This is what you call forced optimism.
Having persuaded Mu Miao, Little Wei was in an especially good mood. Humming a tune, she tied her skirt around her waist, waded into the water, and began spearing fish with a tree branch.
"Damn it! Why won’t this fish cooperate?" The moment Little Wei thrust her branch into the water, the fish darted away with nimble agility.
"Do you even know how to catch fish?" Si asked skeptically.
"Of course I do! Who do you think you’re looking down on?" Little Wei fired back, suddenly fired up.
After thirty failed attempts—and nearly choking on water when she lunged into the stream—she gave up on the idea of having meat for dinner.
"Cough, cough." Little Wei spat out the water, patting her chest to catch her breath. Soaked and uncomfortable, she sighed in frustration.
"Why do you like fish so much?" Si asked, puzzled.
"This fish is delicious, and humans can’t just live on greens and potatoes, right?" Little Wei tugged at her damp clothes, her face full of dejection.
"Got it," Si said abruptly.
Before Little Wei could react, a golden flash lit up the stream. Several plump fish leaped out of the water, landing in the bucket by the shore with a couple of splashes.
This guy’s cheating—no fair.
Little Wei froze in shock.
"Can… can I do that too someday?" She was instantly envious of city folks.
And they even know magic.
"Sure. After completing missions in a fantasy or cultivation world, you usually get rewards like cultivation techniques or immortal arts."
Little Wei was utterly smitten.
"Consider this payment for the mung bean cakes," Si said, his cheeks slightly flushed.
Who knew why, but seeing Little Wei so downcast had made him unable to resist spoiling her.
This was against the rules.
Hopefully, the company wouldn’t notice—otherwise, his paycheck would take a hit.
"Alright, thanks, Si! I’ll go grill the fish." Little Wei perked up immediately. Noticing Mu Miao still basking in the sunlight, she chirped, "Master, we’re having grilled fish today! And fish soup!"
There were so many fish—enough for two or three days.
Mu Miao’s lips curled into a faint smile.
"Good."
"Oh, Si, can I go to a fantasy or cultivation world next?" Little Wei was already looking forward to it.
"Nope." Si poured cold water on her excitement.
Before she could ask why, he continued, "In those worlds, the villains don’t get treated any better than the protagonists. You’ve read those novels—the main characters cheat their way through everything, and the world’s order is way more chaotic. You’ll probably have to wait two or three more worlds before getting a cultivation mission."
Little Wei knew he was right. By then, brains wouldn’t matter anymore.
Just brute force.
And she loved that kind of violence.
While the protagonists were busy romancing, she’d secretly cultivate and outshine them all.
Her mood lifted even further as she gathered firewood for the grill—perfect for fish and sweet potatoes. The soup simmered in a pot nearby.
Half an hour later, Little Wei emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of fish soup.
"Master, I picked out all the scallions—just fish left, and I removed the bones. There’s some diced potato in it too. Try it!" She ladled a small portion into a bowl and set it on the stone table.
Mu Miao cautiously found the spoon, leaned in to inhale the fragrant aroma, then took a sip. Pleasure flickered across her face.
"Your cooking has improved."
"Of course!" Little Wei gloated inwardly.
She had apprenticed under a restaurant chef, after all.
Turning back, she saw the grilled fish and sweet potatoes were ready. She plated them carefully.
The fish was perfectly charred on the outside, tender inside, and—most importantly—boneless. The aroma alone made her mouth water. Taking a small bite with her chopsticks, her eyes lit up.
"This is amazing!"
The spicy, numbing flavor was her absolute favorite. The fish was so silky and tender she couldn’t put her chopsticks down.
Mu Miao’s portion wasn’t spicy. Little Wei picked out the meat and placed it in her bowl.
"Master, try this one—no chili."
At the mention of no spice, Mu Miao’s expression shifted oddly, but she still picked up a bite with her chopsticks.
Then, her neck tilted slightly, as if eyeing Little Wei’s plate.
"You want mine?" Little Wei hadn’t expected Mu Miao to like spicy food.
Mu Miao nodded.
Little Wei fed her a bite. Mu Miao parted her lips cautiously, and the bold, numbing heat flooded her mouth—delicious.
"Are these your chopsticks?" Mu Miao asked suddenly after swallowing.
"Yeah," Little Wei confirmed.
Mu Miao: "…"
A visible blush spread across Mu Miao’s cheeks. Too flustered to speak, she buried herself in her meal.
After dinner, Little Wei brought Mu Miao a rattan chair to lounge by the bonfire, shielding her from the night’s chill.
Changed into fresh clothes, Little Wei sprawled on the soft grass. The firelight danced across her features, and the stars speckled the night sky like scattered dots.
It reminded her of that meadow she’d once visited with Ning Moqing.
A scene like this was too perfect to waste on anything but sleep.
She dozed off instantly.
The next morning, Little Wei jolted awake from a nightmare—a post-apocalyptic world where someone stole her last pack of instant noodles. She’d fought desperately but lost.
"My noodles!" she lamented.
Then she blinked. She was lying on a rattan bed.
Wait, hadn’t she fallen asleep on the grass?
Did Master carry me in?
No way. Blind and still managing to haul me back? That’s ridiculous. Yawning, she flopped around lazily, refusing to get up.
The journey from the valley to the capital had nearly wrecked her legs.
Today, she’d take a break—her entertainment? Teasing her master.
"By the way, how are the main couple? Fighting yet?"
If the female lead had any conscience, she’d argue with the male lead over her father’s sake.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have all that angsty back-and-forth.
(Though they’d still end up happily ever after.)
"They fought—pretty viciously. But then they still ended up… you know."
Little Wei knew exactly what Si meant, but…
At a time like this? How could they still be in the mood for that?
Is this the whole "couples fight and make up in bed" thing?
"Disgusting," Little Wei spat in disdain.
Meanwhile, Su Qingyun and Mo Yujun were still embroiled in their dramatic, tragic soap opera.
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?"
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.”
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
] 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.
