The Phoenix of the Slums

The night air outside the container felt colder than usual. Li Tianming stood in the doorway, the photograph in one hand, the silk cloth in the other. Somewhere beyond the slums, a world of power and blood waited for him—a world that had once tried to erase him.

He just didn’t know why.

But someone did.

And that someone had found him.

He didn’t sleep that night. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the cold steel floor, eyes locked on the city lights in the distance. The name Li Conglomerate repeated in his head like a war drum.

By dawn, he’d made up his mind.

He was going to get answers—even if it meant walking into the mouth of a lion.

At 7:00 a.m., Tianming stood outside the gates of Donghai Central Library, his clothes clean but still cheap. A city of suits and shiny shoes bustled around him. He didn’t care. He’d stolen internet time here before. But today was different.

He wasn’t here to pass time.

He was here to uncover his past.

Inside, the smell of paper, coffee, and dust wrapped around him. He found a corner desk and typed into the search terminal:

“Li Conglomerate history.”

Tons of results. Articles, scandals, business takeovers, awards.

Then he saw a headline from twenty-two years ago:

 “Heir to Li Family Disappears Days After Birth – Presumed Dead”

His pulse spiked.

He clicked the article. There it was. A tiny grainy photo of a baby—wrapped in red silk with a golden phoenix.

His silk.

“...the newborn son of Li Shengtian and Zhang Mei, mysteriously vanished from the family villa. Police investigation yielded no leads. Rumors suggest internal betrayal…”

Li Shengtian.

His father?

Zhang Mei.

His mother.

Tianming leaned back in the chair, his mind whirling. Why would they abandon him? Who would betray them?

“Still searching for who you are?” a deep voice said behind him.

Tianming froze.

The same man from last night—the one who gave him the envelope—was standing in the next aisle, flipping through a book casually.

“You again,” Tianming said slowly, standing up. “Start talking. Who are you?”

The man glanced over his shoulder. “Someone who used to serve your grandfather. Until he was killed.”

Tianming’s breath caught.

“Killed?”

The man nodded. “And his killer sits in the Li Group’s chairman seat right now.”

A silence hung between them like smoke.

Tianming stepped forward. “Why are you helping me?”

The man smiled, just a hint of steel behind it.

“Because, Tianming... you’re the only one who can destroy them.”