Meihua Pavilion.
This was an expansive and exquisitely decorated establishment—not ostentatiously lavish, but elegantly furnished. Those without a discerning eye might not even recognize the extravagance hidden within its classical charm.
Upon entering, the soft melodies of string and wind instruments could be heard, faint yet resonant, as if rising from the depths of one’s heart.
The trio settled in a private room on the second floor—the best seats for viewing the performance, usually reserved for wealthy and devoted theatergoers.
"Truly refined. Upper-class."
Li Mo reclined in a grand master chair.
After surveying the surroundings, he noticed that both the "ice block" and Little Jiang Chulong were intently watching the stage.
How strange.
Since when did the ice block take an interest in opera?
"What play is being performed today?"
"Um... it seems... it’s about Big Brother Li and Sister Bing."
"Huh?"
Li Mo focused his gaze.
A female performer played the role of "Jiang Chen." Her appearance was commendable, though her makeup was slightly exaggerated, making the character instantly recognizable.
The backdrop depicted a courtyard.
Without even watching further, Li Mo knew exactly which scene this was.
Jiang Chen facing a broken engagement, with Liu Wuyan stepping in to defend him?
"Jiang Chen, my daughter has now joined the Snow Moon Sect as an inner disciple, while you’ve wasted years as a mere servant. You should know why I’ve come today."
The antagonist was a seasoned actor.
Despite the clichéd plot, his delivery didn’t feel cringeworthy at all.
(The Jiang family erupted in outrage.)
Then, "Jiang Chen" declared with unwavering resolve:
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never mock the youth for their poverty!"
"Bravo!"
"Worthy of reward!"
Applause erupted from the audience. In a world where the "broken engagement trope" had never been seen, this scene was utterly exhilarating.
Li Mo silently covered his face.
As the play continued, Liu Wuyan made her entrance, and the entire audience knelt—except for Jiang Chen, who remained standing.
When Liu Wuyan approached him and called him "husband," the crowd froze in shock.
Then—
"Jiang Chen" smirked, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
Li Mo: "......"
He definitely didn’t remember scripting that smirk.
Artistic adaptation wasn’t an excuse for reckless improvisation, damn it!
Young Li felt like he was being publicly humiliated. Thankfully, his Cloud-Treading Boots were sturdy, or he might’ve dug a hole through the floor with his toes.
A glance to the side revealed Jiang Chulong listening with rapt attention, as if she could enjoy it a thousand times over.
And the ice block?
"Hus...band?"
Ying Bing’s serene eyes flickered slightly before she exhaled softly.
This was just a play, after all.
If the character were truly based on her, how could she ever utter such words?
She found it absurd and turned her gaze away.
Yet the performance continued, each line seeping into her ears.
The play condensed many events, focusing only on the highlights.
Scenes of romantic moments between the two, sharing a bed, even "baring it all" to help Jiang Chen cultivate his martial arts.
Meihua Pavilion’s professionalism was impeccable.
The immersive storytelling, paired with music and lighting, created an almost tangible experience, stirring endless imagination.
"Let’s... focus on cultivation."
Ying Bing turned her head toward the moon.
Yet her gaze grew unfocused.
The seductive melodies kept intruding, and the story’s protagonists in her mind kept morphing into herself and Li Mo.
As if... these were events she had lived through.
And this feeling...
She didn’t know why she suddenly looked at Li Mo.
But there the young man sat, his handsome face slightly flushed, like a dazed goose.
Strangely... she didn’t seem to mind?
"Bravo! This Liu Wuyan is phenomenal!"
A booming voice came from the neighboring room, followed by a shower of golden pearls raining onto the stage.
The audience gasped—who was this extravagant patron?
Li Mo paid little attention, but Jiang Chulong asked curiously,
"Big Brother Li, what... what’s happening?"
"They’re just rewarding the performers when they’re pleased. Too much money, too little sense."
Relieved the play was finally over, Li Mo chuckled.
"Oh... I see..."
Jiang Chulong rummaged through her pockets but found only a few copper coins, too embarrassed to offer them.
"Here."
Her hand suddenly grew heavy—half a gold brick now rested in her palm.
The little princess blinked in confusion.
Li Mo sighed. "That’s the smallest piece of gold I have."
"Thank you, Big Brother Li."
Jiang Chulong had little concept of the brick’s value, so she mimicked the neighbor’s gesture and tossed it onto the stage.
Then—
BANG!
The stage shook violently.
The actors initially thought they’d displeased the audience—until they saw what had been thrown.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
Who the hell brought a gold brick to a theater as a tip?
Were they trying to kill the performers?
The neighbor from earlier also turned to look. After a pause, he exclaimed:
"Jiang—Li Mo?"
"Zhong Zhenyue?"
Li Mo recognized the man—a young marquis clad in a serpent-patterned robe, wielding a spear, and undefeated in the arena like himself.
They weren’t close.
After a polite exchange, a woman approached—one of the actresses, now without her stage makeup. She stood beside Zhong Zhenyue, appearing demure yet maintaining a calculated distance.
Though her looks were merely above average, every glance and smile carried a seductive charm.
"Wait..."
Li Mo discreetly activated his Heavenly Fate Divine Eye.
[Name: Yin Mianmian]
[Age: 23]
[Physique: Heavenly Enchantress Demon Body]
[Cultivation: Observing Divinity, Eight Apertures]
[Fate: Purple]
[Evaluation: Saintess of the Drizzle Pavilion, ranked sixth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Has slain multiple prodigies from the ranking. Unaware she’s being groomed as a cauldron by the Drizzle Pavilion’s master. Her hobby? Watching men fight like savage beasts.]
[Recent Activity: Manipulating Zhong Zhenyue to infiltrate Hengyun Sword City. Now itching to see Li Mo and Zhong Zhenyue battle to the death.]
Huh?
Li Mo’s mind sharpened.
The moment he deciphered her, his vision blurred.
The music grew louder, mournful and intimate, as if whispering from within his soul.
Before him materialized a bewitching woman draped in translucent gauze, her sorrowful eyes locked onto him as she swayed closer with an otherworldly grace.
Any man would’ve been spellbound.
But—
A sword light, cold as moonlight and radiant as divinity, slashed through the illusion.
It was the ice block.
No—
To be precise, it was the "ice block" imprinted in Li Mo’s soul—his mental safeguard against illusions.
The entire episode lasted but a heartbeat.
Zhong Zhenyue wasn’t so lucky.
Already entranced by the woman beside him, his eyes glazed over, lost in lustful stupor.
"You’re quite interesting..."
Yin Mianmian’s eyes sparkled with surprise—and excitement—at Li Mo’s swift recovery.
Her every movement seemed designed to ensnare the mind.
She drifted closer, as if to whisper in his ear, to breathe in the scent of his neck—
"Old hag."
Li Mo suddenly spoke.
"?!"
Yin Mianmian's alluring demeanor froze, shattered by a surge of irritation.
The golden rule of the "Fight King's Code" speaks for itself, doesn't it?
In the blink of an eye—
Whoosh—
A spring breeze surged, sealing off her retreat.
Divine lightning descended like celestial punishment.
The Frost Sky Sword slashed down mercilessly, vowing to cleave Yin Mianmian clean in two!
.....
Drop some power stones if you're enjoying this, hehe. Mwah!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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)
] 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.
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.
