Time passed in the blink of an eye.
When Fang Zhiyi learned that the male and female leads had escaped, he was not the least bit surprised. Even though all their family members were dead, they still had to survive. That was just how protagonists were.
Meanwhile, Wei Lin, who had fled, now had his hands around Xue Wanqiu's neck: "Is what you said true? I am of the Southern Dynasty's imperial bloodline?"
Xue Wanqiu struggled desperately. Her face had long become twisted and hideous. Just to stay alive, she had revealed the background story she knew. Seeing a glimmer of hope for revenge, Wei Lin's fighting spirit was rekindled. The other two, also seeking a way out, bound themselves to him once more, though now they were merely at a stage of mutual exploitation.
However, when Wei Lin and the other three crossed mountains and ridges to enter Southern Dynasty territory, reality dealt them another heavy blow.
From the mouths of local farmers, they learned that the Southern Dynasty had already fallen. The Northern Dynasty Emperor had dispatched his own brothers.
"They were fierce as beasts, wielding weapons we'd never seen before that made thunderous noises," an old farmer gestured animatedly.
The Northern Dynasty hadn't lasted a year under such an onslaught. The Northern Dynasty Emperor had simply surrendered.
It was also because Fang Zhiyi had designed such terrifying weapons of slaughter that his brothers completely believed his story about meeting a transcendent master. Combined with his psychological manipulation, they even felt a pang of guilt for having wronged him.
Wei Lin fell into utter despair.
All four were wanted fugitives, though Fang Zhiyi seemed to be toying with them on purpose—the bounty on their heads was only a single string of cash. This meant that even if someone recognized them, no one was willing to go through the trouble of reporting them.
But for the four, life was now excruciatingly painful. Not only did they have no means for revenge, they were plagued by nightmares every night, haunted by their dead relatives who blamed, scolded, and even lunged to bite their flesh.
The four could only take shelter in a dilapidated temple. They had no money and survived by stealing food from nearby farmers. Ironically, they had all developed an illness—the sight of meat would make them vomit.
Under such torment, the first to break was Wei Lin, who had seen hope only to have it shattered.
His hair fell out in clumps. At night, he lay wide-eyed, unable to sleep. He simply couldn't understand how things had come to this.
Xue Wanqiu, who was once brimming with confidence, was also on the verge of a mental breakdown. Her serene elegance, her fine clothes and luxurious food were all gone. Now, her daily mantra consisted of the most venomous curses—cursing Fang Zhiyi, cursing Yin Tao, cursing her adoptive parents, and sometimes cursing the three men. But they no longer indulged her as they once did. Sometimes, emotional investment demands returns, and clearly, the present Xue Wanqiu could offer them none. Thus, she became the target of their bullying, which further pushed her towards madness.
Deep in the night, the drafty temple was filled with the sound of wind. Hearing Xue Wanqiu nearby, grinding her teeth and muttering in her sleep, then letting out a shrill laugh, a surge of rage shot through him. He blamed all his misfortune on her. It was she who had first approached him, she who promised to help him rise to great heights, and ultimately, she who had caused his downfall!
His hands tightened around Xue Wanqiu's neck.
Xue Wanqiu woke with a start, struggling frantically. The suffocation brought a sliver of clarity back to her. She tried to evoke the tenderness of her "Brother Wei," but it was futile. In that moment, she began to regret. If she had agreed to Fang Zhiyi's proposal to enter the palace as Empress from the start, would the outcome have been better?
The commotion alerted the other two. Liu Yan fled like a startled rabbit.
Xiao Ce stood frozen, watching Xue Wanqiu's hand go limp and fall.
He felt as if something had irrevocably left him. But then, he saw Wei Lin's twisted face.
The two men fought—protagonist against second male lead—and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand. By dawn, Wei Lin staggered out of the temple and disappeared into the mountain forest.
Xiao Ce's corpse lay beside Xue Wanqiu, his eyes filled with resentment.
In the capital, Fang Zhiyi stood with his hands behind his back, instructing the Fourth Prince on his work. He claimed it was for the Fourth Prince's own good, to prepare him for the future, so he had him handle government affairs directly. With the expanded territory, the administrative work was endless. The Fourth Prince even dreamed of mountains of official documents every night.
Xiao Hei circled down from the sky and landed, letting out a satisfied burp.
"Was it tasty?" Fang Zhiyi glanced at it.
Xiao Hei shook its head. "Just a soul. But Xue Wanqiu's soul had a bitter taste."
"Thought you could wreak havoc and then run away? Nothing comes that cheap," Fang Zhiyi snorted.
In the seventeenth year of the new dynasty, Fang Zhiyi announced he was abdicating the throne to his fourth brother and then vanished. No one knew where he went. Even the imperial guards and spies could not find his whereabouts. A nation cannot be without a ruler for a day. The ministers strictly followed Fang Zhiyi's final decree and installed the Fourth Prince on the throne.
The Fourth Prince cursed Fang Zhiyi, wanting to find the next person to take on this burden. But the Eldest Son and the Second Son had long known this was a terrible job and simply refused to return. The Eldest Son even sent people to bring the Fourth Prince many exotic gifts as congratulations, adding that any land with savages he conquered in the future would also be under the Fourth Prince's administration, infuriating him.
It wasn't until he was in his forties or fifties, and had the newly adult Crown Prince take over handling court affairs, that he finally had the chance to board a warship bound for lands across the ocean. Setting foot on foreign soil for the first time, the Fourth Prince felt like crying.
But in the distance, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure, gone in an instant.
"Hiss..."
An accompanying general asked, "What is it, Your Majesty?"
"I thought I saw my third brother," the Fourth Prince rubbed his eyes. "Must have been mistaken."
He gritted his teeth. "If I find him, I'll make him take the throne back!"
The general muttered to himself, he'd never seen an emperor so obsessed with giving the throne to someone else. But seeing natives approaching in the distance, the general waved his hand, and his soldiers raised their firearms.
Yin Tao never saw her "senior" again. Without her goal, her greatest joy was traveling around with the Grand Princess. She also tried establishing a Royal Academy, which received strong support from the Empress Dowager.
"That son of mine, abandoning such a wonderful Noble Consort as you, just to run off!" Whenever she spoke of Fang Zhiyi, the Empress Dowager was furious. Fortunately, although the Fourth Prince wasn't her biological son, he still honored her as Empress Dowager.
Yin Tao just chuckled. She wouldn't dare to turn the act with her senior into reality—too terrifying.
The following year, a tourist county in the provinces received a report from villagers about a murderous criminal.
Officials rushed to the scene, first evacuating the tourists, then apprehending a ragged, deranged man holding a human head.
No one recognized him as one of the former masterminds of the rebellion.
On the very night he was locked in the prison cell, Wei Lin hanged himself. The local authorities, fearing responsibility, reported it overnight. Fortunately, the Crown Prince was benevolent and did not blame them for negligence, only instructing them to give the man a proper burial.
Yin Tao lived until old age before leaving this world. She had wanted to see her senior one last time, but her wish was never granted.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
