Ying Bing observed the divine intent until dusk.
She was now just a hair's breadth away from opening the fifth aperture of divine perception, having already mastered thirty percent of the Hundred Beasts Divine Forms.
It might sound modest, but those were over thirty extreme forms—each something an ordinary person would spend a lifetime comprehending. Yet, she didn’t feel she was progressing particularly fast.
In this life, her path had been far less winding.
But some obstacles were inevitable if she chose to keep moving forward.
Such as the Jade Phoenix Divine Artifact.
It was something the Demon-summoning Cult was determined to obtain, and likewise, something she could never relinquish.
"Why hasn’t he returned yet?"
Ying Bing glanced at the empty chairs and tables, then rubbed the large-headed doll at her waist before pushing the door open to leave.
But before she could descend the stairs, her footsteps suddenly halted.
The Jiawei Tavern mostly catered to soldiers, yet today, for some reason, business was unusually slow.
In the corner by a wine table, he sat quietly, like a soulless statue.
On the table, holding his dazed gaze, was a letter to family that would never be delivered—and half a string of copper coins.
Once a spirited young man,
now his lonely, desolate silhouette resembled that of a lost wanderer.
"Heavenly Fairy Sister, your husband’s been sitting there all afternoon."
"You know what they say—couples quarrel at the head of the bed but make up at the foot..."
The tavern’s proprietress, assuming they’d had a lovers’ spat, offered a few words of advice in the tone of someone who’d seen it all.
"Back so early?"
Ying Bing’s ink-black eyes flickered with something inscrutable.
She knew him well. Even if she hadn’t wanted to, one glance was enough to tell what was on his mind.
He wasn’t the type to hide behind laughter and anger, nor was he difficult to understand. At times, he was downright childish—his joys and sorrows often written plainly on his face.
He always makes the dishes I like...
In the end, Ying Bing abandoned the thought of cooking and quietly took a seat beside him, joining him in silence.
After a long while, Li Mo finally murmured,
"Ice Block, the father of Fu Yingzi—the one I’ve been searching for—is dead."
"Because of the coming war. He died delivering military intelligence."
Having grown up in peace in his past life, Li Mo’s understanding of war had been limited to textbooks—glorious tales of heroes and legendary generals.
He’d never realized that behind the casually mentioned numbers were countless undelivered letters to families.
Lu Yi was just one of many around him.
The real war hadn’t even begun yet.
More would die in the chaos.
And worse—
This war was inextricably tied to him.
"Ice Block, should we have never come to the Southern Border in the first place?"
"We’ve never done anything wrong, so why are so many people about to die because of us?"
He was calling out to her, yet it didn’t feel like he was asking anyone—more like he was questioning himself.
Each word plucked at Ying Bing’s heartstrings.
For a moment, she felt an unfamiliar yet inevitable pang.
Lowering her eyes, she gently took his hand in hers and said softly,
"Such is the tide of fate. War, for instance, has no right or wrong—only what must and must not be."
"Perhaps it arrives sooner or later because of someone, but that’s all."
In her past life, the disaster beast tide secretly orchestrated by the remnants of the Great Shang Dynasty had also erupted—only after the fall of the Qingyuan Sect.
Not just Qingmu City, but even the Southern Pass had been breached, the chaos spreading all the way to Yunzhou.
"A modest fortune... a young hero..."
Li Mo glanced at the handful of copper coins, then at the opened letter.
The words were few, the meaning simple—nothing more than a wish for safety.
"But I couldn’t even protect the peace of one small family..."
Ying Bing hummed in acknowledgment, gazing into the young man’s eyes.
"Words are pale. What we live through is what shapes us."
"Experience teaches us to grow."
Her voice was soft, unhurried.
Li Mo opened his mouth, then turned to look at her. In this cloud-covered night, she was like moonlight given form.
He almost asked—Ice Block, did you already know there’d be war? Did you know what would happen in the Southern Border?
But meeting her eyes, he felt the question unnecessary.
She had known.
From the moment he’d wished for peace and happiness before the Jade Phoenix Divine Artifact, she’d understood.
Only now did Li Mo realize she had grasped the weight of that wish far better than he had.
She’d been waiting for him to grow.
"Ice Block, what are your plans?"
"The same as yours."
"Ice Block, I’m tired."
"Then sleep. Just rest easy."
In the quiet, empty tavern,
a melody suddenly flowed forth—clear and serene, like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley.
"Dark skies, rain will fall..."
"Dark skies... so dark..."
The long-overcast night sky seemed to part its clouds, as if the moon itself wanted to eavesdrop.
A single beam of moonlight slipped through, illuminating her as she sang the lullaby—and him, asleep in her lap.
......
The next morning.
Before the sugar-painting stall, Hu Zi was no longer the king of the children, but as the occasional keeper of his grandfather’s stall—with free rein over the pot of malt sugar—his status was unquestionable.
He crouched earnestly by a stone slab, practicing his sugar-painting with a small pot of syrup, surrounded by a crowd of little kids waiting for treats.
"Brother Hu Zi, you’re saying our boss is a famous hero on the Hidden Dragon Ranking?"
"Rank eleven? What was it again... ‘Wife-Blessing Battle Soul’?"
"That’s really our boss? No wonder he’s the boss—even his nickname stands out!"
"Really? Boss wasn’t just pulling our legs?"
Hearing the doubt, Hu Zi immediately bristled.
He pointed at the slab. "Boss was super impressive back then! Can’t you tell from my drawing?"
The kids shook their heads. All they saw was something that looked tasty.
Hu Zi had only just started learning, so his doodle was barely recognizable—a sugar figure with a comically large head and tiny body, anything but imposing.
"If I’m friends with your boss, do I get free candy?"
A voice chimed in from the side.
No need to look—only one person could be so broke: our esteemed "mount" brother.
To be fair, Huang Donglai wasn’t poor. He just never kept money, having converted it all into practical items. After all, coins couldn’t be eaten or used to poison someone.
"You’re Big Bro’s friend?" Hu Zi eyed Huang Donglai skeptically.
"He is."
At the familiar voice, Hu Zi, the kids, and even Huang Donglai froze.
Turning, they saw Li Mo standing not far away, his smile as bright and warm as ever—but now tempered with a quiet maturity.
"Boss!"
"Brother Li?"
"Donglai, you know a war’s coming, yet you’re still here? That’s not like you."
After greeting the kids, Li Mo posed the question offhandedly.
Huang Donglai accepted a sugar ball from Hu Zi. "I wanted to try the candy... Aren’t you the same?"
"I was planning to leave."
"Oh?"
Huang Donglai studied Li Mo.
In wartime, self-preservation was natural—yet this didn’t quite feel like him either.
"But I’ll be back soon. That’s why I need a favor from you."
Li Mo's voice suddenly became inaudible—not because it grew softer, but because it shifted to a transmitted whisper.
"Fill it up? The entire thing? How much would that cost..."
Huang Donglai's eyes widened in shock.
"Heaven begets talents for a purpose; a thousand gold spent will return in time."
As the words faded, mist abruptly swirled into existence.
The mist coiled and billowed, instantly obscuring the young man's figure. By the time it dissipated, he had vanished without a trace.
The Somersault Cloud does not lighten the body—it lightens the heart.
A heart unburdened finds the sky vast and the earth boundless. Where then could it not go?
"Tsk, malt sugar really is quite sweet."
Huang Donglai muttered to himself, staring at the spot where the figure had disappeared.
Hu Zi, meanwhile, gaped in awe, pumping his fists and shouting:
"What did I say? What did I say!"
"Big Bro rode in on clouds of seven colors—how could he not be a peerless hero?"
.....
Seeking support (power-up love), mwah!
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)
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.
] 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.
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
