THE WALL STREET IMMORTAL

His eyelids moved slowly, feeling as heavy as lead plates that had rusted for centuries. As his vision began to focus, the first thing to greet Li Wei was no longer the blue sky of the White Cloud Sect or the soothing aroma of incense, but the stench of damp concrete walls and the remnants of sewage seeping from the basement ceiling.

Li Wei tried to draw a breath, but his lungs immediately rebelled. The air in this place felt toxic, filled with metallic particles and a pollution that was foreign to him. Furthermore, Qi—the spiritual energy that should have been abundant in the universe—felt incredibly thin here, nearly parched, as if this world were an energy desert.

"Three hundred years ...." he whispered softly. His voice was hoarse, like the friction of two sharp stones.

He tried to move his fingertips. Stiff. Every joint in his body felt like an old door hinge that had never been oiled. He remembered entering a State of Hibernation to heal his soul's wounds after the great war, but he never expected to wake up in a cramped, squalid room in the heart of Brooklyn, far from his grand homeland.

The wooden door at the top of the basement stairs creaked open with a shrill sound. Pale sunlight streamed in, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. A young girl with messy hair and puffy eyes ran down. She was wearing a faded t-shirt that read "Brooklyn Pride."

"Li Wei! You're awake?!" Tamsara Vale shouted, her voice cracking between shock and relief. She tripped on the last step before falling to her knees beside the old wooden bed where Li Wei lay.

Li Wei looked at her with a flat yet sharp gaze. "Who ... are you?"

Tamsara wiped her tears roughly, leaving black mascara stains on her cheeks. "I'm Tamsara. My family found you in that stone coffin when they were building this basement ten years ago. My dad thought you were a living mummy, so he hid you here so the government wouldn't take you away. But now ... oh god, it's a total mess, Li Wei! Everything's falling apart!"

Li Wei tried to sit up, ignoring the stabbing pain in his back. He observed the technology around him—a flickering light bulb and the noisy sound of motor vehicles from outside. This was truly a different world. "Calm down. What happened?"

"This orphanage is about to be evicted, Li Wei!" Tamsara sobbed again, her hands trembling. "Those developers ... they say we have this insane land debt. If we don't pay three million dollars by this week, all the kids here will be thrown out onto the streets. I've tried looking for a job, borrowing from here and there, but no one wants to help a slum orphanage like ours."

Li Wei closed his eyes for a moment, trying to feel the flow of Qi within his Dantian. There were only remnants of energy the size of a mustard seed. It was pathetic for someone who could once split mountains with a wave of his hand. However, he felt indebted. If this girl's family hadn't looked after him for the last ten years of his slumber, he might have ended up on a laboratory autopsy table.

"Why are you telling me this?" Li Wei asked in a calm, authoritative tone.

"Because of a crazy offer from the Storm family," Tamsara swallowed hard. "They're the business tycoons in this city. They heard about the 'comatose patient' here—I mean you. Somehow, they offered a insane deal. They'll pay off all the orphanage's debts and even provide lifetime donations if a man from this orphanage is willing to enter a contract marriage with their eldest daughter, Onyxa Storm."

Li Wei frowned. "A contract marriage? For what purpose?"

"I'm not exactly sure! They say Onyxa needs a husband for some inheritance formality or something. But word is, Onyxa is ice cold, like a block of ice. People say she's cursed or has mental issues. Basically, no man in their circle dares to go near her. But you ... you look like a model or some ancient noble, Li Wei. Even though you're waking up in this weak state, your aura is completely different."

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed from upstairs. Brak!

"Hey! All you brats, get out here!" A heavy, coarse voice boomed from the orphanage's living room.

Tamsara turned pale. "It's them ... Ulricth Pax's debt collectors. They're back."

Without waiting for instructions, Li Wei lowered his feet onto the cold cement floor. Although his body was shaky, he stood with his back straight. He reached for a long black cloak hanging nearby—perhaps belonging to Tamsara's father—and draped it over his shoulders.

"Let us go," Li Wei said curtly.

"But you're still sick! You just woke up from a long sleep, you idiot!" Tamsara tried to stop him, but when her hand touched Li Wei's arm, she felt a jolt of static electricity that made her pull back in shock.

Li Wei walked up the stairs with slow but steady steps. In the cramped living room, three large men with neck tattoos and black leather jackets were kicking the small wooden chairs belonging to the orphanage children. Their leader, Ulricth Pax, was lighting a cigar with a triumphant expression.

"Where's little Vale? Tell her the playtime is over. Clear this place out now or I'll level it with a bulldozer!" Ulricth shouted, spitting on the floor.

Li Wei emerged from behind the basement door. His pitch-black eyes stared directly at Ulricth. There was no anger there, only a profound emptiness, as if he were looking at a collection of insignificant insects.

"You are very noisy," Li Wei said flatly.

Ulricth burst into laughter, cigar smoke billowing from his nose. "Who’s this? A cosplayer? Hey, listen here, pale kid, you better leave before I break those scrawny bones of yours."

Li Wei did not answer. He gathered the tiny remnants of his Qi, condensing them at the tip of his index finger, then released just a sliver of the Killing Intent he had honed for hundreds of years on the battlefield.

Instantly, the temperature in the room plummeted. The air felt heavy, as if gravity had increased tenfold. Ulricth, who had been laughing, suddenly choked. He felt as if a pair of invisible hands were strangling his neck. Cold sweat poured down the thugs' foreheads. They saw Li Wei's shadow on the wall seem to grow, resembling a black dragon ready to swallow them whole.

"Leave. Do not return before sunset tomorrow," Li Wei commanded. His voice wasn't loud, but it vibrated deep within their chests like thunder.

Ulricth Pax took a step back, his legs shaking so violently that he slumped onto the floor. "You... what the hell... what kind of demon are you?!" Without waiting for an answer, he scrambled up and bolted out the door, followed by his men, who even forgot to take their bags.

Silence returned. Tamsara, standing behind Li Wei, could only gape in awe. She hadn't seen Li Wei punch or touch them at all.

Li Wei took a long breath, his face growing paler from the forced use of energy. "Tamsara ... take me to see the Storm family."

"Are you serious? You're going to sell yourself for this orphanage?"

"This is not selling oneself. This is an exchange," Li Wei looked out the window toward the arrogant concrete jungle of New York. "I need a stable place to recover my strength, and this orphanage needs protection. If this marriage can provide both, then so be it."

No sooner had the sentence finished than the smooth roar of a luxury car engine came to a halt right in front of the rusted orphanage gate. A jet-black Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine with tinted windows stopped there, a stark contrast to the squalor of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

A chauffeur in a crisp uniform stepped out and opened the rear door. A woman emerged with a step that was both graceful and full of authority. She wore a dark gray business suit that perfectly tailored to her slender, tall frame. Her black hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and her sharp eyes—resembling onyx gems—surveyed the orphanage building with an unreadable, cold expression.

Onyxa Storm.

She did not wait for an invitation. With an oppressive aura and footsteps that clicked rhythmically against the pavement, she walked toward the orphanage entrance as if she were a queen visiting her most destitute colony.

Tamsara swallowed hard, clutching Li Wei’s sleeve. "That’s her ... the Ice Queen of Manhattan."

Li Wei remained standing still at the threshold, staring at the woman who was to become his wife with an unflinching gaze. He could sense something peculiar about Onyxa’s aura—something dark and hidden beneath her flawless beauty.