Chapter 1: The Return of the Bastard Son

  In 2013, Zhangsun Chong was twenty-four years old. The phrase "My dad is Zhangsun Wuji" was popular in the local area. Although he was very clever, he just didn't study well and was proficient in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.

  Let's talk about Zhangsun Chong's nouveau riche father, Zhangsun Wuji. He grew up in an orphanage from a young age. The director of the orphanage at that time loved listening to the storytelling "The Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" and gave those nameless children very cool names, such as Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, and when it was his father's turn, he used the name "Zhangsun Wuji".

  He is the son of Old Dad, and although his father didn't read much, he had listened to "The Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" since childhood, so he knew that the son of Changsun Wuji was named Changsun Chong, and thus gave him this name, calling it "inheritance".

  Chang Sun's old dad was a roughneck, but he had a great business mind. He seized the opportunity and focused on real estate, becoming one of the top two property developers in Huaxia by the time he was fifty. He made so much money that it would take several lifetimes to spend it all.

  Chang Sun's dad suffered a lot when he was young, so he spoiled his son. Since his son turned 18 and became an adult, he made three rules: First, no drug use; Second, no murder; Third, no sex without condoms. The first two are for survival and must be followed, as long as there's no loss of life, everything can be resolved; the third is a must, only then can one roam freely in the world of flowers without getting stained.

  Chang Sun Chong lived a muddled life until he was 24 years old, playing and causing trouble enough. He felt that as a man, with the wealth of his family, if he didn't achieve something great, it wouldn't be like him. So he started a high-tech company, mainly operating large-scale games, and business was booming!

  Changsun Wuji and Changsun Chong are a perfect example of "a tiger father does not have a dog son"!

  Chang Sun's mother, a university professor of Chinese literature, enjoys reading entertainment news. As the only woman in the household, she is loved and respected by two men. Her status at home is extraordinary. When watching TV together as a family, the remote control naturally falls into Chang Sun's mother's hands.

  One day, a family of three was eating fruit that had been air-freighted from abroad and watching entertainment news when they came across a gossip piece about Jackie Chan. In the interview, Jackie Chan claimed to be a descendant of Fang Xuanling of the Tang Dynasty. The news also showed the process of Jackie Chan and his son Jaycee Chan paying respects to their ancestors, with both of their names appearing on the family tree that was displayed.

  "See that? As soon as I saw Jackie Chan, I felt a sense of grandeur. It turns out he's a famous director after all! No wonder he's so handsome, even his garlic head nose is more attractive than others." Zhangsun's mother was a die-hard fan of Jackie Chan, her eyes shining with adoration, wishing she could be the woman behind him.

  Chang Sun's old dad coughed a few times, pouted and said: "What kind of famous minister afterwards, is purely nonsense. Once someone becomes famous, they want to put gold on their face, aren't they just actors?"

  Chang Sun's mother looked at Chang Sun's father with disdain and said, "What's wrong with being an actor? Look at him, not only is he a famous prime minister, but he's also handsome and rich! Even if you're called Chang Sun Wuji, it's just because you're riding on the coattails of 'The Heroes of Sui and Tang'. You look at yourself, fat-headed and brainless, what can you compare to him? What you said is a typical case of sour grapes."

  Chang Sun's dad is a tall and sturdy man, in his younger years he was quite the scrapper, with great physical strength, but as he aged, he lost some mobility, developed a beer belly, and grew a double chin.

  Chang Sun's mother, for the sake of her husband, seizes every opportunity to strike Chang Sun's father, hoping that he will suddenly come to his senses, lose weight successfully, and attain enlightenment!

  For Zhangsun's father and mother, they would have a small quarrel every day and a big one every two days. It had already become a habit for them to turn a deaf ear and not help each other out. Sometimes Zhangsun would feel envious of his parents' good relationship. His father was a former gangster who had managed to win over his mother, who came from a family of scholars. His maternal grandfather was a famous modern Confucian scholar in China, but 25 years ago, he had looked down on his father, who only had an elementary school education and spent all day dancing with knives and guns. Both of them had very violent tempers and would sometimes even resort to physical violence. However, it was always Zhangsun's petite mother wielding a feather duster, chasing after the tall and large Zhangsun's father as he dodged around everywhere.

  Chang Sun Chong once asked Chang Sun's old dad who was beaten, as a result, Chang Sun's old dad beat him badly and even shouted: "You're not beating me, are you? I'll beat your son!"

  Chang Sun's mother treated her son like the apple of her eye, but when she saw her husband and eldest son, without hesitation, she picked up the feather duster again to defend her unique status as the mistress.

  Chang Sun Chong was speechless towards his father Chang Sun Wu Ji, completely lacking in dignity. Although that person was his mother, but Father Chang Sun said something outside and was a majestic tiger, but in front of Mother Chang Sun, he was just a paper tiger. Looking at Mother Chang Sun again, she had a clear brow and beautiful eyes, a delicate beauty, as a professor of Chinese literature, she was elegant and dignified outside, no one would have thought that at home she was a shrew who always had a feather duster in her hand.

  Chang Sun couldn't understand it when he was young, but as he grew older, he vaguely realized that this was the special love between his parents. It could even be understood as a special intimacy between them as husband and wife!

  "What's the big deal! It's just after being a famous prime minister! I, Changsun Wuji, am still a descendant of the Tang Dynasty's Changsun family. Apart from Li Shimin, it's me! That Fang Xuanling may be a famous prime minister, but he's also below me, Changsun Wuji!" Changsun's dad was despised by Changsun's mom and his small universe exploded in anger. If he weren't bald, his hair would have stood on end in rage.

  Zhang Sun's mother pretended not to hear this time and continued watching entertainment news.

  Chang Sun's dad was despised very thoroughly and stormed out of the house, while Chang Sun's mom and Chang Sun himself didn't take this matter seriously!

  From then on, he went out early and returned late. Three days later, Zhangsun's father said loudly: "Let's go, we're going to pay our respects to our ancestors!"

  Chang Sun's mother is a professor of Chinese literature and naturally knows where the ancestral temple of the Chang Sun surname is located!

  "What about you? You grew up in an orphanage since childhood, where did your ancestral hall come from? It's really a joke!" Long Sun's mother elegantly held her tea cup, with the rising hot air carrying the strong tea fragrance.

  "It's not like someone said, 'Kings, dukes, and generals, are they born or made?' Why can't I, Longsun Wuji, be a historical great man? The descendant of Longsun Wuji." Under the influence of his wife and father-in-law every day, Longsun Wuji has indeed made progress, even knowing "Kings, dukes, and generals, are they born or made?"

  Changsun's old mother was shocked and laughed, saying: "So according to you, all the Lis are descendants of your Li Shimin? You're illiterate, but you still don't admit it. We have a Changsun ancestral temple in Shaanxi, while you're from the east, eight poles apart, not related at all. Don't try to cling to others' fame, aren't you ashamed?"

  Chang Sun's father burst into rage, slapping his palm on the table and saying: "Cheng Long can run to Anhui from Hong Kong to recognize his ancestors, why can't I go to Longxi to recognize my ancestors? Colombia has circled the earth several times to reach North America, our Chang Sun family has only migrated one or two thousand kilometers, what's the big deal. Don't believe me, look!"

  Chang Sun's mother saw her husband rarely say something so profound, gave him some face, picked up an envelope-like thing, opened it and took a look, on which was written: 48th generation successor Chang Sun Wuji, 49th generation successor Chang Sun Chong.

  Zhang Sun's mother was shocked and asked, "You didn't buy it for a few dollars, did you? And another thing, you're carrying on the ancestor's name, isn't that considered taboo?"

  "I'm so bored that I bought this thing, come on, let's go and pay our respects to our ancestors! Who cares if the name is repeated or not? It's a foreign custom, it's not like we need to add dad's name, grandpa's name, or even the names of ancestors from who-knows-how-many generations ago. I'm just repeating a name, it's no big deal, at most you can say that I'm the second Longsun Wujin, the second Longsun Chong!" Longsun's dad was full of energy and pride, his facade skills were still very effective.

  Three days later, they arrived at the Longsun Ancestral Hall in Shaanxi. Not only did the elderly members of the Longsun family come out to greet them, but even the local municipal party secretary came. Mrs. Longsun was shocked and later found out that Mr. Longsun's return to his ancestral home was because he had donated 200 million yuan for the construction of a tourist city modeled after the architecture of the Tang Dynasty in the Longsun Ancestral Hall.

  Chang Sun couldn't help but admit that his father was even more extravagant than him, spending 200 million to get their family of three's names written in the Chang Sun family tree.

  Chang Sun's mother pinched Chang Sun's father's earlobe several times, then realized the money was gone and could not be recovered. To avoid losing both reputation and wealth, she had no choice but to continue with the ancestral worship ceremony.

  Chang Sun rushed into the ancestral hall, where countless tablets were arranged like dominoes, one after another, in a neat and solemn array. After paying respects to his ancestors, Chang Sun was accidentally pushed by someone and bumped into the tablets in front of him, causing them to fall one after another.

  Chang Sun Chong hadn't figured out what was going on yet, after knocking over countless memorial tablets, he finally stopped in front of a more elaborate one, and it turned out to be his own memorial tablet.

  Above their heads are the gods, their ancestors are watching them from above. All the descendants and grandchildren, one after another, kneel down to the ground and kowtow to their ancestors.

  Chang Sun Chong was an atheist, but his father had already knelt down. As a son, how could he still stand and accept his father's kowtow?

  Just as Zhang Sun Chong was kneeling on the ground, piously kowtowing and praying to his ancestors for peace, health and prosperity in his family's business, a beam of light burst forth from Zhang Sun Chong's ancestral tablet, enveloping his body.

  Everyone respected their ancestors, but seeing such a scene, they thought it was a movie shoot. Until the eldest grandson rushed under the light circle's cover, his shadow gradually became transparent and disappeared.

  Grandpa Zhang saw his son become transparent and hurriedly went with Grandma Zhang to grab their son, crying out: "Son, son......"

  The crowd was shocked, it turned out to be true, the people who had just stood up knelt down again, kowtowing with utmost piety.

  Chang Sun's father and mother could not accept the fact that their son had disappeared in public, so they reported to the police and searched for him, making a big fuss, but still couldn't find Chang Sun.

  Chang Sun suddenly disappeared in front of everyone, leaving many people baffled. Chang Sun's father and mother sought help from countless authoritative figures to search for him, but still had no results!

  Chang Sun's mom cries all day, Chang Sun's dad is filled with regret. He spent 2 billion and acknowledged an ancestor who had been dead for over a thousand years without even meeting him, only to lose his son. It's really too pitiful!