She must have seen a ghost.
Marie was absolutely certain of it.
She definitely had not been mistaken about that fleeting glance just now. She had seen Aina, and Xia Lun!
Aina's appearance still hovered on the edge of possibility. As a vampire, she shared a similarly long lifespan with the elves... not to mention she had specifically come looking for Marie a few hundred years ago.
Marie had no idea what Aina had wanted with her back then. She only remembered that Aina had been in a rather strange state, muttering deliriously, occasionally letting Xia Lun's name slip from her lips.
Marie had always been terrified of Aina. Back in the day, Aina had effortlessly captured her and dragged her to the inquisitor, resulting in Marie's coin pouch being entirely emptied before she was humiliatingly deported back to the Elven Forest... Therefore, facing a mentally unstable Aina back then, she had been even more terrified. She did whatever Aina told her to do, as obedient as a marionette.
The memories of that night were as blurry as an absurd nightmare. Had Aina really been there? What had she done? Marie had no recollection whatsoever.
She only remembered feeling dizzy and groggy. When she woke up the next day, the space beside her pillow was completely empty, as if everything from the night before had been nothing but a moonlit illusion. However, that bone-piercing chill had been undeniably real. No matter what, she absolutely never wanted anything to do with that entity ever again.
And as for Xia Lun...
Seeing this guy was even more terrifying than seeing Aina.
Xia Lun was merely a human, and he had been dead for over a thousand years.
If it were not for the fact that he was a world-renowned Hero, he would have been forgotten long ago, and Marie certainly would not have retained much memory of him.
She had been caught by the Hero in the past... This was just something she could brag about for a while when drinking at the tavern.
"Hey, buddy, did you know? The famous Hero actually caught me back in the day!" She would say this with a comical sense of pride and the relief of a survivor.
But now, seeing Xia Lun in the flesh, Marie felt her brain short-circuiting. The more she thought about it, the more her fear grew, and a creeping chill gradually seeped into her bones.
Was that Xia Lun a puppet created by Aina? Or was he a corpse being controlled by necromancy?
Regardless of the answer, the thought of Aina smiling happily while interacting with him, and coming to watch her performance together... made Marie shudder uncontrollably.
Marie felt that Aina's mental state was now completely unhinged.
After finishing her speech, Marie hurriedly prepared to flee, wanting to get as far away from those two bizarre individuals as quickly as possible...
"Long time no see, Miss Marie."
The man's gentle voice called out to stop her.
Marie turned her head, looking as if she wanted to cry but had no tears left. "Long time no see, Mr. Xia Lun?"
Looking at Marie's expression, Xia Lun could not help but find it slightly amusing. "Did I scare you?"
Marie subconsciously nodded at first, then frantically shook her head, her gaze slowly darting toward Aina, who was standing beside Xia Lun.
Aina looked perfectly normal... which was exactly what made this the most abnormal situation of all.
Controlling a puppet, making it play the role of her long-dead husband, and talking to herself... Has she completely lost her mind?
As long as she played along and did not expose the truth, everything should be fine, right?
It had to be said that Marie truly lived up to her profession as a writer; her rich imagination had already conjured up an entire dramatic saga in her head.
"Ahaha... I am just a bit surprised to actually see you again, Mr. Xia Lun... You and your wife seem to be doing very well..."
Xia Lun paused for a moment. Naturally, he had no idea what Marie was thinking. He had originally intended to explain his resurrection, but it seemed her capacity for acceptance was much better than Liyana's.
Liyana's reaction had been far more intense when she saw him. Xia Lun muttered to himself.
Wearing a stiff smile on her face, Marie pretended to be happy and waved at Xia Lun, while her other hand was hidden behind her back, trembling uncontrollably like a glitching automaton.
"Long time no see, Miss Marie. Thank you for what you did before," Aina said, giving Marie a slight nod.
"It... it was nothing! As long as I could help, as long as I could help..." Marie's lips were trembling slightly.
"Are you afraid, Miss Marie?" Xia Lun noticed that something was wrong with Marie.
At that moment, Marie's heart nearly stopped.
"I... I am just a little nervous!" Marie's voice even cracked a bit. "Mr. Xia Lun... you are the legendary Hero who defeated the Demon King! Ahaha... you are my biggest idol! Any normal person would be nervous seeing you... Yes, that is exactly it!"
"Is that so?" Xia Lun did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Yes!" Marie answered quite loudly; she was genuinely on the verge of tears.
Aina's current state was simply too terrifying.
"Aina... do the two of you need me for something? I will do anything!" Marie quickly corrected herself, making sure to heavily emphasize the words "the two of you."
"We just ran into an acquaintance, and Xia Lun thought of coming over for a quick chat," Aina said indifferently. She had no real interest in Marie... This person was still the author of those trashy novels. If it were not for the fact that she possessed memories of Xia Lun, which had saved Aina a lot of trouble, Aina would not even bother saying a single word to her.
"That is wonderful! Mr. Xia Lun!" Marie yelled nervously.
Xia Lun felt a bit baffled, wondering why Miss Marie seemed so jumpy.
"If there is nothing else, I have some business to attend to, so I will be taking my leave. You two take your time chatting... ahaha..." Marie slowly edged her way to the corner. The moment she disappeared from their line of sight, she practically scrambled away on her high heels, fleeing for her life.
Listening to the rapid clack-clack-clack of her high heels as she ran away, Xia Lun was rather bewildered. "What is going on with her?"
Aina shook her head. "I am not sure. She was probably scared by you."
"Am I scary?" Xia Lun pointed at his own face while looking at Aina.
"Then am I scary?" Aina puffed out her cheeks and poked her own face while looking at Xia Lun.
"You are very cute, Aina." Xia Lun patted Aina's head, truly having no idea where Her Majesty the Demon King had learned to act so coquettishly.
"Then the scary one is obviously you," Aina said with a soft snort.
Well, Aina had a point.
Xia Lun did not dare to contradict her; whatever the Demon King said was right.
Back when they were adventuring, Liyana had once said that with Xia Lun's personality, he would definitely be a henpecked husband after marrying Aina.
Obviously, Xia Lun was not afraid of Aina at all right now.
He simply could not beat her in a fight, and to prevent Aina from forcing him to do anything embarrassing, Xia Lun always chose to humor her.
"However, Xia Lun, even if you look scary, I will not despise you... because you are my husband," Aina coaxed gently. "I am very good to you."
"Yes, Aina." Xia Lun paused slightly. "Are you using hypnosis magic on me?"
Aina was momentarily stunned. "How could I? I would never do such a thing, Xia Lun."
"Then that is truly strange, Aina." Xia Lun pinched Aina's cheek. "I feel as though I love you even more now."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
