At the same time.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The commotion from the battle had drawn the attention of the Elders from the Taichu Holy Land, who now flew over from afar.
Qin Luo sensed something and seemed to recall an idea in his mind.
"Young Mistress."
"Hmm?"
"I’ve figured out a way to return."
Su Muwan froze for a second—then—
Whoosh!
The Elders of the Taichu Holy Land descended.
"What happened here?"
"Gasp! That demoness beside the Holy Son! Doesn’t she look exactly like the Frostfiend?!"
"Impossible! The Sect Master is supposed to be suppressing that fiend!"
"Could it be...?"
"The fiend has broken free!"
"Demoness! Release our Holy Son at once!"
A barrage of accusations flew their way.
Su Muwan rolled her eyes so hard she might’ve strained them.
These people were beyond hopeless.
Instead of responding, Qin Luo simply wrapped an arm around Su Muwan’s shoulder in full view of everyone.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A surge of shadowy energy erupted from his body, causing everyone’s pupils to shrink in shock.
This—! Such overwhelming demonic energy!!
Qin Luo, still holding Su Muwan, slowly levitated into the air. His gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke calmly, "Since you’ve all discovered the truth, I’ll drop the act."
"Su Muwan, the so-called ‘demoness’ in your eyes..."
"...is my Dao Companion."
BOOM—!!
In an instant, everyone’s minds went blank.
Mu Xueyi collapsed to her knees with a thud.
Her lips trembled, her face pale, as she stared in disbelief at Qin Luo holding Su Muwan mid-air.
How... could this be?!
"Demoness!! You’ve bewitched our Holy Son!!"
"Disaster! The demoness has corrupted our sect’s treasure!!"
"Qin Luo, the Holy Son, has fallen to the demoness’ corruption!!"
Su Muwan: ??? What kind of nonsense are they spouting?
The next moment—
As if some condition for their return had been triggered—
A radiant white light enveloped Qin Luo and Su Muwan.
In the blink of an eye, the two vanished into the sky.
The demoness had taken Qin Luo and fled!
Mu Xueyi finally snapped. Clenching her fists—
BANG!
She smashed them into the ground, tears streaming as she sobbed, "Waaah!!"
"What’s the use of all this cultivation power?!"
"My senior brother has become another’s plaything!"
"And I—I couldn’t do anything to stop it!"
"Pure love? What good is pure love?!"
"If I’d confessed sooner, if I hadn’t clung to my pride, he never would’ve been seduced by that demoness!"
"This is all my fault... for letting her take him away."
"That’s right..."
Before the Elders, Mu Xueyi picked up the Demon-Slaying Sword from the ground and pressed it against her throat, declaring with finality:
"Su Muwan! I hate you!!"
"If I can’t defeat you... I’ll make sure to disgust you to death!!"
"If there’s a next life... I’ll become that ‘Su Bailian’ you always talked about!!"
"I’ll steal everything you hold dear!!"
Splat!!
Mu Xueyi reincarnated.
That day, the Taichu Holy Land lost two of its greatest treasures.
Oh, and the Sect Master was gone too.
......
......
9:00 AM.
"Mmm..."
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a soft glow over the bed.
Su Muwan slowly opened her eyes, greeted by the achingly familiar ceiling above her.
Tears welled up instantly, spilling down her cheeks as she choked out, "Finally... we’re back."
Uwaaaah!!
Can you believe it, folks?!
Finally back from that godforsaken ancient era with no phones, no internet, and no potato chips!!
Hallelujah! Time to indulge in all the entertainment I’ve missed for nearly a month!
"Young Mistress, you’re awake?"
Qin Luo’s voice came from beside her, laced with amusement.
Su Muwan turned her head to see Qin Luo sitting by the bed, holding out a glass of water with a gentle smile. His expression was as calm and warm as ever.
She nodded, accepting the glass while rubbing her eyes and sitting up. After blinking a few times to confirm she was truly back in the real world, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"Luo Luo, how did we get back?" she murmured, puzzled. "How did you figure out the return condition?"
"Simple," Qin Luo replied with a chuckle, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "Remember the first two times we entered the dream?"
"Once, when you were a child and Jiang Xueqi tried to steal your doll—we fulfilled the return condition after I protected it for you."
"The other time, you became a calamity in the Profound Heaven Realm—we returned after wiping out the pursuers."
"Both instances had one thing in common."
He pinched Su Muwan’s clueless, chubby cheek playfully.
"We advanced the plot."
"This time, by openly declaring our relationship, we triggered the next phase of the story."
"So we returned."
Su Muwan nodded slowly. "Oh! Got it."
"Wait, how much time passed in the real world? Did people notice we were gone?"
Qin Luo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, just one night."
"???"
Su Muwan’s eyes widened. "What?! One night?! That’s impossible! We were there for days!"
"Young Mistress, you still don’t fully grasp the mechanics of this crossing," Qin Luo said, amused.
"Ten years in the Fate Dream Cauldron equals one day in reality."
"Different timeflow rates are a pretty common trope, you know."
"Hey! Don’t say it so casually like it’s no big deal!" Su Muwan grumbled.
"Then how should I say it, Young Mistress... Here, wipe your face."
"Hmph, figure it out yourself... Mmmph—!"
......
......
Meanwhile.
Taichu Holy Land.
Beast Spirit Mountain, back hills.
Su Bailian stared blankly at the ice-blue sword embedded in the rock before her.
[After ten thousand years, Mu Xueyi, I’ve finally found your reincarnation... Draw me forth, and inherit the memories and cultivation of your past life... Hey! Where are you going?!]
"Tch! Who has time for fighting? Sounds like a hassle. Right, Boqi?"
"Woof!"
Su Bailian rolled her eyes and walked off without a second glance.
Just taking Boqi for a post-meal stroll, and she runs into this nonsense?
Expecting her to fight?
Please, did they think she was some battle junkie like Su Muwan?
[Hey! HEY!]
The Demon-Slaying Sword was utterly baffled.
ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
