Their height, appearance, hairstyle, clothing, even their every movement and subtle expression—these two were identical, as if perfectly replicated.
The most terrifying part was that even their scent and aura were exactly the same.
Such a pair of twin sisters truly made it difficult to tell who was who.
But Chen Chang'an knew very well—the one who arrived later was the same person who had just spoken to him about a token of love at the Pleasure House.
Standing side by side, they both turned to look at Chen Chang'an and asked in unison, "How did you guess?"
Sure enough, even their voices were indistinguishable.
"Actually, if you pay close attention, there are differences between the two of you," Chen Chang'an replied.
"The first time I noticed something was off was still back in that little wooden hut."
"When I discovered the black robe carried your unique scent, I had Da Huang sense whether you were still in the Pleasure House."
"The answer was yes—you were there and had never left."
"That was when I began to suspect something was amiss."
"So, in every conversation afterward, I deliberately said certain things to observe your reactions and demeanor."
"Though the two of you mimic each other flawlessly, your temperaments differ slightly."
"Do you remember the last time you got angry?"
"Hey, the one who got angry last time was me, not my sister," one of them interjected.
"Ah? Ahem, my apologies. I got confused for a moment," Chen Chang'an said awkwardly, rubbing his nose. Even knowing they were sisters, if they stood still and silent, he still couldn’t tell them apart.
"So just because of anger, you concluded there were two of us?" the elder sister asked, puzzled.
"Because if it were the younger sister, she would have responded with teasing sarcasm," Chen Chang'an explained.
"Seductive charm is your natural gift, but the outwardly flirtatious demeanor is just a disguise—a performance for others."
"The younger sister likely presents herself as the proprietress most of the time, so she’s more accustomed to that persona."
"But the elder sister is different. You’ve mostly acted under the identity of the Asura, so your integration with the proprietress persona isn’t seamless. That’s where the cracks appeared."
"I suspect even your subordinates once doubted your identities, but they never imagined the City Lord Asura was never just one person."
"That’s precisely what dispelled their suspicions."
"Am I right?" Chen Chang'an asked with a faint smile.
His words made the sisters gasp in shock. Chen Chang'an’s keen observation and sharp reasoning were downright terrifying.
They even felt as if standing naked before him—utterly exposed, with no secrets left.
"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant," one of them said.
"Chen Chang'an, I truly find you more and more inscrutable."
"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Murong Qingrou, and this is my younger sister, Murong Qingwu."
Murong?
The surname existed, but it was rare. Chen Chang'an had once known someone with that surname.
"So, the two Murong ladies. I once knew a man named Murong… Murong Tianhai, I believe."
"Perhaps you’re even distantly related," Chen Chang'an joked.
"You… you knew our ancestor?"
Huh?
No way. He was just making a joke—were they actually descendants?
"You… you’re really Murong Tianhai’s descendants?"
"This… what are the odds?" Chen Chang'an asked, stunned.
"We are indeed descendants of Ancestor Murong Tianhai. But… he passed away over three thousand years ago. How could you have known him?"
"Just who are you?"
The sisters stared at Chen Chang'an in shock. Few in the world even remembered Murong Tianhai’s name after so long.
Yet Chen Chang'an had spoken it casually.
If he had known Murong Tianhai… just how old was he?
"Well… we crossed paths a few times. You could say we were acquaintances, but not close," Chen Chang'an admitted helplessly.
"You truly knew our ancestor?"
"Junior pays respects to Senior. Please forgive our earlier disrespect."
Without warning, the Murong sisters knelt before him, catching Chen Chang'an completely off guard.
Even if he knew their ancestor, was kneeling necessary?
Did they have a thing for this?
"What are you doing?" Chen Chang'an frowned.
"Since Senior had ties with our ancestor, we beg for your assistance."
Assistance?
What the hell? Chen Chang'an sighed inwardly. He’d only come here to gather information about the fetal pearl. How had things escalated like this?
"Get up first, then we’ll talk," he said.
"If Senior doesn’t agree, we won’t rise."
Huh?
Were they seriously resorting to coercion now?
"If you enjoy kneeling, then kneel as long as you like."
"Good girls, stay right there. This Senior has questions for you."
Chen Chang'an leisurely took a seat, his reaction leaving the sisters dumbfounded.
How… how was he so unaffected? Was this how a normal person would react?
What now? Stand up? That wouldn’t be proper. Stay kneeling? Were they really going to kneel indefinitely?
They were trapped in their own scheme—Chen Chang'an wasn’t giving them an out.
"Senior, ask whatever you wish," Murong Qingrou said, frustration creeping into her voice.
"My purpose in coming to the Chaotic Zone is singular—to find one thing."
"Do you know of a crystal-clear pearl that emits no aura, no energy fluctuations?"
"Indestructible, impervious to any method of damage."
A pearl?
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Chen Chang'an’s heart sank. Had his instincts been wrong?
Wasn't the fetus in the Chaotic Zone after all? Had all of this been in vain?
Senior, is the pearl about this size?" Murong Qingwu gestured with her hands—precisely the pearl's dimensions.
"You know of it?" Chen Chang'an’s spirits lifted instantly.
"If it’s truly that size, then yes, I do."
"But…"
"Senior, if you wish to obtain this pearl, we hope you’ll agree to one request. Will you?"
Now they were bargaining?
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll just take it by force?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smirk.
"I believe Senior isn’t that kind of person. Am I wrong?"
Oh? They had that much faith in his integrity?
Chen Chang'an gave Murong Qingwu an approving glance, while she inwardly sighed in relief—it seemed her judgment hadn't failed her. Chen Chang'an must indeed be an upright man.
"Your discernment is remarkable."
"Yet your judgment is utterly off the mark!"
Hmm?
What did he mean by "off the mark"?
"I despise being threatened by others."
"Senior, we didn’t mean it that way, it’s just—"
"My apologies. I’ll retrieve the pearl immediately."
Murong Qingrou hadn’t expected Chen Chang'an to be so unorthodox in his ways. Left with no choice, she reluctantly handed over the item.
As soon as Murong Qingrou presented the pearl, Chen Chang'an recognized it at once—this was indeed the fetal pearl he sought.
But why was it in Murong Qingwu’s possession, while Murong Qingrou remained unaware of it?
"Senior, is this the one?" Murong Qingwu asked.
"Indeed, it is. Where did you acquire it?" Chen Chang'an inquired curiously.
"Well… someone who once pursued me gave it to me as a trivial token."
"I found it peculiar, so I kept it, though I never paid it much mind."
Hah?
His precious fetal pearl had been treated as a mere trinket to win a maiden’s favor?
"Very well. I’ll take it for now. Both of you may rise."
"As you command, Senior!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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.
