It was a sunny weekend.
Since they had made plans with Taozi to hang out, Keke and Bai Yuyou contacted her after finishing breakfast.
"Brother, are you coming with us?" Keke asked.
"You girls are around the same age, so there's no need for me to tag along," Ye Shuang replied while drying clothes. From the way he looked, it was clear he intended to spend the weekend thoroughly cleaning the house.
"Oh, okay."
After Keke and Bai Yuyou left, Ye Shuang's phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at it—it was a message from Chen Qin.
……
……
"Yuyou, I heard this school trip is supposed to be overseas."
"Overseas."
"Yeah, but the details aren't clear yet. Though it costs 10,000 yuan." Keke thought about Taozi's situation. "Taozi lives so frugally—wouldn’t it be hard for her to come up with that much money all at once?"
"We can help pay," Bai Yuyou said.
"That’s doable, but I doubt Taozi would accept." Keke tapped her chin with a finger as the two girls pondered how to help Taozi.
Since Ye Shuang didn’t drive them and neither girl had a license, they took the bus instead.
"Let’s go, off to Huafa Mall!" Keke and Bai Yuyou boarded the bus and, thanks to the weekend crowd, managed to snag seats for once.
Bai Yuyou wore a white dress paired with simple accessories—all chosen by Ye Shuang—yet they perfectly accentuated her delicate aura. Keke, on the other hand, kept it casual with a tank top and denim shorts, her plush, baby-fat legs drawing plenty of attention.
Meanwhile, Taozi had already arrived at the bus stop near their destination. She always liked arriving early for everything.
"Haah—"
She let out a small yawn.
"I worked too late last night… I should’ve taken the day off." Taozi murmured to herself. After all, she was looking forward to hanging out with Keke and the others—deep down, she was just a young girl who enjoyed the same things any girl her age would.
"But this outfit…"
She stared at her pink windbreaker covered in heart patterns, unsure how to even comment on it. This was Aunt Li’s doing.
"Girls should always dress in soft, pretty colors~" That’s what she had said.
Of course, Taozi would never go against Aunt Li’s decisions.
She had been with her for nearly two months now, learning many things she’d never known before…
But above all, Taozi was grateful to Aunt Li.
And if she was grateful, she had to do everything perfectly.
That was Taozi’s life motto. There were too many people she wanted to repay.
So she longed to grow stronger—only then could she do what she truly wanted.
"Mom mentioned bringing my little sisters over soon… I wonder if she meant it." Just as Taozi was lost in thought, she noticed two familiar figures stepping off a bus that had just pulled up.
"Oh? Taozi!" Keke waved.
"Taozi." Bai Yuyou followed closely behind.
"Good morning." Taozi smiled.
"Wow, your outfit is so cute! What’s this style—rockstar chic?" Keke blinked in surprise at Taozi’s vibrant pink ensemble.
"Reminds me of Aunt Li," Bai Yuyou remarked.
"Oh, yeah, kinda does."
Taozi flushed slightly, too embarrassed to catch the "Aunt Li" comment and assuming it was someone they knew.
"By the way, Taozi, didn’t you say last night you wanted to buy clothes for your sisters?" Keke asked.
"Yeah."
"How many sisters do you have?"
"Three."
Keke looked astonished. "Whoa, so you’re four sisters in total?"
Taozi had grown used to talking about her family. "Mhm. What about you, Keke?"
"I’m an only child." Keke pointed at herself.
"Your parents never wanted a son?" Taozi couldn’t help but wonder how Keke’s family viewed having just one daughter.
"Nope. My parents said if they had another kid, the love would get divided." Keke grinned.
Taozi fell silent for a moment before smiling softly. "That’s nice."
That kind of parental love was something she could only dream of.
"Right? Right?" Keke chirped.
The three girls then headed into the mall, browsing clothing stores to help Taozi pick out seasonal outfits for her sisters.
"Taozi, we’ll check over there!"
"Okay."
Taozi held up a fluffy long-sleeved shirt, mentally measuring her sisters’ sizes.
Better to buy a little bigger.
They were still growing, after all. The thought brought a tender smile to her face.
If her mother wasn’t lying, she’d see them soon.
"Hey there, little boss!"
A voice from behind made Taozi stiffen. She turned to see a few burly men greeting her.
Taozi seemed surprised. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We’re catching a movie. Wanna join, little boss?" One man slung an arm over her shoulder.
"Not interested. This is my free time." Taozi brushed him off.
"C’mon, just for a bit~"
"……"
"Wh-what are you doing?!" A sudden shout made Taozi flinch.
Keke and Bai Yuyou came running over, nervous but defiant. "L-let go of Taozi!"
"Huh?!" The men scowled at Keke, about to retort—when Taozi suddenly drove an elbow into one’s gut.
"Oof!"
"Relax, they’re just coworkers from my part-time job," Taozi said cheerfully.
"Huh?!" The men exchanged baffled looks.
"Right—?" Taozi’s smile grew strained. "Hmm?"
"Little boss, what coworkers—urk!" Another elbow strike.
"Right—?" Taozi practically hissed through clenched teeth, making the men hastily nod. "Y-yeah! We’re all Taozi’s coworkers!"
"Taozi’s… coworkers?" Keke blinked in confusion. "B-but you guys…"
Seeing the men’s heavily tattooed arms, Keke hesitated.
"Oh, they’re just artists," Taozi explained. "They even have Pikachu tattoos on their butts."
The burly men: "……"
Since when?!
"Ohhh, I see!" The gullible Keke bought it instantly. "That makes sense! But what do the Pikachu tattoos look like? Can we see?"
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.”
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.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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!
