“Heehee, Xia Yi, why are your eyes so red? You look just like a little bunny.”
“I’m a man, not a bunny!” Xia Yi wiped his eyes and protested loudly.
Liyana reclined against the long couch covered in a soft blanket, her emerald eyes gleaming with mischief. Then, with a gleeful little smile, she patted the seat beside her. “What are you standing there for? Come here, Xia Yi. Sit down.”
“I’m not sitting.” Xia Yi covered his bottom. Aina had just given him a spanking, and it still stung terribly, but he stubbornly stuck out his little lips. “And I wasn’t crying.”
“I never said you were crying. Why are you admitting it all by yourself?” Liyana covered her mouth and giggled, her shoulders trembling lightly like a cat that had successfully stolen a fish.
“I’m not going to be friends with you anymore, Aunt Liyana!” Xia Yi shouted, brimming with a child’s temperamental defiance. His soft black hair glimmered beneath the sunlight, and with his puffed-up cheeks, he looked just like a tiny animal with its fur standing on end.
“You’re not going to be friends with me?” Liyana narrowed her eyes in mock fury, though the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward. “Then who are you going to be friends with? You can sleep all by yourself tonight!” She deliberately lowered her voice, adding an unmistakable threat. “You’d better think carefully… about the consequences of not sleeping with me…”
“Umm… sleep by myself…” Xia Yi thought it over carefully. Sleeping alone was a little scary.
At night, Liyana often told him stories, and many terrifying monsters came out only after dark.
There were soul-devouring specters that wandered through the darkness, silently slipping into camps to drain the souls of sleeping people. There were also monsters known as nightmares, capable of weaving the most terrifying illusions within dreams and making adventurers sleep forever in the grip of ultimate fear… For adventurers standing watch outside at night, these were all threats that demanded their utmost vigilance.
What frightened Xia Yi most was that Liyana’s stories weren’t made-up ghost tales. They were true accounts and experiences from real adventurers.
“Then I’ll be friends with you after all, Aunt Liyana.” Xia Yi drew in his neck, his voice growing quieter and quieter. Faced with fear, his bottom line vanished without a trace.
“Hmph. That’s more like it.” Liyana looked smug.
Dealing with this little rascal was still a piece of cake.
He was exactly like Xia Lun when he was little—so unbearably adorable.
In another decade or so, once he grew up, who knew how many girls he would charm?
What a pity that he wouldn’t be cute anymore by then. Human babies had such a tragically short shelf life.
That was why she had to make the most of it and enjoy playing with the little guy while she could.
Xia Yi suddenly felt a chill. When he turned around, he saw Liyana wearing an expression as if she were about to eat a child alive. He jolted in fright.
…
“Xia Lun? Xia Lun?”
Aina waved a hand in front of Xia Lun’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing.” Xia Lun shook his head, though the memories from last night’s dream still troubled him.
The image of the being called the “Chieftain” transforming into endless radiance after defeating that colossal, sky-shrouding monster remained vividly etched in his mind. The sheer magnitude of that power, and the determination behind that sacrifice, left his heart in turmoil.
What happened afterward?
He had returned from the dream immediately after that.
“Xia Lun, keeping things from me is wrong.” Aina leaned against his temple and whispered coquettishly, “Can you tell me what you’re thinking about?”
“Then do you know… the name ‘Chieftain’?” Xia Lun finally asked.
Aina’s fingertip abruptly stopped. She lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting fine shadows across her face as she fell briefly silent.
“How do you know about him?”
Xia Lun’s memories had already begun to fade after his death. She had painstakingly pieced them back together bit by bit.
That was why Aina knew that the other person’s presence had absolutely never appeared in Xia Lun’s memories. There was no way Xia Lun could have known that the Chieftain existed.
“After I returned from the spirit realm last night, I had a dream…” Xia Lun could tell from Aina’s expression that the matter was serious, so he recounted everything that had happened without hiding a thing.
“Tsk. That bitch…” Aina cursed under her breath, a cold glint flashing through her eyes.
She immediately realized that the goddess had tampered with Xia Lun’s memories.
This memory had always been hidden within Xia Lun’s mind. Even she had failed to detect it. It would only gradually reveal itself when a certain moment arrived.
What worried Aina even more was that the goddess might have hidden other things in Xia Lun—things even she knew nothing about.
“I could have dealt with it myself. Why did that woman interfere? Even after dying, she still won’t leave us in peace…”
But why now? Aina couldn’t understand. What had awakened Xia Lun’s memory?
“Xia Lun, have you noticed anything different from usual lately?” Aina asked softly, forcing down the anxiety in her heart.
“Anything different from usual?”
“For example… a breakthrough or something like that.” Uncertainty colored Aina’s voice.
“If I had to name something, I seem to have made another breakthrough in the spirit realm recently.” Xia Lun thought for a moment before answering. “I’ve become more… adept at controlling souls.”
“The spirit realm…” Aina murmured, deep in thought.
“The spirit realm…” A childish voice suddenly cut in. Xia Yi had somehow sneaked up beside them and was now tilting his head, pretending to think seriously like an adult. “Father, Mother, what kind of place is the spirit realm?”
The little rascal had no idea when he had slipped over to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“The spirit realm is where souls reside. It’s a very dangerous place,” Xia Lun said bluntly. “Children aren’t allowed to go there.”
“I’m a man, not a child! I want to go to the spirit realm!” Xia Yi clenched his little fists, his face filled with determination. Completely unaware that he was testing the limits of danger, he declared, “Father, take me to the spirit realm!”
“Aina, spank him,” Xia Lun said calmly, without even turning his head.
“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!” Xia Yi paled at the words and immediately covered his still-aching bottom. Like a startled little bunny, he tried to escape.
Aina was quick enough to catch him by the back of his collar and effortlessly hoist the little traitor back, then settle him across her lap.
Xia Yi’s body went rigid, and he didn’t dare move a muscle, as if he had turned into a doll.
Aina didn’t spank him, however. He had already been punished once earlier.
“Umm—” All Xia Yi could do now was let Aina pinch his cheeks for her own amusement, producing a strange little sound.
“Xia Yi.” Aina’s slightly cool fingernails traced gently across his tiny face. “You need to be a good boy and listen. Don’t make things difficult for your father, understand?”
Xia Yi nodded vigorously, a little frightened.
“Good boy.” Only then did Aina break into a radiant smile. She patted Xia Yi on the head, then planted a firm kiss on his forehead.
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
