In Donghai City, within the Ye Family Manor.

The afternoon sun, with a hint of laziness, filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled light and shadow on the lawn.

Zhou Huai sat quietly in his wheelchair, enjoying the rare warmth.

In his hand, he held a small notebook with a black cover, and the pen in his fingertips occasionally scratched across the paper, producing a faint rustling sound. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He continuously wrote down names.

Or, he would thoroughly erase existing names with a cold 'X' mark.

"Young Master, you seem to be in a good mood today."

Butler Fu entered the garden with a plate of exquisite pastries, his steps light, a respectful smile on his face.

Zhou Huai looked up, squinting against the sunlight, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Indeed, not bad."

Butler Fu placed the pastries and freshly brewed black tea on the small stone table beside Zhou Huai, his gaze inadvertently falling on the small notebook filled with names.

He asked with some curiosity: "Young Master, what are these names you've written down?"

Zhou Huai's gaze returned to the notebook, his tone light and casual, as if discussing the day's weather.

"These are all parasites growing on the body of the Great Xia Country."

As his words fell, the pen in his hand moved again.

The tip drew a large 'X' over the name "Sun Guomin."

Butler Fu looked at the striking symbol and asked again: "What does this 'X' mean?"

Zhou Huai smiled, picked up his teacup, and gently blew away the rising steam.

"It means that this parasite has been eliminated."

The smile on Butler Fu's face stiffened slightly, then he resumed his expression of awe and incomprehension.

He asked no more, merely refilling Zhou Huai's tea respectfully.

However, what Butler Fu didn't know was this:

At the very moment Zhou Huai put pen to paper, thousands of miles away in the Imperial Capital, a certain powerful general surnamed Sun in the Central Military Department would have his head severed by a suddenly appearing Yaso.

Even Zhou Huai himself was somewhat surprised.

He had initially thought that the traitors of the Great Xia Country were mostly from the Liu Family.

However, based on the continuous messages from the Information Bugs, he discovered that the Liu Family was, at best, just the tip of the iceberg.

High-ranking military officials, wealthy merchants, various Families, and even the major professional guilds—

All had people colluding with the Sakura Country.

And this was just one Imperial Capital.

To what extent other provinces and cities had been corrupted was still unknown.

He had originally thought this Eastern lion was merely a little tired.

Now he realized that its interior was already riddled with holes and festering sores.

The thought alone was terrifying.

Therefore, Zhou Huai could only use a swift hand to cut through the mess.

Find one, kill one.

This notebook in his hand had truly become a Death Note.

As for how chaotic the military or the Great Xia Country would become because of this, he didn't care.

As the saying goes, no destruction, no construction.

Scraping bone to cure poison, though painful, was necessary.

Only by clearing out these parasites could the Great Xia Country usher in true rebirth.

He had now received news.

The pendulum of life had appeared in the Sakura Country.

Then there would inevitably be a battle between him and the Sakura Country.

Before that, he had to remove all these internal tumors.

Lest he be fighting on the front lines, only for someone to stab him in the back.

As for the troubles and mess left behind, he would leave those for Marshal Zhao to worry about.

Zhou Huai took a sip of the warm black tea, its aroma filling his mouth.

He suddenly thought of something and asked: "By the way, has that old man woken up?"

Butler Fu nodded quickly upon hearing this.

"The Old Master has woken up."

Then, a troubled expression appeared on his face, and his voice dropped a few tones.

"Young Master, do you want to go see him?"

"These past few days, the Old Master has barely eaten anything. I'm afraid... I'm afraid he won't live much longer."

"He is your grandfather, after all..."

The "Old Master" Butler Fu referred to was naturally Zhou Ting, the former patriarch of the Zhou Family, who once wielded immense power.

As one of the few survivors of the Zhou Family,

After being rescued by Zhou Huai from the ruins of Donghai City, he had been housed in the Ye Family Manor.

Zhou Huai put down his teacup, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest of his wheelchair.

He really should go see this so-called "grandfather."

After all, he still had many questions about the Zhou Family that remained unanswered.

For example, how did the Zhou Family know the secret of the ruins?

How did Zhou Feng know the exact location of the Divine Artifact Zhen Tian Seal?

And how many unknown secrets were hidden behind the deaths of the original owner and his mother back then?

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai nodded.

"Since I'm still feeling well, push me over to see him."

Upon hearing this, Butler Fu's face immediately lit up with joy, surprised that Zhou Huai would actually agree.

He quickly nodded in assent, carefully pushed Zhou Huai's wheelchair, passed through the garden, and arrived at a secluded courtyard in the Ye Family Manor.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a decaying, desolate aura wafted out.

Zhou Huai immediately saw a withered old man sitting motionless on a long bench in the courtyard.

The old man wore faded, old clothes, his body hunched and emaciated.

His white hair flew wildly in the wind, like withered grass.

He stared blankly at the withered flowerbed in front of him, his eyes hollow, as if his Soul had long since drifted away, leaving only a shell on the verge of death.

Who would have thought that this was once the formidable Old Patriarch of the Zhou Family, who dominated Donghai and wielded immense power?

Hearing someone enter the courtyard, Zhou Ting didn't even look up, merely moving his cracked lips.

His hoarse voice was like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"You all go out. I told you, I won't eat anything."

His answer, however, was a young man's casual rhetorical question.

"What? Is the dignified Zhou Family Patriarch planning to die so disgracefully?"

This sudden voice finally brought a ripple of emotion to Zhou Ting's desolate eyes.

Before he could turn his head, the voice sounded again, every word like a knife, piercing his heart.

"How many Donghai City residents have you caused to become displaced, their families broken and destroyed?"

"How many warriors died in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the mouths of mutated beasts, their bones gone?"

"To let you die just like that, wouldn't that be too easy for you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ting's body trembled violently!

His stiff neck made a "creaking" sound as he slowly turned his head.

When his gaze fell upon the familiar yet unfamiliar young face sitting in the wheelchair,

His cloudy, already lifeless eyes suddenly widened at that moment!

His cracked lips trembled, and strange gurgling sounds came from his throat, as if an invisible hand was clutching his neck.

After a long while, he squeezed out a few broken syllables through his teeth.

"You... you are... Zhou Huai?"