No one dared to come to the ruins of White Floating Mountain anymore.
Because everyone who had come before was killed, and their bloodstains still stained the rocks, unable to be washed away even by the rain.
Chen Xia was now left with only the lingering ghosts of the mountain as companions.
He didn't expect that a person could change so much, so quickly.
Perhaps from staying on the mountain for too long, his sense of time had become blurred, thinking change should take place over hundreds of years.
But for mortals, ten years was enough.
After all, a mortal's lifespan could be seen to the end with a glance.
Chen Xia sat in the little hut, still slowly waiting. He knew Xia Chan would come back, even if it took decades.
But Xia Chan would definitely come back. Fallen leaves return to the roots. This was Xia Chan's roots.
He silently observed the changes in Xia Chan's life, changes that also affected himself.
To comprehend, one must first empathize.
Counting by mortal years, Chen Xia was already over fifty, entering old age with white hair and a bent back.
Living alone in this little hut could be called lonely and desolate.
Luckily the mountain ghosts kept him company, though Chen Xia didn't recognize them.
Occasionally people would take refuge on the mountain, but most were not good people, and harbored evil intentions to kill Chen Xia.
Then the mountain would gain another ghost or two.
Time was relentless water, slowly flowing forward, then speeding up unnoticed.
The thirtieth year.
Xia Chan had taken over as the bandit boss. At thirty-five, she was ambitious, wanting to gain more power amidst the chaos.
The killing never ceased. Many times she narrowly escaped death by chance.
Perhaps fate had decided her time was not up yet. Xia Chan would often laugh self-deprecatingly at her luck.
A homeless person like her achieving this much was truly the whims of fate.
In the coming days she fought even more fiercely, as if unafraid of death, even directly battling the soldiers of nations.
But how could her ragtag bandits defeat the well-armed forces of great nations? Naturally they suffered great defeat, scattering and fleeing.
The homeless Xia Chan escaped into the depths of the mountains. Looking at the endless peaks, her eyes were filled with confusion. She didn't know where to go.
She was no longer the girl who had wanted to cultivate immortality.
Another twenty years passed.
Chen Xia's seventy-year-old body was frail. He made a rocking chair for himself, casually drinking tea when he had nothing to do.
The little hut was also nearing collapse. Chen Xia thought he should take some time to repair it.
He sipped his tea. Even the teacup was old and worn. Such was the power of time.
Footsteps sounded from below the mountain. An old woman slowly climbed up and looked at Chen Xia with complex emotions. After some time she softly called out:
"Senior martial brother."
Chen Xia nodded slightly, a smile emerging on his aged face. "I've waited for you many years."
Xia Chan pressed her lips together, wringing her hands. Her footsteps didn't move forward. She only looked at Chen Xia and asked like she had in the past:
"Can I really cultivate immortality, senior martial brother?"
"You always could," Chen Xia's aged voice slowly replied, tone very certain.
"Why is that?" Xia Chan was very confused. She had thought about this question for decades without understanding.
"What do you think cultivation is?" Chen Xia asked back.
Xia Chan was startled. Her clouded eyes looked at Chen Xia as she replied, "Abstaining from grains, ascension and immortality."
"That is not cultivation," Chen Xia shook his head in explanation. "That is transcendence."
"Heh, you're right," Xia Chan gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've really lived a ridiculous life. I said I would never come back, yet here I am, shamelessly returning."
"It's nothing," Chen Xia's aged face smiled. "I was always waiting for you."
Xia Chan was startled again. Head lowered, not knowing what to say, she was silent for some time before softly asking Chen Xia:
"Can I come back again in the future?"
"This was your home to begin with. You came before me, why ask me?" Chen Xia replied.
"You're right," Xia Chan laughed and slowly walked down the steps, departing the mountain.
In the next ten years, she did not return again.
Chen Xia's little hut had completely fallen apart. He was too lazy to repair it, taking everything inside out and making a simple shelter to live exposed to the elements.
He was over ninety years old now. By mortal lifespans, he was nearing his end. He looked appropriately aged, all white-haired, back hunched.
Chen Xia waited to see the arrival of his final moments.
The thirtieth year again.
An extremely aged woman stumbled up the mountain, holding a cane. Her eyes were so clouded she could barely see. But she still made out Chen Xia and called:
"Senior martial brother."
"Mm," Chen Xia nodded.
"I still haven't figured out if I'm suited for cultivation or not," Xia Chan's trembling voice uttered this sentence. She was very old now, old enough for her hands to shake even when still.
"You are suited," Chen Xia nodded. Though just as aged, he was in much better condition than Xia Chan.
"Hehe, maybe so," Xia Chan gave a soft laugh. Her steps moved forward and she finally entered the sect grounds again.
She muttered under her breath:
"If I hadn't gone down the mountain then, would it have been different?"
"Or if I hadn't gone up the mountain back then, living a mundane life below, perhaps that would've been another scenario altogether."
These were things she had pondered for many years.
"When I was little, I always felt that with elder martial brother around, I had nothing to fear, even if martial aunt and the others didn't treat me well. Having elder martial brother was enough."
"But later even elder martial brother rejected me."
Xia Chan slowly turned her wrinkled face to look at Chen Xia, without any change in expression. She only curiously asked:
"Senior martial brother, did you really care about me?"
Chen Xia shook his head. "I don't know."
"Hehe," Xia Chan gave a soft laugh again. Her gaze was clouded as she nodded, "I don't know either."
Facing the rising sun, she climbed to the high ruins and slowly knelt down. Putting her hands together just like when she was small, she respectfully bowed:
"I bow to the Supreme Lord of Profound Yellow, the Great Dao of the Three Thousand, the Boundless Heaven and Earth, the Most High who grasps life and death and controls the five elements and divine powers. Great Heavenly Venerable."
Her aged voice was no longer as clear as in childhood.
Xia Chan's body did not move again.
She died.
Chen Xia stood stunned in place. This was the same as when he had watched the tree centuries ago, yet also vastly different.
A person's life was but an autumn of grass and trees.
Chen Xia made a coffin out of the broken hut's lumber and placed the clay effigy and Xia Chan inside to return to the earth.
After completing this, Chen Xia waited for a fine morning to arrive. Facing the gate, he slowly stepped out.
With one step his aged form turned youthful again, white hair becoming black, back straightening.
His figure that had stayed at White Floating Mountain for nearly a hundred years vanished without a trace.
] [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!"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
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)
