"Lessa, thank goodness you're back."
Sister Landa exhaled in relief upon seeing Lessa, but her heart immediately clenched again when she noticed Lessa's torn clothes and the large stains of blood.
"What happened to you? How did you end up like this?" Landa grasped Lessa's hands with concern. "Let me take a look."
"I'm fine... Never mind that. Sister Landa, you need to take Milumina and leave this place—now!" Lessa spoke with chilling calmness.
Landa and the others weren’t from the village, so they had no reason to be dragged into this conflict.
"What in the world is going on?" Sister Landa couldn’t help but press.
Lessa took a deep breath, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Someone is targeting the village..."
If Landa learned that it was the Goddess Church’s own people attacking the nameless village, she would undoubtedly refuse to leave.
Lessa had seen the group of priests Kalein brought with him—all of them were elites, skilled and ruthless. If a battle broke out, the carnage would be horrific... and Lessa wasn’t confident she could protect everyone in the church while fighting.
"There’s no time to explain. Just take the children and run—through the back of the village."
Then, Lessa turned to Xia Lun and the others. "Mr. Xia Lun, I know you’re powerful adventurers... The village is surrounded by a group of cultists who plan to sacrifice everyone here. I need your help to fight them."
But Xia Lun didn’t respond. His gaze was locked onto the holy scripture in Lessa’s hands.
Lessa noticed his stare.
"This... this is just an ordinary religious text..." she said nervously. Clearly, she wasn’t good at lying, but she was afraid Xia Lun might take advantage of the situation.
"May I see it?" Xia Lun asked softly.
Lessa hesitated. "This..."
"Open it," Aina commanded, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
A cold shiver ran down Lessa’s spine. Unable to resist Aina’s order, she slowly opened the scripture.
A golden, ethereal figure gradually materialized from its pages.
"What’s wrong, Miss Lessa? The power I gathered earlier has been mostly depleted. I’ll need some time to recover," Musen said apologetically. "After all, I’m just a book now..."
His voice cut off abruptly as he stared in disbelief at the familiar faces before him.
"Ah!"
Liyana let out an incredulous shriek. "Musen! What the hell happened to you? You turned into a ghost?!"
"Liyana... Still as lively as ever, I see," Musen mused, though his eyes never left Xia Lun.
"Xia Lun... Is that really you?" Musen’s expression suddenly turned solemn.
"It’s me," Xia Lun nodded.
"I can’t believe it..."
"He’s the real deal—Aina brought him back," Liyana interjected, darting forward and attempting to slap Musen’s shoulder, only for her hand to pass right through his translucent form.
"Whoa, you really are a ghost now?" Liyana gaped at his spectral body.
"A spirit bound to an artifact, not a ghost," Musen corrected. "I chose to become an artifact spirit to continue serving the Goddess Church... I never thought I’d see you all again."
His gaze shifted to Aina beside Xia Lun, and she gave him a slight nod in return.
"Mr. Musen, do you know these people?" Lessa remained tense. "But now isn’t the time for reunions—those cultists could storm in at any moment..."
Musen, however, rubbed his bald head and waved dismissively. "Don’t worry, Miss Lessa... Now is exactly the time for reunions. Because the problem is already solved."
"Huh?"
Lessa had no idea what he meant.
"Kalein is a bishop-level powerhouse, far beyond high-tier strength, with the title of 'Blade of the Sanctum'... And his team? Every priest under him rivals a high-tier mage!" Lessa exclaimed.
Kalein had attacked her earlier with such ease, even letting her escape back to the village—proof that he didn’t consider her a threat.
With such a foe waiting outside, they were practically in a death trap... Yet Musen claimed the situation was resolved?
"Trouble?" Xia Lun glanced at Musen.
"Need you to step in, Captain Xia Lun," Musen replied sheepishly, scratching his bald head—a stark contrast to the man who had once forced Kalein back with a single punch.
Captain?
Musen just called this young man, who didn’t look much older than her, "Captain"?
Lessa’s mind was in chaos.
Kalein had mentioned that Musen had once been part of the Hero’s party... and this young man’s name was also Xia Lun...
The thought barely formed before Lessa forcefully dismissed it.
This man... the Hero? How... how could something so absurd be true?
She couldn’t bring herself to believe it, instinctively rejecting the answer in her heart—a perfectly normal reaction.
"I’ll help, but on one condition," Xia Lun raised a finger. "Musen, rejoin us."
"R-Really?" Musen’s voice trembled with excitement. "I can really adventure with you all again?"
"The 'Pious Scripture'... belongs to the Goddess Church," Lessa bit her lip, her voice tight. "As a sister of the Church, I can’t just hand it over to you."
"You have two choices, Miss Lessa."
Xia Lun wasn’t surprised by her resistance.
"One: Make a deal with us. Give us the scripture, and we’ll handle the enemies outside."
"Two: We take the scripture by force, then deal with the enemies on our way out."
"I trust you’ll make the wise decision."
Lessa’s lips twitched. The only difference between the options seemed to be whether she’d get beaten up in the process.
"Ha ha ha! Captain Xia Lun, it’s been so long... You’ve changed quite a bit. The old you would never say something like that," Musen laughed heartily.
He believed this Xia Lun was the real Hero... Even if it were a lie, Musen would choose to believe it now.
Xia Lun smiled. "Well, it has been years... I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve learned to be a little selfish."
It was clear Xia Lun was in high spirits.
And so was Aina.
"If... if Mr. Musen agrees, then I’ll give you the scripture... But you must promise not to damage it!" Lessa finally relented. "The scripture is a treasure of the Goddess Church. One day, I’ll take it back from you!"
Liyana took the scripture—Musen’s vessel—from Lessa’s hands and whistled.
"Xia Lun, time to move out!"
ey change clothes. Li Chuan contributed all his possessions, only to find that things were not as they seemed. Almost a year after joining, he hadn’t managed to get a single Daoist consort. Thinking he had been deceived, he was approached by a stunning senior fellow disciple who asked if he would like to form a spiritual bond. For those who don’t practice cultivation, they might not know what “forming a spiritual bond” is. Let me put it this way: A long-term relationship is called a “Daoist consort,” while a short-term relationship is known as “forming a spiritual bond.” From then on, Li Chuan discovered the true way to interact with the Yin-Yang Sect’s Daoist consorts. As long as he had enough spirit stones, he could form a spiritual bond with anyone, Whether it’s Senior Sisters, aunts, Daoist consorts of aunts, female elders, Daoist consorts of elders, or even the Daoist consort of the sect leader, anyone can form a spiritual bond as long as there are enough spirit stones.” I've already joined the Yin-Yang Sect, and you're telling me to focus on cultivation? Do you even know what the Yin-Yang Sect is all about?
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...
] 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.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
