The sky gradually darkened, and as the last glimmer of daylight faded, night fell.
The banquet held in honor of Xia Lun and his companions that evening was lavish. A long table stretching over ten meters was adorned with exquisite candles and laden with delicious delicacies. Liyana finally got her wish—she managed to tag along for the feast.
Several guards from the earlier battle also attended the banquet. During the daytime skirmish, they had fearlessly faced a terrifying enemy, earning Lanxia’s admiration.
After Elesha’s father passed away, few were willing to remain and continue protecting the Norman Family. Most, upon learning of the family’s dire situation, chose to leave, fearing they’d be dragged into trouble.
The assault by the Blood Pact assassins had claimed many guards, but those who survived received simple healing from Liyana. At the banquet, she quickly bonded with them.
Over the past thousand years, Liyana’s archery skills hadn’t improved much—after all, she had already reached the pinnacle. But her healing magic had seen significant progress.
However, the banquet wasn’t without its tensions.
"Why?! Kane died in battle today, and yet you all can celebrate like this?!"
A young guard suddenly slammed his wine glass onto the table, his eyes bloodshot.
"If… if you had acted sooner, Kane might still be alive!" The young guard, Morgan, pointed accusingly at Xia Lun.
Ordinary people stood little chance against magic.
His companions quickly pulled him back, apologizing profusely to Xia Lun.
Xia Lun sipped his wine, his expression unchanged.
"How dare you, Morgan! How can you speak like this? Xia Lun saved all our lives!" The elderly Lanxia stood up, her face flushed with anger as she berated the young guard. "You’re fired! Get out of here at once! The Norman Family has no use for an ungrateful wretch like you!"
Xia Lun slowly rose from his seat and walked over to Morgan.
Morgan’s gaze was filled with confusion and despair.
"Xia Lun, I…" Morgan tried to speak, but Xia Lun cut him off gently.
"I arrived too late. I couldn’t save Kane. He was someone important to you, wasn’t he?" Xia Lun’s voice was soft. Despite the earlier outburst, there was no trace of anger or blame in his expression—only compassion and concern.
Morgan’s nose stung. Kane had been his closest companion. They had left their village together, sworn to make something of themselves… They trained side by side, honing their combat skills, and became guards here together…
In the battle, Kane had thrown himself in front of the carriage when he realized the enemy was targeting Elesha.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Morgan’s face, and soon, he broke down sobbing in front of everyone.
"Go. You shouldn’t be here right now. Find a quiet place." Xia Lun patted Morgan’s shoulder.
His companions led him away.
Elesha approached Xia Lun, her eyes shimmering with an unusual light.
"I apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness, Xia Lun." Elesha gave a graceful bow. "You’re truly a kind person."
"It’s nothing. I understand Morgan’s feelings. He’s a man of loyalty and passion—he was just overwhelmed by emotion." Xia Lun glanced at Lanxia. "I hope you’ll reconsider your decision."
"Of course. Morgan is an excellent guard. We won’t abandon him so easily."
Lanxia looked at Elesha with approval, as if pleased she had grasped her intentions.
Xia Lun returned to his seat and, under the table, quietly slipped his hand into Aina’s.
"Don’t worry, I’m not petty enough to harm that guard, Morgan," Aina said with a sigh. "Do you really think I’m the type to kill indiscriminately? I know you’d scold me if I did."
Xia Lun: "I didn’t say anything. I just wanted to hold your hand."
Aina narrowed her eyes, looking pleased. "Sly man…"
As the banquet neared its end, guests began to leave.
"Aina!"
Liyana suddenly pounced over, with Mo Lini trailing behind her.
"Let’s go bathe together! That old woman mentioned there’s an open-air bath in the manor!"
Then, she turned to Xia Lun. "And you—no peeking!"
Xia Lun pointed at himself incredulously.
As if he needed to peek? He knew every inch of Aina’s body by heart.
"Honestly, I think you’re the bigger problem here," Xia Lun said, eyeing the elven woman suspiciously.
"I won’t lay a finger on Aina or Mo Lini!" Liyana huffed, steam practically shooting from her nostrils. "Don’t you trust my integrity?"
"Then Aina should bathe with me," Xia Lun said flatly.
"Too bad, Xia Lun. The baths here are separated by gender." Liyana wagged a finger. "Besides, if you and Aina bathed together, you’d definitely… Hmph, I know you two. Aina would end up dirtier than when she went in."
Xia Lun coughed awkwardly. Though embarrassed, he couldn’t refute it.
"Xia Lun’s… isn’t dirty," Aina frowned. "And I’d take it all properly. I wouldn’t let it get on me."
Liyana’s face turned bright red.
"What are you talking about?" Mo Lini tilted her head, completely lost.
"Good girls don’t need to know!" Liyana covered Mo Lini’s ears, stammering. "A-anyway… Mo Lini, let’s go first… Hahaha…"
"I’ll go too. See you later, Xia Lun." Before leaving, Aina kissed Xia Lun’s forehead.
Though their bodies no longer produced sweat or oils, some rituals were worth keeping.
Xia Lun decided to take a bath as well—might as well, since he had nothing else to do.
The bathhouse was indeed well-designed. As soon as Xia Lun stepped inside, the humid steam, laced with the smoky scent of burning pine, enveloped him. The water was perfectly heated, emitting a comforting warmth.
Beside the pool, two fully nude cherub statues held up jars, from which hot water continuously poured into the bath.
The jars were engraved with fire-attribute magic arrays, glowing faintly red like heated iron.
Using magic to regulate water temperature… now that was luxury.
Xia Lun was the only one in the bathhouse.
After undressing, he sank into the pool, letting out a long sigh of contentment.
Yet, just then, the door swung open again—at the most inopportune moment.
Elesha stepped in, wrapped in a white towel, her voice trembling with nervousness.
"Xia Lun… would you like someone to scrub your back?"
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
