Xiao Mingzhao asked, her brow filled with a look seeking praise. It was clear that being able to accomplish such a thing for her beloved filled her heart with immense satisfaction.
But an even greater and more profound satisfaction came from the affirmation of her beloved.
"I like it!"
Tuoba Xiangtai said emphatically.
The vermilion walls of this Yuchen Estate were topped with gilded tiles. The red sandalwood doors were studded with golden nails and flanked by two jade qilin statues, both holding luminous pearls in their mouths.
No matter how one looked at it, it was grand and magnificent, far beyond what the felt tents on the grasslands could compare to.
"Xiangtai, as long as you like it!"
"I'll take you inside to have a look!"
Xiao Mingzhao happily led Tuoba Xiangtai on a tour. At Tuoba Xiangtai's suggestion, she even had all of Lu Qing's people leave, leaving only herself and Tuoba Xiangtai.
Along with a few maids and personal guards.
And the ten thousand personal guards Tuoba Xiangtai had brought into the city.
And then...
Taking advantage of the moment when Xiao Mingzhao was happily introducing the place, Tuoba Xiangtai turned around. With a calm face and his usual placid tone, he gave an order.
"Order our guards to surround this Yuchen Estate!"
"Without my command, not a single person is allowed in, and absolutely no one, especially Her Majesty, is allowed out!"
"Do you hear me clearly?"
How could the guards dare to delay? They immediately acted according to Tuoba Xiangtai's orders.
In a short time, the massive Yuchen Estate was surrounded like an iron barrel.
With such a big commotion, Xiao Mingzhao quickly noticed and could not help but ask curiously, "Xiangtai, what are you doing?"
Tuoba Xiangtai immediately replied, "Luan'er, I haven't seen you in so long. I want to... spend a little more time with you, without being disturbed by others!"
Xiao Mingzhao's jade-like face instantly flushed with a rosy hue, filled with shyness.
When she first saw Tuoba Xiangtai, it was among the hostage group. From just a distant glance, she saw this Tuoba Xiangtai, as cold and aloof as a solitary moon.
With just one look, her heart fluttered.
All that followed was just her lowering her status, deliberately getting closer, and step by step sinking into this mutually probing romance, until now she was inextricably caught in it.
She was completely absorbed in it.
However, their identities were different. The statuses of a Barbarian and a Yu person were like a vast chasm, making them look at each other as if separated by the Milky Way.
It was also from that time on that she gradually developed the desire for universal harmony in the world.
If her ancestors could brave hardships and achieve great deeds, why couldn't she?!
Over the years, exchanging letters with Tuoba Xiangtai, so much of her heart was poured onto the paper, and so much yearning and longing surged in the ink.
Now that they had finally met, she could understand Tuoba Xiangtai's painstaking efforts.
"Alright!"
Xiao Mingzhao nodded heavily and waved for her following attendants to retreat. She then toured the Yuchen Estate with Tuoba Xiangtai.
But she did not notice that the few attendants who stayed behind quickly had swords placed at their necks by the barbarian guards.
"What are you doing?"
The few attendants still had joyful faces, preparing to welcome Xiao Mingzhao's grand wedding. As a result, they only saw the flash of blades, and in the blink of an eye, several heads crashed to the ground.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mingzhao was still taking Tuoba Xiangtai around the Yuchen Estate. For a full hour, she had even broken a sweat, yet they still hadn't finished touring the estate.
Such time spent together was always happy and brief. Before she knew it, the sky had grown slightly dark. Xiao Mingzhao looked up at the sky, and a look of annoyance suddenly appeared on her face.
"Sigh, it gets dark so fast!"
"Xiangtai, I... I should go back now."
Tuoba Xiangtai immediately stopped her: "Why do you have to go back?"
"Can't you rest here at the Yuchen Estate tonight?"
Xiao Mingzhao's jade-like face turned red: "Of course not. The rules of propriety are strict. As the Emperor of Great Yu, how can I casually overstep them?"
"Besides..."
"Government affairs are busy, and our grand wedding is right before us. I need to handle all these things personally. How can I stay in this Yuchen Estate?"
Pausing, Xiao Mingzhao, who had not yet realized the situation, smiled sweetly: "But, Xiangtai, I will make time to accompany you tomorrow."
"Rest assured."
Tuoba Xiangtai was not assured, or rather, he simply would not allow it.
He immediately said: "No. I finally made it to the capital, you cannot leave me for even a single step."
"Otherwise, those body doubles of yours will steal you away again."
Xiao Mingzhao's heart was surging with love, and she completely failed to see the jealous madness that suddenly welled up in Tuoba Xiangtai's eyes when he said the words body doubles. She just smiled and said: "Xiangtai, what are you thinking?"
"Those body doubles were just my yearning for you when I thought we were destined to be apart. I never had anything to do with them. How can you be so jealous?"
Tuoba Xiangtai shouted fiercely: "I am just that jealous!"
This posture was completely different from his usual image of an elegant young master. He looked more like a vicious wild wolf, a side of him Xiao Mingzhao had never seen before, and she was immediately startled.
"Xiangtai, you..."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" Tuoba Xiangtai also realized his loss of composure and hurriedly said: "I just... want you to stay by my side."
"Luan'er, I have already taken control of the Yuchen Estate. I've also killed the people you brought. Today, tomorrow, the day after, and in the future, you must stay in the Yuchen Estate, stay by my side!"
These words were spoken softly and evenly, but falling upon Xiao Mingzhao's ears, they were no different from a clap of thunder.
She widened her eyes, looking at Tuoba Xiangtai in disbelief, only feeling that the Tuoba Xiangtai in this moment was very unfamiliar.
She couldn't help but say: "Xiangtai, how could you do this?"
"I'm sorry!" Tuoba Xiangtai quickly admitted his mistake, saying: "Luan'er, I... I just want you to stay by my side. I've worked so hard for so long for this day."
"I won't let you leave me again."
These words were so sincere that Xiao Mingzhao's heart was once again filled with tenderness. She smiled and said, "It's just leaving for one night. What are you worried about?"
"Alright, stop fussing."
"I will come tomorrow."
Saying this, Xiao Mingzhao turned sideways to leave.
But Tuoba Xiangtai merely waved his hand, and several guards not far away immediately rushed over with scimitars, blocking Xiao Mingzhao's path.
Xiao Mingzhao frowned. For the first time, she felt that Tuoba Xiangtai was being somewhat baffling and unbelievable.
Her tone turned a bit cold as she said, "Tuoba Xiangtai, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Luan'er!" Tuoba Xiangtai still had that look of deep affection: "I... I just want you by my side."
"By my side for all eternity!"
"Never leaving me for even a single step!"
"Stay, won't you?"
After all, Xiao Mingzhao was the Empress. Having been in a high position for a long time, usually no one dared to disobey her. Now, being provoked by Tuoba Xiangtai time and time again, her anger immediately surged.
"Tuoba Xiangtai, let me leave!"
"No, no..." Tuoba Xiangtai suddenly began to tremble all over: "Luan'er, you... you cannot leave, you cannot leave me for even a single step!"
"From now on, you must stay with me!"
"You must be under my watch. You cannot see other men, let alone speak to any man other than me. If anyone dares to speak to you, I will poison their throat to make them mute and sentence them to death by a thousand cuts!"
...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
] 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.
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.
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?!
