When Richard's telepathic force fully invaded Ying Li's mind, her body stiffened instantly. She did not collapse, nor did she lose consciousness, but control over her limbs vanished as if invisible chains had wrapped around her nerves. Her posture remained intact, yet she could no longer command so much as a finger.
Shock replaced the fury on her face.
She and Ying Nan had come to San Francisco cautiously, and although she had seen reports about Richard in the news, she had never truly understood what he was capable of. The moment she felt the foreign mental force suppressing her, her instinct was to circulate the qi within her body and break free.
But no matter how she tried, the qi refused to respond.
A cold realization formed in her chest.
Trouble.
Richard ignored the corpses behind him and walked toward her unhurriedly. He stopped in front of her, studying her closely. She looked far younger than the image preserved in certain alternate histories—almost ethereal in her white training attire.
Then his gaze shifted to the creature at her side.
Dijiang hovered defensively, emitting strange warning cries, as if it were a loyal guard dog shielding its master.
Richard activated gravity manipulation.
The small creature jerked upward, pulled helplessly into the air. He caught one of its wings with his right hand and placed his left hand on Ying Li's shoulder.
Teleportation.
Before the onlookers could even process what had happened, the three of them vanished. In the distance, sirens began to wail.
They reappeared on the rooftop of a building several blocks away. Richard had no intention of returning to the Hellfire Club's mansion yet. Instead of questioning Ying Li, he went straight to the source.
Telepathy.
He entered her memories without resistance. Within moments, he found what he was looking for, and his expression shifted slightly.
So that was the truth.
In this universe, Shang-Chi was not Ying Li's son. He was still Wenwu's child, but his mother was Guangbo's daughter—the former guardian of Ta Lo.
Just like other versions of history, Wenwu had once sought Ta Lo. In the maze forest, he encountered Guangbo's daughter instead of Ying Li. They fought. They fell in love. She abandoned her role as guardian and left Ta Lo with him.
She did not convince Wenwu to retire from conquest, but she did bear him a son.
Not long after Shang-Chi's birth, she died of illness.
Wenwu had promised her not to invade Ta Lo. He kept that promise, though he continued expanding the Ten Rings across the criminal underworld.
Richard sifted through more memories. The reason Ying Li and Ying Nan had come to San Francisco was simple.
The dragon had instructed them to bring Shang-Chi back.
They did not know why. They only knew the order.
After processing everything, Richard remained silent for several seconds. Then he made a decision.
He altered Ying Li's subconscious.
It was not a complicated operation. He did not consider himself a gentleman, and subtle manipulation was far simpler than killing her. If matters could be resolved cleanly, there was no need for unnecessary violence.
Once finished, he released the mental restraint.
Ying Li regained control of her body immediately. She had no awareness of what he had changed, but something was wrong. The hostility she had felt toward him had dulled. When the thought of attacking him to avenge Shang-Chi surfaced, her body instinctively resisted.
"What did you do to me?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Richard replied calmly. "Just ensured you stay alive."
Her brows tightened.
"What do you want? Why did you kill Shang-Chi? How did he offend you?"
"I don't need to explain why I killed him," Richard answered evenly. "As for what I want, I intend to go to Ta Lo."
Her eyes sharpened instantly.
"You guessed correctly," he continued. "I plan to conquer Ta Lo. It's a beautiful place. I like it. I intend to make it my private territory."
He spoke without arrogance, only certainty.
"I have no interest in ruling your people directly. I simply want the land. During the process, I'll also eliminate the Soul Eaters and the Dweller-in-Darkness sealed behind the Dark Gate."
Even without the subconscious alteration, Ying Li posed no threat to him. Even if every creature of Ta Lo—dragon, phoenix, qilin, suanni, nine-tailed fox—stood together, they would not be enough.
She instinctively shifted into a fighting stance.
But her body refused to move further.
She tried to circulate qi again. Nothing changed.
"Stop wasting your effort," Richard said. "You can't attack me. And you can't disobey my orders."
He had already decided to add her to his harem list the moment he saw how young she appeared. Of the many women in this world, few truly interested him. She was one of them.
"I will never obey you," she said sharply.
"That isn't your choice."
He regarded her thoughtfully. "I'm curious about your martial arts. Perform a complete set."
"I don't want to—"
She stepped backward involuntarily. Then, under his gaze, her body flowed through an entire martial sequence. Every movement was precise and graceful. Minutes later, she stood frozen, staring at her own hands in disbelief.
"I told you," he said evenly. "You can't refuse me. If I ordered you to strip here, you would do it."
Her face paled.
"Relax. I won't ask for that here. A bedroom would be more appropriate."
"Shameless," she said.
"Thank you."
He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her slender waist. Her instinct screamed at her to push him away, but her muscles refused to comply. She could only glare upward.
He grabbed Dijiang again.
Teleportation.
They appeared inside the apartment where Ying Li and Ying Nan had been staying. Ying Nan, who looked more mature despite being younger, turned toward them in surprise.
Before she could speak, Richard froze her consciousness entirely.
"I'll implant a memory," he told Ying Li calmly. "She'll believe I'm your new boyfriend."
"I'll tell her the truth!" Ying Li shouted.
"You can try. If her real memories clash with the false ones, I can't guarantee she won't suffer mental instability."
She fell silent.
"You shameless scumbag," she muttered.
"Add lustful, if you like."
"You'll face retribution."
"If evil truly brought retribution, this world would already be heaven."
He implanted the false memory with ease, along with subtle subconscious adjustments regarding Shang-Chi. Then he released Ying Nan.
She blinked and looked at them curiously. "Why are you back so soon? Did something happen to Shang-Chi?"
"He won't be returning to Ta Lo," Richard replied. "He's dead."
Ying Nan frowned. "Dead? How?"
"I killed him. He provoked me."
He had softened her emotional attachment to Shang-Chi during the memory alteration. The bond had never been strong to begin with.
"What about the dragon's instruction?" she asked.
"I'll return to Ta Lo with you," Richard said confidently. "If the dragon seeks someone to handle the Dweller-in-Darkness, I'm sufficient."
Though she felt faint unease, she did not argue further.
"Then when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow. Enjoy San Francisco today. We'll head to Los Angeles first. You wanted to teach Wenwu a lesson for abducting your cousin."
She agreed immediately.
Richard handed her a Centurion Black Card.
"Buy whatever you want."
After she left, Ying Li confronted him again.
"Is manipulating memories amusing to you?"
"If I hadn't done it, she'd have attacked me," he replied. "And I kill my enemies."
She fell silent.
After a long pause, she asked quietly, "Can you really destroy the Dweller-in-Darkness and the Soul Eaters?"
"They're not as strong as you believe," he said. "You're simply too weak."
"If you can… I'll forgive you."
"Only forgive?" he asked lightly. "I thought you'd offer something more substantial."
"Only a ghost would give himself to you."
She turned and retreated to the bedroom.
That night, Ying Nan returned from shopping and found dinner prepared.
She looked surprised. "Didn't you say cooking was troublesome yesterday? Why the change?"
Before Ying Li could respond, Richard answered smoothly, "She wanted to impress me with her cooking."
.....
Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my p@treon Right Now.
Link: p*atreon.com/BookReaderBoy (Remove the *)
Also Free members get 2 advanced chapters for Free as well.