"Are you waiting for someone?"
Shang Qinqing sat down with a grin, casually picking up a skewer of grilled meat.
"No."
Seeing that Shang Qinqing had come alone, Ying Bing pursed her lips as if nothing were amiss:
"He didn’t return with you?"
"No, he still has some unfinished business."
Shang Qinqing shook her head.
Tsk, what had that brat Li Mo said before? Swearing he’d never deceive her, with a look so firm it could split iron.
Yet in the blink of an eye, he told her it was for the sake of... "surprise," a white lie.
"Hmm..."
A delicate hand quietly pulled the plate of skewers back in front of her.
"?"
Shang Qinqing watched, momentarily speechless.
So just because she didn’t bring back your precious "wife-blessing battle soul," you won’t even let me have a skewer?
"Admit it, you miss him."
"Ah, so it’s because Young Master Li has been gone too long."
The Proprietress, after all, had been through it all before and quickly pieced it together.
"......"
Ying Bing’s cheeks twitched slightly, her face an icy mask. "These skewers are quite fragrant."
"Little Bing’er, look at your doll—its head’s nearly bald from how much you’ve been tugging at it, shiny as a mirror."
Shang Qinqing pressed on, undeterred.
Ying Bing tilted her head.
The ice block didn’t quite understand what you were talking about.jpg.
"Speaking of which, Young Master Li’s been gone so long without a word—could something have happened?" the Proprietress mused.
"!"
Ying Bing’s lashes trembled, nearly dropping her skewer.
Shang Qinqing, grinding her teeth, suddenly had an idea.
She adopted a hesitant expression, as if reluctantly delivering bad news:
"After all, he did snatch something right from the jaws of the Demon Sect..."
Ying Bing froze, her jade-like face finally showing emotion.
Right, Li Mo had gone to gather the Power of the Multitude, and in the Southern Border, that power had long been secretly controlled by the Summoning Demon Sect.
The Summoning Demon Sect was ancient, its influence vast—just look at how the Hundred Beasts Hall had stirred up chaos in the Southern Border.
Even among the Nine Heavens, revered as the strongest in her past life, some had vague ties to them.
If they saw Li Mo as a thorn in their side...
Ying Bing shot to her feet.
"How is he now? Where is he?"
"Hmph, see? I told you."
Shang Qinqing sighed.
"Go pack your things and come with me to the Azure Phoenix Clan’s territory. After all my hard work, I don’t even get a skewer? Really..."
But before she could finish, Ying Bing was already lifting her skirts and rushing upstairs, pushing open the door to the private room.
Instantly, her sharp yet unfocused gaze steadied, taking in the scene before her with stunned silence.
The dim glow of candles illuminated the quiet depths of her eyes—candles stuck into a cake, and beside it stood a figure.
"You... weren’t you...?"
"Happy birthday! Surprise?"
Li Mo grinned brightly.
After a moment of shock, Ying Bing’s gaze darkened as she stared at him.
"When did you get back?"
"Just now. I asked Clan Leader Shang to call you up."
Li Mo beckoned her over to blow out the candles but noticed the ice block’s expression was off, her chest rising and falling slightly.
The instigator, Shang Qinqing, had quietly followed, hoping to savor some sweetness, only to realize things weren’t going as planned.
Oh no...
She’d only improvised earlier.
Had she messed up?
Ahem. "Li Mo, really, a surprise is fine, a birthday is fine, but why drag me into tricking Little Bing’er? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?"
Shang Qinqing put on a stern face.
Li Mo: "???"
"Are these candles supposed to be blown out?" Ying Bing glanced at the cake.
"Yep, and you can make a wish first."
Ying Bing lowered her eyes and exhaled softly.
Whoosh—
They didn’t go out.
Damn these stubborn candles! They flickered out, only for the wind from the window to revive them.
Not now!
"Ice block, you didn’t wish for something extreme, did you?"
Li Mo blinked in confusion.
"I wished for you to never lie to me again."
Ying Bing’s gaze was piercing.
"......"
Li Mo felt somewhat wronged, unsure what Shang Qinqing had just told her.
"Maybe I’ve got too much yang energy lately—even the candles won’t die. Try again..."
This time, the candles finally went out.
"What did you wish for this time...?"
"Call me jie jie (older sister)."
"Call you jie jie to find out? Uh... actually, wishes don’t come true if you say them, so no need to tell me."
Li Mo’s famously stubborn mouth twitched.
I’m not that curious anyway, and you’re only two months older, seriously...
"The wish was for you to call me jie jie," Ying Bing said calmly.
The iron-mouthed Li Mo stiffened.
His resolve crumbled, his traitorous mouth surrendering:
"... Jie jie."
"Be good from now on."
Ying Bing lifted her chin, tying up her loose hair.
"Try this—I baked it in an alchemy furnace. Should taste alright."
Li Mo brandished the Crimson Sky Sword, ready to slice the cake.
The cake’s design showed a girl reading under a tree, with a boy watching her.
But then—
A slender finger dipped into the frosting and smeared it across his face.
"????"
Li Mo turned, nose itching, finally noticing the gleam of mischief in Ying Bing’s previously stoic eyes.
She’d genuinely been worried at first, but not after seeing him—at least not while blowing out the candles.
She was happy to see him.
But she’d also wanted to hear him call her jie jie, so...
Gasp!
"Ice block, you planned this?"
Li Mo was 90% sure.
"Planned what?"
Ying Bing frowned, maintaining her icy composure with utmost seriousness.
"Fine, it’s your birthday—you’re the boss today."
Best Actor Li Mo suspected Best Actress Ying Bing’s performance but lacked evidence.
Wait.
He had evidence!
Li Mo realized a small, warm hand had somehow slipped into his grasp.
When did that happen?!
"......"
Ying Bing, mid-cake-cutting, also paused in confusion.
She didn’t recall offering her hand.
Had she given it, or had he taken it at some unnoticed moment?
"Heh, now this is the good stuff. What flavor is this cake anyway? Smells amazing. Let me try—see if it’s as sweet as you two."
Shang Qinqing shivered. If she didn’t eat some cake soon, she might start rolling on the floor in delight.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
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?!
