"Entertain me more or I will chop your head off."

As the daughter of the loyal vizier, Scheherazade can't do anything against her fate of becoming the Sultan's prisoner. 

Will she able to entertain him?

I have already started to read a lot by the age of seventeen. I used to read stories of Panchtantra, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Kalidasa, Chinese Folktale, tales from The Arabian Nights. When I got married to the person who shouldn't be named, I started to read the mind-boggling books like Origin of Species, Ars Poetica, Romeo and Juliet, and many other Shakespearean dramas. Nevertheless, my language remained as general in oral and script as it is now. I used to get highly exasperated by similar words with a different chain of alphabets trying to make me bewitched. I used to share this thing with him, but he used to laugh and say, "Just keep reading and look for the meanings in Oxford. You'll be able to learn quickly! Don't worry!" Then he used to firmly tap on my shoulder with a glare in his eyes.

I told you before that I never wanted to read any prescribed books. Books of a foreign language were even more disappointing. It was like moving away from all the creative tales of my world. It is not like I read those tales in my own language always. I used to try reading them in other voices too, although, I literally enjoyed them in my own mother-tongue.

My husband was into some business I never asked him about. When he first came back to the village to see me that he has to marry me within a month and fly back to Delhi. I believe that I belong to Bengal. This is absurd. I wonder why I never asked anyone about where do we live? Bengal? Orissa? Gujrat? I don't know.

Anyway, within a month, after our first night, we traveled back to Delhi. We reached Delhi at around 7 pm. We took a cab from the airport. It seemed to me at that time that this place is some alien world. I saw many girls in clothes of boys and some girls had a long beard! From there body, they seemed to be masculine. When my husband first pointed out his house to me, it seemed to me like a kingdom of some emperor. There were so many buildings, all so big and huge, standing firm like a mountain in front of my eyes.

After a few minutes, the cab stopped at one of those massive buildings. My husband gave me the keys to open the house. I reached the porch only to find that the door was unbarred. I ran back to my husband anxiously and told him that there is a thief in the house. He calmed me down and asked me,

"How were you able to reach the third floor and come back down within ..." he looked at his watch, "not even a complete minute!" 

I said, "Means?"

Later he told me that that wasn't his building but of someone else. He said that we will live on rent in this building on the third floor. That meant I was trying to unlock the door which was already open. Also, the person I confused with a thief was the landlady of the building. He laughed at this incident and put it off, but I was miserable, embarrassed, and frightened like hell after this. I almost called Peter Pan every night to take me away with him.

I just realized that you must be thinking that why I'm addressing my husband in the past tense and what happened to my ploy?

Well, I did execute my ploy but after two years and also, now I'm dead. My husband died on the night when I was trying to contact him through telepathy. I don't remember the date as usual but the time and month. It happened in March 2017 and started around 5 pm. He told me that he is with his girlfriend and will come home by 10 pm. He also asked me to complete my study on Modernism. I replied with an ignorant okay. 

I didn't tell him that I was watching on Youtube something related to telepathy instead. I sat down on my favorite spot in his room and clasped my eyes, focusing on him. As I was new in this profession, I wasn't sure that it'll happen or not. I was doing it for fun. After an hour someone banged on the main gate of the house and at the same time the phone ranged. I rushed towards the door first. There was no one. A little shivered, hastily yet steadily I closed the door and picked up the phone. 

My husband said that he was a bit worried about me and coming home soon. He sounded drunk. Anyway, immediately, the doorbell rang again; it was the son of the landlord. He wanted something flowery, I can't recall what exactly. After disconnecting the call, an hour ago, my husband came back home. I started laughing as soon as he entered. He looked like a tomato. He immediately made it redder. I started asking him how was he doing so? Instead of answering me, he began to question me. My heart started banging on the door behind me. He was angry. I never saw him turning to a tomato when he glared. He mistook the son of the landlord as someone I dreamed of at night and played with; Peter Pan.

He started pouring out all his true intentions at that point and time in an uncontrollable rage. I tried to calm him down.  When he didn't seem to hear me, I thought to try telepathic way. He saw me doing so and was even more angered. He held me by my pony and screamed,

"Aren't you listening to what I'm asking you? You slut!"

As a reflex and in pain, I unconsciously uttered, "I will shoot you off the cliff, bastard!"

When he left my hair, I screamed, "You got no right to treat me like that!" 
He gave me an angry glare again. He remained silent for some time. He went to the other room and came back with a gun in his hand. Something absurd happened afterward when instead of killing me, he killed himself. Gunfire backfired him as it exploded in his hand. There was gunfire outside the house in the next few hours. Later, I was told, I just heard those shoots in my head.

My vision was blurred when this happened and remained so till his cremation. I saw a plant stems lurking at the corner of his hand. The red colored gloves suited his palms. When he died, he slept on the bed looking at me. I closed his eyes with my blurred vision. "I know you are tired. It's good you are resting", I said to myself.

I was just able to cover him with the blanket he brought a month before.
Then I walked out of the room and went to sleep in my room.

-4/17-



Danika was always fascinated with the Arabian tales. No matter how many times she reread the book '1001 nights', it doesn't quench her thirst for more adventurous tales. 

She always wonders the possibility of loving Djinn. The three wishes, magical lamp, magic carpet, Caliphs' rule, lively and robust city and so on. It is filled with rich culture, mind-blowing legends and amazingly structured buildings. Very tough to describe all the fascinating wonders in one thought. 

Danika is well aware the Djinn live in dense forest, invisible to a human's naked eye. In every piece of articles or anonymous conversation led to one particular warning. Always stay away from remote kinds of places or else she will be whisked away by Djinn and be forced to serve him as his wife for a very long time. Like humans, Djinn also believes in family, hierarchy of Kingship, worship of an Almighty and basic necessity for survival. Yet they are different from humans on so many levels. They are made of pure fire, possess magical abilities and hold forbidden secrets of the world. 

Alas! Only if this was part of Danika's life. She is fed up with the dull routine work. It is not that she doesn't possess any beauty. A curvy brunette, average height and her expressive brown eyes which can convince anyone to be her back and forth call. Sitting on her window seat, the clock strikes midnight, the bell chiming sound echoed across her empty house. The gentle wind swam around her and blew sweet kisses upon her skin. The enchanting didn't just stop there. Nature was on full effect as the dark starry sky upon the night was gleaming perfectly like a ton of diamonds. Also, the faint whistles of wind blowing around the dancing trees made her feel like she was floating to the other unseen realm. 

Danika was yearning to be seduced by a sexy stranger. After reading an erotica, her body's sensation was heightened with it, her heart began to beat erratically and also her breath was becoming heavier with every turn of the book's page. She was completely lost in the story and dearly hoped for an escape in the stranger's arms. Keeping her novel aside, Danika spreads her legs wide, welcoming the chill air to brush against her pulsing clit. This effect was sending electric jolts throughout the aching body which caused her to rub the clit faster and pinching her swollen nipple roughly for extra stimulation. 

Now floating towards cloud nine, her elated moans were floating across the room as if nature were appreciating Danika's beauty, the moonlight rays highlighted her delicious soft curves and her shining thick hair giving her a certain kind of allure. Licking her two fingers, Danika slowly slides them deep into her snatch, hitting her G-spot rhythmically and finally succumbing into long awaiting sexual pleasures. 

Gathering her plump boobs, she licked her rose colored nipples and at the same time, finger fucking herself rapidly--nearing to the ultimate orgasmic pleasure. The sound of rustling trees & roaring of wind were increasing as she came close to her climax. Biting her lips painfully, at last she came hard with the final sweet curl of her toes. 

'Yes!' She murmured to herself, now completely sated, she began falling into profound sleep. Pulling the sheets up, Danika curled up her body into warm satisfied slumber and let the dreams succumb her. 

Violet eyes were peeping from the dense tree at Danika. A strange magnetism surrounded this male figure. He leapt gracefully from several tree branches into the window of Danika's bedroom. There was something otherworldly about this stranger. He was standing tall at the height of six feet and three inches with penetrating violet colored eyes and dark jet black shaggy hair. It was his appearance that made him stand out but it was his combination of silver and black tattoos in weird designs covering every inch of his ripped body. He was naked above the waist except the black silky loose pants covering his long legs. 

He could smell her sweet arousal, aware that she has an insatiable sexual appetite which can't be quenching by any human being. She needs someone extraordinary who understands and relishes her in every preferred manner. Raising his one finger on which he wore a ring consisting of purple colored gemstone, and initiated the enchanted words in foreign language. Like a magic, the sheet easily slid down exposing the almost naked Danika's pale body. With few more commands in his language, Danika's legs were lifted & parted wide with a clear view. The sensual night visitor climbed carefully on Danika's bed, fondling the pulsing thick cock in his hand and positioned it between her legs. Gliding up and down on Danika's recent orgasm, he wet his dick and slowly entered into her hot pussy. 

Lost in slumber, Danika let out a moan as her pussy wall was expanding with penetration with a thick object. She was not aware of the stranger's cock which was actually entering into her entrance. Her body let out a delightful shiver; clutching the bed sheet tightly to control the overwhelming gentle stroking against her convulsive walls that lifted her body from the bed into the air. Danika's mind was in an enjoyable state and was not able to register the course of action being delivered to her. 

The mysterious man kept pumping his dick deep into her tight hole, losing himself completely--unaware of the current atmosphere. He knew he had fallen for her and nothing can be done from claiming her as his mate. Possessively clutching her waist, he fucked Danika brutally--watching her boobs bouncing as he pounded away the wet cunt. Danika moans turned into high pitched wails which made her to regain the consciousness and jolted back to the reality when she saw a stranger fucking her mercilessly. 

'What the hell? Get away from me! Help!' Screamed Danika, desperately trying to create distance between them and cover her exposed body. 

'Calm down Danika. I shall not harm you in any condition but your beauty has weakened my strong will and submit myself to you. Please let me mark you as mine." The stranger replied who proudly displayed his sculpted body and catching both her wrists as he was trying his best to calm Danika for her understand his views. 

'Get off me! Who are you? Help!' Danika cried for assistance and leapt to nightstand for her mobile phone. She concurrently dialling the police number as well as trying to break loose from his clutches.

The death curse is rare and has been passed on to the next generation.

True love comes once in your life but to be destined to kill your only love is a curse which no living being should bear.

This is short stories collection of various crossed star lovers and their undecided journey.  

Book One of Unbreakable Eternal Curse.

Startled, Gu Weiwei explained quickly.
"By sleeping, I literally mean sleeping."
He was very busy these last few days, so he would not truly come to visit her anyways.
Fu Hanzheng checked the time. "Don't hang up, just try to go to sleep."
He hoped that she could rest now, but he also feared that she would experience a nightmare again, 
So, he asked her not to hang up, just in case she experienced the nightmare again because then he could immediately know about it.
Gu Weiwei put the phone on speaker and placed it by the pillow.
"Aren't you going to sleep yourself?"
Fu Hanzheng went back to the study and sat down as he chuckled.
"I can't sleep when you are not around."
Fu Shiqin, who was at the verge of talking about their phone call on the video, got so annoyed.
Fu Shiyi had already hung up on him and switched his phone off, so that he was the only person left bearing the harm done to him.
Gu Weiwei laughed dryly. "You are so flirty, and what has made you stay single for so many years."
Fu Hanzheng said with a low voice, as he was leafing through the files,
"Because I did not meet you."
"…" Gu Weiwei was so surprised that she had no way to counter.
In the video-chat, Fu Shiqin looked at his brother, both helplessly and speechlessly! He had spoken way too many flirty words.
Oh damn it, he missed his cold-blooded brother who used to love nothing other than work!
At least at that time, all he had done was give him extra work, but now, he was tormenting him both physically and emotionally.
It was not until four in the morning that Gu Weiwei finally fell asleep.
She did not wake up because of a nightmare but slept all the way till daylight.
As she woke up, she found that her phone was still on a call.
"Fu Hanzheng?"
"You are awake?"
Gu Weiwei asked as she was getting off the bed.
"Did you sleep the entire night?"
"I did for a little while, I just woke up."
Fu Hanzheng lied. He did not close his eyes throughout the entire night.
Gu Weiwei heard the assistant knocking at the door, so she said with a low voice, "I am going to the airport, so I am hanging up now."
"Okay."
"Also, the poems from last night were wonderful."
Gu Weiwei praised him before hanging up.
Fu Hanzheng chuckled and made a call to Xu Qian immediately.
"Go to the store and buy some poetry collections and story books."
"Poetry collections? Story books?" Xu Qian was confused.
"In English." Fu Hanzheng stressed.
She did not like classical poems from Hua Land because she thought that they were too difficult to grasp. She preferred foreign books.
"What… are those for?"
Fu Hanzheng put on the suit and was ready to leave for work as he said, "Weiwei is having a hard time sleeping, and I need to read her some stories."
"…"
Xu Qian complained inwardly as he heard those words of love.
How old is your girlfriend? Why does she need a bedtime story?
Is he going to buy him Tales by Hans Christian Anderson, or The Arabian Nights?
….
Gu Weiwei started to pack when she was suddenly startled by the check on the table.
She looked at the check for a long time before finally tearing it up and tossing it into the toilet before flushing it away.
She did not hate Gu Siting, because after all, she had been the Gu Family's foster daughter for more than twenty years and she was not in a position of hating him, no matter what he did but Ling Yan must pay for all that she had done to her…
However, she was not capable enough to fight against the Ling Family at this stage.
Especially when Ling Yan was now under Gu Siting's protection.
She must hasten to establish a position in the film industry, so that she could ruin Ling Yan's acting dreams before she returned to the screen.
However, she had failed to find the Yuan Family when she was in town this time.
Gu Siting and his men were still looking for her master, which meant that her master did not die in the assassination last time.
If there was anyone in this world that she could trust completely, it was her master and her senior sister.
She had no idea why Gu Siting was looking for him, but if it was not fatally dangerous, they would not have hidden themselves away.
She must come up with an idea to find them before Gu Siting did.


Gu Weiwei, the adopted daughter of the most wealthy and powerful Gu Family in A Land, is seriously injured during an attack. Her best friend, Ling Yan, who has been suffering from a heart disease, takes this opportunity to kill Gu Weiwei and snatches her heart for her own transplant surgery.
 Unexpectedly, however, Gu Weiwei is reborn and became Mu Weiwei, the adopted daughter of the most wealthy and powerful Fu Family in Hua Land and somehow ends up having a one-night-stand with the heir Fu Hanzheng. 
From that night on, strange things start to happen. Firstly, Fu Hanzheng, who has no interest in any women, especially not in the noisy young Mu Weiwei, suddenly falls for Mu Weiwei—who now has Gu Weiwei’s soul inside. 
Gu Weiwei decides to take this second chance of life as a precious opportunity to take revenge for both Mu Weiwei and for herself. 
Subsequently, Gu Weiwei uses her own talents and skills and becomes the most popular and beloved movie star in the entire world using Mu Weiwei’s body and successfully crushes all her enemies. 
Meanwhile, she gradually develops a lovely relationship with Fu Hanzheng, who is deeply devoted to her and only her.

After a while i still hadn't seen anything and once the camel stopped i was surprised to see that there was nothing there "we have arrived at our destination" Sharma gently pushed me off of the camel as the camel left. "What am I supposed to do now just find a city on my own?" I yelled but it was clearly too late. I started pacing angrily and as I did I stubbed my toe on something hard . I looked down to see what it i and to my surprise it was a lamp like the one from the fairy tales. I picked up the lamp and it started glowing and the same purple smoke from earlier had come out of the lamp but someone appeared with "Hello Amara it a pleasure to talk to you again i am Gemstone Genie and i am the one that called you here" she said. I was shocked "why did you bring me here?" I asked "it's not safe out here come inside my lamp" Gemstone must have use her magic to bring me inside because all of a sudden i was in this one room with a giant bed and plush pillows and blankets all over and across from there was a seating area with2 humongous couches and one table in between them. "Take a seat" Gemstone used her magic to get some cookie and placed them down on the table as she sat down. "Well this is the world of fairy tales the evil queen is taking over starting with the snow kingdom then the cinderella kingdom but the prophecy says that a human will find the mirror which was lost in the human realm and use its powers to defeat the queen and you found it and only you can control its power and save our world" Gemstone continued " you see the mirror and the lamp are connected so i can use my lamp to tell if someone has found the mirror then i brought you here now i can not help you but since you found the lamp i can give you three wishes and this map of the world" We finished up our conversation and Gemstone sent me out with the map, a bag to carry the map and the lamp and mirror, and she gave me and outfit that magically changes so i fit in with the kingdom i'm in. After that i left the lamp i grabbed the map and started heading toward the nearest kingdom where characters from the fairy tale arabian nights were. 
    I had arrived in the "desert kingdom" as I liked to call it because it was an endless desert to the eye. Everyone was bustling around doing what I think would be their normal everyday activities. I decided to go straight to the palace but someone stopped me it was a fortune teller "young girl i know who you are come with me" said the fortune teller as she pulled me inside her tent "you are the prophecy girl but if information is what you seek then this kingdom you shall not stay for the evil queen has taken our kingdom you must go to the kingdom of roses ruled by the queen who fell in love with a beast" The fortune teller told me and i ran out of the city i knew it probably seemed suspicious to run but i had to go before the queen got to the rose kingdom. After I had gotten out of the kingdom I grabbed the lamp and called out "Gemstone!" As soon as I did the purple smoke emerged with Gemstone "what is it?" she asked "The Kingdom was taken by the evil queen so i wish to have the fastest method of transportation" I told her. Gemstone snapped her fingers and a necklace appeared "just wear this and you can go anywhere you desire" she told me as I put it on and then I instantly teleported to Queen Beauty who was sitting on her throne. "Who are you and what are you doing in the castle?" the queen asked in a stern but gentle tone I bowed in order to be polite "I am Amara your majesty and i have come to help but first i must speak with you in private" The queen was shocked at first but then gave me a smile "come with me" She got up and showed me into the west wing. The queen walked over to a rose which was under a glass. I was guessing it's the enchanted rose from the story "Do you know why I brought you here?" The queen asked me "no"  "Your the human from the prophecy" The queen said "how did you-" "Your outfit changed when you teleported here which is the work of genie magic" The queen continued "I assume you know what going on here Amara and i will do m very best to help you" The queen lifted the glass covering the rose "this rose is a enchanted rose after i freed the beast from his curse the enchantress re-enchanted it so that in the right hands it can give you powers to create anything you desire and i want you to use it" the queen handed it to me but i didn't take it "The Evil queen will take over your kingdom soon too you should have something to protect your kingdom with too" "that's why when you leave you will create a magic all around the kingdom only you can go through" The queen tried handing me the rose again this time i accepted it. I made a circle with the rose to create a magic barrier and it worked! "you will need rest and food please stay the night" The queen offered. She left the room as I followed her "well i guess i am a little hungry" the queen showed me to my temporary room. " I will make sure dinner is prepared. I will come get you when it's ready" the Queen left the room and I walked over to the bed and sat on it when purple smoke poofed out of my bag and Gemstone came out of it. "Sorry to bother you but you know i overheard the whole conversation that you just had and everything and i know the queen probably is kinda too upset about it to talk about it but the day her baby was born her husband died and then just a few hours later her baby disappeared the kingdom suspects it was the evil queen that did it anyways i just wanted to tell you that bye" Gemstone poofed back into the lamp before i could say a word. What Gemstone said to me really got me thinking hmmm i wonder where the queen could have taken her cause i'm sure she wouldn't care for it herself wait! The guards here are the best no one could steal a child here without being discovered and the queen knows it too! Wait! What if the evil queen sent the baby to the human dimension! Maybe i know them!  I should stop thinking about this. It's not like the queen will be happy with what I have to say.

Moments Later the queen came in "dinner is served" I followed the queen through the castle and into the dining room where dinner was set out for us "please take a seat" The queen gestured toward a chair. I took a seat and a servant came out with a tray. I assumed it was some sort of food but I couldn't tell what kind because the tray was covered. The servant set the tray down in front of me and lifted the cover. It was Pizza. I didn't think they would have pizza in a old timey fairy tale world once the server left I said "i didn't expect this to be here" "once i heard the prophecy about you i started studying the human world the food, the cultures, the technology which i must say the technology in the human world is much more advanced than anything i've seen here i do hope one day our technology will be at that level" The queen took a slice of pizza off the tray " i just thought it would be better to have a traditional dish from the human world served to make you feel more at home" The queen grabbed  fork and a knife to start cutting the pizza as I grabbed a slice for myself. The rest of the meal was rather silent and when we finished and The queen escorted me to my room to get a good night's rest. 



Amara is a human who finds a magic mirror where fairytales like show white and beauty and the beast have already happened and the evil queen is back for revenge Amara is destined to stop them but can she or will love and family get in the way

According to Ren Baqian's plan, it would be best for the captives to do obligatory labor for three years, followed by five years of compulsory paid labor. They could be given slight freedom and a certain amount of rewards during this five year period, which would gradually increase as time passed. 
In this manner, after eight years, the captives would be restored to their status as commoners
Of course, the Yun Nation would have already ceased to exist by then, and their homes would be gone as well. Some of them would leave, but there would also be some who would remain at ease and join another "construction team" as craftsmen. Alternatively, they could take up another labor job with wages. 
After Ren Baqian was done writing all of this, he opened up the window. It was already very late at night, and the moon was already high up in the sky.
He turned around and saw food on the table, but he had no idea when it had been sent over. Even though it was already cold, he didn't mind it at all because his stomach was already rumbling with hunger. He quickly gobbled the food down, lay down on his bed, and started cultivating the [Ruyi Visualization].
Early the next morning, after Ren Baqian was done teaching at school, he went back to the palace to look for the empress and showed her what he had written the night before. 
The empress didn't show much expression when she looked at the front page since it was natural to draw up regulations and systems. Even the aboriginals had their own systems that they followed. As an empress, she definitely knew about the effects of having order.
However, when she looked at the notes on another piece of paper, she asked in astonishment, "Pay them wages?"
All of Dayao is impoverished, and even a mouse would starve in the imperial treasury. After transporting back the spoils of war with great difficulty, the loot was almost robbed before it was even handed over to the Ministry of Revenue. Under such circumstances, you actually still want to pay wages to these captives?
"Even though I know that you think differently from the others, the world you come from is totally different from here. Are you ill to bring up such suggestions?" The empress put down the papers and looked at Ren Baqian.
Ren Baqian was between laughter and tears. However, he had already anticipated the empress's answer. Even if she didn't bring this up, someone else would. As such, he had already prepared a countermeasure. His plan was to first give her a detailed explanation of how giving the captives hope could increase their work efficiency and reduce their mistakes. He would then end it with, "If their hearts are dead, how are we going to make them work?"
He then proceeded to address her concerns and explained, "Your Majesty, those wages are simply going through their hands, but will eventually come back to us. Those captives will toil hard every day. They will either mend roads or dig mines, and they have absolutely nothing to look forward to. After a hard day of work, there are no opportunities for them to unwind. Under such circumstances, what can they achieve?
Nothing besides eating, drinking, prostitution, and gambling!
Eating is the most basic. If they want to eat something that they like, they will spend money. If they want to drink, they will spend money as well. This is how their money will return to us.
For men, other than food, there is also alcohol. How many people can resist alcohol when they see it? Even if they could, when a few of them gather in the camp during their free time, have a casual drink, and exclaim in admiration, how could the others resist?
Besides, we can't possibly sell wine in the captive camps at the same price as outside them, right? A jar of wine costs a tael of silver outside, but it will cost three taels of silver in the camps. Their monthly wages won't even reach three taels of silver. After saving up for a few months, they can only purchase one jar of wine to satisfy their cravings. 
Next will be prostitution. If we send a bunch of girls from the brothels every few days, we can probably earn back half the money we pay them.
Lastly, there is gambling. I don't need to say any more about this. In gambling, the house is the only one that earns steadily and doesn't lose, and we are the house.
All of these are things that no man can escape from, especially in places like the captive camps.
As a result, these wages will only be going through their hands before eventually coming back to us. At the same time, we can make them feel like Your Majesty is kindhearted and also allow them to work at ease. What objections can you have against this?" 
"So, do you enjoy eating, drinking, prostitution, and gambling?" the empress asked as she looked at him with a half smile.
"Er, from seeing how fat I am, you should know that I definitely love to eat and drink. I'm the epitome of the so-called wine sack and food bag. Besides, with the company of Your Majesty, the almighty, why would I be interested in other things? If one were to have any other worldly desires even with the company of a lady like Your Majesty, then that person must either be blind or dumb. I'm obviously neither of those. Look how clever and quick-witted I am!" Ren Baqian winked and boasted.
"Someone once said that the flowers at home aren't as sweet-smelling as the flowers outside! Otherwise, why do so many people visit the brothel!" the empress replied faintly.
"Who is this 'someone?' I'll beat him to death!" Ren Baqian's face immediately turned black.
"Hmph!" The empress rolled her eyes at him flirtatiously before skipping the topic.
She then took a close look at the regulations that Ren Baqian wrote, especially the notes. 
The empress said, "These are feasible. As for those things written in the notes, if they will work as you say, then it's worth a try. However… You can bring up your suggestions at the imperial court session tomorrow morning. You'll know then."
Ren Baqian didn't attend class the next day. He waited outside the palace early in the morning, which actually attracted quite a few people's attention.
This was mainly because Ren Baqian very rarely attended court from the start. Furthermore, he was waiting outside before the session even commenced. It was obvious that something was going on.
Ren Baqian greeted Tong Zhenye and the people from the Ministry of Works before looking amiably at the great elder, Shi Qing, and the minister of the Board of Rites, Xuan Hua, when they saw him. After all, he had previously stayed at the Ministry of Rites for a month.
The rest of the officials merely glanced over from afar without even greeting him.
When the court session began, Ren Baqian took a few steps forward and publicly explained the regulations that he had written. The words that the empress left him with last night had made him a little vigilant. A such, he went back and thought it over carefully once more.
The outcome was exactly how he and the empress had imagined it to be. Everyone was indifferent about the regulations, but as soon as they heard about giving wages to the captives, they flew into a rage.
Paying wages to captives was something that had never happened before, and it was practically like Arabian Nights[1.The Arabian Nights - A collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age].
This was especially so for the officials from the Ministry of Revenue. Tu Wan, the Minister of Revenue, was so incensed that even her long and shapely eyebrows had turned upside down. If she didn't respect Ren Baqian's status, she would have smashed him into a wall.
Anyone who asked for money from her now would be akin to someone drawing her very life out of her.
According to what Ren Baqian said, this was called the economy. When money began circulating, it would create much more value. Besides, the money would always be circulating and would eventually return to the hands of the imperial court.
"However, we will still lose some silver in the middle of this." Tu Wan sharply grasped the problem with his theory. No matter whether it was eating, drinking, or prostitution, gambling was the only activity that didn't require capital.
"The lost money is negligible compared to the amount of value it will generate. Regardless of whether it's eating, drinking, or prostitution, the people who worked for this money will still spend away their silver. This will make the whole market prosperous! The market will begin to circulate!" Ren Baqian answered patiently. 
"Still, these funds will be taken from the imperial treasury," Tu Wan replied while not looking too happy. She kept harping on this point and continued, "These funds originally belonged to the imperial treasury and were to be allocated for other purposes. If we don't pay wages to the captives, we can use these funds for the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Appointments, the Ministry of Justice, and many other departments."
No matter how Ren Baqian explained, Tu Wan remained unmoved.
Paying wages to captives was something that had never been done before! It hadn't happened in the past and wouldn't happen in the future either!
In addition, Tu Wan's words made Qin Chuan and the others feel more apprehensive as well. What she said was right. After taking a portion of the funds from the imperial treasury to pay the captives, even if a portion of it came back, some would eventually be lost. In the end, the people who would suffer were the various departments!
Ren Baqian was preparing to make another explanation about what was meant by economy, circulation and the possession of wealth among the people, but ended up getting interrupted by a loud voice.
"Principal Ren, I feel that you have to reconsider this matter." Tong Zhenye, who was originally simply watching the show, had now changed his standpoint and began trying to persuade Ren Baqian.
A loud voice sounded as soon as he opened his mouth, which forced Ren Baqian to swallow all his words.
"That's right, this is too absurd!" Everyone successively voiced out their complaints and acted as if they were already giving him face by simply persuading him instead of immediately throwing him out if he had been someone else.
The only person who supported Ren Baqian's idea was Qin Chuan, but this was on the basis that he must object to whatever Tong Zhenye agreed with and agree with whatever Tong Zhenye objected to. He immediately took Ren Baqian's side as soon as Tong Zhenye began talking.
However, everyone began speaking up and giving out looks that spelled "Are you asking for a duel or a group fight? You will be up against all of us in a duel, and all of us will be giving you a beating in a group fight!"
Qin Chuan subsequently went with the flow of the crowd and felt that what they were saying was absolutely correct.
The imperial court became like a food market as a bunch of loud voices condemned Ren Baqian. All the things he said after that had been drowned out.
They made Ren Baqian so angry that his teeth ached, and he was so annoyed by their loud voices that his head hurt. He simply wanted to shout out, "You idiots aren't fit to discuss such matters!"
He lifted his head and looked at the empress, only to see her sitting above them unperturbed and enjoying the show.
"As for what Principal Ren said about making them work properly, this will be easy. We will do as you said and restore their commoner status after eight years. If they don't work diligently, we will kill them. With a blade against their necks, I'm certain that they will make the right decision!" Tong Zhenye declared.
His methods had been simple and crude all along!
Everyone continued nodding their heads.
They all seemed to think that this was already sufficient and that there was absolutely no need for the wages that Ren Baqian talked about.
This debate ended in a landslide victory for all the aboriginals in the hall of the court.
Ren Baqian's words had totally been drowned under the saliva of the crowd. Nobody could hear him talk other than himself. How was he supposed to debate like this?
"How was it?" After the imperial court session, the empress smiled when Ren Baqian accompanied her back to their quarters.
"Their voices were too loud—they were at fault for fighting incorrectly!" Ren Baqian refused to accept what had happened! He had originally planned to talk some reason into those people, but little did he expect to be completely overpowered by their loud voices!
How could he endure this?
At the same time, he was determined to bring along a loudspeaker the next time he attended court! He wanted to let them know what it felt like to be overpowered by voice!
The empress laughed gently when she heard Ren Baqian's response. This wasn't the first time she experienced the raucous behavior of these officials. It would end in chaotic fighting, which happened pretty frequently.
Even though she could use brute force to suppress them, she couldn't possibly do that every time, could she? She still had to give them the opportunity to talk.
As for Ren Baqian wanting to regain the speaking ground, the empress wasn't optimistic about this.
You speak reason with them, they compare voices with you. You compare voices with them, they compare fists with you.
There is no doubt that this is definitely the case!


In a world where its inhabitants can destroy a city wall single-handedly, the empress has a kirin as her pet, and the imperial palace of Great Xia has a pool containing a dragon. There is also a Sword Mountain where spirit swords occasionally leave in search of a master .

Bootlicking the empress, Ren Baqian ascended to the apex of life.　　

Eat. Drink. Sleep. Read. Repeat.
This is what I have been doing for the past 14 days since I came to my grandfather's house. I read tons of works by Naguib Mahfouz, re-read a thousand and oneِ Arabian Nights, and The Saga of Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan for a thousand times.
Why was there no time to read manga and watch Netflix as I had previously planned? I really wanted to do that. To see all these cheap dramas in the midst of that curfew, but all blames on the internet service provider routine and their slowness which rivaled all the turtles The Slowest Being on Earth Award. yeah, that's pretty much the main reason behind that.
 But today the situation will change; the Internet will cover my grandfather's old house for the first time in its history. And I'm going to do a festive marathon ... Watching all the movies of my beloved Jin Ji-Hyun.
 Suddenly I heard my cell phone ringtone, I rejoiced, as I thought the caller is the internet company to inform me that my ASDL is sound and working from now on, but my happiness quickly dissipated when I saw the name of the caller.
Nader Wageh. My Childhood friend all the way to the final year of college, till society life and a salve like working life, divided us.
"O, are you still alive, you little rascal?"
He answered, " Hahaha,  Look at how silly I am. I thought you dead when you didn't call me when you returned to the village. What are you doing right now? Why didn't you come to visit me during the past two weeks?"
I told him, " You Rascal, It's All due to Corona Virus,. I will go out of this house only when they find a vaccine and a cure for it. Otherwise, I will stay in this gentle shell. Enjoy my well-deserved holidays until satiety."
He said: " Holidays?! Didn't you tell me that you were fired?" 
I laughed and said sarcastically: " It is all the same for me. The important thing is that I am in a good mood now." 
" Ok, sir. What do you think about coming out to the field with me as we used to do, the fruits of guava are fresh and sweetly these days. There is sugarcane waiting to be eaten too. let's grab some of them and go for a walk to our old spot beside the canal bank. 
I lifted my eyebrows, "Oh my dear friend! Didn't I tell you that I will only get out of this house when they find a vaccine for that virus? If you want to come to see me here, my house welcomes you and your little girl. But you have to follow my rules.
 first: wear a surgical mask, and bring a bottle of medical alcohol with you. Otherwise, I won't open my doors for you.
He snores on the phone in denouncing, saying sarcastically:" No, sir. I'd rather never see you."
I laughed and said, "That's good."
Then I seriously added: "But I miss the grilled corn on the cob, if you find some of them, maybe I would change my terms, all for the glory of having a good barbecue."
"It is not the time yet. Maybe after a month or two."
"Well, then see you after a month or two."
He laughed and said: "It was great to hear your voice, you rascal."
"Goodbye, bastard! I will talk to you later."
I ended the conversation, and then I went to my grandfather's large bedroom, where I installed the router device earlier to find out if the service had started yet or not.
I sighed in despair when I saw that the light bulb of the routers was still the same as before. 
I thought, "Well, I think it's okay to re-watch My Sassy Girl for the seventh consecutive day."
 I kept it in my all-time favorite movies folder on my laptop.
Suddenly my eyes fell on a portrait of my grandfather hanging over his bed. He was only sixty years old when he took this picture. He had wide shoulders, wearing a luxurious gray Gallabya made of white wool, a white turban, and leaning on a black walking stick made of mahogany wood.
I smiled with sorrow as I remembered my childhood, which I spent a huge period of it in this house, I remembered the stories and fairy tales which my grandfather and grandmother narrated for me before sleeping.
a huge black ring in his right index finger caught my attention. This ring, which our family inherited from an ancestor more than three hundred years ago, but my father refused to wear it after my grandpa passed away, because he thought it is too ugly and inappropriate for the current era.
My grandfather told me about the story of this ring ... that one of our ancestors, when he was still living in Luxor before moving to Cairo, found a cemetery under the floor of their old house, which he found only one mummy and a small black wooden box, inside the box, he found this ring.
This was at a time before the world discovered the importance of these mummies, and before the French Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered the symbols of the Rosetta Stone by more than a hundred years. Before Champollion presents a way for the world to discover the ancient Egyptian civilization. And because that predecessor thought that this ring has magical powers that protect him from evil and prolong his life, he decided to pass it on to his son and then his grandchildren to protect his offspring forever and ever.
I smiled when I remembered this story. Of course my family didn't inherit this ring because they believed in the story of this great grandfather. In fact, all that they thought of this ring it could make a good heirloom or emblem for our family. Also, its value increased within our family after they found that the symbol engraved on the ring doesn't have any connection with the languages of the ancient Egyptian kingdom.
 
Ah, right. My dad told me that this ring is still in my grandfather's room. As long as my dad doesn't want to wear it, there is nothing wrong with keeping it.
I headed towards the office, then began to open and inspect the drawers until I finally found it inside the antique black wooden box.
I picked up the ring, and I wore it in my thumb. Then I checked it.
Yes, my father was right. This ring is ugly, and it doesn't fit the present time.
I lost interest in the ring.
And now what?
Yes, let's go back and have a cup of coffee, and watch our dear John Ji Hyun movie.
I went to the kitchen, and started preparing the settings for making an authentic Arabic coffee cup.
I found that the sugar was about to run out, so I decided to bring the sugar bag to refill the jar.
I was carrying the bag when I suddenly felt hot over my right hand. I swear in an impulsive way. 
I looked at my hand, and then I saw a scary sight, the ring literally melted over my finger, turned into a liquid, and It began crawling across my hands like a snake until it reached the inside part of my right hand's antebrachium, and settled above my skin as if it was a tattoo.
Damn!
Is this the curse of the Pharaohs?
Am I the only one in my family who will be cursed by the Pharaohs?
I was horrified, I put the sugar bag between my feet quickly, and with my fingers, I tried to rub the tattoo to remove it.
But to no avail.
But my arms got hotter in the inner ulna region.
Suddenly, the kitchen disappeared in front of my eyes, and I felt that every bone in my body was literally hurting me. 
After that, I began to fall into a black swirl with no end and no beginning.
****


All I wanted was to get a lot of money, retire before my 30th birthday, and spend the rest of my life in a simple cottage on a small island in the Nile, reading all the books, and watch all the movies I had missed.
As you see, just a simple dream?
Well, lt turns out not that simple. I mean, if you have the opportunity to move between Earth and another planet... another world, where you can learn magic,  meet the glamour Elves, fight the dragons, and save princesses far more Beautiful than Disney princesses, but refusing their  Marriage offers because.. Ahem, you see, I am too old for this shit.  
Okay, I admit it, I was lying.
Well, let me stop talking nonsense now, and come approach me, so you can listen to my stories and adventures in the world of Narnia.  No, I mean the world of the middle earth.
Damn it, Hold on for just a second, I'll put those books aside so that I don't tell you the wrong story
And now...
Get closer, and listen to my stories and adventures in Saria world

SHORT STORY of WARD COURIER: "Medicated Goo", Continued
From the story collection "A Ghosthunter's Journal" (1999) by Ward Courier under the pen name Mason Winfield

The pipe they passed throughout the evening was undoubtedly laced with something, probably opium. I had no difficulty refraining, nor did Kerry. I needed to keep my faculties, and didn't want whatever happened from their drug, if I was offered any, to be confused with some other I could get every day if I cared. One time that I allowed the pipe to circulate past me Taurus made some quip I couldn't hear over the Deep Purple, but I'm utterly immune to that sort of pressure. Kerry just told him to get on with things in the tone I could imagine her using to decline his fortieth pass.
Their theme music was a seventies compilation tape, and, though some of it I liked, virtually none of it met my definition of psychedelic. Just because the musician did drugs and the disc is decked with Op art doesn't mean the music has that hypnotic capacity, and for me most of this was having the reverse effect. About midnight the first funky strokes of what I immediately recognized as the old Traffic song "Medicated Goo" seemed to perk everyone up. Taurus commenced broad gestures like a cartoon character readying for a delightful dish, making eye contact with some favored associates sure to take the cue. He went rummaging around in his wooden chest and came up with a thumb-sized tub used for the tacky resin I knew as "baseball grip." He passed it, never leaving his hand, from the middle of the small room, hovering over the Ouija-board table so that each of us might dip in a fingertip. ("You put it on right here," said one to another newcomer, gesturing to her forehead. "When we all do it.")
Bearing in mind that this was a potentially dangerous contact drug that had already ruined one good mind, I had to be careful. I also wanted a sample. Noticing that the drug seemed to affect nobody yet, I judged that the skin of the fingers - with few pores - was impermeable to it. I dug a wallop of a dollop, probably double the usual dose, with my middle finger, the pad most tennis-callused. Taurus and some others 'Oh-ho'd' admiringly, as if this alone was the mother of all feats.
Cool to the touch, "the Salve of Knowing" was a waxy, tawny, translucent substance with a smell piny like retsina, the Greek wine. With a joking gesture I transferred almost all of my sample from one hand to a dollar bill in the palm of the other, which I folded and transferred to my back pocket. It was effortless to distract my fellows; these folks were really looped. Only Kerry was on to me.
As we all waited with our fingers poised, I realized that the sprightly song had been the signal for the expected delight, and that its position on the tape may not have been coincidental. Its opening tones provided a moment of anticipation as the group could look around at each other and realize that the moment was here, like children suddenly reminded that a contraband treat was waiting ("Here it comes again!" "Are you ready for a mind-ride?"). As the song readied for its first vocals, Taurus could rise and shimmy about the room in his best impersonation of rhythm; the song entertained while he passed the ointment and made sure everyone was served; and at its finale, a repeat of its introduction before the last chorus and its long fadeout, was a single, sonorous soul-grunt at which everyone could apply the knowing rub. In concert, everybody raised their indexes and spun the daub into a fingertip-sized space just below the middle of their foreheads. I'd like to think Taurus knew this was "the third eye."
I did likewise, but with just the residue on my finger. It was enough. I sat waiting, for a few seconds wondering if anything would happen, for a few seconds more wondering what it was, hearing different music, a distracting crest of steady, almost liquid sound effects - rustling and tinkling like bubbling brooks and winds through trees - that kept me from hearing any outer sounds. Then patches of faint azure light - which I envisioned like neon-turquoise starfish sequentially climbing up to coat an egg that was the world - seemed to creep up and around the perception-areas of my mind, so that I was no longer seeing anything around me but tame, bright, milky blue-green light. All other thoughts fell away as I clung to the only vivid one in my mind. It became all-consuming.
For some reason, the thought was "Scheherazade" - yes, the woman who told the 1,001 tales of "The Arabian Nights" - perhaps inspired by the imagery of the hanging shawl before me, perhaps by the Renaissance album of the same name I had recently played, perhaps from having read the word in the last week. Tracking every image and implication associated with this thought in my mind, I lost touch with all outside it.
I saw images forgotten but so familiar - from films and paintings I couldn't remember seeing but knew I had, even images formed within my own mind from strips of literature I had read over the years back to my earliest days, even inspired by songs and smells, sense impressions of all types, all wondrous and beautiful and heart-inspiring. I saw the sublimity of the Near East, the majesty of Islam, the wonder of fiction, and the intrigue of love - all symbolized in the images of fascination and grace that my mind was reviving, whipping up from its own depths. I smelled the champak and the jonquil, I plotted with viziers, I dueled with scimitars, heard the sitar and tabla, felt silk and skin and amorous allure... I saw the honey-skinned dancers, wedded Parvati's vestals, ancient women so sensual no one of my century knew them...
In probably thirty seconds it was subsiding, and I was ever more part of myself. If nothing else, it was a wonder to feel these images from the deep ranges of my own mind, but they were absolutely possessing. I felt like I had nearly passed out. My admiration - and pity - for these hearty souls doing the full dose increased. No wonder it was but one a night. They must have been absolutely obliterated. I would be lucky to walk in fifteen minutes.

III
On the following afternoon I brought in enough of my smuggled sample for Rob Notaro to test, and this time there was no waiting period at the clinic. I described what I'd seen.
As if he guessed that I had tried it, Rob's expression said, "And?..." I told him everything of my experience, down even to an analysis and absurd conjecture of the focal image "Scheherazade."
"It's a mind drug," I said, "a contact hallucinogen like a brain-cocaine, though from my dose I couldn't give you its limits. It was over quickly, I would say within a minute. It seemed like an hour, and the aftereffects were longer. Right as it crested I forgot about everything except the thought I held in my last moment of detachment, my last moment in the world. That was the one the drug homed in on. I could feel the other thoughts falling away around it. Fascinating."
"Where do you think your images were from?"
"I think from within my own mind, but from such hidden corners that it was a marvel to watch it bring them up. It was the most comprehensive churning of the deep ocean of my mind I've ever experienced. You know how you occasionally get a random image from your childhood-mind that's so fascinating and has so much impact, associated as it is with all the other moods and emotions of the moment in which you had it? This thing brought up a harvest of them. It was heavy. And I had a tiny dose. It tapped so deeply into hidden corners of my mind, but it was focused around a central image. This thing may have real potential."
"Did it give you any idea what happened to our friend Andre?"
"The quick observation is that he OD'd. From the tendency of the 'Medicated Goo' to make a single thought spellbinding, and the observation that he seems to be fulfilled doing a simple repetitive action, I'd say that Andre's having flashbacks, and focusing on a coincidental concept that may seem simple to us, but for him, it's all his world. That's my best guess. He's stuck in Goo-gear."
"Interesting," said Rob. I could see the wheels turning. "Be real careful about this, OK? If you decide to do any experimenting, it's against my advice, OK? But if you're going to do it anyway, you can do it here. It would be safest."
"Sure, Rob," I said smiling insincerely. He knew it. I wasn't doing a potentially psychic experiment in any laboratory, let me tell you.

[To Be Continued...]




Author:
Author, teacher, storyteller, and supernatural historian Mason Winfield studied English and Classics at Denison University, earned a master’s degree in British literature at Boston College, and studied poetry and fiction at SUNY Buffalo with professor emeritus and MacArthur grant recipient Irving Feldman. He has written or edited fourteen books, including the regional sensation “Shadows of the Western Door” (1997) and “Iroquois Supernatural,” co-authored with Michael Bastine, on the traditions of the Six Longhouse Nations (Inner Traditions International/Bear & Company, 2011). Several of his surveys of upstate folklore and paranormal tradition may be found at the website of Western New York Wares: www.buffalobooks.com. He may be reached at www.masonwinfield.com.

An anatomically perfect human jaw fashioned of diamond-hard quartz crystal is uncovered at an Ohio burial mound and sold on the underground antiquities market. Shortly after, three pothunters are found dead.

A mysterious new drug suspected of South American origin surfaces in Buffalo, NY. Its unprecedented psycho-tropic effects include the momentary activation of ESP. 

Blind, speechless, emaciated street people start appearing in many parts of the world. An urban legend-cycle forms around them, and the name of a murderous old cult, “the Whistlers” attaches to them.

An archaeological team at a Mayan site reports finding a bizarre artifact and vanishes. 

An upstate schoolteacher’s book of New York legends and folklore foreshadows these developments and more. 

   These are the threads – plus his affair with a maddening woman – that draw narrator Ward Courier into the international adventure of occultism, terror, Native American tradition and onrushing prophecy that is Mason Winfield’s anticipated new novel THE WHISTLERS. By the time the picture of THE WHISTLERS becomes clear, we are ready to believe in a sinister conspiracy that could predate Atlantis and even hail from another world.

Uriah had finally arrived at Iram; the City of Pillars.
While walking throughout the magical kingdom, Uriah could hear someone singing;
" Arabian nights! "
(And you guys know the rest, or I would wish that you guys know)
Uriah walked up and down the city, from the busy and beautiful bazaar, to the colorful buildings.
He even met with some of the people, some human and some only human in appearance.
Finally, Uriah reached the spot where the Wise-King was sitting. But Solomon was not alone, Uriah noticed a woman.
Uriah gathered his courage, and he now walked up to Solomon.
The Wise-King noticed his dear friend.
" Uriah! " exclaimed Solomon, joyfully.
" Solomon… " said Uriah with a smile.
The two men now gave each other a hug.
" It has been too long, " said Solomon, as he noticed the tired eyes of poor Uriah.
" What is the matter? You look like a mess… " 
" It is a LONG story " said Uriah with a sighing-smile.
" I want you to tell me all about it. But first, I would like you to meet my wife; Alilat. You may know her better as; the Queen of Sheba " said Solomon with a smile.
The woman, who embodied arabian beauty, now stood up, as she now walked towards Uriah.
Uriah was not moved by lust, which actually impressed both Solomon and 'Iax. It was clear that Uriah's soul and body belonged solely to his wife; Bathsheba.
" It is an honor to meet you, oh Queen of the South " said Uriah.
" Likewise. Solomon has told me much of your heroic deeds during the Wilusiyan War " said Alilat.
" Did he mention the 7th Sister? " said Uriah with a smirk, as Solomon's cheeks were red.
Alilat simply giggled.
" Yes, I know of the 7th Sister incident " said Alilat, as she looked at Solomon, who was still red as a tomato.
" But, I think that it is high time that you told us about some of your adventures, " said Alilat with a smile.
Uriah paused for a moment.
" I… not to be rude… but I was hoping that Solomon would give me his ship, so that I may finally get home… I really miss my wife and son " said Uriah with a shy-smile.
" I understand, " said Alilat with a understanding-smile; " But before you go, you first need a bath, some good food and new clothes. You do not want to see you wife and son in those worn down clothes you got on "
Uriah looked down at his spent clothes, he then said;
" That would be nice "
Uriah took a bath, got some new clothes, ate like a king, and after having said farewell and thanks to both Solomon and Alilat. Uriah was now on Solomon's ship, heading straight to Socotra.
" Home… I am finally going home " said Uriah, as a tear ran down his face.
" Yeah…about that... " said 'Iax, as he was sounding worried; " I forgot to mention something…"
" 'Iax, I am on my way home, there is nothing you could say which can put me in a bad mood, " said Uriah, with all the positive energy of the world.
" Well… hold on to that positive energy " said 'Iax, as he now told Uriah about the situation back on Socotra.
Uriah's positive energy vanished, as he yelled out;
" SUITORS?! "


This is the Abrahamic version of the Iliad.

Danika asked, "So what you're trying to say is that you're running game tests within the game?"

"Exactly, so everything has to be much better prepared than it would be for a regular game expansion," Lin Hao agreed. "The biggest problem we're having is that they want us to do something to restrict the mechanical device creation in the game."

"What? Why? I mean, I can understand why electrical devices are restricted, but why mechanical? And what will that do to the gnomes?" Danika questioned as he got his food.

He turned back to her worriedly and saw that she'd already taken a tray for herself and answered, "Electricity isn't actually restricted right now, it's just alive."

Danika stopped with the pudding she'd selected held mid air, and asked, "It's alive?"

"Yeah," Lin Hao agreed. He pulled a drink bottle out of a glass fronted refrigerator and asked, "Want anything from this?"

Danika set the pudding on her tray and pointed to a soda that she liked. Lin Hao got it down for her while explaining, "You can summon electricity with silk and amber, and there's lightning and stuff, but electricity in the game always shows up in the form of an elemental. Even the tiniest sparks, so it won't obediently run a device."

"What if it was your pet? Or you coerced it?" Danika questioned.

"Well, if you put enough work into it, you could probably figure out short term work arounds, but why bother when you've got magic?" he questioned in return. "They just want us to limit the complexity of devices somehow."

"Won't restricting the complexity of devices interfere with enchanting and spells too?" Danika asked suddenly.

Lin Hao eyed her with respect and nodded. "How did you figure that out?" he questioned as he seated himself.

"I can chain my spells together like moving parts, and Logical Heart's description of how his stone spaces are created sounded like layered devices too," she explained.

He leapt back to his feet and moved the chair on her side of the table to the side. "Sorry," he apologized. She shrugged and he continued, "I keep warning them that it's like they're asking us to restructure the entire physics of the game."

"Why did they even want to?" she questioned.

"Apparently too many people are complaining that it detracts from the fantasy aspect," Lin Hao explained with disgust. "And that's why the next expansion is supposed to add to the arabian elements, except they don't want to use real arabian legends like we fed the game during construction, but western interpretations, and they want us to move the genies to the western desert."

Danika struggled to keep up with everything that was implied in his explanation. She felt too tired after the long day to be sure that she was catching the drift of his complaints. "You fed the game legends?" she asked after a minute.

"If people had to construct everything in this kind of system, it would take millions of them," Lin Hao pointed out. "So the game is designed more like a construction tool, and it considers all the information it has that might relate to a query and then constructs the most likely combination that could match it."

Danika suddenly thought of the blank entries in Kit's magical book of races and asked with shock, "So things like all of the available half races haven't even been built yet? They weren't designed?"

Lin Hao waggled his hand back and forth in a seesaw motion and said, "Some of the more obscure combinations were entirely generated by the system, but most of the common fantasy races were tweaked to be more in line with the standard. Like the system shocked us all when it decided that elves must be half dragons, and it gave them the ability to use an immaterial form and made them unable to enter houses without an invitation."

Danika swallowed her last bite quickly and questioned, "That sounds more like celtic elves? The fee or sidhe or whatever?"

Lin Hao took another big bite and nodded. Thankfully, despite his messy appearance, his manners weren't bad and he finished it before saying, "Yeah, I kind of liked the variation, but the design team freaked out and claimed that the system had mistaken them for vampires."

"How did you fix it?" she questioned.

"Inundated the system with Tolkien and DND stories. And then introduced a couple of fields to the races for 'critical' traits so that, for instance, mermaids must have fish tails instead of fish fins or faces," Lin Hao explained obligingly.

Danika returned to his earlier statement about the expansion and asked, "Aren't the western versions of arabian tales full of magical devices? Don't the goals conflict?"

"I know, right? And Arabia wasn't always as much of a desert as it is now. The hot south with its hills and mountains is really very suitable, not to mention that the genies are half etain and it's more logical for them to be located between the human inhabited center and the etain inhabited volcanoes," he pointed out.

"So will the expansion begin with a cataclysmic event that flattens the southern end of the dwarven mountains, to give the genies access to the desert, and ends the wars of the dwarven kingdoms?" she questioned.

Lin Hao stopped eating and stared at her. Danika fiddled nervously with her utensils. He swallowed and instructed, "You should definitely go work in design integration. That's the most logical and comprehensive storyline I've heard yet."

He dug his phone out of his pocket and called someone. "Oh, you're sleeping…" he checked the time, "If I don't call you back tomorrow, call me."

She waved her hands nervously and said, "I was just asking."

"You really should be sleeping too I guess," Lin Hao said a bit guiltily.

"I could really sleep," Danika agreed. "It's been a long day."

Lin Hao insisted on giving her his number, and told her firmly, "We should definitely meet up again before you go home."

Danika made her way back to her room two blocks away without any trouble. But when she was transferring herself to the bed, she felt homesick for her own comfortable room layout. Here she had to use the chair, that she normally only used when going outside, just to move around. And then she had to transfer out of it, and back into it just to use the bathroom facilities. 

She felt that it was going to be a long two weeks without even considering the training itself. She was almost asleep when she realized that she hadn't even logged into "Living Jade Empire" all day. After a moment she closed her eyes again and told herself that she'd check her messages there while she ate breakfast.

As she fell asleep, she wondered how Aishin managed to stay so energetic when he had to travel so often.

After a great deal of preparation, Danika begins her new digital dragon's life in a very small way.

They say the "Living Jade Empire" creates individualized quests. They say it can read your mind. They say you can find your heart's desire. They say that there's never been a game like it, and they're right but… they're also wrong.

The game is a data mine, built to retell the old tales that humans have been telling each other since language was invented. It doesn't read your mind, but it reads your search history, your favorites, and your blogs. The "Living Jade Empire" is literally crafted from fables, legends, fantasies, and maybe just a bit of stardust.

But in the end, will the game be able to figure out what Danika wants most? Will the desires of other players take priority? Or, will playing it change her, until she desires what it can give her?

A journey is always made up of many small steps, and this game has still only just begun.

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