You make me feel so safe."

The little Empress was astonished. She had been confined to her home as a slave for years, never allowed to speak to anyone. If she tried to read a book, she would be beaten. How could she feel such a strong sense of familiarity?

Lin Qiye smiled. This version of Zhu Yuheng was only thirteen; she hadn't even awakened yet. How could she remember him? He decided to add, "We have certainly met. You traveled across countless universes to call for help, and you found me. And I traveled across countless universes to save you."

The little Empress looked at him blankly, yet she felt something subtle and inexplicable. She lowered her head, feeling too inferior to look him in the eye. "I... I will repay you..."

"I already told you: living well, being happy and joyful, is the greatest repayment." He looked around the room. "The smell of blood is too strong here, and you're very weak. It's not safe for you to live alone. Would you like to come live at my place? It's quite large. Besides, I have a sister your age, and my parents are very kind and loving."

The little Empress was too weak to respond. "I... I..." To her, Lin Qiye was still a stranger. Despite saving her, her heart had long since closed off, and she dared not trust anyone. Yet, he gave her a contradictory sense of safety.

"Silence means yes." Lin Qiye didn't stand on ceremony. He picked her up and vanished from the room. The little Empress widened her eyes, too shocked to speak.

"Don't worry. You'll stay at my place."

"But I... I am a disaster. I will kill everyone around me..."

"That won't happen. You are a savior."