Douluo:Heaven’s Rejected Monarch

Cold.

The first thing Fang Yuan felt was the unbearable cold pressing against his skin. His body ached, his limbs stiff and weak, but he was alive. His breath came in slow, heavy gasps. He should be dead. He remembered the fists, the boots, the laughter as they left him broken in the dirt. But something had changed. His mind was clearer than ever. Thoughts flowed fast, sharp, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. He understood things he had never learned. His crimson eyes opened. The world looked different. Sharper. Brighter.

He sat up. His wounds were gone, not even a scar left behind. His body felt stronger, but his mind felt even sharper. He curled his fingers into a fist. He remembered what had been taken from him. The pain. The humiliation. His mother's pendant. They thought they had beaten him. That they could rob and discard someone like him.

They were wrong.

The city was quiet as he walked. He moved quickly, slipping through the alleys like a shadow. His clothes were dirty, but the way he carried himself had not changed. He was not like them, these rats scurrying through the slums, preying on the weak. He was better. Stronger. A noble. And tonight, he would remind them what that meant.

Then he heard a voice.

"P-Please… don't touch me."

His head turned.

At the end of the alley, three men stood over a small silver-haired girl. She was backed against the wall, shaking. The leader, the same man who had beaten him, gripped her wrist tightly. She tried to pull away, but he held on.

"Relax, little doll," the man sneered. "Just be good, and we won't hurt you too bad."

Fang Yuan exhaled. His fingers curled.

He walked forward.

His footsteps echoed in the silence.

The leader turned, his smirk fading as his eyes landed on Fang Yuan.

"You—"

A rock smashed into his face before he could finish speaking.

The man stumbled back, blood running down his cheek. Before he could react, Fang Yuan was already moving.

The second thug lunged, swinging a fist. Fang Yuan ducked low and drove his knee straight into the man's balls.

The thug gasped, his whole body locking up before he crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll.

The last one cursed and pulled out a knife. Fang Yuan barely dodged the first swing, feeling the blade slice through his sleeve. Too close.

His foot kicked against something hard. A broken piece of wood. He grabbed it and swung. The jagged edge slammed into the man's thigh.

The thug howled, clutching his bleeding leg.

The leader wiped the blood from his face and snarled. He reached for a weapon at his waist. Fang Yuan did not give him the chance.

He rushed forward and smashed his forehead into the man's nose.

Pain shot through his skull, but the leader's scream was louder. Blood sprayed from his nose as he staggered back.

Fang Yuan's eyes flicked to the side. A wooden crate. Heavy, but not too heavy.

He grabbed it and lifted it over his head.

Then he brought it down.

The leader collapsed, the crate breaking apart over him. He lay still, knocked out cold.

Fang Yuan panted, his body aching, but he had won.

The silver-haired girl had not moved. Her wide violet eyes stared at him, shocked and afraid. She was smaller than him, too thin for her size, her clothes worn and dirty. A beggar, he realized.

She did not belong to his world.

Fang Yuan exhaled and crouched down. His fingers searched the leader's collar until he found what he was looking for.

His mother's pendant.

The jade was warm, stained with the man's sweat. He gripped it tightly. A part of him wanted to finish the job, to make sure these men never hurt anyone again.

But something inside him stopped him.

He turned toward the girl. She flinched, her fists clenched, but she did not run.

She was still staring at him, her lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something.

Fang Yuan sighed. "You're coming with me," he said.

She blinked, her head tilting slightly.

"I don't need you," he added. "But you'd be dead if I left you here."

She hesitated, glancing at the unconscious men, then back at him. Slowly, she took a small step forward.

Fang Yuan did not wait. He turned and started walking.

For a moment, she stood still.

Then, her small footsteps followed behind him.