"We respectfully request the Old Patriarch to come out of seclusion!"
"We respectfully request the Old Patriarch to come out of seclusion!"
The mournful and urgent cries echoed through the forbidden area in the back mountain of the Situ family, startling a flock of birds into the sky.
The bleak mountain wind blew over the still-wet bloodstains on the crowd, bringing a piercing chill.
The Patriarch, Situ Hongyi, had died in battle. Nine out of ten members of the Elder Hall had perished. More than half of the family's authoritative figures and decision-makers were gone.
The massive Situ family had its foundations slashed overnight and was now teetering on the brink of collapse in the stormy winds.
The Third Elder stood in the crowd clutching his chest, his breathing erratic and his face deathly pale.
He was one of the few high-ranking members to survive, spared by that fiend named Lin Mo only because he hadn't been involved in the arranged marriage targeting Jiang Yunlu.
At this moment, kneeling at the very front was Situ Hongzheng, the most senior member of the branch family. By blood, he was Situ Yunshu's biological uncle.
He felt bitter inside. A branch member was ultimately just a branch member; even if he was leading them temporarily, he was only a proxy.
The sky of the Situ family still needed to be held up by the person inside the cave.
The shouts gradually died down, and the crowd fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the cave entrance sealed by a massive boulder several meters high, their hearts filled with anxiety.
Suddenly, a muffled sound came from deep within the cave.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It didn't sound like footsteps, but more like the heartbeat of some primordial behemoth. Each beat was incredibly heavy, as if it would shatter the mountains.
The Situ family members were startled at first, but were soon overwhelmed by immense ecstasy.
The Old Patriarch has broken through!
Just then, an aged yet vigorous roar exploded from the cave.
"What's all this noise! I can't even get a peaceful sleep!"
Someone immediately shouted, "Old Patriarch! The family is at a critical juncture of life and death, please come out of seclusion!"
After a long while, a voice sounded from behind the cave.
"Everyone, step back!"
Hearing this, the crowd was not afraid but grew even more excited. They scrambled and tumbled backward, completely clearing the area around the cave entrance.
The next second, the voice inside the cave rang out again, carrying a domineering aura that looked down upon the world.
"With strength to uproot mountains and a spirit that conquers the world!"
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the massive boulder sealing the entrance caved inward instantly without a single crack appearing, and then violently exploded!
Countless stone fragments, wrapped in strong winds, shot out in all directions. Yet, bizarrely, after flying three feet past the entrance, they lost all their momentum, uniformly turned into fine powder, and rustled to the ground.
As the dust settled, a burly figure stood at the cave entrance with his hands behind his back.
The man was bare-chested. His bronze skin was covered in crisscrossing scars, and his knotted muscles looked as if they were carved from stone, brimming with explosive power.
His snow-white long hair was draped casually, complementing the flowing white beard on his chest.
He merely stood there quietly, yet an invisible pressure enveloped the entire area, leaving everyone breathless.
The Old Patriarch swept his gaze across the crowd, his brows gradually knitting into a tight knot.
"Where is that piece of trash, Situ Hongyi?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
Situ Hongzheng shuddered. He hurriedly stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and buried his head deep.
"R-reporting to the Old Patriarch, the Patriarch... he has died in battle."
The air seemed to freeze at this moment.
Everyone looked nervously at the Old Patriarch, waiting for a thunderous fury.
However, there was not a trace of grief for the loss of his son on the Old Patriarch's face. His deep eyes only narrowed slightly, flashing with a cold, icy glint.
His gaze bypassed Situ Hongzheng, taking in the sparse scattering of elders in the crowd and the injured clansmen.
"Dead?"
He spoke slowly, his tone terrifyingly calm. "And the others? Are they all dead too?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, a chill ran through everyone's hearts.
The Old Patriarch then locked his gaze back onto Situ Hongzheng. His look was like he was staring at a dead man.
"Speak. Tell me every single word without leaving anything out. I want to see which reckless fool dared to trample on my Situ family's head while I was in seclusion!"
--System: So here comes the question, who is the real reckless fool?--
At this moment, the scene shifted to a large flat in Yangcheng.
Situ Yunshu leaned against the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed, quietly watching the back of the man busy at the stove.
The Jiang Chengshan in her memory probably couldn't even tell which way the kitchen door opened.
But the man before her tossed the wok, stir-fried, and drizzled sauce in one smooth, flowing motion. That unhurried composure was a proficiency that could only be accumulated over years and months.
Who was it for?
As soon as this thought popped up, it felt like a tiny thorn, causing a slight ache in her heart.
Jiang Chengshan brought the dishes out of the kitchen.
"Your favorite Longjiang pig trotter, spare ribs with black bean sauce, and beef with preserved vegetables..."
He rambled off the names of the dishes, every single one a favorite of hers from the past.
When he finished setting the bowls and chopsticks and looked up, he realized that the woman opposite him had somehow withdrawn all her expressions. Her clear eyes were staring at him unblinkingly, holding no joy, only interrogation.
"Spit it out, how many women have you cooked for?"
Situ Yunshu's face bore a scrutinizing look.
Jiang Chengshan was taken aback.
"Including you, just four," he answered honestly.
"Four?"
Situ Yunshu's pitch suddenly rose as she stood up abruptly. The legs of the chair scraped against the floor, letting out a harsh, piercing screech.
Great. During the years she was away, he had been living quite a colorful life!
Jiang Chengshan's survival instinct instantly exploded, and he hastily waved his hands.
"Wait a minute! Only Yunlu, Chengyue, and Sister Qiong have eaten the food I made. I haven't cooked for anyone else."
Hearing these names, she cast a suspicious glance at Jiang Chengshan and ultimately sat back down, though her expression was still far from pleasant.
Then she looked at Jiang Chengshan. "Then why did you put me here? Keeping a mistress in a golden mansion?"
What a sensitive woman.
Jiang Chengshan sighed, then pulled out a chair and sat opposite her.
"I was thinking about how to explain this to Yunlu, whether I should tell her about the existence of the Hidden Sect. A long time ago, she asked me where her mother went, and I could only tell her that her mother was in a faraway place."
Situ Yunshu frowned. "She wouldn't think her old lady is dead, would she?"
This familiar sharp tongue, this familiar tone.
Jiang Chengshan felt a wave of relief, as if the iceberg of alienation built up over the years had quietly melted a corner at this moment.
He couldn't help but reach out across the table and grasp her hand resting on the edge.
Her hand was slightly cold. She instinctively struggled a bit but didn't pull away.
"No, I told her. I said that one day, her mother would come back."
Situ Yunshu lowered her eyes, looking at their clasped hands. In the end, she said nothing more, but her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Forget it, it's better to just tell Yunlu directly. After all, that classmate of hers named Lin Mo is not ordinary either. I think if Yunlu was willing to take a picture with him on her birthday, she must like that boy."
At the mention of Lin Mo, Jiang Chengshan instantly felt a wave of sourness in his back molars.
The tender cabbage they had painstakingly raised was about to be snatched up by some random pig from who knows where!
Just say it, lay all the cards on the table at once. Who knows, maybe Sister Yunshu doesn't even like this three-timing Lin Mo anyway.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
] 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.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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?"
