In Nanfa Town, there is a building along the street known as the "Empty House." Ever since one day, anything left inside overnight has vanished by the next morning, people included.
Since then, its doors have stayed locked, and no one dares go near it.
That is, until Shen Yangqu came to town. Ignoring everyone's warnings, he bought the Empty House and moved in. While everyone waited to see the headline the next day, Shen Yangqu opened the front door early in the morning and greeted the onlookers with a smile:
"Good morning. I slept very well last night. How about you?"
The onlookers, who had stayed up all night keeping watch, stared back with dark circles under their eyes. "???"
Not only did he live there comfortably, he also opened a little shop on the ground floor, with a unique way of doing business: customers browsed and took things themselves, then paid on their own.
As for him, he either sat by the entrance sunbathing and reading the newspaper, or went to enjoy the scenery at the lavender estate behind town. When he left during the day, he didn't even close the shop. Only at night did he shut the doors tight.
Strange rumors about the Empty House at night began to spread.
Some said they heard a fierce fight inside. Some said something had screamed all night. Some said they saw strange light through the crack in the door. Others said they'd seen Shen Yangqu sneaking around the sanatorium at the northern edge of town in the dead of night...
But whatever rumors circulated the night before, at eight o'clock the next morning, he always opened the door right on time and greeted the street with a breezy, "Good morning."
However, his peaceful, leisurely life was disrupted one day by wave after wave of outsiders. He wasn't as gentle with them as he was with the townspeople. In fact, he was frighteningly cold, refusing to let them set foot in the shop.
One night, just as he was about to close up, a hand suddenly grabbed the doorframe. Without even looking up, he said, "I'm not coming out. Get lost."
"I'm not here to ask you to come out of retirement. I'm here to ask you to take me as your apprentice." A peerlessly handsome face appeared through the gap in the door. "The strongest demon hunter, still unrivaled to this day, the God Without Years."
Li Zhongguan, director of the Demon Hunting Bureau, wants to ask Shen Yangqu, the famous and only god-tier demon hunter, who has since retired, to help with a problem. But everyone sent before him was thrown out, so he travels all the way to Nanfa Town to ask in person.
He arrives in a hurry at dusk and quickly grabs the door of the little shop just as it's about to close. Before he can speak, a voice full of disgust comes from inside: "I'm not coming out. Get lost."
Hearing the cold, decisive tone, he realizes his chances aren't good and changes his approach on the spot. "I'm not here to ask you to come out of retirement. I'm here to ask you to take me as your apprentice, the strongest demon hunter still unrivaled to this day, the God Without Years."
The person inside says, "Who are you?"
"I'm the director of the Demon Hunting Bureau..."
"Li Zhongguan?" The person inside looks even more disgusted. "The infamous evil little old man? The one whose theories and magical weapons got my master killed? My greatest wish is to tear out his heart and feed it to a dog."
The "evil little old man" silently puts the business card he was about to take out back into his pocket. "...I'm his biggest hater. I hate his theory that 'anomalous demons can be put to good use' more than anything! It's complete nonsense!"
Shen Yangqu raises an eyebrow, his expression unreadable, then opens the door. "Come in."
From then on, the rumors about the Empty House become even more mysterious.
People say they saw Li Zhongguan on the second floor of Shen Yangqu's house, where no one is ever allowed.
People say that ever since they started living together, they would disappear from time to time, then return together.
People say that once, only Shen Yangqu came back, covered in blood. He kept the shop closed for seven days and seven nights before opening it again.
People say that during the time Shen Yangqu was alone, he would silently kick pebbles at the town entrance and gaze into the distance.
People later said that the second floor of the Empty House seemed to have been filled, too.
*Waiting for you to come back and fill the Empty House means waiting for world peace, and to spend eternity with you.
Bottom: Ranked second in one ability system, but leagues above everyone else in overall combat strength, a conceptual god. Most people can only cultivate one ability system. Gentle by nature, most of the time, and kills while performing funeral rites.
Top: His special constitution means he can't cultivate abilities, but he has unbeatable gear and is a rich tycoon who spends freely. Since he has no abilities, he can't enter the ability rankings, so his true strength is a mystery. He pretends to be weak to coax the bottom into joining his company.
One-on-one, happy ending.
Theme: To be decided.
