Idle Immortal

"What... What's going on?" Yang Ze felt a splitting headache as he looked at the scene before him.

The last thing he remembered was going to bed. And when he opened his eyes again, he was standing in this place... looking at the bustling city. With a frown, he tried hard to recall what just happened. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember.

There were numerous gaps in his memories. The more he tried to recall, the more he felt his head spinning. At a point, he even felt his head would explode if he thought about it any longer.

"Forget it." Shaking his head, Yang Ze focused on the scene before him, trying to make sense of everything happening around him. The familiar road, the familiar buildings, and the familiar faces... everything was as he remembered and yet he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

And just when he was wondering about it, he suddenly felt someone tapping him on his shoulder.

"Why are you still in a daze?"

As soon as he heard this familiar voice, Yang Ze's expression stiffened and his breathing almost stopped. For a moment he even thought if he was having auditory hallucinations, after all, how could that guy be here?

But this lasted only for a fraction of a moment before realization hit him.

"You." Immediately turning around, he looked at the person behind him with a face filled with disbelief.

Behind him was a man in his early twenties, wearing loose casual clothes and standing with a slight smile on his face. One look at him, and anyone would frown upon his appearance, thinking that this was a poor peasant from the village side.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Suppressing his voice, Yang Ze looked around nervously hoping that no one would notice this man before grabbing him by the hand and pulling him to the alleyway.

After making sure that they were at a remote alley, he finally looked at the man with a frown before asking in a stern voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The meaning behind his words was clear.

"Do you have any idea what it would do to me if someone finds out that I know you?" If not for the fact that this bastard was his childhood friend, he would have punched him in the throat.

"Relax." The man just shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not like people are going to recognize me at a glance."

"THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN." The more he spoke, the more agitated Yang Ze got.

"Do you know how much reward they are offering for your head?" He paused for a moment before speaking with a muffled voice. "Ten million dollars."

"You shouldn't even be here. Why the hell are you here in the first place?"

"..." The man kept on looking at Yang Ze with a slight smile on his face, but the words he spoke next stunned Yang Ze.

"I am here to offer you a job."

"Huh!?" Yang Ze was expecting many answers, but he certainly wasn't expecting this.

"Have you finally lost your damn mind?" Yang Ze looked at him like he was looking at an idiot. "You are already a wanted person and your own survival is at stake. And you are here to offer me a job?"

The more he spoke, the harsher his voice got. It seemed this bastard had finally lost his goddamn mind after so many years.

"Why not?" Ignoring his reaction, the man replied as a matter of fact. "You have helped me once before, what's wrong with helping me now?"

"THAT WAS...." suppressing his voice, Yang Ze looked around nervously before finishing with a whisper, "Different."

"I only helped you because I wanted to." Gritting his teeth, Yang Ze took a deep breath as if suppressing his riling emotions. "But not anymore."

"I am done with you."

The more he spoke, the calmer he got. "I have a life, new friends, a place to work, and a life to look forward to."

"I can't just risk it all just for you?"

The man behind him didn't seem fazed by this rejection. He had a slight smile on his face as if he had expected this answer. With a soft chuckle, he narrowed his eyes and whispered softly.

"Not even for her?"

The moment he finished speaking, Yang Ze's expression stiffened as he stopped in his position.

"You bastard..." Yang Ze clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. Gritting his teeth, he tried hard to suppress his rage but the visible veins on his forehead showed otherwise.

"Relax." The man behind him gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Think of this as paying back the favor you owe me. After this, we're even, and neither of us owes the other anything."

As soon as he said it, Yang Ze closed his eyes in defeat. His rage and unwillingness turned into a helpless sigh as he just exhaled a heavy breath. There were a lot of things going on in his mind. In the end, he just nodded his head in defeat.

"This is the last time."

"As it should be." The man smiled, his gaze drifting into the distance before he asked abruptly. "By the way, what were you standing here for?"

"Uh." Yang Ze didn't answer his question. Though he had agreed to help him out, inside he was still hesitating on whether to help or not.

Ignoring his question, Yang Ze asked in a grim tone.

"What do you need my help with?" At the moment, he just wanted to finish whatever it was and get out of there.

"Nothing more." There was a mysterious smile on the man's face as he spoke those words. "You just need to plant a few items in someone's house and then deliver this letter."

With these words, the man took out an envelope before handing it to Yang Ze.

"This is of utmost importance. Once you are done, someone will transfer a couple of million dollars into your account."

Taking out a thin notebook, he threw it forward. "All the details are here. Just follow the instructions."

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Even though Yang Ze has agreed to help one last time, he still wanted to see if there was another way out. He didn't want to involve himself in this again. But just because he wished for it, didn't mean he was going to get it.

"Because unlike you, I am inexperienced." The man's answer was flat, leaving Yang Ze speechless.

"Forget I ever asked." With a cold snort, Yang Ze turned around and left the place. The less time he spent with this guy, the better it was for him.

After reaching back to his house, Yang Ze opened the notebook and looked at the detailed planning on where he was going to get the items, the person in whose house he was going to plant them, the address, and his mode of transportation.

After making sure he wasn't missing anything, Yang Ze looked at the sealed letter. He could understand the guy not planting the items himself, but what about this letter? There was no reason not to send it by himself.

For a moment, he even wanted to open the letter and see what was written inside, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head. Whatever it was... it was not worth the risk. The less he knew about it, the better it was for him. He just needed to complete this task and then it was over. As for the aftermath... he couldn't care less about it.

Making up his mind, Yang Ze put the letter aside and began to read the content in the notebook once again, hoping to etch them into his mind.

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"Master..." Inside the dimly lit room, the woman couldn't help but utter in worry. It's been almost a week since they rescued the boy from the river, but instead of showing signs of improvement, his condition was getting worse.

By now, his breathing was so slow and feeble that one would mistake him for a dead body.

"Umm..." The old man bandaging the wounds of the boy just nodded in response.

"His wounds are better. It's just..." He let out a heavy sigh before shaking his head. "He seemed to have gone through a lot. If I am not mistaken, he must be reliving whatever nightmare he went through."

"Perhaps, he is a young master of some family that got exterminated by an Innate powerhouse. Perhaps he was left alive on purpose, to make his life miserable and make him suffer."

The more the old man spoke, the more he felt this was the truth. After all, in his long life, he had heard and seen innumerable cases like these.

"I know you have already told me, but is there nothing we can do?" She was still unwilling to give up so easily.

"Unfortunately..." The old man just shook his head. "I have done everything that I can. The rest is up to fate."

After speaking these words, the old man just walked out of the room and left the place, leaving behind the figure of a woman along with the feeble body of the boy.

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"This is the last thing..." Picking up the last item, Yang Ze let out a frown before heading back to the car and heading out of the city.

He had spent almost two weeks traveling around, collecting the items and making plans on how to complete the task at hand. Initially, he thought it was going to be difficult, but to his surprise, everything went rather smoothly.

He successfully planted the so-called 'items' in a man's house rather easily. Now the only thing he needed to do was to deliver the letter.

However, no matter how smoothly everything went, he always had a nagging feeling of something out of place. It was hard to describe in words, but he always felt something was amiss. It was as if he had forgotten something extremely important. And with every passing moment, this feeling only grew stronger and stronger.

"Forget it." Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and focused on the task in front of him once again.

By the time he reached his destination, it was evening. Looking at the small exquisite house at the corner of a rather remote town, he narrowed his eyes. This small house was where he needed to deliver the letter. Looking from the window, he could see the figure of a young boy sitting inside his room in a daze. He looked around, hoping to see more, but other than the boy, there wasn't anyone else in the house.

Yang Ze didn't make any unnecessary moves but just sat there in silence.

It wasn't until it was midnight did he slowly moved towards the house, picked the lock and slid the letter into the boy's room before walking out of there.

After making sure he successfully finished delivering the letter too, he finally let out a sigh of relief before walking away from there.

This was perhaps the last time he was going to help his so-called 'friend'.

It took him almost two days to reach his home. And the moment, Yang Ze stepped inside his house, his phone rang.

Picking it up, he saw a message from the bank informing him about a deposit of four million dollars into his personal account.

Yang Ze looked at it for a long time before shaking his head and throwing his phone to the bed. This was the first time in his life he saw so much money. But he wasn't happy.

 On the contrary, the feeling of dread and uneasiness only grew stronger over time. Unknowingly, he fell into a trance, his life flashing before his very eyes, from his childhood to his adulthood. Every memory, be it happy or sad, flashed before him.

And just when he was lost in this trance, a soft voice brought him back to his senses.

"What are you thinking about?"

"..." Listening to the familiar voice of his childhood friend, Yang Ze let out a deep sigh before slowly turning around. He wasn't surprised by this seemingly sudden intrusion.

Behind him was the figure of his friend, standing there with the same wretched smile on his face.

"Aren't you happy?" Ignoring Yang Ze's silence, the man asked him again. But this question of his was met with silence again.

"..."

"..."

Both of them stood in silence inside the dimly lit room; looking at each other.

It wasn't until a few more moments passed did Yang Ze finally closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he did this, his figure trembled for a moment as if suppressing a great deal of emotions.

When he opened his eyes again, the previous confusion and the feeling of something out of place disappeared from his face. He silently looked at the man in front of him before finally asking in a rather defeated voice.

"Who are you?"