Chapter 1

"Does your husband even know how wild you are?"

The sun was dipping below the horizon, its last weak rays stretching across the villa floor.

Inside, a woman's voice carried through the rooms, brazen and shameless, as if no one else existed.

Her husband, Donovan Hunt, was silently scrubbing the floor in the next room. His gaze was blank, and he was completely absorbed in his task, oblivious to the scandal unfolding just a wall away.

Wanda Smith snorted. "He used to be impressive. But after getting hit by a car and turning into a brain-damaged idiot, he's nothing but dead weight now. A useless burden!"

Her voice slipped through the thin wall, laced with icy contempt and a twisted sense of pride.

"My best friend Ruth has already agreed to go along with the plan tonight. She'll put on a little show with this idiot, and we'll catch them in bed together. We'll kick him out with nothing to his name. After that, he'll have nothing to do with the Smith family or me!"

The man with her, Adam Lester, sounded shocked and doubtful. "Ruth Carter? Your childhood friend? Isn't she a lesbian and has an aversion to men? What could you possibly offer to make someone like her agree?"

Ruth was one of Jadewood City's three most beautiful women. They were known as Jadewood's golden girls. She was breathtaking and had once been relentlessly pursued by one of the capital's elite heirs.

She was every man's dream in Jadewood City, yet she was planning to offer herself up willingly tonight? Even with every detail carefully planned, there was always a risk that something would go wrong.

Adam could kneel until the floor cracked, and still he would never earn her favor.

What if she ended up losing her first time to a brain-damaged idiot?

Just thinking about it made his chest tighten, jealousy surging hot and sharp.

Wanda and Adam didn't worry that Donovan could overhear their conversation.

Three years ago, a planned car accident left Donovan's mother mentally incapacitated, confined to a hospital bed and kept alive by costly life-support equipment.

Donovan survived the crash. But after waking, doctors diagnosed him as permanently cognitively impaired.

The Smith family had been an obscure family in Jadewood City. They only rose to prominence after Wanda married into the Hunt family. Under the guise of gratitude, the Smith family had taken control of the Hunt family's business empire.

To the public, the Smiths were heroes. They were paying astronomical medical bills, caring for a disabled son-in-law, and keeping the company running. Especially Wanda, who appeared devoted and selfless, winning admiration across the city.

But in truth, life had been hell for Donovan in the past three years.

The engraved tag attached to the chain maliciously marked him as the "Smith family's loyal dog." The basement was his dark prison. Scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, and washing everyone's filthy laundry were his daily chores.

Leftovers and scraps were his only meals.

The worst torment came from his fierce and cunning mother-in-law, Samantha Lewis.

She had married at eighteen and had kids early. Now at thirty eight, her husband, who was already past forty, could no longer satisfy her.

Years of unfulfilled desire had left a deep emptiness, and it didn't take long for her to notice Donovan, who was tall, strong, and completely obedient.

To keep her true thoughts hidden from her husband and daughter, she treated Donovan with even more cruelty. In truth, she had been waiting for a chance to be alone with him.

By dinner, the villa was glowing with light.

Ruth had arrived as well.

Wanda's face was flushed, her skin radiant, her mood bright. She generously poured Donovan a drink, a rare indulgence.

"Wanda, can you keep this idiot away from me? He makes me sick. I can't eat like this..."

Ruth glanced at Donovan with pure disgust. She shivered all over, her body reacting with intense discomfort.

Wanda's cold eyes narrowed as she shot him a sharp glare. "Idiot, go to your kennel and stay there. Don't ruin our dinner!"

Donovan obediently moved to the kennel, lying on the floor like an actual animal, gnawing and clawing at the scraps of meat-stained bones Wanda tossed him.

Every time he lowered his head, the chain rattled with a humiliating clang.

Dinner concluded, and the real game began.

Ruth had a gentle and innocent appearance. She had a figure that surpassed even Wanda's. She picked up a glass of wine and walked into Donovan's musty basement room.

"Idiot."

Her voice was deliberately soft and almost gentle. However, it couldn't hide the calculation in her eyes or the faint trace of disgust.

"The Smith family has cared for you and your mother for three years. That's enough. You can't drag my best friend down forever. She's still young."

She forced the glass into Donovan's hand.

"For the Smith family's reputation, and for my friend's happiness, just go along and act out this little scene. When it's over, you'll leave with nothing. With your state, you might survive if you begged out in the streets. Who knows? Be good and drink this. Now."

Donovan took the glass without expression, tilting his head back and drinking it down.

A burning heat exploded from his core, tearing through every limb and nerve.

The wine had been drugged.

He snapped his head up, and his once-dull, cloudy eyes were now bloodshot, wild with a terrifying intensity. Like a starving predator, he locked onto his prey—Ruth.

"Ah! Idiot! W-what's wrong with you?"

Ruth stumbled back, shaken by the raw, animalistic hunger in his gaze. But then she reminded herself of the plan she and Wanda had agreed on.

"Come on, idiot... come!"

The script was already written. She would seduce the fool, and just when the moment reached its peak, Wanda would burst in with reinforcements. She would pretend to struggle, Wanda would "rescue" her, and every piece of evidence would be there. They would have witnesses, proof, and everything they needed.

She had even slipped her hand into her pocket, fingers brushing the phone. One press, and the plan would be set in motion.

"Idiot! Keep going! Why are you so clumsy? Pull at my clothes already!"

But then, Donovan, who was on top of her, suddenly froze.

The room fell silent, leaving only Ruth's own rapid breathing and pounding heart.

"I-idiot?"

Ruth was stunned. This wasn't in the plan. Wasn't he supposed to keep acting like a frenzied beast? She looked at his face, confused.

But then she saw it. His once-dull, vacant eyes were sharp and clear.

He slowly shook his heavy head, and the fog in his gaze lifted completely.

He remembered.

The car accident three years ago had been a carefully planned scheme by the Smith family to seize power.

After the crash, he had woken up, only to be poisoned and drugged by doctors bribed by Wanda. Everyone had thought he was left mentally impaired.

But he wasn't truly a fool. Part of his soul had crossed realms, entering a cultivation world, inhabiting the body of a rural boy named Simon Holt.

Using the profound medical knowledge he had studied in college, combined with ancient traditional healing techniques, he had mastered the path of cultivation and risen to become the renowned Medicine Overlord in a cruel, unforgiving world.

From his high seat of power, the only regret was that he couldn't return to Earth to confront his enemies and care for his mother.

Yet now, a glass of drugged wine had pulled him back. Every fragment of his soul, every piece of his consciousness, returned to his original body.

The Medicine Overlord, the one who had made countless masters in the cultivation world tremble and forced entire clans to bow, was now fully merged with the Donovan Hunt—the man who was chained, betrayed by those closest to him, and mercilessly trampled here on Earth.

A low hum erupted.

A wave of terrifying pressure erupted from Donovan, centered on him, freezing the air in the room and dropping the temperature. It was raw, unstoppable power, honed over countless battles.

Ruth, who was pinned beneath him, felt it first. Her body went rigid, and fear gripped her like nothing she'd ever felt. Her scream caught in her throat, leaving only the sound of her teeth chattering.

"I-idiot... w-what...!"

She stared into his deep eyes and felt her entire being tremble.

Donovan's gaze swept coldly over Ruth's terrified face. Then it zeroed in on her hand, which was sneaking toward her pocket and trying to make a call.

A cruel, almost ruthless smirk curved at the corner of his lips.

"You were the one who came onto me, weren't you?"

Donovan's hand shot out like lightning, clamping down on Ruth's wrist with an iron grip.

In the next second, he snatched her brand-new phone effortlessly. Without even looking, he raised his arm.

Whoosh!

The phone flew out the open window, vanishing into the dark night outside the villa, shattering on impact.

"Ah! My—"

Ruth barely had time to panic when Donovan suddenly leaned in, closing the distance between them to almost nothing.

His breath, hot and heavy with the smell of alcohol and drugs, brushed against Ruth's pale face. The warmth was overwhelming, the mix of scents unsettling and intense.

"Since you're in such a hurry, I'll give you exactly what you want."