Purple Sun Prefecture, the residence of the prefect.
The young man, still dressed in his moon-white Confucian robe, sat in the study flipping through county records, giving the impression of a scholar rather than the domineering Crown Prince of Great Yu.
He looked up at Dan Hong, who had entered with Qing Que, her face deathly pale, and remarked indifferently:
"You returned sooner than I expected."
Qing Que lowered her head and whispered:
"Something happened."
"Speak."
Jiang Yu resumed reading the records as Qing Que recounted the events that had just transpired. The sound of turning pages gradually slowed.
"You're saying Ying Bing shattered your combined attack with a single strike?" Jiang Yu frowned, lifting his gaze.
Qing Que nodded, glancing at the woman in the pink dress beside her. "Dan Hong's sword heart has likely been tainted by inner demons. Her swordsmanship will never progress further..."
Jiang Yu, however, seemed unbothered by this, murmuring instead:
"So, the fifth-ranked Hidden Dragon is actually stronger than the fourth?"
"Your Highness! I can never practice swordsmanship again!"
Dan Hong wept pitifully, hoping the Crown Prince would avenge her:
"She didn’t just cripple me—she also humiliated you."
Jiang Yu remained expressionless, his voice cold:
"Understood. Return to the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor. There’s an open position compiling the Sword Codex."
"Leave."
Dan Hong stared in disbelief at the man she had served for six years, his indifference no different from how he treated the young princess.
Qing Que led her out of the courtyard. Only once they were outside did Dan Hong let out a bitter laugh:
"Of course. The royal family is heartless. What am I to them?"
"Dan Hong, compiling the Sword Codex at the manor isn’t a bad outcome. If not for prior arrangements, ordinary people wouldn’t even have this opportunity."
Qing Que’s words carried hidden meaning.
The positions for compiling the Sword Codex were limited and required advance planning—meaning His Highness had long foreseen Dan Hong’s recklessness and arrogance leading to this downfall.
Returning to the manor to focus on compiling the texts might allow her to rebuild herself in the future.
But Dan Hong failed to grasp the advice. Her unfocused eyes sharpened, burning with hatred.
"If I don’t purge these inner demons... I’ll remain a cripple forever..."
......
Autumn Water Pavilion.
The twilight lingered, the sky the color of tear-stained eyes, casting a faint glow over the small pavilion.
Dinner had just been served when Elder Qian arrived as if on cue.
Shang Wu asked warily, "Elder Qian, have you eaten?"
"Funny you ask—no, I haven’t."
"Then go eat first and come back later."
"???"
A question mark seemed to float above the short, stout Elder Qian’s head. In his years of mooching meals, the expected response to "Have you eaten?" was always "Join us," not dismissal.
Elder Qian huffed, looking at Ying Bing and Li Mo seated at the table:
"Eat? How could I eat these past two days? Look at these dark circles, look at my stomach!"
"With these two disciples in our Qingyuan Sect, I’ll lose ten years off my life!"
On the surface, the matter was settled.
But Elder Qian’s resentment was palpable, like a wronged maiden.
Li Mo, feeling guilty, quickly set out another pair of chopsticks.
Yet Elder Qian waved him off, pridefully declaring that delayed hospitality was worthless—he wouldn’t eat now even if begged!
"I’d rather starve to death, die outside, than take a single bite from you!"
"Alright."
The phrase sounded oddly familiar to Li Mo. He then asked:
"If you’re not here for food, then...?"
"Now that we can’t hitch a ride with the Crown Prince to Rotten Ke Mountain, what are you and Little Bing planning?"
"We’ll leave tomorrow as originally planned."
Li Mo and Ying Bing had never intended to travel with Jiang Yu anyway.
"The anomalies at Rotten Ke Mountain weakened today. I just returned from scouting."
Elder Qian wasn’t surprised, sighing before swallowing hard.
"There were still anomalies today?"
Li Mo raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of braised land fish.
But he hadn’t gone to Rotten Ke Mountain at all.
Meaning the anomalies were the mountain’s own doing.
"Yes, much weaker. After all the commotion before, today was a letdown."
Elder Qian smacked his lips, recounting the day’s events.
Today, Rotten Ke Mountain had shown signs of reversed elemental feng shui—still notable, but nothing like the earth-shaking phenomena before.
"By the way, it’s possible that what lies beneath Rotten Ke Mountain isn’t a hidden sanctuary."
"Then what is it?"
"It might be the tomb of a powerful figure."
Elder Qian’s expression turned grave.
Tomb?
Ying Bing’s slender fingers paused around her chopsticks, her eyes thoughtful.
The elder’s words reminded her of Rotten Ke Mountain’s layout.
The feng shui there was indeed exceptional—a prime location for burial.
"Tombs aren’t like legacies. Legacies are meant for trials, but tombs are far more dangerous. No expert wants their remains desecrated after death."
"So, I’ve decided to bring out some of my personal treasures."
Elder Qian opened his spatial pouch.
"They say Elder Qian’s knowledge is vast. What have you prepared?"
Though Li Mo was wealthy and well-equipped, even he couldn’t claim to possess every rare artifact under heaven.
Clatter—
A black hoof dropped onto the table.
"A black donkey’s hoof?"
"Indeed. Highly effective against corpse demons."
Elder Qian dumped the rest of his items unceremoniously.
Corpse-suppressing talismans...
Miasma-dispelling bells...
Senior Brother Ouyang’s illustrated book...
Huh?
"This..."
Li Mo picked up the book—a collector’s edition, no less. What use was this in a tomb?
Elder Qian coughed lightly. "Ouyang said it’d keep you entertained on the road, but indulgence leads to ruin, so I confiscated it."
With that, he tucked the book back into his spatial pouch.
Then, without further ado, he shoved the remaining items at Li Mo, turned, and left with a flourish.
"Senior Brother Ouyang gave this?"
Li Mo stared at the empty dishes on the table.
The words rang as hollow as Elder Qian’s earlier vow never to eat.
......
Nightfall.
After preparing another meal, Li Mo sat in the courtyard, contemplating the Divine Intent of the Lunar Goddess. Meanwhile, Ying Bing seemed absorbed in studying another avian spirit form.
Left to his own devices, Li Mo resumed his training.
Bathing in moonlight, he assessed his progress.
Before reaching the Inner Realm, both the Divine Intent of the Great Sage and the Lunar Goddess needed to be perfected.
But the former lagged far behind the latter.
Hours passed. The night deepened.
A ripple from his inner world summoned him back to his room. Lying down, he entered the pocket dimension.
On the Yin-Yang training grounds, Jiang Chulong stood waiting, clutching a peach blossom branch.
The young princess murmured softly:
"Teacher, today... I think I can defeat the Golden Crow senior."
"And... and... I’m about to break through."
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?
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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'!"
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
