"He was the most beautiful flower in the flower garden but, his thorns were the deadliest." 

She lived a miserable life as the Empress of Hanafleur - a life void of friends and a loveless marriage. After an argument with her husband, she begs the beings above to give her a second chance at life. 

She's given that second chance - but can she avoid becoming Empress? And what's this business about "a snake in the garden"?

In her original life, Adalyn de Montgomery lived as the Empress of Hanafleur - the most powerful military empire in the world. Except, she was married to a sociopath who undid all her family's accomplishments, her friends were all dead, and the entire noble class hated her. 

Armed with the knowledge of a lifetime ahead, Adalyn is sent back in time by the Goddess Amara who gives her a mission. Find the one responsible, rewrite the tragedies to come, and live her true destiny. 

Sounds easy enough, right?

A world where mythology is reality and belief can become truth, the story of how a slave boy and a simple garden snake grow to something “beyond” is told.

Once ‹Grey Plague Assimilation› was used, the flesh of the dead bandit started to rot at a visible rate, it was like a disease hidden within his bloodline flared up and started going through a lethal mutation. Once faint wisps of grey smoke began forming, Kale stepped back and drank some energy replenishing potions to recover the lost energy, the grey smoke was using the corpses around it as fuel to grow on its own.

"Go get some bags from the tent, and also pack the loot, we are going to move soon," Kale reminded Fynn who was intently looking at the unnatural phenomenon of grey smoke, his eyes carried fear, wariness, nervousness and mostly curiosity.

The things he saw in the last few hours were completely different from the ones he had seen before. Especially, Kale, who looked like a teenager but had the temperament and means of a mysterious old veteran.

***

The Ghost Lady controlled the fragile body of the woman as she walked through the tunnel used for mining, after walking for several minutes she arrived at the place she was looking for. On her right, she saw a naturally made hole blocked by several stones.

She removed the stones one by one, once the opening was big enough for her to move in, she sneaked in and slowly proceeded.

Inside the cave, a lengthy snake, big as an adult anaconda in terms of size was quietly sleeping. Suddenly, it opened its eyes and raised its head, the snake hissed, a long forked tongue came out of its mouth and smelled the air.

The snake smelled the fragrance of the woman's flesh and its appetite was triggered, due to keeping an eye on the eggs it wasn't able to hunt for prey for quite some time.

The snake was still pondering if it should move for the hunt when it saw round stones rolling down from the small entrance of the cave. The snake got enraged, with its limited intelligence the snake thought that the woman was trying to attack it using those stones from the other side, burring it inside.

The hungry appetite affected the snake's reasoning and boosted its anger. The snake acted, it decided to hunt the woman, the snake quickly came out of the entrance of the cave but by that time, the woman had already noticed it and ran away, although she fled as fast as could, she was still a mortal, the snake knew that it chased after her at a quick speed.

The chasing was continued for a few minutes, then the snake finally found its target, it opened its mouth and exhaled, the green mist came out its mouth and moved towards the woman, it was a simple attack, and yet, it cut all the escape routes of the woman and turned her skin green at the touch, the woman fainted on spot and fell to the ground.

The snake happily coiled its body around her, crushing her bones and rupturing her organs, after making sure she died, the snake opened its mouth and swallowed her whole body at once, as a result, its belly inflated and a bulge appeared on its body. The snake then slowly headed back towards its nest, completely unaware of the fact that the controller of the woman's body was floating above its head.

On the way, the snake smelled something very awful while hissing, it looked up and saw a stream of grey smoke all over the ceiling, it felt something wrong and hurried on its way. When it reached the entrance hole leading to the cave, it was furious because the snake saw that grey smoke was filling the entrance of the cave.

The bad smell from the smoke was making it want to throw up the prey it had swallowed, but the snake was stubborn, it held on and barged into the smoke wall, just then, although its white scales remained unaffected, its eyes started to hurt like someone pinched lemon juice in them.

This was most the grey smoke could do. ‹Grey Plague Assimilation› was a strong technique but its strength mainly depends on two factors, one its user and the other is the target, used as fuel to grow, the bandits were far weaker than the Blood & Bone Snake, that was why its scales were completely unaffected and only its eyes that were a weaker part, ached on contact.

The snake quickly retreated, it screeched in anger, the snake then realized something and looked at another side of the mine, where the grey smoke was coming from.

It realized that the preparator behind this was probably outside.

Having no choice, the snake-headed towards the entrance of the mine, soon it saw the light on the other side. The snake had just dashed out of the tunnel that the ground below it moved and a net made of black thread surface, instantly entrapping it.

The snake quickly reacted, and tried using sheer force to break it, when the snake felt that the thread was not easy to break, it spat out the poison mist on it, under the effect of the poison mist, the thread started to corrode.

Hiss... Hiss...

When the snake was hissing in resentment, a stone came from the distance and struck its head, the snake turned silent for a moment, it raised its head and looked into the distance where a stoneman was fleeing without looking back.

In the next second, the snake was irritated beyond reasoning, it stretched its tied body and dragged the net with it as it chased the stoneman.

Fynn run at his full speed, on the way he took out a bottle containing some green paste Kale gave him, and applied it to his clothes, the paste gave a very bad smell, and felt cold on touch.

The effect of the paste made it hard for wild animals to willingly approach or discover him, nonetheless, the snake chased him because of pure anger but due to it having swallowed the woman earlier, its speed was far slower compared to before.

On the other side, Kale finally arrived at the entrance of the inheritance cave, under his control, the grey smoke made way for him, once he entered the cave, Kale immediately started to empty the books on the shelves into his bag.

Once the shelves were empty, he broke the lock on the other rack. On opening it, he saw a navy blue mage robe, a wooden, several other accessories into it, Kale didn't think twice before putting on the rob and placing the staff on his back, once he did that, he felt his mana reserves increasing at an incredible rate, however, he ignored the changed and focused on putting other things into the bags.

Kale took a deep breath as he saw the two full bags in front of him, he then turned to the deep pit in the centre, rows of eggs that looked like chicken eggs were arranged into it.

'So many eggs? If the set is complete there is a high chance for a leader to born within them,' Kale thought, he got on his knees as he observed to find an egg that might look different from others but even after a minute, he found nothing.

When a beast with a high fertility rate gives birth in a large number, it is bound to produce one or two offspring with higher potential, that's how Uncommon, Rare or above grade beasts are usually born.

Shortly, his eyes brightened, Kale got an idea, he closed his eyes and activated ‹Life Sense›, a wave of mana spread around him, he focused and saw countless tiny green dots gathered in front of him.

He kept scanning through the dots, after a few more seconds of efforts his eyes landed on a green dot that was bigger as well as denser compared to others, the small dot was brimming with vitality. Kale opened his eyes and quickly sorted out the eggs in a row, soon he found what he was looking for, it was an egg similar to others but there was a green ring at its bottom.

Kale carefully wrapped it into a soft cloth and placed it into his empty lunch box before putting it into his backpack, he then thought for a moment before also picking other eggs from the pit and arranging them into his backpack.

After he arranged around 35 eggs, he stopped, just now he got a fragment of information as a message from the Ghost Lady.

The image of the snake ceased chasing after Fynn came to his mind, the snake was furiously looking into the distance with a reluctant gaze, it hesitated for a moment before it turned around and made its way back.

Strong beasts had their territory moreover, the snake was weakened and had to take care of its nest, once its anger decreased it realized its mistake and hurried back.

Kale stopped collecting more eggs, he picked up the two bags on the ground and made his way out.

After a while, the snake came back and made its way into the mine tunnel.

Soon after, angry hissing sounds began to echo in the tunnel, the snake had realized it had been tricked but it still couldn't come out to take revenge because most of the eggs were unharmed and it had to take care of them.

This was why Kale didn't destroy the eggs even when he had the chance, as for the increasing beast population, who cares about it? He was not interested in becoming a Hero in the shadows.

Kale had already left the mountain, and met up with Fynn, he heard the angry hissing sounds of the snake and kept hiding.

On next morning, he climbed the mountain again to dig out the «Soul Beads».

After he finished collecting them, he realized five «Ghost Beads» failed during the process and got destroyed, from the remaining ones, almost half of them had the enigma of beasts meaning they now homed the Ghost of Beasts, the humane races had an advantage in soul strength but it was only when compared to other creatures of same life level. The wilderness was home to many strong beasts who died in the region.

The latter, a little more than half, had the enigma of different men, they were «Soul Beads» that homed the now formed ghosts of bandits. 

***

Three days later...

Kale came back to Carran Town with Fynn, for the moment he put the stuff he brought, inside the inn, but there was a problem for him, he wanted to leave the inn, he clearly knew that he wasn't allowed to take the untamed wild beast eggs into an inn, moreover he now wanted more privacy.

Because of these reasons, he decided to rent or even buy a house if the price was acceptable, after looting bandits and getting the inheritance he had quite some money on him, even if lacked it, he could sell some equipment or spellbooks. For now, he wasn't sure how much assets he had on him because he didn't get time to calculate properly due to the hurried trip.

As a result, after placing the luggage in the inn, he directly went into one and only Francis Property Dealer's Office in the whole town, to show him some rentable or buyable house in a quieter area for living.

Francis was a short man with blonde hair and brown eyes, he was a little skinny and looked amateur but his temperament was calm and his way of talking was very professional.

He showed six houses that met the conditions set by Kale on the same day, but somehow they didn't match Kale's taste. 

Right now...

Kale came out from a two-story stone house with Fynn and Francis.

Francis had an amiable smile on his face as he asked "Do you like it?"

Kale sighed "Isn't there a place, more secluded and quiet, I prefer it to also have a lawn or garden if possible, I want the house quieter in the sense that there aren't many people living around it, my friend has trouble meditating if there is no pin-drop silence," Kale side while looking at Fynn.

Francis was silent for a while, he was really putting efforts into this job because the bag filled with silvers thrown on his office table by Fynn was still in his mind, according to him, Kale and his friend were from a very rich family, a client he cannot let go.

Kale had long removed the metal collar from Fynn's neck before entering the town, he only introduced him as a friend to those who asked about him, he wasn't fool enough to introduce him as a slave while being a citizen of Blazing Sun Kingdom.

Francis thought of something, he hesitated a little and asked "Sir, do you believe in ghosts?"

Kale's eyelids flickered, he first looked at the Ghost Lady who was flying around in the air, even passing through Francis's body as she flew, then at his face.

"Not actually," Kale said with an awkward expression, then added "I heard that only Necromancers can see them, who knows if it's just a rumour,"

Kale had given Ghost Lady a fixed set of commands previously, according to which she was fully allowed to leave the «Ghost Bead» and patrol any unknown area he visited for the first time, to check for any unexpected ambush.

Kale might have started to live in a more peaceful world but he had no intention to get rusty.

"If it's like this, then I know one more house that meets your requirements, though it is a little away from the town," Francis said with a smile.

A word filled with Dungeons and Trial Towers. A world where Mages, Martial Artist, and Mutants begin their journey to test their limits and explore the world filled with countless mysteries.

Kingdoms as countries, whether it's old civilization focused on magic and martial arts or modern ones that focus on science and technology, all have their own advantages and disadvantages. In the eyes of Nature, they are nothing worth mentioning as many strong empires rose and fell but no one managed to go against it, those who did aren't alive to tell the tale.

What would happen when a genius WitchCraft Practitioner that loves fauna like his own part is reincarnated In such a boundless world?

Meet Kale, an Earthling who was once hailed as the Unkillable Martial Artist with the alias Demonic Angel in the world of Kazeer and has now reborn in this mysterious world that has so much to offer.

What would he want to become?

A Mage?

What type of Mage would he wish to be?

A Plant Mage?

***

Note: The cover is edited but not mine, if the creator wants me to put it down, then just send me a message.

***

Discord-1: https://discord.gg/wu5jWHF

Discord-2: https://discord.gg/HbEPSpE

A beautiful, luxuriantly bushy white overgrown fox with an antler, was blinking his eyes repeatedly while looking blankly at a mid 30s aunty squatting down in between the bushes in a not-so cute manner while digging for something. The fox had a lot of questions swirling in his mind but refrained from asking questions. He knew Mom must be doing something important right now just by looking at her serious expression. The 'strange team' of a snake and a bird were gone for quite sometime already, but Hana was still here, strolling around looking for something, before she started squatting down and digging the earth.

After ten minutes of waiting, Shiro finally could stand the silence and asked his mistress telepathically, [err Mom, are you taking a dump? This is not a really good location.]

Hearing the pleasant androgynous voice in her mind but with not so-pleasant remark, Hana nearly sprained her ankle and fall, but was quickly supported by the white fox from the back. 

She gave a full-of-grievance look to Shiro as he bowed down guiltily, [Sorry. I really thought you're having an emergency there. Just reminding that this is where you like to pick your herbs.]

"Of course not! I too remember where to take a dump and where not to. Obviously, I'm finding herbs to use for cooking later." The shameless aunty surprising knew how to blush with the misunderstanding as she flicked the snout of the adorable fox. "I'm trying to harvest some lemongrass, my dear. The problem is, lemongrass herb and a normal looking grass looks just the same in my eyes. I can't differentiate them. What I can do was digging at all the look-a-like grass to check." Hana shrugged.

[Is it important? Can we just omit?] Shiro tilted his head questioningly. He didn't know his unconscious action made him look extremely cute.

She cannot help but fawn for a few seconds before recovering her regal status of a mother, Hana cleared her throat, "Yes, it is. Sweetie, some optional things we can omit, but some others are extremely important as they played a significant function in a cooking. For example, the usage of lemongrass. Lemongrass had a nice lemony scent that will offset any fishiness from marine produce. If you're planning to cook something with fish, prawns, squid or shell things, some lemongrass is a must."

[What if we don't put in? What will happen?]

"Some people, like me, can't eat food with strong fishy smell and taste. It will just kill my appetite." Hana smiled gently at the inquisitive fox. He reminded her of her highly inquisitive eldest daughter. She kept on asking questions non-stop all the time until Hana got a headache finding an acceptable answer which could make her five-year old mind understand.

[But I've seen you've eaten your fair share of fish before this?] Shiro asked again telepathically, not understanding why Mom became so picky all of a sudden. She was even quite ravenous last time.

Hana nearly fall down the second time. She vengefully smeared some soil on Shiro's snout, "No need to nitpick too much-lah, Shi-chan." It was quite hard to deal with an innocent child. 

Hana tried to explain the usual practice from her hometown to the fox, "Usually, for grilled or fried things, it was enough to just smear or rub some turmeric paste to remove fishy smell. The salt is for enhancing flavor. However, lemongrass can also be added into the marination base before grilling to enhance the aroma, besides other additional ingredients." Hana shrugged and didn't continue to explain what the other ingredients were lest it might spur the fox into a searching frenzy to compete with his 'brother'. Moreover, the number of ingredients needed was not little. Since she couldn't actually get them and made a more complex marinade paste, it's better to cut things short, for now. 

Hana smiled, and patiently continued, she actually loved to talk about cooking and ingredients, "For soupy dish, we just need to smash or bruise the base of the lemongrass a little so that the fragrant will come out before tossing it in the soup. I intend to make a soupy dish tonight if all the ingredients can be gathered today. If not, maybe tomorrow. After all, we have so much eggs in hand. Eggs are delicious too."

As Hana was talking, she managed to yank off the base of the plant clusters. To her delight, it was a bunch of lemongrass! To reconfirm, she cleaned off the base from dirt and sniffed deeply after she pressed it a little hard. She then nodded in approval, before placing it under Shiro's nose, "Smell this. This is a lemongrass. Refreshing right? It's the scent of a lemon minus the taste. In the future, I will leave harvesting for lemongrass to you, sweetie."

Hana gathered a bunch of them happily while humming a children's nursery rhyme about 'finger family' (1) under her breath. Next, she started foraging for galangal tubers and onion bulbs once she identified them. Every time she worked on a new herb, she would explain to Shiro in detail in the hopes that in the future later, she could pass the troublesome job of herb gathering to her faithful pet.

"Try to smell this one... Long slightly thin bunny ear shaped leaves. Good for tomyam and coconut soup."
" Try to smell this one... Important in all kinds of cooking that Mommy knows, try to find more to transplant to our garden. The more the better. Got different size and colors too. Delicious when caramelized properly."
" Try to smell this one... Good smell. Taste good in hot broth with seafood."
" Try to smell this one... "
" Try to smell this one... "

The enthusiastic aunty was so excited she had cited the function of more than ten herbs she found around the stream bank area before she realized she had really derailed from her original intention. Shiro's eyes were spinning from the sudden influx of unnecessary extra information into his mind. Only when Hana snapped her fingers in front of his eyes that the unfortunate fox's eyes regained some focus. 

Hana apologized and asked Shiro to accompany her to transplant some more tree herbs she found just now. Now they have rows of new herb plants. Once they were done, Hana prepared to return to their cave dwelling with the pots. She tied up the opening of the pots with suitable vines and placed them on Shiro's back. She only carried the lids in her shopping bags.

Inside Shiro's mind, he could only lament on Hana's extensive knowledge on this subject. He's lucky to learn from the best. It seemed that their Mom was not as clueless as he thought. Only, her knowledge was limited to an extremely narrow range. It was something very alien in his life.

[Is this considered inheriting Mom's knowledge?] Shiro felt somewhat enlivened, knowing that the snake won't get this precious information since he was not around. 

Hence, both aunty, together with her white fluffy fox sashayed in a good mood towards their cave with style.

...

Hana routinely checked the messages from her smartphone after she put down all of her items and started a small bonfire like a boss. After five days in the wilderness, fire could be started just with a flick of a finger, of course figuratively . After all, our aunty is not a magician.

[I'm so awesome!] The aunty snorted arrogantly but accidentally sucked in a plume of smoke which resulted in a terrible coughing fit. After haphazardly drinking a few gulps of water and washed her face with the rest, she cleared her throat bashfully and pretended nothing had happen in front of the fox. 

After sitting cross-legged on the floor, Hana felt something wasn't right. 

It wasn't as comfortable as before! 

[Aha!] She stared hard at Shiro with hungry eyes; especially at those bushy white fur under its neck! Her doting smile turned sly. Since she had been spoiled by Shiro earlier today, she planned to indulge again as long as the adorable fox didn't explicitly pushed her away. 

Patting the ground with her left hand, while waiting for messages to enter her phone, she called for Shiro, "Come, come, over here sweetie. Rather than sitting over there, you should sit here and let me lean on you a little more. Mommy's body is aching everywhere. Mommy need the comfort of your body to let me feel much better." If others heard what the shameless aunty said, they would've called the police, thinking that something like sexual assault on children might've been happening next door. Realizing that she had been talking like a certified paedophile, Hana cleared her throat and added while laughing sheepishly, "You won't be molested. Mommy just needed something soft to pad my aching back." She pounded her back tragically.

Shiro gingerly came over while sighing in his heart and sat behind Hana. Hana just leaned her full weight on Shiro's fluffy stomach and sighed in happiness. Perfect.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

So many messages entered simultaneously as her smartphone continuously beeped and buzzed for a good one minute. Since her whole family had known about her predicament some time ago, Arash had shared the info on how to contact Hana. Her phone getting lively was within her expectation. Once the messages entered, Hana choose to read the ones from Arash first, and then from her mother, second. She just ignored the rest for the time being. She then realized she didn't receive Arash's response because she forgot to check her phone from being too engrossed with making the filter shelf, prepping the bamboo shoots and potteries. 

After having some intimate conversation to appease her worried hubby, she turned to conversing with her mom. In her heart, her strict mom was always the best in many aspects. She needed to learn some basics on traditional cooking methods since there was no microwave, ovens, airfryers, double sided pans and electric griller. Everything must be done the old school way. Even the standard store-bought ingredients needed some adjustments before she could replace them with something else. Most importantly, she was having trouble finding chilies in the area. She needed to know what could replace chilies in her cooking as they were key ingredients in her upcoming soup. Hence, it's extremely logical for her to learn from the best! 

Thank God, the standard cooking method of using a gas stove, an induction cooker and a wood stove were just the same!

While waiting for Kuro and Markisah, she planned to learn ad-hoc as much as possible from her mom.

...

Kuro had reached the hiding place where he hid a lot of eggs (2) he snatched from the inhabitants of the bushes beside the stream embankment. It was not that far from the little garden they had just constructed earlier today. However, since he was successful in obtaining the large egg from the silver-banded eagle territory, he had disregarded the eggs he collected totally. 

Now, he decided to keep the unconscious brown bird here first. After thinking deeply during his journey towards Mommy's cave dwelling, he came to a decision to keep the bird first in his secret stash. Right now, Mommy already have the spirit herb to cook. He was sure the little fish would've fulfilled her promise and brought the agreed amount of prawns that Mom wants by tonight or tomorrow. Since they already have so much food, why not fattened up the brown bird first and choose a different day to give her as a present once Hana was tired of eating freshwater produce and spirit herbs? 

The more Kuro thought about it, the stronger he felt his decision was correct. Feeling positive, he tried to drag the bird from the top part of the dead tree trunk. He pulled and pulled the bird in but the bird simply couldn't fit. It was too big.

[Hmm, what shall I do?] After pondering for a while, Kuro suddenly remembered how Shiro and him worked to widen the cave door this morning! Although he couldn't widen the opening of the dead tree trunk, lest the action would've destroyed the whole thing, he could easily create a new one from the ground around him!

[Mom is such a genius! The stupid bird is wrong!] He still felt quite slighted with Markisah's gift earlier today but could only begrudgingly kept it to himself after seeing Hana's hard stare towards Shiro.  

As such, the sweet little snake made a dirt tunnel from the base of the dead tree and dragged the bird inside. He was careful not to aim at the middle of the tree trunk so that he won't inadvertently broke the eggs. After all, those eggs will be a ration to fatten up the bird before it could be used as food ingredient. After that, he slithered out and pushed a big boulder covered with moss to close the tunnel entrance.

[Yes, I'm so clever!] Unfortunately, of all things, Kuro has gotten Hana's bad habit of praising herself.

Like mother, like son.

...


Author's Notes:
(1) finger family = one of the most popular kid's song on YouTube together with 'Johnny Johnny' and 'Baby Shark' haha. It has so many variety. Anyone who have a toddler would've seen the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCka94jeGTk)
(2) .. hiding place where he hid a lot of eggs.. = refer to chapter 18 before Kuro went to steal egg from silver-banded eagle

Meet Hana, a not-so young clumsy housewife, who got lost in a different world when she stepped out for a short grocery shopping session. How can this aunty survive without skills or even a 'golden finger'? What actually can a housewife do besides cooking and cleaning? There's nobody around at all, so she can't even scheme. Is she destined to die in a foreign place full of trees as a side character? Or will she step up and find her own 'edge' in order to survive? Follow her colorful journey and her struggles to carve up a humble abode (sojourn) which she could call her own while awaiting for the beloved of her life to rescue her from her nightmarish predicament.

Will her beloved even be able to rescue her?

Will she obtain benefits and unimaginable wonders as she struggles day to day to survive?

Will she one day obtain super powers as a transmigrator should?

Let us wait and see while rooting for this bumbling yet lovable housewife

Note: golden finger refers to special powers/systems provided as a rule of thumb to all transcenders to other worlds in webnovels

ASTHW map:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/asthw-asthw-map-23601459

Meet Hana, a not-so young clumsy housewife, who got lost in a different world when she stepped out for a short grocery shopping session. How can this clumsy aunty survive without skills or even a 'golden finger'? What actually can a housewife do besides cooking and cleaning? There's nobody around at all, so she can't even scheme. Is she destined to die in a foreign place full of trees as a side character? Or will she step up and find her own 'edge' in order to survive? Follow her colorful journey and her struggles to carve up a humble abode (sojourn) which she could call her own while waiting for the beloved of her life to rescue her from her nightmarish predicament. 

Will her beloved even be able to rescue her?

Will she obtain benefits and unimaginable wonders as she struggles day to day to survive? 

Will she one day obtain superpowers as a transmigrator should? 

Let us wait and see while rooting for this bumbling yet lovable housewife 

ASTHW map:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/asthw-asthw-map-23601459

Chapter update schedule:
1 chapter/2 weeks, on Mondays, 0900 GMT+8 
(2nd and 4th week of each month)

Note from Authors:
Hi, Mr and Mrs Mooncat here. Our work is quite different with distinct local flavors as it is based on our ancestral home in a small Asian country, Malaysia (although currently, we're residing on the moon). Hence, expect a lot of footnotes, local food, places, and slangs within ;) It's a fun way to get to know Malaysia from the eyes of the locals. Besides that, we also employ simple easy-to-understand English sentences to accommodate a vast spectrum of readers with very minor elements of romance. It is very friendly to both men and women, young and old without any harsh elements (yet). We love writing and illustrating ASTHW; it has already become our prized golden child (apart from our two toddlers at home haha). Recently, we have started writing ASTHW side stories besides the usual auxiliary articles for ASTHW. Interested readers could only access them either by subscribing with us on Patreon, or sponsoring a chapter through Ko-fi. Please check our respective sites for more details.

To read more of ASTHW;
Subscribe and be our Patron

Mrs Mooncat isn't able to write as much as before and has decided to reduce the number of chapters per month to be more realistic. The change will take effect from June 2021 onwards.

Do reach out to us through our email to send fanarts, questions, suggestions, requests etcs. We will come back to you as soon as we can (wink!) 

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Mr and Mrs Mooncat
Azlan Shah and Nadia Ong
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"A'ping, bring your partner over to take a look at whether Guo'er is pregnant." Although the human-beast hybrids weren't particular about forbidding physical contact between males and females, he had to find a clan member with experience instead because he himself had never fathered a cub before.
An older human-beast hybrid immediately brought his own Cattle Clan companion over.
With a long horn on her head and looking similarly thin, the Cattle Clan hybrid touched Guo'er's belly and nodded as she said, "Yes, she's pregnant."
"Guo'er is actually pregnant with a baby. But why did she faint?" A'gu murmured. He was exhausted from searching for food everyday. He would sleep once he came back and did not realize that Guo'er was pregnant. Damn it!
"Pregnant females have a bigger appetite and she's hungry," the Cattle Clan hybrid sighed. Although A'gu worked extremely hard, it was really difficult to look for food. Guo'er had a reserved character and would endure silently. Even if she were hungry, she would not tell A'gu.
"I'll go look for food now," said A'gu, who was about to rush out.
"Wait a minute," Advisor Jun hurriedly stopped A'gu and said, "I just got some food from the human-snake hybrid clan. I'll cook it for Guo'er to eat later."
"What kind of food?" A'gu looked wary and said, "We don't eat the Gaga Grass." By now the Eagle Clan members all knew there was a problem with Gaga Grass.
"Do you think I'm stupid? The foodstuff was given by Miss Yun to me to be brought back for tasting. Oh, that's right, where's my grandfather?" Advisor Jun looked around and did not see any sight of his own grandfather.
Generally, when this kind of thing happened, his grandfather was the first to rush over to take charge.
"I don't know, I didn't see him!"
"Think he's in the nursery."
"No, I saw him come out of the nursery and go to the warehouse."
Every Eagle Clan member talked at once.
"I'll go find him. You cook these for Guo'er to eat first," said Advisor Jun as he poured out a dozen of Potato Herbs and flew toward the warehouse with the rest of the food.
The wooden door of the warehouse was half open, and a thin figure had fallen in front of the door.
"Grandfather!" cried Advisor Jun. He was so terrified and rushed over to hold his grandfather up.
He only saw his grandfather's face turning sallow with his lips dry and cracked. His breathing was shallow.
"A'ping, A'hui, come quickly," asked Advisor Jun. After Advisor Jun arranged for the clan members to take good care of his grandfather, he immediately flew to the human-snake hybrid clan to find Yun Jiuge.
At this time, Yun Jiuge was examining the young human-snake hybrids who had just finished their treatment.
"Very good, more than half of the Death Energy in their bodies has been eliminated. They needn't be afraid of light in the future. Take the hoods off your heads!" Yun Jiuge personally took down the black hoods off the heads of five young human-snake hybrids.
This was the first time she had seen the appearances of the young human-snake hybrids.
They looked different from the Eagle Clan's chicks. These young human-snake hybrids were quite gorgeous with particularly long eyelashes. Their deathly pale skin had an unnatural quality. There was a cryptic element of beauty about it.
Even though Yun Jiuge did not place much importance on beauty, she felt incredibly happy seeing how adorable these young children were.
"Clan Leader, father, mother!"
The five young human-snake hybrids opened their eyes and first saw the Clan Leader who had been protecting them. Then, they saw their parents.
"Children, quickly come over." The parents of the five young human-snake hybrids rushed up to hold their little ones.
The human-snake hybrids' fertility was not like other snakes species which could lay countless eggs. They mostly laid one egg at a time. It was exceptionally good if they could have two eggs. So, their offspring were equally precious to them.
Feifei was extremely moved by the tears of the young human-snake hybrids' reunion with their families.
It landed on Yun Jiuge and whispered, "This is the first time I think it's so good that I've evolved to become like this."
"Why? Don't you like the way you looked before?" Yun Jiuge wondered. Feifei had always showed off its good looks shamelessly and was greatly confident. She thought that Feifei liked its own looks very much.
"Well, there are only two colors, black and white, which is a bit monotonous. I like color," Feifei said. It dreamt that it would become a brightly colored butterfly which would scatter beautiful Spiritual Light and not black colored Death Energy.
But after saving these five little human-snake hybrids today, it was filled with a strong sense of pride in its heart. This made it happier than its appearance.
"Although your body only has black and white colors, what matters is that your heart is brightly colored," said Yun Jiuge, touching Feifei's head. The little guy who showed off its looks pretentiously finally realized its importance.
"Yes!" Feifei nodded, and suddenly a warm current sprang from its chest, surging toward the wings on both sides.
Its black and white wings suddenly emitted a faint light, and finally turned into two Tai Chi Yin and Yang fishes, respectively imprinted on the wings.
"It's advancing?" Zi Shang asked in surprise. This Reincarnated Yin-Yang Butterfly was a wonder of the world. It was already magical that it had been formed. To advance was even harder.
He had seen a Reincarnated Yin-Yang Butterfly once. It only advanced once in 100 years after the accumulation of being fed countless Spiritual Medicines.
In his view, Feifei was raised freely. In addition to the monthly two bottles of Spiritual Beast Pills, it was usually fed a few pills during moments of commendation. For it to have actually advanced, other people's jaws would drop upon hearing that.
But come to think of it, other than Yun Jiuge, no one else would casually take a Reincarnated Yin-Yang Butterfly out to use. It would basically be raised in a Spiritual Garden for fear of being seen by others.
"This pattern is so ugly!" exclaimed Feifei. It gave a look of disdain at the interconnected head and tail of the black and white fishes.
"No, it's beautiful. You keep working hard and one day you'll grow the most beautiful pattern in the world," Yun Jiuge perfunctorily comforted.
"That's a must," replied Feifei, who cheered up again.
Meng, who had been quietly watching at the side, was not certain what happened to the little butterfly, but he instinctively guessed that it was a good thing. He happily said, "Miss Yun, it's thrice the blessings today. Our tribe is going to hold a bonfire celebration. Please stay on to celebrate together."
Their tribe had not held a bonfire celebration for a long time. He decided to hold a celebration to further cement his relationship with Yun Jiuge.
"Sure," Yun Jiuge answered. She also wanted to rope in the human-snake hybrid clan to ask about the situation with Nangong Yue and other tribes that she could claim.
"In that case, I'll send instructions now," Meng excitedly announced the order to the human-snake hybrid clan to have a bonfire celebration that night. They would all have the Rice Herbs and Potato Herbs to their heart's content.
The human-snake hybrid clan erupted in a thunderous cheer. Advisor Jun came over at this time.
"Miss Yun, something bad has happened. My grandfather has fainted," Advisor Jun landed hastily in front of Yun Jiuge and shouted.
"What happened to Elder Bai?" He was still fine when she left.
"I don't know. I saw him passed out at the door of the warehouse when I went back and he hasn't woken up yet," Advisor Jun said hurriedly.
"Let's go back now then," said Yun Jiuge decisively. Elder Bai was the leader in spirit for the Eagle Clan. If he met with a mishap, there would definitely be chaos in the Eagle Clan. That was something she absolutely did not want to see.


She roused from a pool of blood, vowing to exact retribution on those who had harmed her. 
She slapped her despicable father and smacked his wicked concubines 
 She trampled on a two-faced girl who acted innocent but had a malicious heart, and pointed her sword towards the heartless man who was unworthy of her love. 
Countless beasts trembled in front of her cute pet, and her divine artifact intimidated even the Ninth Heaven. 
As soon as her Elixir  Furnace was lit up, the world came to kneel before her. 
Between him and her, it all started with a fair trade. Yet, the handsome demon ended up being obsessed with her. 
“Lay an egg for me, and I’ll promise you a peaceful life in any of the three realms!” He wrapped himself around her eagerly. 
“Leave me alone, and I’ll grant you a long life till eternity!” She pushed him away with a defiant laugh. 
 

Next evening, I was perched again on that same branch, peering through the driving rain at the bones scattered just outside her door. All, from the largest to the smallest had been thoroughly gnawed, then cracked for the marrow. Damn, she must've been hungry! I sat there for a moment, considering, then shrugged my wings. Well, they're easy to catch. . . .
. . . .And about an hour later another steer thumped to the ground just outside her lair. 
I kept this up for a week or so; dropping food to her once a night until the bones didn't look quite so carefully picked over, then I slowed to once every other night. After awhile I decided to sneak in for another peek. 
She looked a lot better now as she coiled protectively about her eggs; her golden eyes were no longer quite as sunken, and had lost a feverish gleam I hadn't noticed until it was gone. She was still quite gaunt, but the skin no longer stretched over her ribs like a drumhead. 
I allowed myself a small smile of satisfaction as I crept back out, then went to get her this evening's steer. This time, though, when it thunked to the ground just outside and she went to get it, she found me sitting on the far side of the clearing. 
She eyed me for several long moments, then hissed at me warningly. No more than that; my scent had been all over those cattle. I watched silently as she dragged her meal within, then listened to her eating for a while before heading for home. 
Why was I doing this? I wondered to myself. Just what the hell did I see in this creature that compelled such effort? Well, things had been awfully slow around the shop lately, and I suppose it was something to do. . . . 
After several more visits she had relaxed to the point that I could land and drop my latest offering at her door. I still had to back off a little before she would come out, but at least she would eat out in the open now, where I could watch her. 
I figured she was getting close to her proper weight by now, and her green plumage was picking up a rich, glossy sheen. Her ribs didn't show all that much anymore, and I found it strangely pleasurable to watch the muscles ripple under her hide as she worried at the carcass. She smelled rather nice, too. . . .
I blinked, then shook my head. The feathered serpent's golden eyes glinted as she looked up at my sudden movement, studied me for several long moments before going back to her meal. What in the devil was I just thinking about? Was I actually...? Damn. I had to get out of here... 
The crested head came up again as I spread my wings and sprang aloft, her reptilian features unreadable as she watched me disappear over the treetops. 
"What'cha drawing?" 
"Hmm?" I looked up to see Nancy, the NCO Club hostess looking over my shoulder at what I'd been doodling on the paper tablecloth with one of the supplied crayons. "Oh! Um, it's a snake." 
She frowned, looking at the crude drawing. "A green snake? Oh. One of those troublesome garden snakes." 
"Uh, yeah." 
She sniffed disapprovingly at my sketch. "Ya'know, I came across one of those little brutes in our back yard, back during the last dry season, ya'know? Had Animal Control come out and kill it." 
A small shudder rippled through me, and I tuned her out as she chattered on, nodding at what seemed to be the right intervals until she finally left. The club's pianist plunked away in the background as I stared down at the sinuous shape drawn on the brown paper. Bemusedly I picked the crayon up again and added the four short legs, then a botched attempt at the wings. 
Why was I doing this? And why in the hell can't I stop thinking about that blasted creature? I was really beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with me. . . .
The next evening found me winging my way once again to her nest, a freshly-killed steer in my jaws. Somehow, I hadn't quite gotten around to feeding myself in almost a week now, and the steer's blood leaking down my throat was making me drool uncontrollably. Annoyed, I doubled my neck back to wipe away some of the spittle, but only succeeded in smearing it around. Perhaps I'd better get myself something to eat after this trip.
The sky was clear tonight, but the ruckus being raised up ahead made sure that I heard the clearing long before I could see it. What in the world? I cleared the treetops and found a massive, green-feathered shape coiled in front of the burrow. One look at the huge wings and serpent-like body told me that the female's mate had finally returned. 
I banked and began to circle, gaining altitude. Well, now somebody else could do the hunting. Guess she won't be needing me anymore . . . and why did that bother me so much? And why in the hell are they making so much noise?
I craned my neck, studying the scene below. The male was making loud snarling noises and short lunges at the entrance. The female was backed into the cave with only her head showing and shrieking at him defiantly. Her plumage was fluffed aggressively, but even from here I could tell she was trembling violently. 
Suddenly it hit me, why the female wasn't willing to leave her eggs long enough to hunt, why she had attacked me, a male, with such ferocity. 
My God, he's after the eggs....!

Micheal is introduced to a dragon form and eventually a whole other reality after being hit by lightning during a summer thunderstorm.

Leylin guessed that this animal was the bottom of the ecosystem’s food chain.  That was the only way for this cycle to have been sustained through the ages. 

After all, this was just an ecological garden, not a pocket dimension full of  resources. As big as it was, it could not support the entire ecosystem on its  own. The organisms here had apparently established their own ecosystem in the  absence of the researchers. 

*Groan!* A deep howl sounded out and Leylin instantly hid himself, watching  the new creature draw near. 

This creature looked somewhat similar to the Snake-Necked Dragons, but what  gave him the chills was its enormous black shell, barbed with spikes. It made  the thing look indestructible. 

Its head stood out in a stark contrast; as opposed to its humongous body, it  was tiny with two small bumps at the back of it. It also had a long nose which  produce the howling previously. 

Booms rang out with every step, creating a weak resonant vibration with the  ground. This massive creature had to weigh more than three tonnes. 

It came to a stop in front of Leylin’s hiding spot, threatening yet tiny eyes  scanning around as it stretched its neck every now and then to nibble on the  leaves of the giant plant. 

Its bite marks were the same as on the leaves Leylin had seen previously. 

‘A.I. Chip! Search the database for the image of this creature!’ Leylin  ordered stealthily.  [Beep! Mission received, starting to scan image, checking database…]  Leylin’s order was carried out faithfully by the A.I. Chip and the answer  seemed closer than ever.  [No matches found in database, starting search for similar creatures…] [After  comparison to similar creatures in the database, this creature is suspected to  be a Snake-Necked Turtle. The two are 87.9% similar!] A detailed information on Snake-Necked Turtles was then provided by the A.I.  Chip as a follow-up.  [Snake-Necked Turtle: Creature of the ancient era. Extinct as of the present.  Omnivorous and even-tempered, its shell possesses an astonishing defensive  ability making it the core ingredient of many defensive weapons. Can reach a  strength similar to that of a rank 2 Magus upon maturation.] Leylin studied the image—an illustration in an antique book the A.I. Chip once  recorded—of the Snake-Necked Turtle in concentration 

”Right! The only differences between them are the colour of their shells, the  number of spikes on the shell, and their heads. It must be a mutation of some  sort…” 

Leylin couldn’t say he was surprised. An environment like this would be hard  for ancient era creatures to survive in if they didn’t actively evolve. A  little mutation was nothing. This may even have been instigated by members of  Quicksand. 

Either way, it’d be truly abnormal if these creatures were to retain all of  their ancient characteristics. 

“If that’s the case, Snake-Necked Turtle you shall be!” Leylin decided. It  wasn’t like normal Snake-Necked Turtles were alive anymore to contest it. 

Leylin still stayed, undetected by the Snake-Necked Turtle as it finished its  meal and announced its departure with lengthy howls. 

Failing to resist the temptation, Leylin tailed the Snake-Necked Turtle. 

”Shadow Stealth!” Leylin’s manipulation rendered this spell, which was  supposed to be rank 1, stronger than many rank 2 spells. This was especially  true when used with Vapour Phase spiritual force. 

Leylin climbed onto the back of the Snake-Necked Turtle as he fell into the  shadows. 

The solid shell gave Leylin a sense of stability and security, and he observed  his surroundings. The area was covered in a thick canopy and massive trees with  hanging vines resembling the Chinese Fringetree. Droplets of water exuded an  enchanting radiance as they rolled over the leaves and down the vines. 

The atmosphere was further amplified by the blooming of bright-coloured  flowers, larger than humans, and the fragrance they gave off. They were truly  roses with thorns. 

Leylin sniffed, “Hallucinogenic pollen, paired with this neuro-inducting  energy. A level 3 acolyte, or even an official Magus would be tricked…” 

To Leylin, this place felt like a virgin tropical rainforest from his previous  life where different species prospered. It painted an ambience of primitivity. 

Instead of spotting Leylin, the Snake-Necked Turtle became his form of  transportation, advancing continuously. 

Its steady steps caused no discomfort to Leylin as he rested on its back.  Approximately half an hour later, the Snake-Necked Turtle brought Leylin to a  lake. 

Beside the lake was a piece of vacant land. The water came from a river, white  as jade, that filled the lake with fresh water bit by bit. 

*Moou!* A crowd of Snake-Necked Turtles started gathering around. Many of them  swam around without care in the lake, diving in every now and then before  raising their heads above the water suddenly, resulting in huge splashes  everywhere. Some also shot columns of water from their nostrils that resembled  fountains. 

The Snake-Necked Turtle that Leylin rode was similarly excited and went  straight for the lake. 

‘There should be about 75 of them here!’ Leylin’s eyes lit up. 

Snake-Necked Turtles weren’t well-known after the ancient era; not only were  they lacking in strength, their bloodlines were weak too. They were of no use  to Leylin. 

However, there was something that stood out about them: they bred like rabbits! 

The breeding period of a regular Snake-Necked Turtle was very long. They laid  almost a hundred eggs every other month, and the survival rate of their  clutches were high as well. Barring predators, at least half the eggs would  hatch successfully. As long as there was sufficient food, they would mature in  the next few years and continue the cycle. 

‘This is how nature balances itself. The strong cannot multiply as fast, and  even when they do it’s hard to provide for them. On the other hand, the weak  have an insane rate of reproduction and activity…’ Leylin remembered the mice  of his previous life. There was only one word to describe their adaptability  and rate of reproduction: perverse. They had a very high possibility of  surviving even nuclear winter. 

‘As for the mutated Snake-Necked Turtles here, their inner bodies seem to work  even faster. It probably takes them under a year to mature from the ovum.’  Leylin touched his chin in thought. Evidently, the reproductive capabilities of  these mutated Snake-Necked Turtles were intensified to prevent the extinction  of their species. Of course, it came as an acquired evolution. 

It can be seen, then, from these selective evolutions that the Snake-Necked  Turtles definitely did not possess any form of superiority and were actually at  the bottom of the food chain, waiting to be preyed on. 

*Hoot!* Just as Leylin was preparing to bring back samples of Snake-Necked  Turtle blood for further study, he heard a high-spirited, piercing screech. 

It caused an uproar in the community of Snake-Necked Turtles and all of them  starting speeding towards the lake. Those that were already in the lake dived  deep in and never surfaced. 

The screech got increasingly louder and Leylin could see a streak of crimson  on the horizon due to the several-fold increased senses of his body. 

The creature was a type of giant hawk-like being. Glossed with the colour of  blood, its feathers were smooth yet solid, its head accessorised by stalks of  golden feathers giving the illusion of a crown.  [Blood Vulture detected! Creature of the ancient era. They attack with sound  waves and can manipulate the blood of their target. They possess a strong  interest in bloodline-related treasures and are communal creatures. Evaluation:  Extremely dangerous!] The A.I. Chip pushed into his sight. 

“Blood Vulture!?” Leylin’s expression quickly grew from shock to joy. 

‘They have extraordinary sensory ability towards idiosyncratic bloodlines on  top of their superb vision. A strand of hair on the ground could be detected  easily even from an altitude of 10,000 feet. Mostly kept as pets by ancient  warlocks to seek bloodline treasures!’ 

‘But…’ Leylin hesitated as he read the danger evaluation of it. 

Just the strength of this particular Blood Vulture was enough to caution  Leylin. It could equate to a human rank 3. 

Moreover, the A.I. Chip stated that they were communal creatures, there were  definitely more rank 3 members back in its nest or even a King Blood Vulture!  The king would, no doubt, be a rank 3 Crystal Phase being, and may even have  reached the Morning Star realm! 

*Hoot!* The Blood Vulture sounded out occasionally as it sailed in the air  causing fear within the community of Snake-Necked Turtles, something which  seemed to encourage the vulture even more. 

*Bang!* A single Snake-Necked Turtle, with a wounded leg, stood out as it  trailed behind the mass of them, and fell to the ground under the stampede. 

Deciding that it was time to stop the fun, the Blood Vulture flapped its wings  and plunged straight to the ground. 

The strong winds that followed its action already had Leylin stunned. The  remarkable size of the vulture, much bigger than the Snake-Necked Turtle,  slowly came into view as it drew closer to the ground. 

The contrast between their forms was not obvious when the Blood Vulture flew  in the sky, but compared when closer by, the huge Snake-Necked Turtles were  like mice to the Blood Vulture. 

*Hoot!* The Blood Vulture stretched its huge claw and punched a hole in the  head of the Snake-Necked Turtle. The thing fell, blood splattering everywhere… 



Leylin is transported from an advanced technological era into a medieval world— except there’s magic. Equipped with only his quick wits and an A.I. chip fused to his soul, he sets out to become the most powerful magus the world has ever known. In a land divided into the Light and Dark Magi, the weak can either be cattle or disposable slaves. Only the strong can determine their lives, and only they have the luxury for virtue. Yet strength is only a tool for Leylin, like any other. His goal, in the end, is his own.

Translator’s desc:
What happens when a scientist from a futuristic world reincarnates in a World of Magic and Knights?

An awesome MC — that’s what happens!

A scientist’s goal is to explore the secrets of the universe, and this is exactly what Leylin sets out to do when he is reincarnated. Dark, cold and calculating, he makes use of all his resources as he sets off on his adventures to meet his goal.

Face? Who needs that… Hmmm… that guy seems too powerful for me to take on now… I better keep a low profile for now.

You want me to help you? Sure… but what benefit can I get out of it? Nothing? Bye. 

Hmmm… that guy looks like he might cause me problems in the future. Should I let him off for now and let him grow into someone that can threaten me….. Nahhh. *kill*

In the morning, Yan Xiu already done with his morning routine and was cultivating. The Fire Tomatoes were harvested and the eggs the chickens laid were collected, he also planned to butcher one of the pig today. Yan Xiu would butcher the pig in Lu's family butcher room, it was convenient and clean.


Putting on his weapon belt, Yan Xiu went to granny Shen house while dragging the pig. Sweeping as usual in front of the house was granny Shen. When she caught sight of Yan Xiu heading her way, granny Shen folded her hand.


Yan Xiu quickly apologized. Granny Shen sighed and said it was fine, she thought that the hunter training probably exhaust him. 


"Little Xiu, it's okay to just deliver the green water every morning. The hunter training must have tired you, don't push yourself." (GS) 


Seeing her garden full of vitality, the plants and herbs was in perfect health and brimming with energy, especially the Glass Lime. In just a couple days of nourishment using the green water showed a tremendous effect. The whole garden experienced an increase in quality and shortened ripening time. 


The money for treating her grandson was slowly building up. She was truly grateful to Yan Xiu. She didn't want such a good child to push himself too hard. 


"No, it's something I promise. I will definitely uphold it, and the training isn't that hard." (MC) 


So that he would not forget again, Yan Xiu decide to just supplied granny Shen with two bucket worth of green water in the morning. One portion was poured into a bucket and the other portion was kept inside a jade container. 


It lengthened his Qi recovery time but it wasn't a problem. There was still time before noon, 'It should be enough time to butcher the pig' thought Yan Xiu.


Opening the door for Yan Xiu was Xiao ShanShan. She told Yan Xiu that Lu Rianli went to the city this morning and he took Lu Hao with him. After asking for permission from Xiao ShanShan, Yan Xiu butchered the pig in the butcher room. 


When Yan Xiu put down the butcher knive, it was almost noon. Tidying the room and cleaning himself, Yan Xiu went out the room and greeted Xiao ShanShan before heading out to the village gate. As for the pig meat and etc, he'll take it later.


Just as usual, Yan Xiu went to the forest with Chen Hanchen. The two hunted a few beasts as they walked deeper into the forest. Yan Xiu had just collected a snake which was impaled onto a tree by his needle, Chen Hanchen suddenly spoke behind him.


"Little Xiu, do yo know the difference between beasts and demon beasts?" (CH)
"All I know is that demon beasts are generally stronger and more dangerous than normal beasts." (YX)
"That's right, but do you know why demon beasts are stronger and more dangerous? It's because demon beasts can cultivate while beasts can't. All beasts have a fixed limit on how strong they could be, it depends on their race and bloodline. But demon beasts are like human, they can cultivate and grow stronger. And their wisdom grow along with their strength, that's why demon beasts are much more dangerous and stronger than beasts. hence, never underestimate them or you'll die." (CH)
"I understand, senior brother." (YX)
"Good. I know I just said that demon beasts are dangerous but I'm gonna have you fight one today. Because we'll be hunting many demon beasts in the hunt, but of course, we'll start with a weak one first. You ready?" (CH)
"Of course!" (YX)
"Then we need to find one first." (CH)


The two resumed walking as they search for a demon beast, Yan Xiu was looking around when he smelled a thick milky aroma. Yan Xiu stopped and sniffed around, trying to determine where the aroma came from. Realizing Yan Xiu stopped following him, Chen Hanchen turned around to see Yan Xiu sniffing around, his lips twitch as he wondered what the little boy was doing.


Yan Xiu stared at where the aroma came from with his glittering eyes. He could tell just from the smell that whatever it was, it would definitely taste delicious! Droll had filled his mouth and the glitter in his eyes glowed even more. Yan Xiu looked at Chen Hanchen and requested to check the source of the aroma. 


When Chen Hanchen heard his reason, he sigh and went along with Yan Xiu's request. Chen Hanchen took a sniff and yet he didn't smell anything, is my nose defunct or little Xiu's nose are better? He thought. 

The further they went the stronger the aroma, the thick sweet savory aroma tickled Yan Xiu's nose and whet his appetite. When they reached the source of the aroma, they saw a tall yellow tree. Suddenly Chen Hanchen ducked and hide behind a bush, Yan Xiu was pulled to hide with him. 


The tree trunk was thick with yellow bark, the branches all located on top of the trunk and grew pointing at the sky. Big and wide green leaves grew on the tip of the branches forming an umbrella crown. Under the shade of the crown grew a white with shades of yellow round fruits, it was bigger than an adult head.


The delicious milky aroma was coming from the fruit, Yan Xiu gaze was locked onto the fruits. As much as he want to grabbed and open the fruit to consume the tantalizing taste inside, he couldn't do so without a fight.


There was a huge snake coiling the base of the tree. The snake dark green scales shined under the sun, it's thick and long body glued to the tree as if guarding it. The snake's eyes were shut. Yan Xiu scanned the snake before asking Chen Hanchen about it. 


"Well, aren't we lucky? That snake is called Wood Snake, it's a relatively weak demon beasts that usually found around spirit trees and plants. It has no venom and pretty docile if we don't disturb it, but if we do, it's muscular body packed quite the firepower.

This on is only at Qi Refining Third Stage, should be a match for you. Don't be nervous and just fight like usual, you'll be fine. Just an advice, don't get caught or it'll be hard for you to release yourself." (CH)
"Is there any more information about it? How about that tree, do you know it?" (YX)


Chen Hanchen helplessly shakes his head with wry smile.


"Little Xiu, I'm not a scholar, I'm just a hunter. Everything I know comes from the hunt and mostly from talking to merchants or from others conversations.

If you wanna know about many things, wait for the team to come back. There's someone knowledgeable in the team." (CH)
"Okay, I understand." (YX)
"Good, then go. I'll make sure to move if the situation calls for it." (CH)


Yan Xiu nodded. While making sure that the snake didn't notice him, Yan Xiu stood up and took out a javelin from the belt. Javelin in hand, he went to a stance. The distance between him and the snake was only about 12 meters apart.


The snake has yet to notice him, such a good ambush opportunity, he wouldn't waste it. Yan Xiu took a deep breath and concentrated, he aimed at the snake's head.


He let loose the javelin as it traveled with great speed, Yan Xiu put all his strength into it. When the javelin about to hit the snake, the snake's eyes snapped open as it barely dodged the javelin.


The sound of the traveling javelin woke the snake up but it didn't came out of it unscathed. The snake's left eye was gouged out when the javelin grazed it, the snake hissed in pain.


Yan Xiu stopped for moment when his javelin missed, he quickly took out another javelin before throwing it at the snake again. Looking at the same attack coming at it, the snake hissed loudly as it's tail lashed out, knocking the javelin away.


Since the snake already knew where he is, Yan Xiu ran out of the bushes. Yan Xiu ran around the snake as he threw needles at it, the snake brush some of the needles with it's tail while the needles that hit the snake did little to no damage. The needles only pierced the skin and couldn't go deeper, the snake's body was too big and the scales were to hard for the needles to do any damage.


Yan Xiu stopped running and took out his whip, his needles didn't do any damage and his javelin would just knocked away. Yan Xiu didn't have any choice than attacking it with his whip. The snake slowly uncoil itself from the tree, it glared at Yan Xiu.

A story about a boy with talents in both farming and cooking. Follow him in his journey of cultivating rare and legendary fauna and flora while cultivating his strength in the side.

" little brother, what's that thing you're eating? "
" Jade Crocodile sausage. "
" isn't that a rare beast only found in Azure Swamp?! how did you get it?! "
" I raised it. "
" what's that you're drinking? "
" Golden Snow Pear juice. "
" ..... did you raise it too? "
" un. "

As the light in Rick's eyes died out, he was finally at peace. 

'That was a wild ride'. Rick thought to himself reminiscing the life he had lived. 'Who knew being dead was such a peaceful thing'. 

What he felt now was pure bliss. It was as if he had just seen the most serene garden ever. Yet there was no garden or view, everything around him was pitch black. 

Rick was never a religious person, so the concepts of heaven and hell was lost on him. Yet right now he was starting to feel maybe this was heaven.

'But how the hell am I still conscious?'

Even though the idea of death overwhelmed him at first now he was starting to think clearly. 

'Definitely I shouldn't be able to think after my death, so how the hell am I retaining my consciousness?'. 

The thought or the fact that he could think after death was both terrifying and amazing. 

As Rick was pondering over his predicament, he felt an intense pull all over his body or whatever state he was in. He had no body to be pulled, yet he felt something was tugging him. 

Rick couldn't see nor hear nor feel, yet somehow he knew he was being shoved through a funnel at a terrifying speed. 

Suddenly the sensation stopped.

'What the frak'. Nothing made sense to him. 'Am I hallucinating?'

That was the only logical reason he could find. Maybe he hadn't died and was still inside the ambulance. Maybe he was unconscious and all he felt was his mind playing games on him.

He was racking his brain, or whatever that helped him to think right now, to find a logical explanation. 

'The only logical reason is that I'm in hell..... '
'...Like heck that's logical'

Rick's contemplation were cut short by a sudden jerk. He felt as if his entire body just moved a bit. 

'Did I just feel that or did my body actually move. My body? Wait what? I have a body? '

The sudden realisation left him speechless even more so than his inability to speak.He couldn't see anything as it was pitch black but he could definitely feel it. 
 
'But this feels different'. 

It was true. Rick's entire body felt different. 

'What the heck is happening?'. 

He tried to stand up only for his head to hit something above. Something was blocking his way. He tried to move his legs but the same thing happened over and over. 

Being frustrated beyond measure he pushed his head against the invisible barrier with all his might. 

Crack.

A ray of light suddenly filled his sight. A blinding light to which he closed his eyes reflexively and when he slowly opened them, he was in for a shock.
 
What stood before him was a giant hen. The biggest he had ever seen. It was towering over him. It was looking closely at him. But rather than enmity he felt as if the hen was looking at him with affection. 

'Oh wow, I've finally gone mad. To think a gigantic hen is looking at me with affection, must be the easiest indication that I was going insane'. 

Yet he was spot on with his observation. What Rick failed to notice at first and realised few seconds later was that he was no longer a human but a chick. 

"OH MY GOD, WHAT THE ACTUAL F". Is what he said but all that came out was a sharp chirp sound typical of a newly hatched chick. 

After a few moments of panicking Rick came to his senses. He checked his hands or rather his short fluffy wings, his leathery legs and his beak. 
Everything confirmed him that he had actually been reborn as a hen.

'In all the rebirth novels I had read to think that I would be reborn as a little piece of nugget, ahh my rotten luck'. Rick was evidently annoyed at the turn of events, even forgetting for a moment his paranoia about how all this could even happen. 

'Maybe this is God's way of punishing me for all the chicken nuggets I ate during my life'.

It only took a split second for him to realise the foolishness of his thoughts. 
'As if there is God to begin with'.

All the events he experienced back on earth had made him believe that believing in an almighty God was fools errand, crazy even. Yet he couldn't deny what was happening now was even crazier. 

As he looked around he realized that the mother hen and her eggs, which where hatching one by one, was kept in a henhouse. 

The henhouse was made up of wood, which seemed like it was made up of planks nailed together. There were nine eggs he could see and 7 of them hatched.
 
'Is my destiny to live the rest of my life as a rooster?' Rick could not shake that feeling off. 

From what he could observe from he noticed that he was not a hen but rather a rooster. Rick and a few others had bigger crowns than the rest. 

'Well I guess my life will be even shorter then'. A rooster only had a few months to live at max before getting killed to be served as dishes. 

From the apparent position of the sun he could deduct that he was born probably at around 2:00 and by the time the rest of his siblings was done hatching it was well into the evening,  during which a human female came and checked each of the hatchlings. After she inspected all of them she put them back with their mother. 

'At least I'm still on earth'. Rick sighed. 'Maybe there is a way I can turn this around'. He assured himself. Seeing another human being helped him relax more than he thought it would.

Rick tried to walk around a bit but the new body took some time adjusting to. What came natural to other chicks was hard for him. 

Even in this diminutive form rick kept racking his pea sized brain for a logical reason behind all this bizzare events. But nothing he could think of could explain his current predicament. 

As night approached every chick fell into a sleep along with their hen mother. Rick couldn't sleep like the rest of his siblings due to his anxiety, but the exhaustion was overwhelming him. The fatigue finally overcame his paranoia and he too fell asleep.

****
 
Rick was woken up by a loud ruckus. Every hen inside the henhouse where flapping their wings worridly and making an odd noice. 

Mother hen was also on high alert which awakened all her chicks. 
Even though Rick couldn't pinpoint the exact reason he could tell something was amiss. 

A hissing sound attracted his attention to a corner of the small confinement they were in.

'Damn my rotten luck'.
 
What he saw was a snake ready to strike at a moment's notice. 

Rick turned around to run but sadly he was still adjusting to the ways of a chick and fell straight on his beak. Rick looked ahead to find the mother hen trying to pull every chick inside her wings, sadly he was too far from her and she couldn't come to his rescue.

As the snake quickly gulped him down, his sight once again turned pitch black. The strong muscular contraction that followed was a cruel reminder that his death was not going to be easy. Rick could hear his own bones breaking and crunching, ensued by mind numbing pain. 

As the life was sucked out of him, he felt the familiar feeling of death engulfing him.
 
'Reincarnation my foot. This probably was my mind playing tricks on me'. Rick thought to himself. 

As he drifted into the oblivion an even more familiar feeling was building up inside him. A feeling that something was pulling his entire existence away at the speed of light.
 
'Oh no. Not again'

(to be continued) 
****

Writer's desk: 
Em:  John linwick? 
Me:  yes. 
Em:  John liwick? 
Me: yes? 
Em:  John wic..... 
Me: *stabs Em in the back with a f-ing pencil*

Death is the final resting place we all share. 
But sadly that can't be said about our MC. 
Death was just another door to life for Rick.

But whats so special about him?

Is he the savior the world needs?

Or is he the harbinger of the end?

Or is he just a random nobody who got reincarnated?

"Why so persistent?!" Angor cursed and tried to fly higher. "Don't tell me Toby stole its eggs or something!"
He took a quick glimpse at Toby, who was sound asleep in his pocket, together with his unconscious body. Toby fell into this state as soon as he sensed safety.
Angor scanned Toby's body while escaping and did not find any external wounds. Perhaps Toby was too tired to wake up.
He then looked back and saw the giant snake still in hot pursuit. He didn't feel too threatened since he was no longer in the confined caves. Surely the snake couldn't suddenly move faster than before by flying?
Unsurprisingly, the snake levitated itself by covering its long body in a white fog. Then it dashed to where Angor disappeared like an arrow.
Behind the flying snake, the "troll swimmer" and the "hermit crab" also emerged from the ground and began chasing him.
"Why the heck do they hate me so much?!" Angor complained without slowing down.
Thankfully, the Overwatch Base was not far from the Shaded Dunes. Even with the snow, the guards of the Moonfrost Union easily saw the coming enemies and all headed this way.
A single individual headed to Angor's position faster than all others while confusing all the guards he left behind.
In the next second, Angor heard Sunders calling out to him.
"Was it two hours, or three? What are you up to this time?"
Angor smiled when he saw the familiar gentleman suit.
"Professor! Thank the spirits. I'm saved!"
…
Sunders was drafting an initial research project regarding the dream wasteland when the loud noise of monsters interrupted him. He looked up from his work only to see Angor leading three powerful monsters to the base.
"The little fool's at it again?!"
…
Sunders' arrival fully reassured Angor.
The gentleman looked at Angor's soul, then checked Angor's body. Telling from the pale face, he could tell that Angor had been neglecting the body for quite some time.
"Mind yourself. I'll deal with those things." 
"Thank you very much—"
"Remember, the next time you're looking to die, do it somewhere far away so I don't see you."
"… Oh."
Angor returned to his body and was briefly stunned by fatigue. When he could see clearly again, he saw his professor already engaging the snake.
The guards of the Moonfrost Union also came. Though they only looked at Sunders fighting the snake with the look of disappointment rather than joining the battle.
Compared to random demons, the wizard-level monster held resources and riches all over its body. Anyone who claimed its corpse could easily add six digits to their account even if they did not take the time to carefully assort the body parts. But since Sunders was the first one to fight the monster, the others couldn't recklessly participate in the fun without getting Sunders' consent.
Their frustration came to a halt when they saw another two monsters entering their view. These two appeared to be slightly weaker than the flying snake, but they meant a lot of money as well.
"You brought ALL these things with you??" Sunders questioned Angor while fending off the snake.
"I-I didn't bring them! I just kinda, passed through, and they began chasing me for no reason."
Neither Sunders nor the guards looked convinced.
While Sunders was giving Angor the cold eye, the guards were actually impressed by what Angor had done. It was no easy task for an apprentice to bait three wizard-level monsters while staying alive.
More importantly, Angor looked perfectly fine. There wasn't a single scratch on his body.
"Well, that's Mister Phantom's student for you," a guard muttered.
The captain of the guards moved ahead of everyone and called, "Mister Phantom, and uh, Mister Padt. Will you let us handle the other two monsters?"
Both Angor and Sunders agreed. While Angor was only glad that the guards would help him get rid of the nuisance, Sunders was not in the mood to fight off three monsters at the same time.
Seeing their decision, all the guards rushed to the coming monsters like hungry wolves attracted to meat.
It took Sunders about half an hour to successfully finish off the snake.
Away from him, about a dozen wizards of the Moonfrost Union were still struggling with the hermit crab and the troll. Meanwhile, more wizards came from the base and joined the fray with the hope of getting a share of the loot.
Angor casually observed the battle. It was not easy to find so many wizards hunting monsters together.
As expected, it would take multiple wizards to take on a monster of the same level. When the two monsters still looked fine, several careless wizards were more or less hurt. This was the reason why the guard team had to allow other wizards to help at the cost of decreasing their reward.
Sunders was obviously the biggest winner by killing the snake all by himself. After retrieving the snake corpse into the Gravity Garden, he floated to Angor and asked in a cold tone, "Let's head back. You will tell me what you just did."
More people were directing their attention to Angor when they learned that it was he who attracted the wizard-level monsters. Or in other words, three moving piles of money. But now, they could only look at Sunders escorting Angor back to the base.
Even though the Abyss was full of wizard-level monsters, wizards didn't have enough resources to effectively track them down. Sunders was not the only one who wished to figure out Angor's business out there.
…
"Speak. What happened in the past few hours?" Sunders sat down in his study and gave Angor a blank stare.
A bit embarrassed, Angor pointed to his pocket where Toby was sleeping peacefully.
"It was nothing, really. I was just looking for him…"
He carefully explained what he went through.
Sunders found it strange that Angor somehow ran into so many monsters in the Shaded Cave. The place was thoroughly explored by people before, who did not report the presence of wizard-level monsters. Also, many apprentices had been fishing for shrimps there without a problem.
This could be the result of the "unlucky curse" left behind by the Pilgrim of Misfortune. Though Sunders highly doubted that his student was carrying the curse. The snake monster could have easily killed a good number of guards using its mind-manipulation aura. Angor would be long dead if the curse was affecting him.
Perhaps Angor was just… generally unlucky.
"They might be coming from the underground river, from other entrances we don't know. However, wizard-level monsters tend to have their fixed territories and do not usually wander off too far. There could be a reason that forced them to change habitats."


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?

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