Ling River Dock.
The sky was darkening, caught between the lingering sunset and the rising crescent moon.
The temple fair at the dock was just coming to an end.
With a casual flick of his hand, the temple’s abbot plucked the smiling head of the flower-holding Buddha statue and placed it atop his own.
He turned to face the three figures behind him.
“Are you here to offer incense, or to pray for blessings?”
Upon hearing this, the one wearing a dragon-headed mask among the three stepped forward and spoke:
“Better to rely on oneself than to beg for divine favor.”
“Well said.”
The Laughing Buddha nodded slightly, the smile on his borrowed head widening, as though pleased by the answer.
“You three have given me quite the pleasant surprise.”
“From today onward, you are members of the Drizzle Tower. You may take on assignments from the Shadow Hall.”
“Succeed in this task, and you’ll be promoted to Human Butchers as an exception.”
He stretched out his palm, revealing three copper Swallows of the Hall, resting in his massive hand.
For a fleeting moment, the swallows seemed alive, their wings fluttering as if imbued with a will of their own.
“No need to rush. Complete the task, and these Swallows will be yours.”
“May we ask what the task entails?”
The Three Evils of Huai Mountain exchanged glances before the dragon-masked man asked in a muffled voice.
The Laughing Buddha replied calmly:
“Escort a shipment downstream with me.”
“Remember, this is confidential. Not a word to anyone, lest the Qingyuan Sect catches wind and interferes.”
“If word leaks, no one can save you.”
A shipment?
And the Qingyuan Sect must never know?
Or face utter ruin?
The trio—Tiger, Dragon, and Leopard—exchanged glances and fell silent.
The Laughing Buddha mistook their hesitation for fear of the risks, unwilling to cross the Qingyuan Sect.
With another chuckle, he added:
“I’ve been the abbot of this dock temple for over a decade, watching fishermen haul in their catch every day. I’ve learned one thing.”
“The fiercer the waves, the more valuable the fish!”
“If you three aren’t willing to take risks, how will you ever rise to greatness?”
After a long silence, Li Mo concealed his surprise and pressed further:
“If you want us to take such a risk, at least tell us what we’re transporting.”
“Just delivering some children to a summoning outpost of the Demon Calling Sect.”
The Laughing Buddha answered patiently before asking again:
“You’re smart men. What’s your decision?”
As his words faded, faint Buddhist chants echoed through the small temple, soothing the mind and body.
The message was clear:
Now that you know the truth, this ship isn’t one you can simply step off.
The dragon-masked man clasped his hands in salute:
“We are at your service.”
The Laughing Buddha had barely relaxed when a dagger, hidden in the shadows, shot toward his back.
The strike was silent until the last moment, when a surge of killing intent erupted.
The Laughing Buddha, a Perception Realm cultivator, reacted with unnatural speed.
His body twisted like a slippery serpent, evading the fatal blow.
He spun around and caught the blade between his fingers.
Had he not trained in Buddhist arts, sharpening his awareness to break free from the killing aura, the strike might have wounded him gravely.
“What is the meaning of this!?”
The smile on his borrowed head twisted into the wrathful visage of a Ming King.
No answer came.
Instead, he was met with a mist of clouds, thick as an impending storm, filling every inch of space around him.
A domain?
He quickly realized it only resembled one, lacking the pressure of an Inner Landscape martial artist.
Yet the icy chill seeped into his bones.
“Ying Bing!?”
A gust of wind howled—
Pale cyan sword light and the silent dagger’s killing aura swirled together, shaking the bloody glow around him.
He thrust his palms forward, and two phantom handprints shattered the incoming blades.
But what followed were two gleaming swords—
One red, one blue, entwined like twin dragons of ice and fire.
Crack—
The dazzling slash struck as if hitting metal.
“Cough!”
He spat out a mouthful of burning ice shards.
That strike had nearly killed him. Had he been slower…
Strangely, his body bore no wounds, but the headless golden Buddha statue in the temple dimmed noticeably.
“Had I not spent over a decade building my foundation here, I’d have capsized in a ditch today!”
“Li Mo, you’ve delivered yourself to me—”
Before he could finish—
“No need to reason with demonic heretics. Attack together!”
“I’ll smash the statue—you cut him down!”
Li Mo summoned a hammer and barked orders.
He had seen through it: without destroying the Buddha statue, they couldn’t kill their foe quickly.
A mere Perception Realm cultivator, yet so troublesome.
The Laughing Buddha: “......”
He wanted to stop them—
But he couldn’t fight the other three at once.
Ying Bing was the real threat. The other two were little more than annoying flies he could swat aside with ease.
But this girl… she was terrifying.
Even one-on-one, with over a decade’s worth of accumulated prayer power, he’d likely be forced onto the defensive.
And now there was Li Mo too.
The intel he’d received said Li Mo used a sword—since when did he wield a hammer?!
Boom—
Third Form of Settling Heaven and Earth: Thunder’s Judgment.
The hammer descended like a rolling storm, thunderous as the first strike of spring, shaking the world!
This was an Inner Breath cultivator?!
In sheer terror, the Laughing Buddha hurled a string of black prayer beads, hoping to block the blow.
But the beads shattered mid-air, their trapped souls wailing before dispersing into nothingness.
The decade’s worth of prayer power—
Under the true wrath of heaven, it crumbled like rotten wood.
Clang—
A bell’s toll pierced metal and stone.
The golden statue cracked like a spider’s web, its layers peeling away to reveal bleached bones beneath.
At last, he could no longer resist the icy sword energy.
The frigid wind pierced through him—
The sword energy, sharp as needles through leaves, riddled his body with holes. Blood froze before it could even drip.
......
Meanwhile—
Boom—
At Ling River Dock, a finely dressed young man paused mid-step as he questioned the locals.
“That came from…”
“That’d be the Laughing Buddha Temple. We fishermen always pray there before setting sail.”
The old fisherman’s words struck Luo Yu like lightning.
The Laughing Buddha Temple?
Wasn’t that where children had vanished during the temple fair?
Without another thought, he shot toward the source of the disturbance like a startled swan.
] 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.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
