Huaxia, Qingniu Mountain.

Ashton Harrington was kneeling in front of his master, tears and snot all over his face.

“Master, I’m begging you—don’t make me go down the mountain! I still want to stay here and take care of you for a few more years! I’m only twenty‑three, I’m not ready to get married!”

Zachariah Yates, hair already half‑white, lounged on his recliner with his legs crossed. He took a lazy sip from his gourd of wine before snapping back at him.

“You’re a man with all the proper parts. What the hell do you mean ‘get married’? I found you a gorgeous wife—shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

Ashton’s temper flared. He glared at the old man. “You damn fossil! You just said I’m a man, and now you want me to be some woman’s live‑in husband?”

“I’m doing this for your own good.” Zachariah sat up and patted Ashton’s shoulder, putting on a solemn, almost fatherly tone.

“That girl from the Thornfield family is a one‑in‑ten‑thousand pure‑yin constitution. You, a pure‑yang man, are literally made for her. I went through a lot to match you two together. You absolutely must not—”

“I heard you took twenty jars of their top‑tier raw wine and agreed to sell me off as their son‑in‑law.” Ashton squinted at him suspiciously.

The old man’s face stiffened. Then he exploded. “Cough—cough! Which brainless idiot told you that? Ashton Harrington, do you seriously think your master would trade you away for twenty jars of wine?”

“Yes.” Ashton nodded without a second of hesitation.

This old man would do anything for alcohol. Selling his disciple was nothing.

Zachariah looked utterly wronged. “Cough, cough! Kid, you’ve misunderstood me! I once read your fortune—Serena Thornfield is your fated match in this life…”

Ashton snapped. “You can’t read fortunes for crap! I’m not going to be anyone’s live‑in husband! Just give up already! And besides, I’m a monk. How am I supposed to get married?”

Zachariah shot him a sideways glance. “Monk my ass. I’ve cultivated for forty years, and my one disciple ends up calling himself a monk? Are you trying to insult my intelligence? Who even ordained you?”

Ashton rolled his eyes. “If I’m not a monk, then why did you shave my head bald my whole life?”

Zachariah snorted. “I’d have given you a big wavy perm if I knew how. But I don’t. A shaved head is low‑maintenance—saves water, saves electricity, saves bulbs. Looks nice and clean too!”

“So that’s it, old man? There’s no room for discussion?”

Ashton Harrington shot to his feet, looking like he was ready to go twelve rounds with anyone who stopped him. That old man was clearly dead set on kicking him off the mountain today.

Zachariah Yates nodded, all calm and satisfied. “I already bought your train ticket. You’re leaving today. Two hours and you’ll be in Dongshan City. Serena Thornfield will pick you up herself at the station. Tomorrow, you two go sign the paperwork. And don’t even think about backing out. Let me remind you—eighteen years ago, that cable‑car crash? The Thornfields might’ve known something.”

Ashton, who had been planning to slip down the mountain and immediately vanish, froze. His face twisted up like he’d just eaten something expired. “Fine… fine. I’ll go now.”

Zachariah lit up like he’d just won the lottery. Finally, the kid was convinced. Those twenty jars of Thornfield family premium liquor—he could accept them with a clear conscience. That stuff was national‑banquet grade; even a single bottle cost over five grand.

Suddenly, his stomach cramped hard. He yelped. Ashton bared his teeth in a grin. “Old geezer, you push me into becoming someone’s son‑in‑law, so I figured I’d brew you some ‘Black Bat Vitality Soup.’ Isn’t your apprentice unbelievably filial? Better hurry to the outhouse before you ruin your pants. I’m heading off. I’ll come back to visit someday!”

“Get lost! And never come back! Ungrateful brat! Brat!” Zachariah yelled while sprinting toward the outhouse. After a frantic battle in the stall, he finally felt the sweet relief.

That kid had actually climbed the back cliff—the one even goats refused to touch—to collect black bat urine, mix it into the wine, AND slip it past him, the great Medical Immortal Zachariah Yates. His martial arts and medical skills had truly surpassed his teacher. Yeah… it was time for him to leave the mountain.

But knowing the boy had outgrown him filled the old man’s heart with pride.

He reached for the basket beside him, expecting toilet paper. His hand brushed something rough. His face darkened instantly.

The toilet paper was gone. Replaced with a handful of serrated grass.

“Ashton Harrington!”

The furious roar shook the entire Qingniu Mountain.

…

When Ashton was seven, his parents brought him to Qingniu Mountain. A cable car malfunctioned and plummeted a hundred meters. His parents died on impact. Because he was small and light, he got caught in a tree and survived, rescued by Zachariah. He had lived on the mountain ever since.

Whether it was trauma or something else, Ashton barely remembered anything from before age seven. So the city he was born in felt completely unfamiliar to him now.

But the old man wasn’t wrong—someone really did show up at the station to pick him up.

Right at the exit, Ashton Harrington spotted a chubby young woman holding a sign with his name on it. For a second he wondered, seriously… that’s Serena Thornfield?

Zachariah Yates really had an eye for this kind of thing. A woman built like that definitely looked… sturdy. Good for child‑bearing, as the old man liked to say.

“You’re Ashton Harrington?” The moment the young man walked up, pointing at the sign and then at himself, the girl’s jaw practically hit the floor.

This guy… was unbelievably rustic.

His head was shaved shiny like a lightbulb. He was wearing some no‑brand tracksuit that looked like it came straight from a bargain bin in a tiny mountain town. And those white sneakers—so old‑school they wouldn’t even show up in a thrift store in Dongshan.

Noticing her staring, Ashton grinned. “If the old man had told me you looked like this, I wouldn’t have messed with him earlier. But marriage is a big deal, right? We shouldn’t rush it. I say we spend a few days getting to know each other. What do you think, Serena Thornfield?”

Serena had chosen… him?

She had so many admirers she could fill a stadium. Even picking someone at random with her eyes closed would get her a better match than this guy.

And judging by his tone, he wasn’t even that willing to marry her? Where was this confidence coming from?

The girl’s face darkened. Annoyed, she snapped, “I’m Serena’s secretary, Zoe Rudd. How could she possibly come to a place like this? She’s waiting for you in the parking lot. Follow me.”

So she wasn’t the one. Ashton felt a little disappointed. Now he was curious—was Serena Thornfield built better than this girl?

He had barely seen any women growing up, and no one had ever explained the basics of men and women to him. His understanding was embarrassingly limited.

All he knew was what his master told him when he was little: one day he’d find him a wife with big hips so she could bear strong kids. That had somehow become his criteria.

In the Dongshan train station parking lot, the door of a red Lexus swung open.

A woman in a rose‑red dress stepped out. Her brows were elegant and cold, her skin pale as frost, and when her clear, bright eyes swept toward the station exit—

For a moment, it felt like the whole world dimmed.

Everyone nearby had their attention pulled to the woman in red.

“Is… is that Serena Thornfield? Oh my god, that’s really her!”

“Your goddess? Get real. She’s the goddess of every man in Dongshan.”

“Ning Xiruo, I love you! Oh my god, she’s absolutely flawless! This is the first time I’ve ever seen her this close! I swear, I’m going over to get her autograph!”

But before the fan could even open his mouth, a young man in a designer suit stepped in out of nowhere.

He slapped the fan across the face, then kicked him hard, snapping, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get lost!”

The poor guy was stunned. He had no idea why he’d been slapped and kicked.

He was just about to blow up—

but the moment he saw the young man’s face, his anger vanished instantly.

He shrank back, covered his cheek, and bowed repeatedly. “I’m sorry, Young Master Sawyer! I’ll leave right now!”

Everyone in Dongshan City knew that Sawyer Blackwood was pursuing Serena Thornfield.

And honestly, the guy had the money and the ego to back it up—young, loaded, worth over a billion.

Who would dare compete with him?

“What are you doing here?” Serena Thornfield frowned, her voice full of impatience.

She had zero good feelings toward Sawyer Blackwood.

Arrogant, rude, and clingy—he was basically a human-sized mosquito buzzing around wherever she went.

Sawyer flashed his most practiced smile.

“Serena, I heard you personally came to pick someone up at the train station. I had to see who’s important enough for that honor.”

As if it has anything to do with you.

Serena’s face clearly said she wanted him gone.

Before she could speak, her secretary rushed back and said, “President Thornfield, I’ve brought him over.”

Him?

This… bumpkin?

Serena stared at Ashton Harrington like he was a pile of cow dung someone had dropped in front of her.

The disgust on her face was practically radiating.

But before she could say a single word, that so‑called “pile of cow dung” spoke up first—

loudly, and with a look of utter disdain.

“So you’re Serena Thornfield? And I’m supposed to marry you? No curves, no shape! I’m not doing this. I’m calling off the engagement!”