The endless void of the mind, displayed on print for thou to comprehend it's meaning. Read each poem and feel what I felt as I wrote it.

It was already evening, and Lei Zhao, Yan Mei, and Niu Niu stayed at the hotel near Disneyland and had eaten dinner there. The three were already in the hotel room, Yan Mei and Niu Niu watching TV. 
Lei Zhao was out on the balcony. He was doing some calls for the company and also asking for some updates in the investigation. 
Yan Mei and Niu Niu were on the bed. The little boy was watching a movie while Yan Mei was busy watching Lei Zhao talking to someone on the phone. 
'He looks so focused... who is he talking to?'
"Boo-boo..."
Yan Mei snapped out of her thoughts as Niu Niu got her attention. 
"What is it?"
"I'm getting sleepy..."
Niu Niu rubbed his eyes as he yawned, Yan Mei smiling as she pulled the sheets, tucking Niu Niu in the bed. 
"Then go to sleep. Boo-boo and your uncle will be here and will sleep in a while," she said, Niu Niu sleepily looking at Yan Mei with droopy eyes. 
"Can you tell me a story that you love, Boo-boo?"
"Oh!" 
Hearing this from him, the title of a Filipino author's poem suddenly popped into her mind. It was entitled "Ballad of a Mother's Heart" by Jose La Villa Tierra. 
She had read this before when she had an interest in reading books. She bought a book with a collection of poems. When she read the book, she read the poem by Jose La Villa Tierra, making her love her poem in an instant. 
"Boo-boo?"
Yan Mei smiled as she realized that she was in her thoughts again. 
"I'll tell you about a mother's love. Is that okay?"
Niu Niu nodded, "Anything that Boo-boo tells me, I would love it!"
Yan Mei nodded as she started patting Niu Niu's small body. She then spoke each line of the poem in verbatim. Since she loved the poem, she knew each line at heart. 
"The night was dark, for the moon was young. And the stars were asleep and rare; The clouds were thick, yet Youth went out. To see his Maiden fair."
Niu Niu furrowed his brows, "What does that mean, Boo-boo?"
Yan Mei smiled, "It means that the boy went out to see his girlfriend late at night."
"Oh!"
Yan Mei nodded, then she continued saying the next stanzas of the poem. 
"'Dear One,' he pleaded as he knelt. Before her feet, in tears, 'My love is true; why have you kept me waiting all these years?' The maiden looked at him unmoved, it seemed, and whispered low:
'Persistent Youth, you have to prove by deeds your love is true.'"
Niu Niu smiled as he understood what the poem was saying. 
"Is the girlfriend challenging the youth?"
Yan Mei nodded, "Yes! Smart, Niu Niu!"
Niu Niu giggled as Yan Mei slightly pinched his nose to compliment him. She then continued the narration of the poem, Niu Niu intently listening to her. 
"'There's not a thing I would not do for you, Beloved,' said he. 'Then go,' said she, 'to your mother dear and bring her heart to me.'"
Niu Niu gasped, "Oh! Is the youth going to take her mother's heart?"
Yan Mei put a finger in front of Niu Niu to silence him. She did not answer his question, but she continued telling him the next stanzas of the poem. 
"Without another word, Youth left and went to his mother dear. And opened her breast and took her heart. He did not shed a tear! Then back to his Maiden fair he ran, unmindful of the rain; but his feet slipped and he fell down, and loud he groaned with pain!"
"Hmph!" Niu Niu harrumphed, "It's his karma! How could he take his mother's heart?"
Giggling, Yan Mei hushed him once more, continuing the next part of the poem. 
"Still in his hand, he held the prize. That would win his Maiden's hand; And he thought of his mother dear, so kind, so sweet, so fond. And then he heard a voice, not from his lips but all apart: 'Get up,' it said; 'Were you hurt, Child?' It was his mother's heart."
"Wow!" Niu Niu furrowed his brows when Yan Mei had finished telling him the poem. "Even though the son took her heart, the mother still cared for him!"
"Yes," Yan Mei agreed, continuing to pat Niu Niu's body to help him sleep. "Now, Niu Niu, let this be a lesson and a reminder. Respect your parents and your elders. Always remember that no one can beat the love of a mother who loves her child."
Niu Niu yawned, slowly nodding at Yan Mei who continued to pat his sides. 
"I will always remember that, Boo-boo," he sleepily replied, his eyes closing. Yan Mei giggled as she found it cute for Niu Niu to be so active, then suddenly quickly falling asleep. 
"Good night and sweet dreams, Niu Niu," Yan Mei whispered as she kissed his forehead, Yan Mei slowly sitting up as she watched him for a few seconds. 
He just asked her to tell her a story, but she did not expect to share the poem that she loved the most about a mother's love. 
She somehow felt melancholic, but the moment she felt arms wrapping around her waist, she was surprised to see Lei Zhao giving her a back hug. 
"He fell asleep?" Lei Zhao asked as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Yan Mei nodded as she slowly turned her body to face him, her arms wrapped around his neck. 
"Want to hang out on the balcony for a while before we go to bed, hmm?"
Lei Zhao chuckled as he nodded. He gave Yan Mei a kiss on the lips, Yan Mei smiling at him afterward as they locked eyes with each other. 
"You never cease to amaze me, Lei Zhao," she complimented him, Lei Zhao grinning ear to ear as he liked her compliment. 
"I would always continue to amaze you, Yan Mei," he said, now holding her hand. "Want some hot drink before going to bed?"
"Mm," Yan Mei nodded, "On the balcony. Order one small cake, too, please?"
Lei Zhao and Yan Mei then walked to the balcony as Lei Zhao called for room service. The two of them finally had some time alone after having fun with the little Niu Niu.


#Nominated in Webnovel Spirity Awards 2020.

(Completed)
Trigger Warning: Novel contains mature content and explicit scenes only intended for adults.
{R-18+, No rape and No misunderstanding}


*Nothing can come between my husband and I,not even death.*


~She was sad, hurt, and depressed. She was a mess, a monster who was slowly fading in her dark, lonely world until he came along. Like a twinkle little star, he brightened her horrid world. He was no one but her happy pill~

(Couple 1)

"Tell me Wifey, has any man ever made you feel the way I do?" Lei Zhao asked.

"Will it hurt if I tell you someone has?" Yan Mei inquired.

A cheeky grin appeared on Lei Zhao's lips.

"It wouldn't because I am sure no one has done it, especially the way you scream with pleasure under me."

--------
Yan Mei, an aloof CEO known as the devil strongly believes love is a scam because she has experienced the joy and sadness of it. Now her heart has turned into a piece of stone encased by steel.

Lei Zhao only has time for one thing in his life: work, after the death of his brother, which made him devastated and broken. 
After a chance encounter with a woman in a red suit at a club, he finds himself drawn to her. 
Something about the mysterious woman has him determined to make her his and unlock the mystery of the pain that flickers in her eyes.

~But will the devil give him a chance? Even though at times, the devil needs love too.~

*****
(Couple 2)
~She became the monster, parents told their kids to run away from, but she was far from a monster. She was just a lonely girl who wanted a friend who would always be there for her, who would check up on her and ask her how she was~

"This isn't a fairytale or a teen fiction where the bad girl falls for the good boy and tries to change for him, and then they live happily ever after. This is real life, and well, life is fucked up."

Ying Sheng said, and she gulped the beer she was holding, loneliness flickering in her eyes.

"But I-I won't ask you.. to change or want you to change. I just want you to be my bad girl. You --can tie me up in bed- and fu…ck me until I forget my name." Liam stammered as he turned crimson red.

Ying Sheng heaved a sigh, "Cutie, you're supposed to look for a trophy wife who can cook and do chores. Not a monster like me who will destroy your perfect life. Also, we can't be together."

Liam's heart nearly stopped in his chest when he heard her. His shoulders hunched, and he took a deep breath.

'Why?" He queried.

"Because I love someone else."

~At times you have to choose between the one you love and the one who loves you. Ying Sheng learned this in a hard way.~

Two broken-hearted women, each broken in their own way.....with two determined men, ready to fix their broken pieces at all costs.

This is a story of betrayal, love and second chances. Ready to enjoy the journey and learn along?

*No evil mother-in-law, step-sister or cheating bestfriend
*Not your usual cliche flash marriages novel
*Bad girl X Good boy

Tags: Flash Marriage #doting husband, #smut, #bad girl, #good boy, #betrayal #second chances #Strong female lead #Spirity-awards 2020 #Supernatural

Note: Some chapters may be triggering for others but there is always a warning before reading.

^I'm not the owner of the cover. CREDITS TO THE OWNER.
if the owner wants me to take it down just leave a comment.
Thank you!

Discord server: https://discord.gg/FXdVxp6
Join to chat with author, fellow readers and make friends.

A family inclined to kindness and charity would grace the descendants.
Thanks to one small act of kindness,
by providence she comes across a grateful friend;
Fortunate that her mother,
has done an unperceived good deed….

Men should rescue the distressed and aid the poor…
Who would have guessed that kindness in this world ultimately would be the road that one must choose, that proverbial fork in the road?

Clouds of rain float on eastern winds as new vines start to blossom.
Though drums of war roar too loudly and their brilliance has been lost,
a green grass carpet greets the sun by the break of morning.
Let us wait for the yellow leaves, a few gourds are harvested.

Desmond's POV
That Cassie girl was a total psycho.
At first glance she might be shy and sweet and smart, the typical nerd. I could see why August held her dear. Cut some pounds off her and make her moan, and she was already the sexy librarian all boys dream of. 
But boy she was persistent. And psychotic. And quite a good kisser, actually. But psychotic, nonetheless.
Here is the list of the things that she tried in order to have a one-on-one time with me:

Monday: Gazing at me unabashedly for about forty five minutes and twenty seven seconds during the whole class of Chemistry. 
p.s: I almost blew my hand off because of that.
Tuesday: magically appear in nearly every hall that I walked on. Gave me the creeps, and I had to go home early because of that.
Wednesday: Heard her crying and wailing and scratching (Boy, do I hope I heard wrong) inside the girl's restroom. My shitting time became even shittier because A: I hate the public restroom, And B: I know that all those wailing were because of me.
Thursday: Nothing happened, but that was because she spent most of her day in the infirmary. The nurse said she was exhausted due to sleep deprivation.
Friday: Fortunately, she was done with the extremes. This time, she came up to me personally, and without words, gave me a letter. It only said three words: I hate you. 

I regretted every scandalous thought that I'd have about her. I regretted with my decision to take my chance with her. Hell, I regretted ever landing my eyes on her. 
Sure, she was cute. Kinda. Well. A little cute. Kinda. She had these big dark eyes that resembled a little child, and this kind of innocence was the first thing that drew me to her, and this kind of innocence was the only thing that prevented me for breaking her even worse than this.
With other girls, I could sleep with them and leave them the next day. Sure, they'd kick and scream and curse, but I was already used to that. It's all part of their ploy, anyway. Playing victim, when they were the ones who started taking their clothes off. Blaming me as the 'heartless predator', because I gave them what they wanted: one mindblowing night with the Arrington's sole heir.
These girls were crazy, mindless whores. But I knew they'd be all right if I ignore them. Well, to an extend, anyway. But I always made sure to keep tabs to all of them, and within the next month, up to 95% percent of them had dug their claws to other guys.
But not with her. Not with Cassandra Bellington. She kept going all emo and dark even after weeks. Eating so little in every lunch, talking to no one, zoning out in class, and those thick lips of her never made as much as a small smile.
All of those angst, just because of one kiss.
I could never imagine what she'd do if I'd gone further than that.

-
Normal POV
-
The next few days flew in a blur. Cassie's eyes were in a constant bleary sate from way too much crying and chronic insomnia. She never knew that being rejected would hurt this much. This was different from when she broke up with Xxs8terboy91xX or Dr4g0n5lay3r666, or any of her virtual boyfriends. She had always known that they were chatting her up for fun. Besides, she had never seen them at all; it was easy to think that nothing had happened.
But with Desmond, it was all a whole different matter. 
First of all, he was real. He was a living, existing human being, and he existed particularly excessively at school, the place where she spent most of her time. Knocking into him at the hallways, seeing him at the school cafeterias, having him in her class, his presence was everywhere.
But the worst part was noticing the way he deliberately not looking at her every time their path crossed. He did say that nothing happened between them that night, and the whole school sure did believe him. Everyone thought that Desmond Arrington cheated on the redheaded soccer girl, a pretty hot chick with defined abs and calves. Nobody knew about the incident between him and Cassie in August' Mother's room, nobody even noticed that she had been in the party. Even August had stopped talking to her.
Of course, for her own sake, Cassie tried her utmost to forget it. But it didn't seem that Desmond had done his part well.
It was the only thing that kept her going. That he still held on to that night, that he still hadn't forgotten her, that he still, if possible, maintained the previous desires he'd had for her.
With every new day, her hopes came up, and at the end of the day, her hopes were crushed into minuscule of pieces by the iron feet of Desmond Arrington.
Yes, he was that much of a monster.
After a full two weeks of that routine, Cassie felt almost numb. She knew that she was beyond stupid to let this thing bothered her this much, but her heart wasn't in her grasp anymore. She even went against her own policies and started downloading rock metal songs to ease her mind.
And it did, in a way.
It gave her a new hobby, though, and it was writing dark lifeless poems. And that was what she was scribbling about at History Class when all of a sudden; Mr. Flynn snatched her notebook off her hands.
"And what are you writing about, Cassandra?" Mr Flynn's high-pitched voice echoed as his eyes followed the words on the book.
Cassie looked up; she hadn't even the slightest energy to be surprised, much less embarrassed. The whole class stared at her, and strange as it may sound, she wasn't even in the slightest bit fazed by that. She looked at Mr Flynn's face, which was looking back at her in pity. 
Fortunately, he didn't read the poem onto the class, and gave it back to her. "I suggest you seeing Ms. Humblewood in her office," Ms. Humblewood was the alumnus of St. Pulkeria who now worked as the student's counselor. "You can go right now."
Cassie heard whispers growing from among the students. Usually, the children that were sent to Ms. Humblewood were the troubled ones: thugs, potential dealers, would-be-whores, and in some rare cases, cheerleaders who had gone fat over the summer. There was not a single history in which a golden student such as Cassandra Bellington going to that place!
Ignoring all the developing rumors, Cassie held her head down and dragged her feet out of the class. The way to Ms. Humblewood's office was unfamiliar in Cassie's eyes. The halls were darker, some lamps were broken, and there were faint traces of graffiti all around the walls. 
Well, it was expected. After all, the ones who ever bothered to come here were the bad boys and girls. Obviously it would hurt their pride if they didn't mark the places they'd been somehow.
The door that led her to the young counselor's office was even worse. It had been repainted several times more than any of the school's other doors, and Cassie could see dents and scratches on the wood. Ms. Humblewood must have made a lot of enemies.
Carefully, Cassie knocked on the door.
"Oh, is that you, Cass?" a sickly sweet voice came from behind the door. "Come on in, don't be shy."
Cassie turned on the doorknob and stepped inside the room. The first thing that came inside her mind was 'Pink'. Pink walls, bright pink sofa, soft pink table, and a dusty pink carpet. With the sudden attack of the saccharine color, her stomach churned. She thought that therapy rooms were supposed to be comforting, not nauseating.
Ms. Humblewood's extra large smile appeared before her eyes. Her teeth were painstakingly white. "Sit down, Cass, and tell me your story."
Cassie winced. She had never been called Cass before, and she never wanted anyone to call her that way. "It's Cassie," she corrected.
"Oh, okay, Cassie, if you wish to be called that," and obnoxiously, Ms. Humblewood started writing down long paragraphs on her note.
"What are you writing about?" Cassie asked.
"Your mental state, Cassie," Ms. Humblewood answered with that big smile of hers. "My job here is to determine whether or not you are, and I quote Mr. Flynn's words, 'deeply troubled'."
Cassie was in loss of words. Ms. Humblewood didn't look at the very least capable of determining whether a person is insane or not. Just look at her! Cassie was sure that the woman was pushing forty, but she still forced herself to dress pink from top to bottom. There were trophies on the cupboard behind her, but it was dated over twenty years ago, and all of them were cheerleading trophies. Plus, her hair were fried platinum blonde.
"So what is your problem, Cassie?" Ms. Humblewood intertwined her hands, her teeth once again shone brightly.
"There's nothing wrong with me."
'Hmm.. denial... hmmmm...' she mumbled as she jot down the notes into yet another long paragraph. '... possibly broken home, or...' What the hell that was she writing about, damn it?!
"Soooo," Ms. Humblewood finally spoke up, and already the hair on the back of Cassie's neck stood up. "are you suicidal?"
Cassie wasn't quite sure what to answer.
Ms. Humblewood was oblivious at her frowning face. "Have you thought of slicing your wrist? Or drinking poison?" she looked at Cassie seriously for once second, before then started blabbering again. "Of by any chance, have you brought any sharp or any arms with you right now?"
Oh, for the love of God... What did she thought Cassie was? Some kind of a ticking bomb ready to explode? Now Cassie fully understood why all those thugs vandalized the environment around Ms. Humblewood.
"I've never thought of those," Cassie said, stressing each and every word she said.
"Sure, sure," said Ms. Humblewood easily. "Can I see the notebook?"
Cassie hesitated, but she wasn't planning to get the dumblonde wrote anything more about her. Slowly, she slid the book to her.
Ms. Humblewood started reading the notes, and once her eyes darted on the poem, she read it over and over and over again, while still mumbling something unintelligible. Either she didn't understand the meaning Cassie's choice of words, or she was trying to comprehend the deeper meaning of her poem.
A few seconds later, Ms. Humblewood called to her. "What's repugnant?"
It meant 'extremely distasteful', but no way she was going to tell her that. "It means absolute happiness."
"Ah! So that means this phrase here, 'Your actions, your words, they're repugnant', you were praising someone?"
Cassie nodded.
"So I'm confused. Is this a suicide note or a love letter?"
Cassie fought the urge to storm out the room immediately. She thought that her school was capable enough, so why don't they hire someone smarter than her?!
"It's a lyric," the lie came surprisingly smoothly. "From a popular song."
At this, Ms. Humblewood's face lightened up. "Is it top forty?" at the sight of Cassie's nod, her beam went on from ear to ear. "Oh, why, so there has been a grave misunderstanding between you and old Mr. Flynn."
Okay, so this is going great.
"I may be 39, but I'm still following the new songs, too, especially from the top 40," Ms. Humblewood gushed. "But I think I've never heard of this lyric before..."
Okay, maybe not so great.
"Yeah, it's a newcomer in this week," Cassie said, trying her best to sound convinced and confident.
"Oh, right," unexpectedly, the teacher agreed to her, nodding so enthusiastically that Cassie almost thought that somewhere out there, a song with that lyric truly existed. "It's that rock singer, right? Umm, what's the name?"
"Sparkling Zombies. It's a band," Cassie started enjoying this, especially now she found out that Ms. Humblewood was desperate to look young and hip. "and it's a ballad."
"Right, how could I forgot," the smile was so big and shiny and natural. "How was the song again?"
"You left me in pieces, you imbecile. And your actions, your words, they're repugnant," Cassie sang in whatever tune that came to her lips. 
"Oh, I love that part!" Ms. Humblewood was even more ecstatic than before.
Playing the part, Cassie's smile was also huge, and she kept nodding. They kept talking about the nonexistent song for a few minutes, and just like that, Ms. Humblewood tore up all the pages that she wrote about Cassie and threw it to the trashcan.
"Wouldn't want a sweet, sweet girl like you to have troubles, don't we?" she smiled as she winked to Cassie, who was already on the front door.
"Go Sparkling Zombies!" Cassie put her fist up in the air, and on her cue, the poor teacher did the same. "Go Sparkling Zombies!"
After Cassie closed the door, she exhaled sharply. There goes one major problem...
"You are absolutely brilliant," suddenly a male voice came from behind her her.

Studious but secretly sociopathic Cassie, 18, never kissed, never drank, never smoked, practically never did anything remotely adventurous, was planning to leave high school unscathed. But when her heart got broken by the school's King, Desmond, she was determined to have a change of plans.

Armed with a new look, a new persona, and an army of professional liars and tricksters, she was going all out to bring down the high and mighty Mr. Heartless. Even if she had to break her own heart for the sake of it.

Because frankly my dear, all's fair in love and war.

Angor thought about following the same steps and creating another cape to see whether the outcome remained the same. But he gave up on this plan since it was too difficult to find enough resources at mortal lands.
The extra effect was beneficial, and this was more important right now.
The cape had a simple black design combined with pale golden markings that occasionally faded from view as the cape moved. The inner lining of the cape was made from a special beast hide resistant against cold and dust. There was a single shoulder pad over the right shoulder, while a teardrop-shaped crystal was attached to it.
The crystal was both an extra decoration and a simple space storage, which could be used to keep the cape when it wasn't in use. At the same time, the energy source was also placed inside the crystal.
Angor was pretty satisfied with the general coloring of his new garment. The golden patterns and the red fur interlining went well with his noble style, and he could fasten it tighter to remain inconspicuous.
However, the first designer of the cape, which was Nano, would get mad to see the final outcome. During their initial discussion, Nano used really bright colors on the cape, such as purple, light green, as well as shiny embroideries. And Nano was probably the only individual in this world who would walk in public in such chaotic colors.
Last but not least, he must see how well the Empty Ballad magic array turned out.
He took out a magic crystal and put it near the "teardrop charm", which quickly absorbed the crystal and began to glow with a golden light.
Angor then put on the cape and activated Empty Ballad, which received the energy provided by the teardrop object.
He didn't see any visible effect. In fact, he couldn't tell whether the magic array was working at all if he had not seen the energy stored in the teardrop depleting rapidly. He knew he was now protected.
He took a moment to observe the consumption rate and estimated that Empty Ballad required a new magic crystal to remain in effect for three days. This didn't sound like much at first, but it was in fact rather expensive since he needed to keep the magic array on at all times to prevent Prophets from looking at him or his family. Since he couldn't predict when exactly a Prophet would "scan" him, the magic crystals he spent on the cape would serve no purpose most of the time. Apprentices usually couldn't afford to waste money like this.
Angor did save a lot of magic crystals to keep the cape working for now, but he still felt his heart bleeding for it.
He studied Empty Ballad just to keep himself and his family safe from peeking eyes, and that was what he would do. From this point and on, he would leave the magic array activated at all times. Thankfully, the effect could cover a small area around its position as well, so he didn't have to wear the cape twenty-four seven. He could leave the cape inside the "teardrop storage" and carry the teardrop crystal with him. However, in this way, the covering effect would only protect him, and just barely.
"One less task to do…" He stretched his arms and took out his personal notebook to record his new crafting experience as well as several unsolved questions such as the unknown effect of the cape and Cassini.
Also, he came up with a name for his cape—The Crimson Aegis.
The cape had solved his most imminent concern. At least the Centipede Guild couldn't locate him as easily from now on. 
He had a night of much-needed good sleep and felt safer than ever. It was as if Crimson Aegis came to life and was guarding him against looming threats while also soothing his mind by chanting a gentle poem.
He woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed from head to toe. He was glad to notice that all the uneasiness and anxiety that had been bugging him during the past days were all gone. Now he somewhat understood why the magic array was named the "Empty Ballad".
The snowy weather continued.
In the early morning, Angor took out his Gondola and found a spot among several barren mountains several thousands of kilometers away from Lost Paradise City. He then took out his tools and materials to begin another crafting session.
Another alchemy omen occurred in midway, but he passed it without trouble since he already had the experience.
When the omen fully ended, it revealed a single gray feather floating in front of him.
This was the Dusky Feather, a mid-tiered alchemy item made for Toby.
Angor made this one to grant a similar stealth effect to Toby since he saw more than once that people could use Toby to track him down.
Dusky Feather was also enchanted with Infinite Reticence. With this, Toby could help him keep track of targets without being discovered.
After blending the item with Toby's usual gray feathers around his neck, Angor noticed that he would slowly forget about Toby's presence if he wasn't paying attention, just as expected.
"Let's go back." He summoned Toby, who was hopping around happily for getting a new toy, and left on his Gondola again.
He came to Lost Paradise City to look for Lucas' traces. But since he decided to quit this matter so as not to aggravate Jebra and the other investigating parties, and that there were no talents to be found here, he was going to head back to Yothur City, find Tulu, and continue their journey. 
Before leaving, he paid Ross Manor another visit. He had not given Neet the bottle of Indigo Elixir yet. He wasn't going to fail such a simple promise.
Within several minutes, Gondola took them to Oak Mountain. Angor put away his boat and moved toward Ross Mansion by using his flying boots.
After arriving at the snow-covered mansion and scanning it using spirit feelers, he soon found Neet happily talking to a young lady in the backyard.
Then he landed right behind Neet, which startled the poor sailor for good.
"Do you need something, sir?" Neet recovered from his shock and asked his partner to be polite in front of Angor.
Angor remained silent for a moment to observe the blushing pair.
"Apologizes. It seems I interrupted something."
"Ahem! No, sir, Sonata is just here to—"
The lady named Sonata, who was wearing a plain-looking dress, helped Neet by picking up the subject. "Sir Wizard, I'm a humble gardener working at Sherry Patio. I'm only a common friend of Mister Neet, and I'm glad we are."
"But Sonata, I truly—" Neet disagreed.
Sonata looked at the ground in sadness. Being a lowly servant meant she had no hope of accepting the love of a noble member.
Meanwhile, Angor instantly knew what was going on since this drama was too common in storybooks.
"Fine, I'll not meddle with your love affairs. Neet, you can take this."
He tossed a bottle of blue liquid to Neet, who quickly accepted it with a delighted look. 
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"You're welcome." Angor looked at Sonata. "Did you just say you worked for the Sherry Patio?"
Sonata nodded.
Angor frowned. He saw this name in Moyah's journal. It was a small garden full of a type of flowers called "sherry blossoms", and it was also where Moyah lived most of her life.
He wondered if the "Sherry Patio" mentioned by Sonata was the same place.
"Where is this patio?"
"This place right here is the Sherry Patio, sir," said Neet.
Angor looked around the small yard and saw patches of violet flowers striving against the snow.
An old well covered by haystacks in the corner of the yard suddenly caught his attention.
"When did your family start to live here?" He looked at Neet and asked a question that just came to his mind.
"Um, while Anrum has been constantly affected by wars, they never reached Lost Paradise City. The king granted us our territory at Winterrange, a city pretty far from here. But the descendants of the Ross Family have been living at Lost Paradise since the Age of Gold."
"You mean your family has existed in this city since three thousand years ago?"
"That's right, sir."


A young traveler who receives enlightenment from another civilization is on a mission to save his beloved mentor. In his journey to seek the ultimate truth, he travels extensively and along the way, he experiences some unpredictable encounters. Will he be able to save his mentor or will his path be derailed?


To Yang Qi, being in the space-time wormhole felt like being inside the body of some archaean worm. The passageway moved constantly, making it difficult to keep one's bearings. Of course, the twitching movements inside wormholes were what facilitated the actual travel to other planes.
One thing was for certain: as soon as he entered the wormhole, he could tell that he wasn't in the Quake-Dawn Continent anymore.
In ancient times, enormous worms would eat space itself, and their passage left behind sprawling passageways. Later, powerful individuals used divine abilities to imitate the way that those archaean worms burrowed through space, to create what in modern times were called wormholes.
Only individuals in the Great Sage level or higher could create wormholes. When it came to Great Sages, they could create wormholes that led to planes similar to the one they inhabited, or lower planes. But Demi-Immortals could create wormholes leading to higher-level planes.
Considering that the Quake-Dawn Continent was a mid-level plane, and the Rich-Lush Continent was a lower plane, traveling from one to the other via wormhole was fairly safe. At the very minimum, it was relatively certain that the wormhole wouldn't collapse.
A collapsing wormhole would eject those inside of it into scattered locations in the void, where they could theoretically remain lost for all eternity. If they were lucky, they might be able to randomly encounter some plane of existence, but if not, they would eventually waste away into death.
That said, Yang Qi wasn't really worried about that possibility. With his Angel Wings at their current level, and the help of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to fix onto spatial coordinates, he could get to the Rich-Lush Continent from anywhere, albeit with extra time and effort.
The wormhole convulsed, moving the silent mercenaries along through it. They were all attempting to conserve energy, and were thus refraining from even speaking. They wanted to be completely ready to take action if necessary.
As for Yang Qi, he hovered along cross-legged, using his Sovereign Lord True Energy to probe the five phases spirits.
Right now, he didn't dare to unseal them, because there was a high possibility they would flee. However, he could use his Sovereign Lord True Energy to at least check and see if they had something in them similar to the heaven-demon seed.
Before long, he came to be convinced that there was indeed something in them. It made sense; there was no way that the Grand-Wilds Mansion would simply give him something so incredibly powerful.
As he was going about his cultivation, the white-garbed young man named Chaoguang neared and said, "Captain, I was wondering what higher plane you might hail from."
He seemed completely at ease, and not worried about a thing. While everyone else was conserving energy, he was wandering around and looking at things left and right. He actually didn't seem like a mercenary at all, but rather, more like a tourist.
On the surface, it seemed like he was striking up a conversation with Yang Qi out of sheer boredom. However, Yang Qi's intuition was telling him that there was something very unusual about him, including some immense power that he was keeping well-hid.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to talk about that," Yang Qi said. "What are you wasting energy for? Look. Everyone else is working on their cultivation. What happens if a fight breaks out?"
"They can do whatever they want, and so can I. Life is a wonderful thing, so why waste it on boring things like cultivation? What would be the point of that?" He yawned. "Your cultivation base seems profound enough as it is. So why not just chat with me for a bit? Who knows, we might end up talking about matters of enlightenment."
Continuing with his internal work, Yang Qi chatted casually. "I'm currently a Space-Void Legendary. My main goal is to build up five phases vital energy, convert it to the preheaven version, and then reach the Five-Phases Transformation. You're a Half Sage, standing right on the verge of the Great Sage level. Considering how much more advanced you are than me, what could we possibly have to chat about?" 
"Five-Phases Transformation? Oh, that's a foundational transformation. It's heavily connected to the Yin-Yang Transformation, you know. Both of them are very important to the Legendary level." With that, he began to chant some sort of song: "Five phases, yin and yang, double what you seek. The blazing sun and shining moon both orbit the spirit peak. A host of heavens, a hundred apertures, the gods attend court. Ever seeking enlightenment of death and life's mystique…."
It was a profound song with many lyrics, and was very thought-provoking. As Yang Qi listened to it, his heart began to pound as he realized that it was giving him new ideas. Eventually, he was stirred to his very soul, as though this song contained profound truths about a great dao.
"What song is that?" he asked.
"It's a song composed by some unknown expert who lived in the ancient Yore-Wilds Continent. It's called Ballad of the Dao Testimonial. I go traveling a lot, and one time, I found it carved into a cliff. Every time you reach a cultivation bottleneck, sing that song, and before long, you'll break through. It has over five hundred lines in total, each one seven characters long, and they all have profound meaning. However, if you think about them, and try to decipher their meaning, they can link you to a great dao. Captain, if you're interested in learning the song, I can teach it to you." [1]
"No, that's fine. It's your secret technique, and a boundless daoist scripture. A gentleman doesn't steal." Although Chaoguang's song had stirred Yang Qi on a deep level, he wasn't particularly motivated to acquire it. His godly-class energy art was profoundly domineering, and at its core was hard and unyielding. After all, it was the foundation of the halls of heaven in which the legion of gods resided.
The Ballad of the Dao Testimonial was different. It was a method of leisure and freedom, like a divine dragon gliding through the highest heavens, filled with the profound mysteries of a great dao. If he actually used it, and mastered it, he was worried that it might have a negative effect on his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.
"You're so polite, Captain!" Chaoguang said, chuckling. "But, why not share good things amongst each other? That way we can all benefit. Captain, whatever energy art you practice, it seems unusually profound. How about the two of us share some of our secrets with each other?"
Yang Qi didn't feel like beating around the bush. "What's the point of us comparing notes when we have different daos? You walk the path of ancient immortals, free and unfettered. But I walk a different path. Why would I go about undermining my own energy arts?"
Chaoguang flashed a wide smile. "Captain, it seems to me you have a weak will. A strong-willed person wouldn't worry about being influenced in such a way."
"Say what you want. But considering how much lower my cultivation level is than yours, it's only natural for me to be weak-willed by your standards. It's something that I'll improve slowly but surely, by becoming stronger and reaching a higher level." Yang Qi wasn't particularly pleased with how he had worded things. After all, he had essentially admitted to being weak-willed. Of course, the truth was that he was anything but weak-willed.
"Alright then, Captain," Chaoguang said, looking at Yang Qi with flashing eyes. "Well, I won't bother you any longer."
"Fine. Go work on your cultivation. We'll end up in a fight sooner or later, and you need to be at peak readiness." With that, Yang Qi closed his eyes and ignored Chaoguang.
However, he was now fully on guard.
The few lines of the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial that he had heard were still echoing in his head, and he simply couldn't drive them out.
As he attempted to continue working on his cultivation, he found that his thoughts were being affected, and that he was feeling more free and unfettered. Actually, it ran completely counter to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, which was domineering, fierce, unyielding, and explosive, and pertained to the Sovereign Lord Himself.
All of a sudden, he realized that he felt sluggish, and that he couldn't focus his thoughts.
'Something's wrong. It's definitely that Ballad of the Dao Testimonial! Maybe it does conform to a great dao of ancient immortals, but it's affecting my soul! This Chaoguang is no simple fellow, that's for sure.' Yang Qi's eyes snapped open as a holy hymn suddenly resonated in his mind, a choir of countless voices all singing together. "The glory of the Lord, boundless and paramount; omniscient and omnipotent, the will of the Lord; only this is True, the Lord's words…."
RUMBLE!
Immediately, the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial was driven out of his mind. In that moment, Yang Qi was the one and only Lord, He who existed above the legion of gods, the Sovereign Lord, the source of what was True in the world.
"I am the Truth, the one and only Truth. Because of Me, nothing else in the world is true and real." Yang Qi took a deep breath. He had just been baptized by true energy, and was now more confident and strong-willed than ever. He was the Lord, and he was Truth. Compared to him, everything else was a heretical dao. Only he was true and real.
This was the domineering true energy of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. How could the glory of the Lord tolerate blasphemy? Not even great daos had the right to do that. The glory of the Lord did not need advice and tips from other sources. I am the Truth, and all other wills shall conform to me.
There was now no trace of the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial in him.
All of a sudden, he felt a keen desire to do battle, something that came from his very will. After all, had he succumbed to the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial, he would have fallen, and would have betrayed the glory of the Lord.
After all, he himself was the Lord.
When Yang Qi drove the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial out of him, Chaoguang shivered, and his face drained of blood. 'His willpower is so strong,' he thought. 'It's like he's the only thing in existence. It almost seems like the will of the legion of gods! My Ballad of the Dao Testimonial was left behind by an ancient immortal, and was transformed by me into an energy art. Once I sing it, it should infiltrate the soul of the listener, and brand them with a great dao. From then on, their dao should be under my control. It's an unfathomable and ancient song, a tune used to pass on a dao. It should even affect the mind of Great Sages. I could have passed on my dao to him… but he drove the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial away….'
All of a sudden, Chaoguang felt profoundly unsettled. Before he could do anything else, rumbling sounds filled the wormhole.
Several of the mercenaries rose to their feet.
"What? What's going on? There's fighting?"
"We've arrived at the Rich-Lush Continent! Look, there it is up ahead. It really does have a curved heaven and flat earth! It's not spherical! So, this is what a lower plane looks like. Oh, look! It's surrounded by fiend-devils! A whole cloud of them!"
Yang Qi rose excitedly to his feet and looked further into the wormhole. There, he saw a huge continent floating in space-time, with a curved heaven covering it over.
It was the Rich-Lush Continent.
'I'm back….' he thought, his excitement building.
 
1. Sorry, I wasn't able to keep my translation to seven words per line, not if I wanted to make it rhyme. Which I did. Somehow, I managed to maintain the rhyme scheme of the original, which is AABA, and at the same time, keep most of the general meaning.

"There is an ancient ballad…
"In that ballad was a lonely old man…
"In the old man's eyes was a boundless world…
"That was during the time when the Gods existed. It was an age when all manner of living contended against each other. It was… a law when the universe operated due to a single person's will…"
A faint voice rose swiftly in Su Ming's mind and echoed in his head. The ancient air in that voice gave Su Ming a feeling that the owner was even older than Sui Chen Zi.
"People worshiped this old man. They used strange items as offerings to him, strange treasures as sacrifices for him… so that they could obtain the right for themselves or their race to be written in the ballad… 
"Legends say that all the people or races written in the ballad will not decay as long as that ballad exists, and they would also grow from normal beings to prosperous existences…
"However, over the course of numerous years, only nine lives and four races obtained the old man's acknowledgement with the items they offered and were written into his ballad…
"From then on… those nine lives and four races began their legend as eternal entities…"
Su Ming's mind rumbled as the voice in his head became even more ancient. While it continued echoing in his head, it was like the universe had come to a stop at that instant and Su Ming's consciousness was the only thing that moved, tumbling about.
It was also during the instant that the voice echoed in his head that a loud bang rang out in his mind, shaking his soul. In the mid of it, a layer of distortions suddenly appeared around him. In the blink of an eye, they turned into a gigantic vortex. As it spun, it devoured Su Ming like a huge gaping mouth in space, and he disappeared without a trace in the galaxy.
Su Ming's heart trembled, but he did not panic. This was not the first time he had this sort of experience. This was… the process of entering the dimension in the fragment. When everything before his vision cleared, he looked around him, and a familiar sight appeared in front of his eyes.
Fog surrounded the area, making everything around him indistinct, but he saw a mountain in the distance. The door in the mountain was open, as if it was waiting for his arrival. All of this was just as he had seen before. This was… the world in the black stone fragment.
However, this time, Su Ming did not take the initiative to come to this place. Instead, some strange changes had occurred to the black fragment which forcefully sucked him inside.
Almost at the instant Su Ming looked towards the mountain, voices that sounded like roars rang out in the world of the stone fragment. These voices were like heavy breaths, and as they reverberated in the air, the land started trembling.
Su Ming's pupils constricted.
He saw nine indistinct ferocious beasts with the shells of turtles, the heads of dragons, and the tails of snakes in the sea of clouds in the sky above. As they roared, they descended from the sea of clouds.
Each one of them was tens of thousands of feet big, and that heavy breathing came from their mouths. There was a chain around each of their bodies, and as they descended, these chains were stretched taut, as if there was some strange item in the sea of clouds and these nine dark turtles intended to drag it out.
As the roars became stronger, Su Ming gradually saw… a mountain in the sea of mountains. It was forcefully dragged out, and when most of its body appeared, it landed on the ground with a bang.
The height and the majestic feeling this mountain gave off surpassed those of the mountain that existed here before. In truth, when the two were put in comparison, they looked like a giant and a child.
The gigantic second mountain was several times larger than the first mountain. It also had a gigantic stone door, and on that door were written several ancient letters.
A ghastly feeling spread out from those letters, and that feeling was incredibly great. Su Ming felt like his soul and his body were being corroded away at the instant he saw them
His heart trembled as he looked at the letters. At the instant he saw them, he naturally understood the meaning those words they tried to convey.
Nurture, decaying spirit.
The second part stood for: When all lives die, everything about rots away That was the meaning! However, the nurture before the other two words made Su Ming a little uncertain. He was not entirely clear about what it meant and could not decipher its specific meaning.
When the mountain descended, the chains on the nine gigantic dark turtles who had dragged it out of the sea of clouds slowly faded away, as if they were to completely disappear. It was as if they… could now be free. Delight, excitement, and exhilaration appeared on the nine turtles' faces, and it was so great they could not hide it.
There was a storm raging in Su Ming's heart at that moment. He had not expected that there would be a second mountain in the black stone fragment and that it would appear in front of him at this moment.
Su Ming was no longer the child he once was in the past. His experiences had caused his will to be incredibly firm, while the ups and downs he faced had trained him to be very skilled in working out things around him.
'If there is a second mountain, then there is definitely a third mountain. Judging by when this second mountain appeared, it's clear… that this was due to the fragment absorbing the light blue glow from that Waves of Tears.
'This is the key!' 
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He had only opened a couple doors in the first mountain within the fragment's dimension, so he did not know how many had been left, and he did not have enough medicinal pills on his person at that moment either, which was why he could not choose to continue venturing into the first mountain.
'The key to the second mountain's appearance was the spirit that appeared after the Waves of Tears died. The name of the second mountain is Decaying Spirit. I... should learn what the second mountain contains.'
After remaining silent for a moment, he looked at the nine dark turtles whose chains had started disappearing. His eyes sparkled, and without any hesitation, he charged towards the door of the second mountain.
The fog in the land was like an ocean. As it tumbled about, Su Ming moved through. The second mountain did not seem far, but when went to it, there was some distance between them. After a moment, when Su Ming stood at the foot of the mountain, he lifted his head, and a feeling of shock rose in his heart.
Compared to the mountain, Su Ming was like an ant. In fact, even if he only compared himself to the gate, he was still very insignificant. He sucked in a deep breath. Based on his experience, he lifted his right hand before the stone gate to the second mountain and placed it there.
Almost at the moment his hand came into contact with the mountain gate, booming sounds that shook the sky and earth reverberated in the air. They continued spreading outwards, and the gate to the second mountain swung inwards in front of Su Ming.
While standing still, he felt a cold breeze blowing through the gap in the opened gate. It lifted his long hair and caused his robes to flutter. There seemed to be muffled mumbling sounds that could not be heard clearly in the wind, as if it was saying how ancient it was... 
Su Ming quietly waited for the mountain gate to open completely, then a brilliant light shone in his eyes. In front of him was a gigantic cave that was dark inside. Not a single hint of light could be seen within, only a gust of waning wind blew past him.
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and took a step towards the cave.
Almost at the moment his foot landed, dark light lit up the cave. The light came from the oil lamps had had come to life out of nowhere. As the tunnel was illuminated by the dark light, the ghastly feeling became even greater, but Su Ming was now able to see his surroundings clearly.
At the moment he did so, his pupils constricted, and the foot he had lifted froze in the air. He saw several totems on the walls around him. Those totems had pictures, and in those pictures… were endless Waves of Tears!
They looked extremely alive, but their expressions were hideous, as if they wanted to rush out of the totems. This gave a strong visual impact to anyone who saw them. 
At the end of the cave, Su Ming saw the first stone door of the second mountain!
There was a light blue glow at the center of the stone door at the moment. The glow flickered, and each time it did so, endless light blue threads would spread out, covering the entire door like a cobweb.
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then lifted his foot and walked towards the end of the cave, straight towards the door. After a moment, when he arrived at the stone door, he fell into pensive silence. Based on his past experiences, he lifted his right hand and pressed his palm against the mountain gate.
At the instant his hand touched the door, his long hair began to dance in the air, and his eyes swiftly gained focus.
"At the end of the ancient ballad… the old man closed his eyes…
"The nine lives and four races became eternal entities that would never decay in the ballad…
"The old man turned into a statue. The statue was black, and he… shattered, turning into thirteen pieces that scattered into the world…
"Before they scattered, five words echoed in the minds of the nine lives and four races… Seed of Life Extermination.
"This is a cycle of life. This is a cycle… in which the will of the universe moves from being something that existed into something that does not exist. It is also… a cycle in which it went from something that did not exist to something that existed.
"Welcome back, you who possess the blood of the Abyss Builders and the will of Ecang. The Seed of Life Extermination has been resurrected because of you…
"The first spirit you offered is the spirit of the Wave of Tears. There is a flaw in this spirit. Find that flaw, and you can exterminate this race… You have endless time. Go to the place where you offered medicinal pills in the past and create a Decaying Spirit Core that will stimulate the flaw in this spirit. If you give up… you will show that you have not chosen the Wave of Tears' spirit as your first step to nurture Life Extermination Spirit," the voice said in Su Ming's head. 
That voice seemed to be something that was left behind from ancient times. By then, it was slowly disappearing, the instant it vanished, Su Ming's mind trembled.
A huge suction force spread out from the stone gate, but it was not sucking Su Ming's body. Instead, it was absorbing his will.
It was a force that he could not resist, and so he swiftly closed his eyes.
His body was still in the cave, his hand was still on the stone door, but his soul had been sucked inside, immersed in an age that was ancient in Su Ming's eyes.
It was a galaxy without stars. In it was a vast ancient ship that was broken, and as it drifted in the galaxy, an old man sat at the bow, looking into the distance quietly. He did not move.
Su Ming also looked into the distance, and he became the old man.
From his position, he could see a black dot flying towards him from far away. It was a crane with a prideful and sleazy expression on its face. The creature's presence was extremely peculiar and kept on changing all the time.
The crane was flapping its wings and flying swiftly towards the area. Behind it were hundreds of thousands… of Waves of Tears. They were trapped in a gigantic net and were towed by the crane to this place.
"Hey, old man. The offering I brought to you this time is most of the members of a race~"



Su Ming grew up dreaming about becoming a Berserker even though he knew that the chances of him becoming one were close to nil. One day, he found a strange piece of debris, and it allowed him to walk the path of becoming a Berserker. But would it be enough for Su Ming to become just another Berserker to protect those he cares about? 
Would he be satisfied with leaving everything in fate's hands?
*This novel was originally named Beseech the Devil, but due to the author's wishes, it was changed to Pursuit of the Truth.

At No. 60 High School, music classes were as rare as Old Antique's theory of history classes.
Teacher Ding who taught music was called Ding Yu. He could be considered a veteran in the music industry who had nurtured the talents of quite a number of students and written plenty of songs, big and small. 
However, apart from his famous masterpiece Ballad of the Bastard Immortal, it seemed he no longer had any other wonderful works to offer.
Teacher Ding worked part-time at many schools and used the pitiful number of classes allotted to him to unearth kids with musical talent and potential.
He was very bitter, but unable to voice it aloud.
A while back, a variety show had invited him on as an honored guest. Then a bunch of people had surrounded him and began to take turns teasing him…
Some people said that Teacher Ding had once been at the forefront of pop music and used to know which way the wind blew in the industry. Now, after all these years, he was still part of the ranks, but lingered at the tail end. Also, he was unwilling to be left behind… because they had to carry him, the pop music scene in Huaxiu nation couldn't run forward even if it wanted to…
It was supposed to just be a little satirical. Teacher Ding knew that these words were only a joke because musicians were supposed to be entertainers, but after hearing this, he still felt sad in his heart.
It had to be mentioned that this "vicious" joke was what made him re-examine his own musical path.
Have I really… gotten old?
Teacher Ding had refused to accept that he was getting old and felt that he still had the same young mindset as children nowadays. However, whenever he met Headmaster Chen at the school, the latter would respectfully call him Old Ding… this truly suffocated his heart.
Most of the time, music composition was a matter of theme and creativity.
Back then, for the Ballad of the Bastard Immortal, Teacher Ding had fused R&B and showtune elements with a traditional melody and increased the tempo in the early stages of the song, and the drama chorus gave people a sense of exhilaration.
Of all the songs that he had composed over the years, the most well-known was this song, Ballad of the Bastard Immortal.
In addition, there were a few others that Wang Ling liked very much. For example, Immortal Asura, The Great Famine of Old and so on…
This was a talented person whom Wang Ling greatly admired.
As a composer, Teacher Ding tried his best to convey his ideas using the musical literacy that he had learned over the years so that he could pass them on to the current ranks of musicians… even in the Scientific Cultivation era, music remained very important and indispensable in shaping the heart and soul.
Teacher Ding felt that any existing musical genre would never be abandoned and would always have a loyal audience. However, to be a musician, one had to pour a lot of blood and sweat into their work. The path of music was not a jigsaw that could be put together, nor like a parrot could it rely on mimicry.
This was his music philosophy, which he always liked to espouse in class. At the same time, he utterly detested the phenomenon of plagiarism in the music industry. As someone who composed original music, he felt that he couldn't get old just yet and still had many duties to discharge…
...
The last class on Friday was Teacher Ding's music lesson. When he walked slowly into the classroom, it was completely quiet and no one spoke. The students in the Grade One elite stream respected this old artiste quite a bit.
Today, he was different than usual and seemed especially happy.
"Has Teacher Ding found new inspiration?" Lotus Sun asked with a smile.
"That's right…"
Teacher Ding didn't deny it. "Soon, I will release a new song. I hope everyone will enjoy it."
When he said this, the whole class immediately exploded with noise.
"Wow! Teacher Ding is going to release a new song! What genre is it? Where did Teacher Ding's inspiration come from?"
It had already been a very long time since Teacher Ding had released a new song. The older one got, the more cautious they became; and he was no different. In his music lexicon, there was no such thing as shoddy compositions — he would be unfailingly and wholeheartedly devoted to any song that he created.
This most likely had to do with the moral integrity of the old generation of artistes.
Hearing the students' questions, Teacher Ding smiled. "It's a campus pop song, the inspiration for it… it's from all of you. You were the ones who inspired me!"
"Teacher Ding, don't be so secretive. Can you sing it for us?"
"If you want to hear it, of course that's not a problem. But I also have two small requests…"
Teacher Ding smiled faintly. "I don't know if all of you have been seriously practicing the guitar homework I gave you these last few days. I hope someone can volunteer to come forward and cover the guitar part. In addition, I hope a female student can join me in singing this song, since this is a male and female duet."
Before he finished speaking, Master of Dopey slapped his thigh. "My god! Teacher Ding wants to exploit the Phoenix Legend[1] trend…"
Wang Ling, Lotus Sun, Super Chen and Feather Lin: "…"
"Student Guo… please mind your behavior!"
After a long silence in the classroom, Lotus Sun came forward first. "Teacher Ding, I'll sing. But the guitar… I'm not very good at it."
"Good! Thank you very much for your cooperation, Student Lotus Sun! Then for the guitar part… I'll just get any of the male students to come up. If it's a male and female pair, it won't feel tiring!"
Teacher Ding glanced at the roll book and selected a name from the list. "Wang Ling… who is Student Wang Ling? Please come up!"
Wang Ling: "…"
He hadn't expected Teacher Ding to single him out.
He was used to staying low-key; he didn't like to put himself forward and liked showing off his abilities before people even less.
However, now that Teacher Ding had called his name, he felt that there wasn't really any reason for him to avoid it.
This was a teacher whom he respected very much, so he felt that he should give him face.
For the time being, he didn't have to worry about being unable to control his power, since he now bore a new Dao talisman seal invented by Wang Ming on his arm. The first three months after the new Dao talisman was put on was when it was at its strongest.
From his pocket, Wang Ling took out the practice guitar which the school issued to students and slowly walked up to the dais.
"Then, I'll impart the song's structure to you." Teacher Ding smiled gently. His hands emanated a spirit light which slowly seeped into Wang Ling and Lotus Sun's minds to convey what they needed to know, from the lyrics, the melody and the musical arrangement to the voice and instrument techniques involved…
After about five minutes, it was done.
"Do you understand everything?" Teacher Ding asked.
Both Wang Ling and Lotus Sun nodded.
"Then, let Student Wang Ling, Student Lotus Sun and I sing this song The Helplessness of the Immortal King for everyone…"
After Teacher Ding finished speaking, Wang Ling strummed a key… the lively and fresh sound of the guitar was then accompanied by Teacher Ding's magnetic voice, like a poem carried on the wind that contained a special kind of charm which touched the audience listening.
...
Last night I cultivated until midnight again
Worrying about a trifle
The helplessness of the Immortal King~ who can see it clearly
Give me a catty[2] of levitation Dao talismans
Who will listen to tales of the past
Actually, my real wish~ is for world peace
...
Campus life is like duckweed
Drifting, drifting, meeting and parting
Chase the dream far ahead
Remember the little elves caught in childhood
Remember the awkward scenes of those years
...
Hold hands~ look up
I have seen the splendor of every year
...
Don't look back~ use the rhythm
Sing the song Ballad of the Bastard Immortal
Stride proudly ahead~ keep your head up
As long as I have you~
I won't be led astray…
...
Everyone was drawn into the song; they marveled at the sense of nostalgia contained in the lyrics, like vintage wine hidden away in the cellar, resplendent with charm.
In the deeply melodious and cheerful vocals, they heard a beautiful overture to youth…
The wheels of youth never stopped spinning…
A simple old guitar gently strummed out their salad days…
It sketched out old, dusty memories that might or might not have already disappeared…
The elites of Grade One Class Three couldn't help sighing with mixed emotions.
This song was the theme song of everyone's youth.
[1] Phoenix Legend was a well-known Chinese pop music duo made up of a female vocalist and a male rapper.
[2] One catty, or jin, is roughly equivalent to 500 or 600 grams.


As a cultivation genius who has achieved a new realm every two years since he was a year old, Wang Ling is a near-invincible existence with prowess far beyond his control. But now that he’s sixteen, he faces his greatest battle yet - Senior High School. With one challenge after another popping up, his plans for a low-key high school life seem further and further away...
Wang Ling: I just want to eat my crispy noodle snacks in peace...
Father Wang: If you're careless enough to destroy the country, it’s coming out of your pocket money. 
Wang Ling: It’s not my fault that the backlash from punching me kills you.
Please support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/henyeetranslationsDLIK
If we hit certain milestones, we will release more chapters in a mass release!
Tags: comedy, school, cultivation, tsundere, popular culture, almighty protagonist, action

In the history of the Billboard singles chart, there have been not only hit singles that landed at number one in their first week of release, but also popular singles that stayed in the top ten for more than thirty weeks, as well as slow-burning singles that slowly gained attention after entering the chart and eventually broke through.
 
In 2008, the unknown singer Lady Gaga released her first single, "Just Dance", from her first official album.
 
At the beginning of the single's release, it was so obscure that no one cared about it at all. Lady Gaga had to run around in major nightclubs and clubs to promote the song, slowly building up the song's reputation and spreading it by word of mouth. After twenty-two weeks of release and more than five long months, "Just Dance" topped the Billboard singles chart, achieving Lady Gaga's first number one single.
 
Such inspirational stories are common on Billboard, and the U.S. music market has always been known for its long term durability compared to its explosive power, and it is common for an album to sell for five or six years.
 
The record for the longest time spent at the top of the Billboard singles chart is currently held by Spanish duo Los del Río, whose single "Macarena" released in 1995, spent thirty-three weeks at the top of the charts, and was It took them thirty-three weeks to reach number one and stayed there for fourteen weeks - the second highest number in Billboard history.
 
This time, it was "Cleopatra" turn to make history.
 
From its release in March last year to its debut on the charts in May, "Cleopatra" has been out for forty-one weeks, including thirty-two weeks on the charts, before it reached the top twenty of the Billboard singles chart!
 
Compared to a number of history-making singles, "Cleopatra" still has not been distributed, nor promoted, and more precisely, not even signed.
 
Both Lady Gaga and Los del Río were unknown independent singers at the time they made history, but they were signed to record labels, regardless of size, at least the labels were able to provide resources and publicity.
 
In the American music system, without the support of promotional resources and radio airplay, it's the equivalent of a Tour de France race where all the other competitors are on bicycles, but one person is running on two feet.
 
But under these circumstances, Cleopatra made history, relying entirely on word of mouth, on the buzz surrounding Renly, on the quality of the songs themselves, and on the indomitable tenacity of indie music to make its own history in a bizarre and absurd way. The history of the music.
 
Some may say that it was only a top 20 hit, not even a top 10 hit, but considering the fact that the song is still under the name of the song's label and not signed by any company, this feat is far more terrifying than the record of "Macarena" which took 33 weeks to finally win the title!
 
This is definitely another folk miracle in the 21st century.
 
Rock is dead, this is the consensus since the millennium, the once unbeatable and sweeping rock of the 70s and 80s, but gradually declining, except for Linkin Park, no rock band can sell more than 10 million albums. The golden age of the rock band was gone, and with it, the boom and bustle of the music market.
 
But people forget that disco, which had been glorious for a whole decade, has gone unnoticed, jazz, which had supported half a century, has languished, and folk, which had been a big hit, is dying.
 
At their peak, folk singers were known as modern poets, using melody as a bridge and lyrics as a weapon to express their ambitions for society, their expectations for the country, their criticism of politics, their interpretation of literature, and their understanding of life. There was a time when ballads were the poetry of modern times, and those singers were like Shakespeare, using their talent to leave a valuable artistic treasure in the long history, making indelible contributions to society, culture and the times.
 
But what about now?
 
What is a ballad? But it is old, dying, ignorant, uninteresting, behind the times, pale, tasteless, belonging to the grandparents' generation of the past, piled with thick dust, and not even willing to understand. Even Bob Dylan is an unfamiliar name to the new generation of young people.
 
Now in the twenty-first century, is there anyone else who can get the Nobel Prize for Literature like Bob Dylan, with the literary nature of the ballad? Is there anyone else who can give ballads profound literary artistry, even enough to rival those heirloom masterpieces, like Bob Dylan? Can anyone else make music a part of social progress like Bob Dylan, using his guitar as a weapon to become a pioneer in society?
 
No, there isn't. In the midst of the pop music trend, there is no longer even a place for Bob Dylan to stand.
 
Jason Mraz "I'm Yours" stayed on the Billboard singles chart for a whopping seventy-six weeks, breaking the record for the length of a single on the chart and reawakening people's fond memories of folk music; but that was just a flash of light, and Jason's subsequent singles, which were of no lesser quality, did not have such a devastating energy after all.
 
Today, however, "Cleopatra" is slowly making its way into the top 20 of the Billboard singles chart without any publicity, giving people a glimpse of the glory of the golden age of folk music once again - the era of universal revelry and popularity. The era of "Mixer" was the first time that folk music was a big hit.
 
After "Mixer," Billboard's official magazine has taken the unprecedented step of covering "Cleopatra" this week.
 
"It's hard to imagine a singer making such a bold return to folk at a time when pop and hip-hop are so prevalent. This is not a folk song that combines other genres, nor is it a folk song that appeals to contemporary tastes, nor is it a folk song that follows the trends.
 
The simple guitar, with the simple sand hammer, reproduces the most simple, pure and sincere arrangement, so that every note of the music is moving and beautiful into the melody; the poetic lyrics, like the whispering of the bard, the lamentation of history, the perception of life, the remembrance of life, and the literary heritage that is enough to awaken the memory of Shakespeare, brings the charm of the lyrics to the extreme. It is like a poem, timeless and profound.
 
This is folk music.
 
Even for an indie singer, even for Bob Dylan, even for the sixties, this is a song to be appreciated as a swoon."
 
Billboard, the nation's leading pop music authority, almost rivaling Rolling Stone, defined this week's top story as "The Return of the Ballad" The Billboard is not about Renly, but about "Cleopatra" and the notable folk songs of our time, giving "Cleopatra" plenty of recognition once again.
 
Forty-one weeks ago, if someone had said that a ballad would be in the top twenty on Billboard, everyone would have scoffed, even as a joke, and thirty-two weeks ago, if someone had said that "Cleopatra" would be in the top twenty on Billboard in eight months, a bunch of people would have laughed their The big teeth, tears are laughing out.
 
But it's really happening.
 
Even Ellen DeGeneres, she did not anticipate that a temporary idea, but actually made history; even Andy Rogers, he did not expect, originally to promote "Buried", but actually achieved the "Cleopatra" promotion. Even "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" team, they did not expect that a randomly edited video, actually in the oil pipe soared, became a hot spot.
 
"Your Bones" was released, triggering the focus of the topic, and finally achieved the glory of "Cleopatra". For most casual listeners, the single was a new track that had only just appeared in 2011; but for the old boys in Pioneer Village, it was the result they had been waiting for all year.
 
"Hudson! Hudson! Hudson!"
 
On the other end of the phone, Neil Tucson's voice came through loud and clear, and you could hear the unanimous response behind you, so I guess everyone in Pioneer Village came out to join in the fun, which made Renly laugh.
 
When "Cleopatra" first entered the charts, he and Neil made a bet that if the single could make it to the top 50, he would take Neil for a ride on the Hudson River in New York. Who would have thought that a joke at the beginning would actually become a reality. And it wasn't just the top 50.
 
When Renly saw the Billboard list, he still felt a sense of absurd unreality that even fiction would not dare to write, but was happening in real life.
 
"Hudson! No problem!" Renly replied in a raised voice, then continued to add, "Not just Neil, everyone in the bar who wants to go, we'll go together and I'll rent a private yacht and take a scenic ride down the Hudson!"
 
The voice spread through the microphone speakers, drawing deafening cheers from everyone in the bar as they all banged their desks, the banging so lively that it was reminiscent of the bar scene every Thursday night while watching football.
 
"Stanley! You're not allowed to get away with this, and it wouldn't be possible if it weren't for you, so you have to be there." Renly seemed to anticipate Stanley's refusal and preemptively blocked all of Stanley's back roads, and sure enough, there was then a roar of laughter from the phone receiver, and Renly could even picture Stanley's embarrassed and helpless expression in his mind, which made the corners of his mouth curve up in a smile.
 
Hanging up the phone, the snow-capped, serene and faraway valley scene outside the window was laid out.

After getting the final relief from his past sufferings, Chu Jiashu was given a second chance when he found himself in the body of an infant from an aristocratic family of Hall. Now, nothing is going to stop him from achieving his long-cherished dream of acting. Enter Renly Hall, a Hollywood miracle of 21st century.


Note from the translator - from me, that is.
   
"Honestly, I get frustrated too much when I look at countless subpar novels being translated day after day. So much human resources wasted. I kinda get what Qidian International is doing, but it is just, I can't bear the notion of having so many wonderful novels that belong to the Chinese platform to be left in the dust. English-speaking community should know of the existence of such brilliant works, and more so, they should enjoy them. The novel is by a Chinese dude "Qiqi Jia D Mao Mao", whatever that might mean, who wrote several showbiz novels (he is probably the best at what he is doing). It is not my work, I'm just a dude who, with the help of two free machine translators (DeepL and good ol' Google), can show you a hidden gem. Wait, you said machine translators? Sadly, yes. I can't speak Chinese at all, but fortunately, this novel is structured in a machine-translation-friendly way, like really so. Most of the time context is saved. I'm just polishing the edges with my superb (not really) editing skills, so you all chaps have a splendid experience with this good staff indeed. Actually, you can go and read machine translation or just wait for my updates. Up to you dudes and dudies. And then I go away...blewb, blewb, blewb, blewb, blewb....."

P.S.
"I am a knife for a hire. So the managers of the site can employ me for this novel, but please don't remove it. Oh, please, I'm begging you on my knees. You guys won't even think of translating this novel, and here I am "translating" it for free,.... well for the time being, that is mwahahaha!"

P.S. for P.S.
This novel does not contain the following:
Harem, definitely not NTR, stupid characters, NTR again (God, I hate NTR (secretly beating the meat for a one in hentai))

But this novel contains:
Great storyline, relatable characters, realistic situations, very fun moments as well as tear jerking ones (so much so, you will find your throat hella sore from crying all the time), surprise after surprise for the decisions that author went with.

You will have a good time indeed
WARNING! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

She could not help feeling stunned; her heart pounded thunderously at his affectionate gaze.
Suddenly, he gave her a quizzical look and a gentle smile. "Do you like music?"
She nodded. "I like it very much."
"Shall I sing you a song?" he asked.
Yun Shishi's face lit up in surprise. "Eh? Is that okay?"
"Yes! I specially prepared a song for you. It's Heavenly King Lin's song and I wish to sing it to you."
With reddening cheeks, she clapped her hands eagerly. "Alright!"
The setting was at a café. Inside, a grand piano was placed on the romantically decorated music stage. Gu Xingze slowly took his place before it.
Somehow, when the superstar sat before the grand piano, his gentle side profile instantly glowed and his elegant temperament became apparent.
No wonder he was the king of acting and soulful prince of love songs. Tenderness rippled in his gentle and delicate eyes when he dipped his head slightly.
He placed his fair hands on the monochrome keys; his beautifully long and slender fingers, which seemed to be carved out of jade, should belong to an outstanding pianist.
He turned his face slightly and gave her a deep look.
Her entire body stiffened as she felt something poking at her heart. The loving tenderness in his eyes was apparent.
This was no act.
It felt so real to be that.
Her heart suddenly ached.
He gradually started to play the piano. Along with the jingling piano sounds, his soft and magnetic voice flowed out gently.
"Love yourself and someone will love you
This optimistic saying
Happiness feels so real
I can't find the right adjective
Silence is concealing this overflowing passion
All that remains are interjections
The sense of peace when you say my name…"
He played the song so wholeheartedly that every note seemed to be engraved in the listeners' souls, causing their hair to stand on end and goosebumps to appear on their skin.
His voice sounded so gentle and beautiful. At the emotional part of the song, his gaze lowered with a slight frown and his thin lips slowly parted to harmonize with the melancholic and affectionate piano sound. The listeners could not help feeling the urge to burst into tears.
"The fallen leaves pen out a poem
Time is slipping but our story has just begun
This is the first time
I've experienced love that can be generous yet selfish
You're my keyword
I'm not sure if the best way to love is a verb or a noun
I long to tell you my deepest feelings
But I've forgotten the words
There's a time for everything, even for tears and laughter
I'm not afraid of unspoken subtexts…"
Through the microphone, his mellow and slightly languid voice, which needed no post-rendering, was already very textured.
Someone once commented that his voice had a mystical draw to it. Just listening to it once was enough for the listener to be deeply fascinated and feel mushy on the inside.
That particular song was a very sad love ballad, which Heavenly King Lin performed at the Golden Song Awards.
Gu Xingze's cover of the song had his uniqueness.
The entire set fell into silence.
Even the directors were deeply engrossed in the song.
The song was so well-sung!
This was also why no one dared to refute his well-deserved title of King of Songs at the Golden Song Awards.
His vocals were simply perfect!
Cast and crew alike could not help but indulge in it.


She became a surrogate mother in exchange for over a million yuan.

As the esteemed CEO of the most powerful Empire in the capital, he holds absolute power, while she is just an adopted daughter to a family of lowly status. She agreed to bear him his offspring, simply because her adoptive father's business was failing.
 
On the day of her delivery, the elder brother was born healthy, but the younger one was stillborn. Having fulfilled the contract, she disappeared from his sight along with the astronomical sum of money. 


Six years later, he is still that arrogant and high-profile CEO. When she accidentally gets embroiled with him again – like a canary trapped in his cage, he closes in on her. “Woman, do you think you can escape from my clutches?!" 

However, he does not expect a little kid to interfere; the boy pompously points his little finger at him and warns, “Mu Yazhe, you’d better leave her alone! She's mine – this baby's woman!” 

The man is alarmed, simply because the little kid's facial features are identical to his...

Tags: Adorable Child, CEO, Sweet Romance, Scheming, Wealthy Aristocrats, Fluff, Two-faced, Child, Rich and Powerful, Treachery

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