III: KAPITAN
Betrayed— that is what Andreas felt when his mother pushed him. Karlos caught his arms and yanked him before he could sprint away again. There were no signs of pain from the kick he gave him. Instead, he hauled him away with as Pinky followed them.
"After you, Diwata Amaya," Karlos said. The fairy only winked at Andreas, which made him scowl in irritation. He glanced back to his mother; she was a few yards away now.
"I'll wait for you, Andreas," his mother shouted in a cracked voice. Despite feeling betrayed, he wanted to run back to his mother. He wiggled furiously, but Karlos only tightened his hold of him. Still, he continued squirming as he watched his mother fade from his view.
"Where are you going to take me? Are you going to feed me to those aswang?"
The two did not bother to answer; instead a knife magically appeared in the fairy's hand, she was playing with it, flipping it like a coin and catching the hilt afterwards. Andreas could only stare at the sharp blade of the bronze dagger. 'Are they going to kill me now? It makes sense; sacrifices are delivered either dead or alive.'
He started squirming again. 
"We're not going to kill you, Andreas," Karlos said coldly. 
"Did you just read my mind?" Of course, Andreas was not stupid to believe him. He's still going to be killed one way or another.
His jaw dropped when the dagger began to shimmer in different colors from bronze to silver to gold. They had already reached the end of the alley— Dead-end.
Karlos tapped the wall with his free hand. He nodded a few seconds after. Andreas could only watch as the enchantress curved something at the concrete wall. His eyes squinted when he saw the letters, his collarbone felt hot again as if it was having a chain reaction to the words written on the wall.
Diwata Amaya turned to him, "Can you read it?"
Andreas shook his head. There was no way he would be able to read the strange letters, though something tugged at the base of his head. The letters looked familiar. "That's I don't know? The baybayin script— the ancient writing system of the Filipinos." He remembered it now; he had a couple of lessons about the baybayin script in Filipino Language and Philippine History Classes. He was even able to memorize the letters before, though he had no idea if he could still remember each letter. That was four years ago already.
"You're right, Tribute. Now, what is written on the wall?" Diwata Amaya asked testily.
Andreas looked at the letters one by one. He wondered how he knew the word perfectly.
 ￼

"Amihan."
Diwata Amaya smiled approvingly. Slowly, the wall began to glimmer in sparkling blue, red and yellow creating a network of ancient letters. The lines connected to form two glowing rectangles of what looked like a double-door. Amaya stabbed the wall and the door swung open. How did that happen? Andreas had no idea. He could only stare in amazement... but his moment of appreciation of the magic faded when Karlos pushed him towards the opening.
"Go ahead, Tribute!" Karlos pushed him again, this time he felt an eerie force that was pulling him from wherever. Andreas could not help but scream. He felt his collarbone in angry flames. His stomach was flipping upside down. The world around him was spinning. He tightly closed his eyes, wherever this tunnel was leading him, he wished to arrive alive.
Andreas cursed in Hispanic when he landed face first to the grassy soil. He felt pain in every skin, muscle and bones.  He spit some weeds that he caught in his mouth.
Is he still alive, maybe, or, is he in the afterlife?
"Are you done kissing the ground, Andreas?" Amaya laughed. He looked up to see her giving him a funny look. He frowned.
"You have to learn how to pass through the tunnels. You haven't started yet but you've already broken your bones," Karlos hissed. The dude pulled his arm to help him stand with so much force that made everything more painful.
Andreas only shot Karlos a dark look. 'I'll get back at you, freak!'
He followed them through the pathway of stones, grass, and flowers. Andreas had no time to scan the surroundings; he was busy trying to figure out how to kill the two freaks before they kill him or led him to his doom.
The path led them to a riverbank. A strangely looking small boat with a wooden eagle figurehead mast was anchoring on a tree trunk. Andreas glanced back to the tunnel but it was already closing. He had no way to return to his mother. All that he had there was a boat. He shook his head, there was no way it could lead him back to the normal world. He looked over the creatures that kidnapped him— they looked amidst a serious discussion. They were probably plotting the end of his days. He looked back at the tunnel... "I'll be back, Nanay. I promise."
"Diwata Amaya!"
"Diwata Amira!"
Andreas turned to see another floating girl in a smoke of green. Her dress was painted with Mindoro dwarf buffalo, eagle, and tarsier. He could not stop staring at the eagle. For a brief second, he'd seen it winked at him. 'Impossible,' he thought.
Two heads appeared from behind the green fairy, revealing a girl and a boy. They looked just around his age; both of them had the baybayin script under their necks.
"We have to keep going, Kapitan is waiting for us," Karlos said. He walked towards the boat.
"He's right," Amira agreed. "The ritual is about to start."
"It can't start without the offering," Diwata Amaya added. She gave him a meaningful look as if saying, 'Are you ready to die?'
He felt his back stiffened. What kind of rituals were these freaks talking about?
"What's your name?" the boy asked. Andreas tilted his head to face him. He looked scrawny and short. His curly hair was drenched. His clothes were torn. He shifted his eyes to the girl. Her state was no better.
Andreas had no intention to know anyone but if he was going to die today, then at least there could be someone to remember him. Maybe he could ask him to deliver the news to his mother. He told him his name.
"I'm Joaquin, and this is my friend Arabella," the boy said. The girl scooted behind him and did not say a word.
"Don't be afraid, Ara. We'll be safe at Kampo Amihan.  Diwata Amira promised us, remember? Those aswang can't find us anymore."
"Aswang? Do you believe in those fictional creatures— horror story characters?" Andreas asked without thinking. He silently cursed himself.
"I have no reason not to believe anymore," Joaquin replied.
"It's still so hard to believe," Andreas murmured. It was just a few hours since the last time he heard the news, and suddenly his world turned upside down.
"After everything that you've been through today, do you still think that we're just characters from your fiction books?" Diwata Amaya asked accusingly.
Andreas did not answer. He did not want to talk to the girl who had taken him from the only family he ever had. Instead, he watched the water as the boat sail.
The boat stopped in front of a cave. At first, he thought they were going to pass through an underground river but Karlos was the first one to leave the boat. "Follow me, Tributes."
They entered the cave. Andreas roamed his eyes around. The cave was not so dark; he could see the images drawn at the cavern wall— different events of the past were either painted or carved. There were events that he'd never seen or heard of.
Andreas kept going. Arabella walked beside Joaquin. He watched them from time to time. Like the scrawny boy, her long hair was disheveled and her blue floral dress were torn and smudged with mud. Fear was painted over her wide eyes.
"Whoa!"
Andreas turned his attention to Joaquin, then to his surroundings. They suddenly stopped.
"Mabuhay! Welcome to Kampo Amihan, Tributes! Today, you will be offered to fulfill the promise made in the past," Amira announced.
Andreas's eyes found the huge arch made of wood a few yards across them. Two words were carved in it, Kampo Amihan. Different colors of waling-waling were hanging at the huge wood columns on either side. Two torches of blue, red, and yellow were also blazing beside the columns.
Andreas glanced back at the cave but it was already close. 
"Move!" Karlos barked at him. He did not notice that everyone already started walking.
A network of nipa huts welcomed him as they entered the arch. Different kinds of flowers were planted on either side of the pathway. The air smelled like fresh sampaguita. The wind blew. Andreas shivered. It was only then that he remembered he was drenched in rain. Joaquin and Arabella were like him. But Karlos, Diwata Amaya and Amira were dry. How could that be possible? All of them seemed to be under the rain, it's impossible for them not to get wet. Andreas shook his head; he started to think that even the most unthinkable is possible in this place.
"This is the barrio. Obviously, we have houses here for you to stay. On the left wing are for the boys, the right wing belong to the girls," Diwata Amaya explained. "Karlos, take Joaquin and Andreas to mal-a-walai. You know what to do."
Karlos only nodded. 
"Let's meet at the pueblo. I'll take Arabella with me," Amira said but Arabella only linked her arms with Joaquin as if begging him not to let her go.
"It's okay, Ara. I'll see you later," Joaquin's voice was reassuring Arabella only nodded.
The boys followed Karlos to the row of huts. Andreas realized that their age were close, maybe the guy was two years older. He was tall with a clean cut hair. He was wearing a black leather bomber jacket that made him look like a gangster.
"Karlos, what do they mean by 'Promise of The Ancient'?" Joaquin asked the question Andreas wanted to ask. They entered the largest house among the row. Like the others they passed through, the building was made of wood. At the mahogany door, the word mal-a-walai was carved. His brows creased, he had no idea what the strange word meant.
On his peripheral view, he saw Karlos took off his jacket and hang it to the bamboo staff near the door. He was wearing a black sleeveless muscle shirt, revealing all the marks painted on his arms. His eyes found a dagger on his belt. Joaquin suddenly walked backwards, fear have crept the boy's face. He probably saw the knife.
"Are you also a tribute?" Andreas asked.
"I can't tell you what the 'Promise of The Ancient' means. All that I can say is that you are here to answer your call-of-duty," he answered seriously. Karlos walked towards a row of cabinets.
Andreas roamed his eyes. The room was big. In the middle was a sofa set made of rattan. Atop the center table was a small white jar with a long-stemmed white rose. The windows were covered with bamboo blinds. To the left were two doors. To the right was an entrance to what seemed like a hallway. Maybe there are other rooms after that. A curtain of white capiz hung at the entrance. A few meters away from that was a spiral wooden ladder. Andreas looked up— there must be another room.
"Change your clothes. You can't proceed to the ritual with the way you look," Karlos hissed. He tossed the clothes in his hand. "Make it fast," he ordered as he walked towards the door. They did as he said.
"You'll go to the pueblo to meet Kapitan," Karlos informed and they left mal-a-walai. Andreas made a mental note that should he live through the day, he would research what that word means.
Before anything else, he needed to know who's Kapitan so that he can negotiate with him to keep him alive

When a mysterious tattoo in ancient language is burnt in his skin, sixteen-year- old Andreas Alcazar discovers that he is a tribute to the gods in exchange of a promise made five-hundred years ago in which his soul becomes bound to their eternal life force.
What if the gods suddenly go haywire and start to fade?
And the chief of the gods, Bathalang Maykapal becomes missing-in-action?

How can Andreas fulfill the promise that isn't his in the first place?

Walking slowly through the endless hallway, the [Void Wall] writhed more actively as he passed by. Turning his head around constantly, it was almost as if the [Void] wanted him to continue and find out what lay at the end of the corridor.

The more he walked and the deeper he got into the corridor, the darker it became. After walking for less than 3 minutes, he glanced down and found it hard to even see the outline of his black shoes on the surface of the [Void].

His two azure eyes contracted into slits as their colour transformed into a sickly amber. His vision of the world grew darker as he could now finally see the outlines of the wall, ground and his shoes.

Sightly nodding his head he looked back up as he several steps away saw an end to the corridor and an entrance to a new room.

Walking into the completely dark, empty, vast room, which was actually more like a separate corridor which even using his primal vision, he couldn't see the wall at the other side of the room. Glancing around, he found only one thing within the room which is a single mirror attached to the [Void Wall]. Confused he reverted his vision from primal to normal as his contracted, slit-like amber eyes back into azure-blue circle eyes.

Twisting his head around to look around the room he realised one thing rapidly. He couldn't see a thing. He barely could see a few centimetres away in front of him. Clicking his tongue he decided to just walk towards where the mirror was. Glancing back, he noticed something off. He walked back the way he came, however, only a few steps back led up to him standing before a wall.

"What the hell...?" Nemesis couldn't help but blurt out baffled. He didn't turn left or right at all and simply just walked forward in a straight line so he now was stuck in a new corridor which seemed endless.

Shaking his head he decided to walk towards the mirror and within seconds he stood before it.

Staring at the blurred, distorted reflection of himself on the foggy glass, something foul was at hand. His image was not as it should've been. Blurred? Yes, it was. Distorted and hard to exactly pinpoint the exact small details? Yes, again. His height? Yes... for the third time. The left side of his face now a black, shadowy-creature whose head curved from the centre in rapid up-down motions, like a zig-zag formation which ended up with a sharp curve at the end. No, that was what was wrong with his image.

While the right side of his mouth was straight, showing no expression; the left side of his mouth, however, held a vicious, wicked, demented grin as sharp teeth were visible. His left eye just a crimson-red orb.

It wasn't only the left side of his face which was transformed into a shadowy-creature, but the entire left side of his body!

His left arm now a bone-thin in width, eerily disfigured with several gapping patches which were located all on the arm with a blurred, constantly flowing claw for a hand. His fingers now crooked and grotesque, seemingly kept together with what appeared to webs due to how distorted the image was.

Nemesis pouted his right cheek as he saw the reflection do the same. That was all he could do to react. After all, who cared if his reflection was that badly screwed up, it was just an antique mirror in the [Void Realm].

If he saw this the first time he entered the [Void Realm], he would've screamed in shock and overreacted, however, he already knew what that shadowy-creature was. To be exact, he had already taken that form in his previous life, but what he didn't understand was why THAT image was being reflected off of him here.

Thinking upon what to do he decided to wipe the glass on the mirror. Rubbing the mirror's left side where his demonic-shadowy face lay, still smiling. As he wiped the glass on the mirror, a bright luminescent light shined through the corridor. It was so bright that Nemesis immediately retracted his arm back, shut his eyes and covered them with his arm.

Once he felt the light dissipate to a more tolerable volume, he uncovered his eyes and quickly glanced around to see where the light came from and what changed due to it.

The room was still pitch-black and he could only see a few centimetres away from him, however, when he stared at the mirror, he noticed something new. The frame which it was attached to, which was attached to the wall was now visible, the words it wrote weren't complete due to the Void covering certain letters. Unfortunately, he could tell it was something he dreaded. There were two sections with two different sentences, the top was more harmless yet brought more memories than the second sentence which he despised. A blast from the past, something which made him recollect his more... unfavourable actions in the past.

["N--E--S M-S---R-"] Was what the sentence at the top wrote, he knew the first word was 'Nemesis' as for the second, he could only make an educated guess. Especially with what he knew and with the image added as a clue, he was sure the second word was 'massacre'.

As for the bottom text, it wrote ["NE--S-S T-- --id Wa---R"]. Though most of the letters were redacted, there were only a few events which came to mind when he used THAT form. He could only guess that it would be the first event. Sighing, he lowered his head in shame for his actions as he grew quiet, not even breathing.

Minutes of silence later he spoke, "[Void], I understand. I understand my crimes, my heresy. You need not remind me of them for they haunt me every day. Those actions which I did and the situations which I caused were too much for me. I shall change my ways; though, I shall do whatever I must to survive, I shan't recklessly wantonly murder about, slaughtering half all the world's population again!" Nemesis proclaims loudly, hoping to be brought out of the [Void Realm] for he was pretty sure that his previous method of escaping; waiting hours in boredom and practising, would not work this time. He also didn't wish to be stuck in this corridor, with THAT mirror which helped him remember THAT day. That would just be taunting himself in shame and regret.

Instead of a response from the [Void], a vortex opened from the glass and before he could react, he was sucked into the mirror as he screamed aloud in shock.

"AHHH!!!"

Vera-

I was in medium sized room, sitting in a comfy chair waiting for a women I've never meant in my life. The room had hundreds of books along the walls. There was big windows with red curtains in the front of me. In front of the windows, there was a curved white desk and a black chair on the inside. There a rectangular shape on top of the desk, it had letters in front of it. I didn't know what it was. As I scooted closer, the door to the room opened. I scooted back instantly, in walked a beautiful women with long brown locks. She was wearing a royal blue dress. It was long in the back and shorter on the front showing parts of her legs. She walked past me and sat down in the black chair.

She turned and looked me in my eyes. Her eyes were auburn red, the sun outside made then seem lighter than they actually were. She leaned in to her chair and opened her mouth, "May I be the first to introduce you to Camden Academy." I was surprised at her voice. It soft and light like feathers, or a soft breeze on a sunny day. 

I was still thinking, and realized I had to answer, "Thank you, Miss..". She smiled, "You can call me Ms.S, that's what all my students call me." I just nodded at her. She sat up and clasped her hands on top of the desk. "Now let's get to business, Miss..", she stopped.  "Vera," I filled in.

She smiled again this time flashing her pearly whites. "Miss Vera, that's a beautiful name." I nodded and smiled at her. "Now Vera, I have one question  for you." I titled my head a little, more questions. She continued, "What time are you originally from?" Her question caught me off guard. How could she know? Does she know anything else?  I decided to lie stupidly, "What makes you think that?" She laughed, "Though I might not look like it, I've been around a long time. Long enough to notice when someone seems lost. Also it's also the things you're wearing, the way you looked at my school as if for the first time. And I bet the word car means nothing to you." She was amazing, I smiled tightly at all she said. She saw and laughed again, it sounded like small birds singing to each other. "It alright Vera, you've done nothing wrong. I just want help you, that's what this school is for. To help all supernatural kids, it's the reason I built this school." I was still on edge, but felt relieved at her saying. For some reason I felt like I could trust her, but was still unsure. 

She leaned forward, "Think about it this way Vera. The faster you tell me where your from, the faster I can help you with your problems." Well when she put it that way, I have no reason not to answer. I leaned forward, "I was born in 1502 in August." Her eyebrow rose. "Though I got here a few days ago," I added. She leaned back in her chair, "Where were you before?" I leaned back in my chair in exaggeration, "I don't know. It was a place where I couldn't hear or see. I was trapped there, then all of a sudden I was dropped in a forest. Where I met Liam and Alice." She nodded in understanding. "Do you know what year it is?" I shook my head no. She took a deep breath, "The year is 2019." I inhaled sharply, "That's impossible, I couldn't have been gone that long." I was in shock, I was in the stupid dark for over 500 years. What had my sisters endured?  I turned to Ms.S, "How much have I missed?" 

She smiled brightly, "I was hoping you would ask that." She got up and went to a tall brown bookshelf. She grabbed what looked like a white book. But it was open and had papers inside, almost like it wasnt a book. She plopped it on her desk making a thump on the surface. She sat down and scooted forward, "This is a book of everything over the years. I made this a couple years ago,for people like you. Now I finally get to use it to help someone." She flipped it open, in it were thousands of words and pictures. On the first page there a picture of something called a car. It looked like the transportation we came here in. Ms.S leaned forward in all seriousness, "Now, let's get started.

Vera's been trapped in a black supernatural limbo for a 500 years. The only reason she was there in the first was because she was trying to save her sisters, who trapped in a prison of their own. She's finally out and finds that the world is a little different than she remembers. As she looks for answers she runs into a werewolf Liam, who's stuck in her mind no matter how many times she tries to get him out. Will she eventually free her sisters? Or will her love life get in the way of her one mission? (Oh and by the way she's a dragon.)

"Jianyu this is the eighth time I'm asking. Where are we going?"
"And this is the eighth time I answered. At a special place, to meet special people"
"Duh!"….. 'This man is too much'
Xiu Mei folded her arms and sat down quietly with puffed cheeks. Her gaze wandered outside the window as the car droves through the city that seems familiar yet strange.
The weather was exceptionally good. It's the mid-autumn, the season was preparing for the approaching cold winters. The tall trees dressed in hues of yellow and red have spread their color on the walkway along the streets, giving a much needed vibrancy inviting the eyes to see the beauty.
Unlike the scorching summer and harsh winter, autumn feels best. The weather is just right, the warmness of the sun mixed with the gentle breeze, perfect weather to go for a long walk along the streets.
She frowned when the car rolled into a different part of the city, the familiar surroundings turned more and more strange. Lesser number of residential houses and pure greenery proves that this area is untouched by the greedy humans, retaining it's natural beauty.
Their car came to a stop right outside the big gate with a star painted with golden shining in the center. As the door opened and the car entered through the gate, her curiosity took the best of her as she rolled down the window to peek her head out.
The car rolled along the pathway with seasonal flowers blooming at the edges and pulled over in front of a beautiful house. She wanted to see more but the man pulled her inside the car. Her eyes rose to question him but instead saw the most beautiful and mesmerizing smile in the world making her heart flutter.
Where was he hiding this smile all this while? Why I never noticed it?
Feng Jianyu's contagious smile travelled to her lips, and unconsciously her lips curved upwards. Now she is looking forward to this meeting…
Somewhere down inside her heart she felt something different about this meeting but could not pinpoint it exactly.
He pecked a kiss on her lips, his tone was filled with pampering and love, "Come, love, let's meet our hosts" He gets down from the car, walked around the bonnet to open the door for his lady. He proffered his hand to help her get down while he hovers the other hand over her head to make sure she does not bump it.
The moment she got down from the car her heart was sold off to the beauty of the place. Standing tall was a beautiful manor, facing a big garden tastefully decorated with flowers and a variety of plants. To give a different touch, pink flamingo and dwarf figurines were placed around.
Instead of opting for modern furniture, mushroom-shaped stools and a wooden table was arranged with a huge white canopy in the middle of the garden. On the left edge of the garden, near the jasmine flowers, a white swing was placed to enjoy the beauty with floral fragrance.
What would it feel like to sit there at night?
It looks like a fairytale world to Xiu Mei.
Everything was so natural and serene with no hustle-bustle of city that she cannot stop herself from being lost in it. "It's so beautiful" She looked at the man, her eyes reflected the beauty of this place, "When we'll grow old I want to spend my time at a place as beautiful as this, somewhere in the mountains"
Feng Jianyu liked the idea and made a mental note to start looking for the place, "Hmm!" He looked at her for don't know how long and brushed a hair strand off of her face. He interlocked their fingers, "Come! Let me give you the tour of the place"
She turned her head, her eyes filled with confusion, "But it will look rude. This place does not belongs to us"
"Don't worry, our hosts are very welcoming. Especially towards you"
"huh??"
Although confused, she didn't ask any question and continued enjoying the beauty of the place with another beauty walking beside her.
They both walked hand in hand around the property, with Xiu Mei lightly resting her head over his arm. Instead of verbal communication, they choose to let their hearts communicate.
Undoubtedly it was a huge manor to accommodate more than five hundred people at a time. After two hours, he realized she stated putting her weight on his arm. He looked down at her injured foot.
She yelped, "Ahh!" In one swift motion, she was in his arms like a princess.
He took her back to the garden and gently made her sit on the white swing from where she could enjoy the fragrance of night-blooming jasmine at it's best. "Love, let me make a call and see where our hosts are"
Pushing the swinging with her foot, Xiu Mei looked up at the sky. It was already turned dark shining with countless diamonds and right in front of her was the round pearl-like the moon, spreading it's light everywhere.
Xiu Mei waited for fifteen minutes but Jianyu didn't return. She was about to call him when a small little girl dressed as a pink princess approached her out of nowhere. "Hey… Hi, princess. Where did you come from?" Xiu Mei asked as softly as ever.
The little girl gave her a red envelop with a red rose and ran from there without speaking a word from her mouth.
"…."
Xiu Mei checked the envelope that was sealed with a vintage wax stamp with J&M printed on it. She smiled seeing J&M and carefully opened the letter.
[The day you taught me the lesson at the coffee shop was the day you unknowingly touched my heart. The feeling was different… The feeling was beautiful]
Soon after another girl came with a letter and a red rose.
[Miracles happen. Meeting you is no less than a miracle for me. Two strangers met…. Fate separates them…. Seven years later, they both met again. You know why? Because we are tangled, knotted, locked, and tied to each other. WE ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER…. We are destined forever]
Xiu Mei was moved to tears, she cannot help but giggle at her adorable monster.
Another message came…
[Waking up with you in my arms is heaven on earth, sleeping with you in my arms brings peace. Surely God's have rewarded me by giving you to me and I'm going to pay my gratitude towards God by cherishing you all my life]
[I'm sorry love… I can't bring down moon and stars for you; I can't cross oceans for you, but I surely can die for you]
[Cut the last line of the previous letter. I don't want to die but grow old with you. Please grow old with me, and I promise that I'll be there for you forever and ever]
All the letters were so heart-touching that she cannot stop her tears from flowing. It was so special, heart touching, no words came in her mind….
She just hugged the letters close to her heart…
Suddenly the lights were switched off. The entire place turned to pitch dark, with not a single soul in sight all that entertained her was the sound of crickets and rustling of leaves when breeze brushed against them.


"Duh, Fine! What do you want me to do?" Xiu Mei gave up, and Feng Jianyu gave a mischievous grin. His eyes shone in expectation.

 "I want a kiss" he spurted out. 

After a good silence of one minute, she scoffed, "pfft… dream on…" 

"Fine, if you're not giving then I'm taking one myself," 

"W-What? No way. You already took one last night… No more" 

Feng Jianyu sneered, "You call it a kiss? That was just a small peck. And it was you who broke it… Now finish where you left. 
----------------------------------------------

 On the night of Xiu Mei’s 16th bday, she came to know the biggest truth of her life. 

Devastated by the betrayal of her family, she ran away from her so-called home, taking nothing but her precious invention, on which she had been working nonstop for the last 4 years.
___ 
Feng Jianyu was a devilishly handsome man, who was powerful, cold, and ruthless. As the current President of the Feng Corporation, his only goal was to take his company to the unachievable heights. 
But fate had some other plans for both of them, and their paths crossed. Intrigued by her intelligence and talents, he tested her and gave her an attractive offer. Finding the offer interesting, she accepted it and worked hard.

However, something happened, and they both ended up offending each other. 
__________ 

After 7 years, the mysterious Xiu Mei was a genius woman living in a beautiful villa with the most advanced security system. Nobody knows the reason behind living in security.

She was forced to live with a handsome man inside her villa for an indefinite period. Though she welcomed him hesitatingly, to her horror, he was none other than Feng Jianyu.

They both recalled their past but none of them spoke about it. 

 Will she ever trust him and tell her story? What happened to her precious invention? Will their hate relationship be turned in to a love relationship? Will she find out about the big secret of her life?
 -------------------------------------------------- 

Original novel By dream_ash 
Join me on discord https://discord.gg/RudqR3q
 I edit the cover, but the photo belongs to their respective owners. I have no right over this photo. 
All credits belong to the owner.

As Mo Jingshen spoke, the anger in his expression was more distinct than it had ever been. Anyone could see that he had been provoked. 
Hearing these words, Ji Nuan immediately tried to move her hand back when she felt an aching pain around her wrist. She turned to look at the man who had already tugged her hand back and met his ink-black eyes. 
A distant, burning fire could now be seen in his typically deep and indifferent eyes. As he watched her, it felt as though his gaze would burn her alive. His body was tight with tension, revealing his current rage and tolerance. 
Ji Nuan had never seen Mo Jingshen openly mad; it was also rare for him to become angered. 
She felt that Mo Jingshen had never shown such a targetted rage before. 
Her heart shrunk slightly, but she knitted her brows. "Pain…"
Mo Jingshen watched as she frowned and sensed that he had applied too much force earlier. He released her wrist, but remained unbelievably expressionless, cold, and heavy, as though frost was about to form on every surface. 
Mr. Vinse wasn't feeling too well today and his senses weren't as sharp. When Ji Nuan spoke the word 'pain,' he finally turned to glance toward her other side. 
The men finally exchanged gazes; one was slightly startled, while the other was cold, noble, and indifferent. 
Unspoken thoughts were darkly exchanged through their eyes. 
Earlier, Ji Nuan had only been chatting to Mr. Vinse. He was feeling unwell, and his voice was softer and heavier. She had leaned in close so that she would be able to hear him well. Furthermore, they had been discussing proper business and were studying the building models displayed before them. Although she was somewhat aware of the hand on top of hers, she could feel his fever through the skin contact and hesitate due to the heat emitting from his palms. She did not move her hand away.
It was but a minute of skin contact. Who would have thought that Mo Jingshen, who typically concealed his emotions, would become clearly enraged. 
"CEO Mo?" Mr. Vinse first spoke up. He saw that this man had sat down by Ji Nuan's side at some point and seemed to understand something. However, Ji Nuan's earlier concern caused the feelings he had almost given up on to rush back up. He suddenly had the thought to go down fighting. Even if his opponent was Mo Jingshen, he no longer planned on giving up easily. 
Thus, although Mr. Vinse's voice was polite, they were filled with emotions that only Mo Jingshen could understand. 
Right now, with one glance, it was clear that Ji Nuan and Mo Jingshen's relationship had yet to be fully repaired. He wouldn't bring up Yuehu Bay, but since Ji Nuan had yet to remarry him, nor did she return to being with him, it meant that he still had an opportunity. 
Mo Jingshen did not speak. He did not offer him a single response. Instead, he gave him an indifferent look. 
The two men sat by her sides; both were around 1.88 meters tall, and their figures were the definition of perfection. They were also both dressed in well-picked, costly, formal attire. Furthermore, both had chosen to wear black. 
Although Mr. Vinse's background was slightly simpler, and his position as BGY Group's general manager could not be compared to the position of Shine Group's international CEO, but in all other aspects, he excelled wonderfully. In front of Mo Jingshen, he did not show any flaws. 
The two men both had noble, cold auras. 
More importantly, one sat on her left while the other sat on her right, placing her right between them. 
Strangely, Ji Nuan felt that her current position was about to become worst than a duel to the death. 
For the past few years, her interactions with Mr. Vinse were never forced. Instead, they felt very natural. Since her return to the country, the only person she frequently met up with was Mr. Vinse. However, through Mo Jingshen's eyes, these interactions were not as simple. 
Mo Jingshen calmly shifted his gaze away. Coincidentally, the speaker on stage announced that the exhibition had come to an end. He held Ji Nuan's hand and stood up to leave. 
As Ji Nuan had no choice but to stand up with him, Mr. Vinse spoke, as though he was smiling imperceptibly, "Shine Group's headquarter is still located in Los Angeles. For the past few years, CEO Mo has rarely returned to the country. However, your current visit seems to have lasted much longer. Does this mean… the company's headquarter is moving back to the country?"
Mo Jingshen immediately paused in his footsteps, calmly replying, "Mo Nuan Group has already relocated. If Shine Group wishes to move back, what's so difficult about that?"
Ji Nuan: "…"
Mo Nuan Group?
She had clearly renamed it to MN Group… yet he insisted on using the words 'Mo Nuan'. 
Mr. Vinse first glanced at Ji Nuan from the side. He noticed that Ji Nuan's lips were pursed, and she clearly did not plan on cooperating with Mo Jingshen. Mr. Vinse's lips curved into a mocking smile. "Mo Nuan? Back when she was registering the company name in London, I recall her mentor telling her that she could use the original name. However, she insisted on changing it to MN. She had even planned on using other alphabets, but because it was easy to remember, she stuck with MN. And so, Mo Nuan is no longer related to those two letters."
Ji Nuan: "…"
She had thought that Mr. Vinse had stayed away from Hai City because of her relationship with Mo Jingshen. However, from the way things currently appeared, it seemed like that wasn't the case. 
From his tone, it was clear he was targetting Mo Jingshen, and that he had no intentions of being suppressed by Mo Jingshen's power. 
Ji Nuan keenly noticed the scent of invisible gunpowder in the air. 
Mo Jingshen shifted his hand to hold her waist directly and tighten his grip without a change in expression. He was unperturbed, and sneered to answer, "Did you think that replacing Mo Nuan with MN means that it no longer exists? A few months ago, she had two separate interviews; one with the London media and one with the local media. At the time, she was asked about the meaning behind MN. She had answered, on two separate occasions, that it was to represent her original studio's name, but for the sake of suiting the global audience, she had replaced it with two letters instead. Are her words more reliable, or do you think your words are worth my time? Or perhaps, were you only able to seek comfort in those words?" 
Mr. Vinse's expression changed slightly as it turned heavy. 
Mo Jingshen held her to leave. This time, Mr. Vinse did not speak up further. Ji Nuan originally wanted to say something for Mr. Vinse, but when she considered the power imbalance between them, she felt that nothing she said would be able to help him. 
Before stepping out of Mr. Vinse's line of sight, she silently turned back and pointed at her own stomach, reminding him to visit a hospital.
Mo Jingshen saw that she had actually turned back to exchange looks with Vinse, and immediately released her the moment they stepped out of the exhibition hall. He kept silent and did not look at her again, much less lower his head to whisper affectionately to her. 
Ji Nuan glanced at Mo Jingshen's back view and quickly followed him. She found that his jaw was especially tight, and he appeared especially cold. 


Having been reborn, she takes one glance at her ridiculously handsome husband and wonders if she had suffered from brain damage back then—she had actually demanded for a divorce with him. Repeatedly! 

In her previous life, she had been deceived by her relatives who eventually led her to her tragic death. With this second chance at life, she vows to cozy up to her husband both literally and figuratively to destroy all her enemies and to take down the women who hid behind their scheming, innocent facades. She would be in control of her own happiness!

This is a sweet, doting love story featuring an intelligent female lead and a perfect male lead who's good at turning her knobs.

Meanwhile in the main building of the flower blossom sect in one of the rooms.

"Little Wei our sect do not have any information about pale skinned bloodsucking humans. I tried to ask about them the main sect, but when I uttered the words bloodsucking man I was silenced and they forbade us further investigation on this topic. After that I was informed that on the day of tournament main sect will dispatch someone to investigate that bloodsucking man."  While sitting on crimson armchair the woman that looked to be in her late thirties spoke. Her age instead of subtracting her charm only intensified it.

When Lei Wei wanted to answer the door to the room was opened by girl in her late teenage years.

"Matriarch, Elder Li" After greeting them and making a slight bow she continued.
"The man that we were ordered to observe will have a duel with Li Mei in a moment." She spoke and moved to the side of the door.

"Come, We will see what is he up to." Matriarch stood and spoke while looking at Li Wei.

"I'm also interested in his actions." Elder Wei spoke and together with Matriarch she left the room.

While walking among the gazes of surrounding disciples of the sect Matriarch reached her hand out to Elder Lei.

"Take it, it should make you invisible to anyone below Soul realm." Matriarch opened her palm and showed a silver slightly blackened ring with unrecognizable letters.

When Lei Wei took a ring from Matriarch and put it on her left hand's ring finger, she didn't feel any change.

"They can't see you." Matriarch Lan spoke and put second, nearly identical ring on her finger.

In the moment when Matriarch equipped silver ring the memory of her and her visage disappeared.
After a fraction of second a hand grabbed Lei Wei by hand and alongside memories of her companion and figure appeared in her mind again.

"Flying will take us there faster, while these rings will let us do not rise any suspicion in him and do not startle our disciples." While flying to the their destination Matriarch Lan spoke.
"Last month together with two core elders I have gone to explore newly discovered ancient ruins.
These ruins were found by a group of merchants that to save some time they went throught unexplored part of forest roughly a day of travel away from us. The first place on their way was our sect. Three of these merchants wanted from us 5 spirit stones per person, it was outargues price for something we do not know anything about. After we asked them why they haven't explored these ruins they said that after one of them have lifted the trapdoor something deep inside them started screaming to run away. When we took this into account we changed the price to 9 spirit stones for 3 of them but only if we find something interesting inside these ruins. When we flew to the spot, each us with a trader under her arm, we found a simple wooden trapdoor reinforced with iron on the edges. Elder Lia lifted slightly this trapdoor and in that moment the primal fear for ones life was awaken deep inside each one of us. We felt immense blood lust and stench of blood. After the moment to gather the courage Elder Lia opened trapdoor full and showed us wooden stairs.
After throwing some light stones inside we were shown a picture of a middle sized storeroom.
That storeroom had three big barrels with a tap and dozens of smaller ones alongside with a wooden chair and small table. When started investigating the source of blood lust we found a secret passage behind one of the big barrels. After entering the hidden room we found a small room with a wardrobe table few chairs letters alongside the dagger and a interesting crest hanging on the wall.
The crest represented two daggers one straight and one slightly curved, the straight one was coated in blood while the curved one in something green, probably poison. When I opened the letters I could not recognize the characters and found these two rings inside the envelopes. When we exited the whole place the trapdoor started to age very fast, and when I looked at items in my hands I discovered that the envelopes alongside the letters turned into ashes and the rings blackened.
Traders after receiving the payment have left and the only thing we have after that ruins remaining are these two rings with 'silentium' and 'oblivioni' engraved on them.

"We arrived." Matriarch spoke and landed on one of the buildings that are behind Aurelius's back and are adjacent to the courtyard.

"Li Mei jumped she should be attacking him with 'Wind petals'" Said Lei Wei.

"Why isn't he avoiding her attack?" spoke Elder Lei ,but when she look at Matriarch Lan she noticed her furrowed brows.

"There's something wrong with him it's like he he's not even here." Matriarch Lan Hua spoke and looked at Aurelius's movements closely.

In the moment of contact of Aurelius's flesh and Li Mei's attack his silhouette disappeared and appeared behind Li Mei.

"Such speed, how strong is he?" Lei Wei spoke with astonishment.

"It wasn't speed." When Matriarch Lan spoke she felt sense of danger and after looking at a man in the courtyard she noticed that their eyes have met. After retracting her sight from him she noticed that her and Lei Wei's invisibility has faded and the ring's have turned into ashes.

Vampire from a fantasy world as a result of some event appeared in a foreign world of cultivators.

Letters were something eunuchs in charge of arranging the Imperial Household Affairs would come across on a daily basis. The envelope only had three words written on it which were 'Helian Wei Wei'.
The eunuch did not know what to do with this letter, as he was, in fact, illiterate, so he passed it to Eunuch Sun.
Eunuch Sun was probably the only literate person amongst all the other palace servants.
Originally he thought to pass it directly to Baili Jia Jue, but before he even had the chance to move, Helian Wei Wei grabbed the letter from his hands.
"Princess, Princess Consort?" Eunuch Sun was momentarily speechless, then signaled for the other eunuchs to leave first.
Helian Wei Wei's supple fingers scraped the envelope, her lips curved into a smile, then she glanced at him. She opened the letter right in front of Eunuch Sun and began reading it. 
Nothing much was written in the letter, the content was merely the conversation between the Retired Emperor and Baili Jia Jue the other day.
From the question posed by the Retired Emperor to Baili Jia Jue, asking what he would do if she was possessed to Baili Jia Jue answering the question, saying that if it was true, he would not easily let her off and would not take her seriously anymore, and so on and so forth. Regardless of whether it was important or trivial, all the details of their conversation were written in the letter.
Helian Wei Wei opened this letter right in front of Eunuch Sun, thus, he could not help but swiftly sweep his eyes over it. Upon finishing the letter, he turned panicked, and thus, he blurted out, "Which b*stard who is unable to tolerate others living in comfort and ease did this to pick a fight? Somebody quick, help me to burn this letter off!"
As Eunuch Sun was speaking, he was also sizing up the countenance of Helian Wei Wei.
He was once again startled. 
He could not guess what the Princess Consort was thinking to do.
That day when His Highness was having this conversation, he was also there.
He heard two sentences by accident, and now he had totally forgotten what His Highness had mentioned that day.
No one would have thought that someone would actually take note of such things and show it to the princess consort; it really was an evil thought!
He himself had witnessed how the two of them had been through all this while to reach this point. It was tough for His Highness to finally find someone he liked this much and willing to dote on wholeheartedly.
He really did not dare to imagine, if His Highness were to lose the Princess Consort, would the entire palace have to pay for the price too?
What he and the Retired Emperor did not want to see the most would be that His Highness would fall victim to the ways of evil magic one day because of having a cold-blooded natural disposition. As he was extremely worried that trouble would ensue, he quickly advised, "Princess Consort, you should not listen to the crazed ramblings of these people. Those who could write such a letter to you are obviously thinking of something else. Princess Consort, you better let this old slave handle it as such a dirty thing should never have been seen by the Princess Consort anyway, and on His Highness's part, even if he had said such things, he definitely did not mean them in this way, His Highness, he…"
"I know." Helian Wei Wei softly smiled, as though she saw the worry in Eunuch Sun's appearance, and teasingly said, "Eunuch Sun, you really are more worried about this than your own affairs."
Eunuch Sun was momentarily stunned, then heaved a deep breath, "Princess Consort, you also did not say a word just now, that nearly scared me to death. This old slave even thought that your heart had begun to doubt His Highness."
"Why would I?" Helian Wei Wei looked carefully at the letter, her fingers picking it up, she held it to her nose and sniffed it. Her voice was icy-cold as she said, "The sender was definitely not doing it out of kindness from his or her heart for sending a letter in such a method. If such a thing really did happen, I would ask Baili Jia Jue directly, and Eunuch Sun you yourself have already mentioned that the issue of me possessing another's body was basically a nonsensical train of thought."
For a moment Eunuch Sun could not react to her words, had he really said that just now?
He must have, right?
No matter what it was, as long as the Princess Consort had no doubts toward His Highness then it did not matter much!
"However, this letter cannot be burnt." Helian Wei Wei rested her chin on one hand while the other was still holding the letter as she smiled indolently.
Eunuch Sun was stunned for a second, he then questioned, "Why?" Could it be that Princess Consort was merely saying that nothing was wrong, but she did actually care about such a thing?
"Try feeling the thickness of this paper carefully." Helian Wei Wei's voice was calm as she said, "At first touch, it is extremely comfortable, not a bit rough, and even has a lingering scent of sandalwood. This type of paper cannot be used by anyone, not to mention in the Imperial Palace. Apart from the Emperor and the Retired Emperor, only the other Imperial Princes could have access to such papers. This piece of paper must be kept. When His Highness returns, pass it to him. If it really is the work of the other Imperial Princes, then we have to guard against them for future events. After all, the conversation between the Retired Emperor and His Highness was also not something that can be easily known by others. It is obvious that this person has some accomplices hidden in the palace."
As Eunuch Sun listened to the analysis of Helian Wei Wei, he was already stunned silence. When he was looking at this letter just now, he could only feel the rage. How could he possibly be aware of the quality of the paper?
As he was feeling it in his hands now, he did seem quite familiar to the touch, usually, the palace was quite strict about the Xuan paper that was used, and what people could use what type of paper. The Imperial Household Department had records of such things.
The Retired Emperor, the Emperor, and the Imperial Princes were all entitled to use the best.
Princesses and imperial concubines followed after.
He had been at His Highness' side for a long time and had somewhat gained skills of discernibility, hence, he knew that these types of letters were usually not sent out of goodwill.
However, he really had never seen such composure as calm and unflustered as the princess consort. 
Eunuch Sun could not help himself from asking, "Princess Consort, having seen these words, do you not even have the slightest worry?"
"If I am unable to even tell these actions are to incite conflict, then I shouldn't continue staying here." Helian Wei Wei held her snacks box close, then lifted her head and smiled. She said with her shaggy hair, "And about imagining things, if others have said that His Highness only treated me like quarry to be reared, then I might have believed it more. Furthermore, at that sort of time, His Highness would have had to answer the Retired Emperor that way, otherwise if he had answered differently, it would not protect me, but instead, it would endanger me."
Take this issue for instance, the more Baili Jia Jue acted indifferently, the safer she would be. There was no logic in having him protect her, but she still suspected him.
Whether or not what was said was pleasing to the ears, it could not be determined by listening through one's ears but should be felt through the heart. Thinking of things in a simple way, looking at the outcomes, then only could one determine who really was good to them.
He could be without scruple, and yet contained his rage for her. 
She cared not for the process. 
They were both people of the same kind, they could not say words of extravagance and sometimes would use methods that seemed to be unscrupulous in the eyes of others.
However, this was merely the way they cared and showed their love for each other. No matter what the other was thinking, as long as the final outcome was for the two of them to be together forever, then it was good enough.
Even while Helian Wei Wei was reading the letter, she did find it a bit ridiculous. Perhaps too many people, in the face of rumors were unable to determine the truth of it. But these people, did they really take her as an id*ot?
She knew how to analyze, knew how to look at the outcome, and understood the inclination these things tended to have. Any form of blindly built emotional feelings would not be able to last long.
From the very beginning, all the doubts between both of them had already been brought to the surface. Others wanted to use a mere one or two sentences to cause her feelings for Baili Jia Jue to crumble. They wanted her not to believe in his fondness for her, but to believe in a sentence or two that distorted the truth.
Why was it that she felt her intelligence was being challenged in ways she had never before experienced? She really did feel like laughing at those people in their faces.
They did not even understand her character, yet they wanted to send letters as such to her. As a bossy president...


She, a 21st century mercenary queen, had crossed over into a tragically betrayed body of a waste. Waste? She will show them what it means to be a waste!
Betrayed? With the Ancient Manual in her hands, she will astonish all the despicable men and cheap women!
Wait! Didn’t everyone say that she was an evil woman which everyone feared? Why is his Third Highness, full of mystery and charisma, so interested in her?

Little Fox, Little Fox, so smart that he had to be ready to adapt at any time.
Ye Jian pouted and sighed. She knew that he had understood her intentions.
She really wanted to ask Xia Jinyuan what he is really thinking!
The way he is now, who knows what he is thinking?
Comrades, sure! Since he said comrades, then comrades they shall be! It was just as she wished, being just comrades with him was exactly what she wanted the most.
Next time, if he dared to display any intimate behavior or words, she… will simply solve it with violence!
Outside, Principal Chen had his hands behind his back. He was whistling to the tune of Tibetan folk songs. With a smile on his stiff face, he headed for the herd.
Captain Xia, Captain Xia, no matter how fierce a wolf might be, when facing someone who can make you gentler, you need to keep your claws in.
Moreover, Jian will not be easy prey for you. She is too smart for that!
With Xia Jinyuan around, no one would need to be concerned with Ye Jian's matters. After checking the wound and changing the gauze, he taught her Tibetan while mentioning some interesting things about the military unit.
"In my second winter vacation at the military school, that place was much more remote than Fujun Town. Letters come around every one or two months for the soldiers in the unit. On my fifteenth day there, the letters came to the unit. A squad leader took a few squads' worth of letters and brought it to the training field and told the new recruits, if they thought that their girlfriends had sent letters, they would have to do 50 push-ups. The new recruits were all vying to do the push-ups."
"I didn't do it at that time. Ten over people were doing it together, there were only four letters in the squad leader's hands. The other people without letters would have done push-ups for nothing."
Ye Jian listened to the stories attentively. When she saw him pause, she chuckled. "Why did not do it? What if your girlfriend wrote one for you?" Such a stellar, charismatic Captain Xia would surely have a girlfriend when he was in school.
"Of course I wouldn't. I had no girlfriend. After the 50 push-ups, the squad leader got the new recruits to retrieve their letters and asked one after another "Is it your girlfriend?", two answered yes. The squad leader put on a fake smile and said, "Such an important letter, you should do more." Finishing that sentence, he asked the other recruits how many would be suitable, and that it was usually more than 200 push-ups. After that, we heard that the squad leader did not have any girlfriend and was jealous."
Ye Jian was laughing until her back curved. Seeing that, Xia Jinyuan, who was changing the gauze for her, laughed. "Is it so funny? You will be laughing in the future."
Afraid that she would laugh too much that her wound would open up, he told her to stop. His gaze turned solemn.
In his eyes, her undulating back was shining in the sunlight like a piece of jade. Her perfect curves were so beautiful that no words could describe it.
She was lying down and he could vaguely see a small arc on her chest, trembling along with her smile.
The beauty that he discovered while he looked up, came crashing into his heart.
From then on, it carved a memory so deep in his heart.


Through years of abuse and death threats, Ye Jian is not so ready to bid adieu to this world just yet! Fortunately, destiny has granted her another shot at life. Only this time, she is determined to become the master of her own fate and retaliate her oppressors from her previous life. It's payback time.
 
Although reborn with beauty and youth, Ye Jian obviously holds higher pursuits. In this life, she is determined to become an extraordinary commando. No, she does not need love, family, or any affection! 
 
He is born in a powerful family; and step-by-step, he becomes the youngest Major General through his own merits. He is drawn to her every move, despite her repeatedly shunning him.
 
"What you need is love, my little fox," he whispers.
"Get lost! I need bullets!" She steps away.
 
Behold. Let this novel take you through the warm, happy, loyal, and passionate story of the aggressive military couple.

In the villa surrounded by flowers, Milina was shocked again by the beauty of math in Lucien's paper. After quite a while, she finally picked up her quill-pen and wrote, 
"With amazing conception and precise demonstration, Lucien Evans's paper shows us the beauty of math and also proves the compatibility between Levski Geometry and Tower Geometry. The paper gives a solid foundation to the establishment of the New Geometry System and changed the world of Math, which was constructed based on our direct perception of the world. This paper reveals to us another path for math development and demonstration.
"This groundbreaking paper is apparently significant to the establishment of the new geometry system and deserves broad discussion. Forty arcana credits and five hundred arcana points are suggested to be given as reward."
Strictly following the standards of review, Milina gave her comment objectively. If she had let her preference played the leading role, as an authority in math and mathematician, she would have given the paper an even higher comment because of the beauty the paper displayed.
...
Meanwhile, Salgueiro was also reviewing Lucien's paper An Attempt to Explain Non-Tower Geometry.
"The paper provides a math model that contradicts our knowledge but actually exists; it makes a breakthrough contribution to the establishment of Levski's geometry system. It makes us realize that Levski Geometry is a new system which was essentially different from Tower Geometry.
"Given the groundbreaking contribution brought by its math model and the demonstration, this paper's content deserves broad discussion and research. Thus, sixty arcana credits and six hundred arcana points are suggested to be given as reward."
When he put down his quill-pen, Salgueiro realized that the winter evening had already closed in. The wind was blowing outside of the window, and everything had been encased by the darkness. However, from this cold darkness, he seemed to notice a slight glimmer of light; there was light in the future of math.
"If the new geometry system is actually applicable to arcana…
"What Evans said earlier today was interesting… the axiomatization of math…"
...
After a week, in the morning, Samantha came to Tower to study with her teacher as usual.
"Morning, Ms. Samantha," greeted the several low-rank arcanists.
The dome of the hall was black, inlaid with magic crystal lights that lit up the entire space. The arrangement of the lights followed the order of constellation, forming a huge astrology chart above.
Samantha nodded politely but also seriously. Then she asked out of confusion, "Leo, Gina… Why are you two here so early?"
According to what she knew, their teacher, level-four arcanist and fifth-circle astrologer Da Serra, who was also her friend, never taught students on Fridays. And the time right now, the labs and libraries inside Tower are not open yet. There was no reason to come this early. 
"Ms. Samantha, don't you know?" Said the round-faced Gina, "Tower sent a notice yesterday that today a new journal is going to be issued. We're all curious, so we came early to wait."
In order to improve one of her magic spells, Samantha studied the stars at night and slept during the day in the past two days, thus she never heard about it. Now the look on her face slightly changed and she murmured, "A new journal… Is it the one with Lucien Evans's inscription?"
"No… No idea…" The young man named Leo, who developed a middle-aged spread before the age of 25, shook his head.
"Hey, Samantha! Are you here for buying Nature as well?" 
It was Rachel. She was always full of energy and cheerful. Everyone liked her as she lifted people's mood.
Samantha also smiled, which was unusual for her. "Are you here for this as well?"
Although they had opposite personalities, they were very good friends.
Rachel sighed deliberately. "Yup, as a member of the Arcana Review Board, my teacher Ms. Isabella should have enjoyed delivery of the journal. But she's out of the town right now exploring new materials, so I have to come here myself. Poor me…"
Facing Rachel, the low-rank arcanists were more respectful. For one thing, they were unacquainted with Rachel; for another,, Rachel was the winner of Sorcerer Laurel. The crystal hairpin on her linen-colored hair shocked the students.
"You know about Nature's content and inscription?" asked Samantha. After all, Rachel did not have to come here so early; with her status, she would definitely be able to get a copy.
Rachel looked at Samantha confusedly. "No… But this is the first issue of the journal. I'd like to put it into my collection! It's even better if I buy it myself!"
"..." Samantha forgot that her friend was an enthusiastic collector.
At this time, the library behind the reception desk opened. Two female apprentices pushed out several stacks of books with a black cover.
"I've gotta take a look at it," said Rachel curiously as she pulled Samantha's arm and walked to the reception desk.
Samantha recalled, "Should have things to do with math…"
Her teacher, Neeshka, mentioned about it before. And when she was helping her teacher send back the review comments, she had a look at the new geometry paper from Lucien Evans and found the paper was too mind-blowing for her to accept.
However, soon, she was shocked by the math model provided in the paper. Despite the strong resistance in her mind, she was persuaded by the strict logic reasoning and the solid math model. After reading the paper, she was at lost for at least two to three days. And then she finally started accepting the fact that new geometry systems did exist.
"Finally! Tower has a journal for math! Awesome!" Rachel became very excited.
Tower sorcerers were all more or less emotionally connected to math in a complex way, and Rachel was one of them.
"Ladies, can I have two of them, please?" Rachel took out her magic badge. 
"Sure, sure! Ms. Rachel" The two young ladies answered as they hurriedly put the badge into the magic circle to deduct arcana points and handed two new journals to Rachel and Samantha.
Almost everyone in Tower knew Rachel after she won Sorcerer Laurel.
"So thick!" Rachel exclaimed, while Samantha quickly looked at the cover of the journal — After all, her teacher's words had made her curious for the entire week!
Like Arcana, Nature also had a black cover, on which silver lines formed many math symbols, equations, numbers, and geometry shapes. Joining together against the black background, they were like stars in the dark universe. 
Samantha believed that the cover was designed to express the aim of the journal: Using the language of math to describe the truth of the world…
That was also her first thought after she saw the cover.
Against the starry sky, there was a big word — Nature — written in a special fancy font. The characters looked like a wonderful formula.
Under the big word, there were several lines of smaller words:
Your eyes can lie to you…  ,  beside it was the numbers showing visible light spectrum; 
Your ears can deceive you… , surrounding it was the numbers showing human beings' hearing range;
your experience can mislead you… , following it was the simple but significant formula in calculus - 0.99999…=1;
Your imagination can restrain you… , under it was the hyperboloid model looking like a saddle and a sphere-like curved-surface model.
Samantha's eyes traced the lines and figures. She felt that she had understood what the words meant.
Her eyes fell on the last line… It was a brief but powerful one:
But math won't!
This line was a size bigger than the above ones and was on its own on the cover, with no figures following it. But all the symbols, equations, and numbers were its best testimonies. 
It was shocking beyond words.
Samantha did not know what others felt, but she knew that there were a lot of things going on in her brain. She felt like she had understood many things, however, she also felt that she had not figured out anything yet.
Beside the last line, there was a name, 
Lucien Evans X.
Samantha wondered if that was Lucien Evans' perception of math.
Rachel, who was standing beside Samantha, also remained silent. She hurriedly opened the journal and started reading the inscription, which was Lucien's speech. Then she browsed through the paper, sighing and exclaiming from time to time.
After a long while, she finally woke up from the world of math. Following a long sigh, she said, 
"Is he still a human being?"
"Levski Geometry… Evans Geometry… If they were not findings in math but in other fields, countless people would have their head exploded! Although I've seen the demonstration and the models… It's still hard to believe…" added Rachel.
Then her face lit up, "But I love what he said very, very much!"
The low-rank arcanists also got a copy. They were the same deeply shocked by the lines on the cover, but the content was still too difficult for them to understand so far. They had to take the journal back and slowly dig into it, treating it like their textbook. 
...
… Ms. Florencia, Mr. Gaston, and my teacher, Mr. Larry cheered that you've shifted your focus upon math, so the arcanists in the Congress are now much safer. Ok, no more jokes. They, including me, hope that you won't waste too much of your time in the new geometry system. Your talent belongs to the world of element and atoms, where findings of practical arcana and magic significance can be made. Leave geometry to Tower; they should get their own job done. Your friend, K.
After Nature issued, Lucien had received lots of letters. Some were sending congratulations, some were invitations for speeches, and some were from his friends. In Lucien's friends' eyes, the new geometry system was just like a piece of toy for Lucien, as it was of no practical arcana or magic significance.
Lucien sighed, as he knew that the new geometry systems were going to bring a more horrible and powerful impact than anyone had imagined. 
Putting aside the letters, Lucien said to the apprentices waiting outside of the study, "Let's go to the garden. We'll see what are keeping you guys busy recently."
Lucien learned this free-communication method from the several physicists on the Earth who were good teachers.


"A falling star has brought the chaos. The throne of fate has lost its master. The nonbeliever who walks in light and darkness will make his debut."
In this magic world, knowledge is power.

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