"The reason we're discussing this is because we need to come up with a plan."
As Shen Mengli sat quietly on his lap, nestled in his embrace, Ye Feng swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.
"So... the plan you all came up with... involves me?"
"Of course it does."
Shen Mengli lifted her head from Ye Feng's chest, gently cupping his face with both hands as she gazed deeply into his eyes.
"After everyone discussed it, I ended up being the leader! As for the others... well, we're all equals, of course."
"Leader? Equals?"
"What? Don't you believe me, Xiao Feng? If you don’t, you can go back and ask them right now."
"No, no, Mengli, it’s not that I don’t believe you. I’m just wondering if this is really okay..."
"Xiao Feng!"
Shen Mengli turned his face back toward her when he tried to look away and pressed her lips against his in a sudden kiss.
"Mmm..."
But she pulled away just as quickly—her intention was only to calm him down.
As he met Shen Mengli’s tender gaze, Ye Feng unconsciously licked his lips, still tasting her sweet lingering warmth.
"Xiao Feng, since you’ve already chosen this kind of life, you shouldn’t look so troubled. Even if there are difficulties, you have to face them properly. We’ve all made our feelings clear during our earlier discussions. What matters now is how we move forward together."
"Mengli..."
Her words flowed through him like a soothing balm, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.
"Sorry... I just..."
"It’s okay. As long as you’ve accepted it in your heart, that’s all that matters."
After a long embrace, Shen Mengli rested her head on Ye Feng’s shoulder, her voice softening slightly as she asked,
"Xiao Feng... do you ever dislike me?"
"How could I?! How could I ever dislike you? Mengli, why would you ask that?"
"Because... my progress hasn’t improved at all..."
"Mengli, that so-called progress isn’t important."
Ye Feng gently patted her back in reassurance, tightening his hold when he felt her tremble slightly in his arms.
"I know you all want to complete the mission, but everyone has their own perspective on this. I don’t want you to force yourself to do anything you’re uncomfortable with just for my sake. Honestly, compared to before, I’ve already come to terms with things."
"But I can’t accept that! This mission is about your life, Xiao Feng! I don’t want to lose you—never!"
Feeling her emotions rising, Ye Feng quickly changed the subject. "Alright, alright, I won’t leave you. We’ll succeed. And when we do, let’s go to the beach together, okay?"
"...Mm."
Only when Shen Mengli’s frantic heartbeat steadied did Ye Feng gently shift her to sit beside him on the bench.
"Mengli, feeling better now?"
She blinked her bright eyes and nodded slightly, aware that she had gotten too worked up earlier. But the moment she heard Ye Feng dismiss the mission so casually, her heart had ached unbearably.
"Y-Yeah... a little."
"Good. But Mengli, there’s something I want to say to you. Is that okay?"
"O-Okay."
Seeing how cautious she was, Ye Feng spoke softly. "Mengli, you’ve already done so much for me—saving my life, accepting a future that might not make you happy... I can never repay you. I know I owe you more than I can ever make up for. Sometimes, I even think... maybe it’d be better if it all just ended. But with all of you by my side, I... I don’t know what to..."
"Then just accept it."
Shen Mengli suddenly cut him off, gripping his hand tightly.
"H-How can I just accept it so easily? Every time I see you all together, my chest feels so tight."
"Then... let me ask you a simple question. Do you love us?"
"Of course I do, but—"
"I love you too, Xiao Feng."
"But—"
"I love you."
"Mengli, wait—"
"I love you."
"......"
Stunned by her repeated confessions, Ye Feng froze. Every time he tried to speak, she interrupted him.
"Mengli?"
"Xiao Feng, don’t you understand yet?"
Pouting, Shen Mengli leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I love you. Does love even need a reason?"
"Love... doesn’t need a reason."
Ye Feng murmured the words to himself before closing his eyes.
That’s right. Does love even need a reason? The reason is simply love itself.
When he opened his eyes again, the hesitation in them had vanished, replaced only by unwavering devotion as he looked at Shen Mengli.
"Xiao Feng?"
Her concerned voice reached his ears, but before she could ask if something was wrong, he suddenly pulled her into his arms. A soft gasp escaped her lips—then silence.
"Mmm..."
......
"Sigh~"
Su Yuxin twirled a strand of her long ponytail, her eyes darting toward the door every now and then.
"Why is Mengli taking so long to come back?"
"Yuxin, be patient. Mengli is our representative now. All we can do is trust her."
Li Mucheng reassured her while holding onto Su Yuxin’s hand, as if afraid she might bolt outside any second.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuyan appeared completely unbothered, sipping her coffee leisurely. But deep down, she knew one thing for certain:
That girl Mengli is probably sneaking another taste!
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.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
