Chapter Ninety-Two: Following the Heart

Although Feng Erjin understood what these men had come for, he had no intention of refusing their request.

“All right. There’s only one slot, though. Whoever gets it and whoever doesn’t is bound to offend someone, so I can’t decide it directly. You men choose someone who can convince everyone, and I’ll speak to my elder brother,” Feng Erjin said earnestly.

“As expected, you really are a good second brother.”

The four of them were overjoyed. They had not dared hope for much, yet Feng Erjin turned out to be such an upright and considerate man that he actually agreed.

One should know that handing over that slot would certainly consume a favor that could save a life when it came to the elder brother. He could have kept it for himself and used it later, and the man named Lang Sheng would surely compensate him in time.

“Thank you, Second Brother.” This time, there was more sincerity in their voices.

“Ah, brothers are brothers. This is all I can do. From now on, once you follow the new boss, you must work hard. He has deep roots and plenty of rules. Things can’t be the same as before,” Feng Erjin instructed seriously.

“Don’t worry. We won’t bring shame to you or to the elder brother,” the four promised in unison, though whether they truly meant it was another matter.

After receiving their promise, they took their leave and hurried back, thinking of ways to make themselves the one who would be chosen.

Once they had left the apartment building where Feng Erjin lived, the four of them began chatting as they walked.

“We never expected Second Brother to be such a fool, staying loyal to the boss all the way to the end.”

“Exactly. In the end, the boss did make a successful comeback, but his spirit was gone. Even his old home was sold off. What future could he possibly have? If Second Brother keeps following him, isn’t that just like hanging himself from a crooked tree?”

“By the way, do you still remember that Mr. Sun from a long time ago? The boss probably only managed that comeback because of him.”

“Mm, if you put it that way, the reason the boss chose to retire becomes obvious. After a severe blow, he had a great awakening. Now he wants to let go of everything and become a monk!”

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. But if Second Brother follows the boss, wouldn’t he have to become a monk too?”

“What a pity that it’s hard to get in touch with Mr. Sun. If I could get that connection, I’d be willing to become a monk.”

“If you became a monk, you’d definitely be a scandalous one.”

The four of them bickered and laughed as they got into a car and sped away.

Lang Sheng’s era had come to an end. They still had their own road to walk.

After the four left, Feng Erjin tidied up a bit and also went out. He needed to tell Elder Brother Lang of his decision.

...

At this moment, Lang Sheng had moved to a secluded residence in Copper Fortress, the thirteenth floor of an apartment building. The view was excellent, but compared with his former villa, it was worlds apart.

What he needed now was discretion and obscurity, so a villa was certainly out of the question.

At that moment, he was savoring the system prompt from before.

“Feng Erjin stands by you through thick and thin. The system achievement ‘Deep Brotherhood’ has been activated. Do you wish to share system abilities with him?”

He had not expected that someone would truly choose to follow him out of genuine loyalty.

Lang Sheng felt deeply moved. In times of hardship, true feelings are revealed; in prosperous days, words are all hollow.

Only when one falls into the deepest ravine can one see who truly cares.

He had asked the system earlier whether sharing in this way would let the other person know of the system’s existence. The answer was no. The other person could only receive the enhancement of abilities, but could never know about the system itself.

As for which abilities to share, that was up to him.

After much thought, Lang Sheng ultimately shared the system’s built-in soul protection, along with some of his own insights into cultivation.

As for the other abilities, the system shop and the task guidance, they were far too conspicuous and not suitable for sharing.

In this way, he could at least deserve the life-saving favor from last time.

Just then, the sound of a publicity vehicle came from outside, followed by bursts of cheering.

“Residents, the Star Chamber of Commerce is launching long-term free training. All young people under thirty may participate. The time is from seven in the evening until ten at night.”

“The training covers basic meditation cultivation and knowledge of evil spirits. Outstanding trainees will be selected for the Star Chamber of Commerce reserve team.”

“In addition, free lunch and dinner will be provided every day to all children under twelve, or an equivalent food voucher will be issued.”

“...”

After the publicity vehicle came waves of calls and applause.

“That’s wonderful. A big chamber of commerce really is a big chamber of commerce!”

“Ah, they came too late. Otherwise my child wouldn’t have been so thin from hunger.”

After cultivating his new technique, Lang Sheng’s hearing had become astonishingly sharp. It was not that his organs had evolved; rather, he could catch the sounds carried by the wind.

Hearing these discussions, he could not help but snort coldly.

“A bunch of ungrateful ingrates. I even wanted to treat you well before. It seems making you into puppet servants is the most cost-effective option after all!”

“The Silver Chamber of Commerce really is clever. They knew long ago that these people could not be relied on. Ingratitude is simply their nature.”

He thought bitterly to himself.

He was not truly a good man, nor a saint. Forced by threats to sell off his foundation, and at such a cheap price and in installments at that, how could there be no anger in his heart?

“You all just wait. Once I come out of seclusion, I will take Copper Fortress back again!”

His temper was rising fast.

“Detected that the host has a biased way of thinking. Please reflect on yourself and do not commit the error of judging the whole from a part.”

“System brother, can’t I just say a few angry words?” Lang Sheng immediately said submissively.

“Good people can of course lose their temper, but you must not turn dark because of something like this. There are still people who are grateful for what you have done. Take Feng Erjin, for example. If you were still as vicious as before, he would have run as far away as possible by now,” the Good Person System advised.

Every system had its own arrangements. Since this one was themed around being a “good person,” it had to keep its host on the path of goodness and not let him stray. Otherwise, its own system rules would collapse.

This had been set by the system creation interface when Fan Bei made it.

By comparison, the systems of Big White and Lin Zhongqing had fewer restrictions in this respect. As long as they stayed above the bottom line, that was enough.

Lang Sheng could not fight the stronger side, so of course he went along with it in his heart: “System brother speaks truly. I am indeed not as calm as you are. In the end, I am still a mere mortal, swayed by my emotions.”

He had no choice but to be humble, because his strength still depended on the system.

People are like that: it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality.

He had grown used to the system’s spiritual power exchanges, used to its many protections, used to the confidence it gave him. He absolutely did not want to return to the past.

If the system were suddenly to disappear, Lang Sheng believed he would very likely sink into ruin, drifting through life in confusion, never again possessing the ambition he once had.

Looking back on the past, he even admired his former self. How had he managed, amid utter despair, to struggle on and achieve what he once did?

One part luck, nine parts ruthlessness. Cruel to others, even crueler to himself. In order to obtain cultivation methods, he had risked madness just to listen to those terrifying beings.

Thinking of this, his gaze turned fierce. The gentle expression on his face once again took on that same hard edge.

He could be a good person for the sake of the system, but he would never abandon the ruthlessness of the past.