There was a little plant in a mystic realm, peacefully passing life for the past 1000 years. One day, a cultivator named Xi Wei landed in front of it.
"Hi, I'm a plant from this mystic realm! My dream is to cultivate into a human with legs!"
Xi Wei: "..." *Proceeds to put the plant in his mouth 
Little plant: *Dies
This grievance! This injustice! Must. Be. Paid. In. Blood.
"The host can choose any system. Please choose carefully, there is no changing it after clicking confirm."
Little plant: "The villain system."
"Host are you sure?"
Little plant: "Hehe, the sweet days with legs and revenge are not far ahead~"
[BL]

A princess from a mysterious bloodline runs off her castle at night .mystical creatures trying to hunt her down in search of an ancient secrets book which contains high powers.She runs to protect the secreat and this journey leads her into new secrets ,rituals and mystical creatures and the real goal of her life

Heading into the house with Celes, Jim checked out the new shop category.

[Elf]
[Base Price - 10,000]

[Human]
[Base Price - 1,000]

[Goblin]
[Base Price - 5]

'Wait, Base Price?' Jim tried purchasing a Goblin, instead of simply appearing, he had an additional menu appear. Within it, he could select a variety of options to modify the Goblin. Size, Height, Intelligence, Magic Affinity, Spirit Roots, there were countless options to choose. Spending an hour, Jim searched through everything and raised all the advantageous options to the max.

[Neo Goblin]
[Price - 5,000,000]
[Confirm Purchase?]

'...Let's not.' Jim decided instead to purchase an Elf, it was one of the more expensive subordinates he could select, but they had long lifespans and good magic talent from the start. That was exactly what he wanted, an army of mages, his puppets had the downside of being unable to use magic and cultivation. Although he could make them rather easily and give them decent strength, they couldn't grow much beyond that and were rather dumb, he couldn't give them complex commands such as "Search the forest for this particular plant." 

They would go to the forest, sure, but would then wander around aimlessly until he called them back. Even if they trampled on the plant he sent them to get they wouldn't notice it, Jim wondered if they could even comprehend what a plant was.

Before making the purchase, Jim noticed that Celes stopped cultivating. She had broken through to Late Qi Gathering Realm.

Jim: "Congratulations!"
Celes: "Ehehe..."
Jim: "Want your reward now or later?"

Celes looked at him in confusion. 

Celes: "Reward? Now, I suppose."

Jim scooped her up in a princess carry and headed to the bed.

Celes: "Ah..."

Realizing what the reward was, Celes blushed heavily. 'Didn't think I'd be giving a princess carry to an actual princess.'

Late that night, Jim got up and snuck out of the house, his destination was an alley between several shops. A group of 20 men were gathered together, talking in hushed tones. The occasional passerby could feel intense bloodthirst and intimidation, everyone chose to steer clear.

Ruffian A: "That bitch still hasn't left the city. When the hell do we get paid?"
Ruffian B: "We can enjoy her for a while before killing her, right boss?"
Ruffian Boss: "No, she's got magic talent, we need to go for a quick kill."
Ruffian A: "I'm fucking bored, sitting around all day is pissing me off."
Ruffian C: "At least she moves around without guards, does she think having status means she's untouchable?"
Jim: "You guys seem to be enjoying yourselves, mind if I join in?"
Ruffian D: "Who the fuck?"

The men drew weapons and surrounded Jim, they were surprised that someone would approach nonchalantly.

Ruffian C: "Boss, I've seen this guy hanging around the target. He's got a house in the wealthy area, they might have found out."
Ruffian Boss: "They wouldn't send just one person to deal with us, much less a rich bastard. This does feel off, let's kill him and take her out."

*Splat* Jim's appearance suddenly shifted for an instant, he was immediately back in the same position, but over 10 of the ruffians had been pounded into meat paste. An overwhelming pressure was emitting from Jim, the remaining men were frozen in fear and couldn't even take a step back, their legs wouldn't respond.

Jim: "Now then, which of you can tell me who hired you?"

Waiting a moment, nobody responded. Jim launched another assault, only 3 were left now.

Jim: "I'd advise you to speak up soon."
Ruffian: "F-f-f-"
Jim: "Hmm?"

The boss could hardly let out a sound, he desperately wanted to speak up, but it just wouldn't happen.

Boss: "First Prince!"

He was finally able to squeeze out words. Still trembling in fear, he could hardly think, the only thing on his mind was saving his life.

Boss: "It was the First Prince, he thought Princess Celestine would inherit the throne and wanted her eliminated!"
Jim: "I see, any proof?"
Boss: "Um...no. Wait! The contact gave me a note."

Quickly producing a sheet of paper with some writing on it, the boss didn't hesitate to toss it over.

Boss: "You'll let us go now, right?"

Immediately after asking the question, the 3 men exploded.

Jim: "Hired or not, you wanted to kill Celes. Why would I let you live?"

Storing the corpses in his inventory, he cleaned the rest of the mess with magic. Jim could tell the man wasn't lying about the note, he held it up and checked the contents.

"Our Lord requires this completed promptly, 2,000 Gold Coins will be your payment."

'Only that much? Killing royalty is incredibly serious and difficult. A pile of gold seems too cheap.'

Heading back to his house, Jim laid down next to Celes and began thinking of what to do next. 'I need to get rid of the horde to the east. Blocking Karna from gathering another horde would be great too. I need to get far stronger if I'm going to give that guy a beating. I also need to go home, is mom doing well? What about Libta? I feel bad bringing Xia to Earth and leaving her there, she must feel out of place.'

Jim eventually nodded off. Early the next day, Jim noticed movement among the eastern horde.

Jim: "We need to head to the capital. The monsters seem like they'll be attacking soon."
Celes: "Yes!"

Before leaving, Jim added further walls on the western end of the city. Placing a large formation there, Jim warned Zana against letting people near it. Suzuki and Talia had started chatting with Celes.

Talia: "Jim, I need to go too. We're from another country after all, not meeting the king when we're taking refuge in his territory is inexcusable."
Jim: "Alright, is everyone ready?"

The three nodded, Jim teleported the group to Amgula soon after.

Suzuki: "This is ridiculous, how did we get here so fast?"
Jim: "Teleportation Magic."
Talia: "Don't obsess over it, you'll go insane."
Suzuki: "Right..."

A middle aged man stumbles across an artifact which changes his life in ways he could not imagine.

Author's Note: I'm sure you guys have noticed the lack of updates. I don't have writer's block nor are there any events preventing me from writing. I honestly just don't have to motivation to keep going for now. Thus, I'm putting the novel on Hiatus, I hope everyone has enjoyed what I've written, thank you.

"So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness." - Sidney Poitier

Aerith sighed. She was eyeing her phone for a good ten minutes, tapping her fingers on the table. She wanted to call her mother but was too shy to do so.

Pulling her hair, she kicked her legs under the table with too much force, it sent her sliding away from the desk. She squinted when the backrest of her seat hit the wall in a thud. 

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Everything's okay, Kevin," she reassured the man who barged into her private studio, holding up a gun and was ready to shoot an intruder, except there was none.

"Stop giving me a heart attack, princess." Kevin raised a single brow to her direction, holding the sides of her neon pink chair.

She held on tight on the armrest as Kevin slid her back closer to her desk, and protested, "I'm not a princess." 

"News Flash! My job description says '24/7 security detail to 'Her Royal Highness, Princess Aerith of Notios'. So technically, you are, even when you insist that you are adopted."

"Che!" Aerith huffed, dramatically rolling her eyes at the beefy man. She knew it was fruitless to argue with a stoneface Kevin who always had a ready come back to her every word. 

Flicking her wrists, she shooed the guy away as she speed-dialed her mother's number.

Kevin took it as his cue to step out and leave the princess alone, joining five more members of the security team in the kitchen who was just done doing their nightly perimeter-check.

Aerith smiled. As usual, her mom picked up her call on the first ring. "Are you crying?" Aerith greeted. She could hear her mom sniffle on the other end of the line.

"Me? No. Why would I?" Olivia Lin, Queen of Notios, laughed. She was thousands of miles away from her daughter but the random phone call made her heart swell with ease as if her little one was right there beside her.

Olivia may not be the one who gave birth to Aerith, but she loved the little one with all her heart as if she was her own.

"Mom… you were listening to my show again." Aerith licked her bottom lip. Her mother was the one who got caught but she was the one who felt mousy between the two. "Stop crying coz it's bad for the baby," she whispered. 

"Yeah. Or I should stop getting angry at your dad for impregnating me… again! Seven kids and he won't stop. Now my hormones are acting up, making me cry during noontime. Are you eating well, Aerith?"

Aerith smiled at the sudden shift in her mom's line of question. "Mooom, that was a random question. It's almost midnight so no more snacks for me but I think I gained 10 pounds. Let's gain pounds together, alrighty?"

"Oooof. Not a bad idea. I need to get fatter so your dad would stop frisking me at night."

"Oh my gosh. Mom… please stop. I don't want to hear anything about that please." Aerith pulled the phone away from her ears, and she knew her mom had an idea of what she just did because she could hear her mom laugh on the other end of the line.

Aerith chuckled. She loved hearing her mom laugh. It was pleasant to her ears like wind chimes on a summer day—soft and random yet it had the magic to paint a smile on your face when you hear it.

"I miss you, mom." Aerith sighed. She felt lighter after uttering those three words. How possible was that? "And thank you for taking me in… it must not be easy on your part. Dad said you hated Papa and I looked exactly like him."

"Hahahaha! I do hate your Papa, but just a tad bit. Nah. I still don't like him." 

"Heh," Aerith let out a chuckle,. Her index finger played circles on the watermark her ice-coffee left on the table earlier.

While it was no secret how much Olivia hated Aerith's papa, the little one, however, took a big space in her heart. It was a space Olivia reserved especially for her little one named Aerith.

"Just so you know, the feeling was mutual. He told me, he didn't like you too. You were too loud and opinionated, he said."

Mother and daughter laughed in unison until it faded into a comfortable silence. 

There were days when they would talk like friends, and there were days when they would talk like mother and child, with Olivia giving her an hour-length work of lecture over the phone ranging from school and boy matters. But it didn't matter because to them, every conversation they had was a special way for them to bond.

"Aerith…" Olivia trailed off and smiled. "Mom misses you too."

Hearing her mother's feathery soft voice, Aerith choked on the lump in her throat, swallowing it down with force. Her voice cracked and her hand trembled as she said, "Okay, I have to go, it's getting late. Goodnight." She didn't wait for her mom to speak and just ended the call. 

After a few bets, her phone buzzed and a message from her mother popped in her screen.

[Mom: You didn't say 'I love you, Mom!']

Smiling, Aerith's finger danced on the screen as she fired a reply.

[Little One: With all my heart.]

Aerith's phone rang, surprising her. She raised it to her eye level and raised a single brow upon seeing her mother's name registered on the screen.

"He—" 

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that I scheduled a doctor's appointment for your ears. Don't skip it like last time. You don't want me flying out to personally drag you to the clinic, do you??"

"Moooom, okay okay. I was busy with exams last time. I won't skip it, I promise."

"Good. I forwarded the schedule to Kevin. He'll drag you there in my stead." Olivia chuckled. She was thankful for hiring a competent man like Kevin, but the smile on her face quickly faded when she remembered the poor guy's devastation when the love of his life died during the war.

Snapping her out from her trance, Olivia heard Aerith spoke, "Mom? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Okay. Mom will hang up now. Call me often, little one."

Aerith nodded her answer, and even when Olivia couldn't see it, she knew her little one wouldn't disappoint because Aerith never did. And she knew in her heart that her little one Aertih would give her a call her as often as she could after her request.

After the all ended, Aerith walked like a zombie back to her bedroom, clutching the pendant on her necklace out of habit.

She was thinking of staying up all night to finish a term paper that was due in weeks' time just so she would not cram in the future. Add to that the fact that she wasn't sleepy yet because she took a nap in the middle of the night. 

Earlier that day, she was so exhausted from uni, that when she arrived in her apartment at six in the evening, it didn't take a second for her to tap out, skipping dinner in the process.

Pushing her door open, she slumped on her bed, talking to the plants inside her boho-chic inspired bedroom.

Her hands were weaved together, sitting on top of her chest. She was in deep thought of her dilemma. Tomorrow, she had an eight in the morning class with a professor the whole campus abhorred that was why she had to go back and sleep lest she snoozes in class. Seeking an audience, she glanced at the snake plant on the bedside table and said, "I have to sleep, guys. I don't want to doze off in class tomorrow." 

Sighing, she shot up from the bed and walked over the window. "Sorry, precious, I have to trim a bit right here," she uttered, humming to her lavender plant as she plucked leaves off it. She walked back to her bed and stuffed the leaves inside the pillowcase. Burying her face on it, she smiled as she smelled the calming and soothing aroma of lavender leaves.

Aerith let her mind wander off, turning back the pages of time when she first met her papa, mom, and dad. She smiled ruefully, clutching on her papa's dog tag which she turned into a ring. It was then that Aerith finally drifted back to sleep.

Aerith Ang wished she never uttered those words because Hunter Ma collects promises, and when he does, he makes sure to collect it with an interest—and that's her heart.

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

The next morning.
After having breakfast, completing his physical training, and moving the solar panels, Tang Yue continued stirring shit in the garage.
"I say… As one of the only two remaining humans in the Universe, I should be one of the most illustrious figures in human history, right? Isn't it said that when Heaven is about to confer a great office on a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering and his sinews and bones with toil?" Tang Yue stirred the shit mixture with great force before stopping.
"That's right." Tomcat sat with its back facing him. It too was handling the shit. 
"Then, what's my great office?" Tang Yue asked.
"Stir shit," Tomcat replied.
Tang Yue felt helpless. As one of the two remaining humans in the Universe, he could be considered one of the most special people in human history. The significance was probably second only to non-hominin ape, Lucy, from Africa. This was like being the Chosen One. As such an important figure, shouldn't the expected development be the heavens burdening him with the important mission of saving the world?
The previous Chosen One[1] had pulled out a race that faced extinction from a quagmire, and developed them into one of the greatest nations in human history.
Therefore, Tang Yue believed that he had to rise up to contribute something of equal proportions. He couldn't lose out to his forefathers.
But what was the meaning of stirring shit day after day?
"Stirring shit isn't an important mission? Stirring shit is also an important mission," Tomcat said leisurely. "No matter how heroic a figure is, they will have to survive. Think about those stories with knights killing princes, ah I mean… demon kings, so they could marry the princess and lead a happy life together. Although the story usually ends there, life doesn't end. There will come a day when they get fed up with their mundane lives. Even the most inviolable vows would waver, and the sharpest swords would rust. Even a beautiful princess would become a grizzled, wrinkled old granny as she sits with her neighbors to gossip and play mahjong."
"What are you talking about?"
"Life is an important mission. Knights aren't defeated by the demon kings, but they are defeated by life. Snow White didn't lose to the Queen, but she will lose to time." Tomcat waved the shit-stirring rod in its paw. "Everyone's life is a journey towards distant dreams, as they streak out a beautiful trajectory, only to land themselves in a pit of shit.
"It's important for life to dream, but the true face of life is stirring shit," Tomcat continued. "That's because most people in this world spend their entire lives stirring shit."
"Are you implying that the final destination of my life is to be Shi Chuanxiang[2]?"
"Is there something bad about being Shi Chuanxiang?" Tomcat patted him on the shoulder. "He was honored as a national model worker by the country!"
"Then I'll try to get the Mars model worker. Don't fight against me for it."
"No way. All this shit is yours."
Tang Yue sighed. Based on the principle of translation invariance, be it on Mars or on Earth, Tang Yue was still the same Tang Yue. The work he needed to do wouldn't change. Life was forever filled with trivialities, and there was no one in the world who could live every day with great aplomb. If there was anyone, it would be Batman.
When Heaven is about to confer a great office on a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil; it exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty; then, it makes him stir shit.
Finally, Tang Yue stuffed the third container of feces in a corner of the garage. These containers were previously used to store food, and now, they were used to store the deeply processed residual product of food.
They planned on planting ten tomato plants in the first batch as an experiment. It was unknown if the soil and fertilizer would be of any use. If the seeds successfully sprouted, Tang Yue would then plant the rest of the seeds.
"How much shit do we have left?" Tomcat asked.
Tang Yue did a count. "We have already used half."
Tomcat glanced at the fertilizer in the corner. "At present, this compost can only plant a batch of tomatoes at best. The remaining shit should be capable of planting another batch, but we won't be able to plant all the seeds that Mai Dong left behind… There isn't enough shit."
Tang Yue and Tomcat stood in the garage blankly. Never had they expect themselves to be stumped by a bucket of shit.
"Say, can you get better as a shit-making machine?" Tomcat asked. "Are you unable to shit?"
"I shit however much I eat!" Tang Yue fumed. "I eat only a tiny amount a day, so how can I shit that much?"
"Special situations call for special treatment," Tomcat said. "In hardship, an able man is always busy. You should eat as little as possible, but shit as much as you can."
Tang Yue was dumbfounded. The cat was speaking weirder by the day. "F*ck! You want my digestive system to fight the conservation of mass?"
…
"While waiting for the fertilizer to ferment and be ready, we can begin pretreatment on the seeds," Mai Dong instructed. "The seeds we brought over are mature seeds that were selected. However, they have been in a hibernative state during our transportation of them. Therefore, we need to do some pretreatment to break them out of hibernation."
Tomcat and Tang Yue took out the vegetable seeds and poured out the tomato seeds in the bottle. They carefully selected ten seeds and numbered them from one to ten.
Tang Yue called them the Mars Vegetable Advance Party.
In fact, Tang Yue wasn't the first person to plant vegetables on Mars. In the past dozen or so Mars missions, there had been several similar experiments. The scientific team had planted chili, eggplant, orchid, and even pine trees. However, they had never thought of relying on these experimental plants for survival. They brought back all the samples after the mission was over.
The man and cat were very careful. To them, these ten hibernating tiny life forms were kin from Earth. They were life-giving and were also carbon-based lifeforms just like them. Tomcat also believed itself a carbon-based lifeform as it claimed that it was made from polymers that had carbon in them; therefore, making it look especially familial.
As one of the few creatures on Mars that hailed from Earth, who cared if it was an animal or plant. They were all fellow Earthlings.
It truly was a tearing event to see a fellow Earthling.
"Mai Dong, what do you do with the tomatoes after they bear fruit?" Tang Yue suddenly recalled something. "Tomatoes can't be stored for long, right?"
The storage of tomatoes was also a problem. They were fruits that easily rotted and, under normal circumstances, they couldn't be stored for too long. Tang Yue had zero experience in handling food, but he wished to be able to store the tomatoes as long as he could. It was impossible for him to farm tomatoes for extended periods of time since water was limited.
"Me?" Mai Dong thought for a moment. "I first chill them at low temperatures before pickling them."
"Pickling them? How?"
Mai Dong nodded. "First let them undergo high-temperature sterilization, then add sugar and seal them. The pickled product can be stored for more than a year, and it will be delicious."
Tang Yue turned to look at Tomcat.
"Do we have sugar here?"
"Yes, but it's not sweet," Tomcat replied. "Do you want it?"
"Sugar that's not sweet?" Tang Yue was taken aback. "What kind of sugar?"
"Deoxy sugar."
[1] The person hinted here is left ambiguous, though some Chinese comments seem to hint (by avoiding the censors) that it's Mao Zedong.
[2] Shi Chuanxiang, who worked as a collector of "night soil/feces" from household chamber pots his entire life won the May Labor Medal in 1959.


Payload specialist, Tang Yue, who is a mechanical and electrical engineer by training, is left stranded on Mars when he receives news from his AI robot assistant, Tomcat, that Earth has exploded. He believes himself to be the last human in the Universe.
Turns out, he is only the last man in the Universe. Botanist, Mai Dong, had been left on the United Space Station (USS) orbiting Mars, to await Tang Yue's ascent to the USS before they make their journey back to Earth. But now, it's impossible.
Join the trio's quest for survival as they attempt to unravel the mystery of Earth's disappearance.

Xhemin dropped jawed at Darryl's words. Her head ached after a second thinking about her fate with the kind of husband she tied knot to.
"Seriously Darryl?" Xhemin said, utterly exhausted with Darryl's folly. "I couldn't believe that you are thinking of such kind of thing right now!"
"I'm actually thinking more things than that," He said with his most gorgeous playful grin. "More than kissing,"
"Darryl!" Xhemin could only say his name. Her blushed became pronounced and her cheeks instantly warm up.
"What? Were already married," He said right thought her face with a wink.
Xhemin shook her head. "It doesn't mean that because were married you can get whatever you want!"
"And by that you mean?" Darryl anticipated her next words.
"We are not going to make it," She concluded and held her head high, trying to finalize her conclusion.
"You mean you are planning to deny your husband his wedding night?" Darryl whispered in her ears and Xhemin's heart leaped out of her body with she felt his warm breath.
Good thing Baruk Tam and Enoch came forward to approach them if not, Xhemin could have not escaped from Darryl's instigation about his wedding night.
"Is there something wrong?" The little boy asked the adults. His question came a little loud that the Chieftain and few guests turned to their side.
"The princess was planning to deny me—"
"I'm planning to deny my husband leaving tonight," Xhemin cut Darryl's words right away without noticing that she had spoken something shameless.
"Princess!" Handmaid Lin who was there with Princess Song abruptly covered the latter's ears and only then did Xhemin realized that she had said something awkward. Her already blushing face glowed more red.
"I mean, I mean—" She tried to correct her words.
"Don't worry my wife. I don't have plans of leaving tonight!" Darryl declared and everyone, from the Chieftain to the guests laugh hard with it.
Xhemin face sank, very much ashamed for what took place. She looked at Darryl with a mad raging face and the latter only smiled at her thoroughly.
***
The wedding banquet was held right after and it was a grand one. The tables were filled with golden cups and bowls. Trunks flooded at the bottom of the certain aisle too—these were gifts to the couple.
Xhemin and Darryl together with their guest lavished their selves with delicious foods and the men had continued their drinking sessions that was halted when the ceremony took place. Everyone was celebrating and there were dancing and singing all day.
When the afternoon was wearing its end, Baruk Tam approached the couple's table to give them a gift.
"As the Baruk of the Somer village, I congratulate fully the newly wed. Since Brother Dee held a special place in my heart, I hereby gave to the couple the Pearl Haven, one of the islands in Somer isles," Baruk Tam announced, and his revelation gathered shock and whispers amongst the crowd. They couldn't believe that Baruk tam would actually give one of the Somer Islands to the Hero of Somer lands.
"That's a good gift Baruk Tam," The Chieftain praised him. "One of the Somer Isles is just right for the Hero of Somer lands."
Baruk Tam smiled and raised his cup to give the couple a cheer. Since Darryl had no properties in the island, it was just right that he gave him some of his lands. Besides, the Pearl haven like all the other island in the Somer lands were not developed and explored. He was hoping that in Darryl's hands, this treasure will not go to waste.
"After the wedding feast, let's go and build your home brother," Enoch told Darryl excitedly. Darryl get an invitation to enter the Manggan Island and he cannot get out unless the Chieftain says so, therefore, it's just right for him to have his own place since like Xhemin, he might have no chance of getting out. Besides Darryl drank Enoch's blood and so the Chieftain's heir thought he rightfully belonged in the island.
"Enoch don't hurry on making Darryl settle in the Pearl haven. Do you intend to separate me from your sister?" The Chieftain protested. Xhemin was her favorite daughter and he was very fond of the girl so as much as possible he wanted her to stay in the central village.
"Father, I'm now a married woman. I cannot stay in your house forever" Xhemin interjected. When she heard that it was possible for her to live outside the palace, of course she grabbed the idea so she can have the freedom to go and look for the plant she sought for. "Don't worry I will visit you all the time to bring you strawberries"
Darryl of course noticed this, and he gave Xhemin a questioning look which the girl only ignored.
"Very well. I don't think I can still withhold your wish to go and live with your husband," The Chieftain retreated easily as he knew it was also not good for the princess to stay living with them. "However, I just wish you could grant your old man one wish for the last,"
"What is it father?" Xhemin asked curiously.
"I am an old man already princess and you are the first daughter of mine who got married," The Chieftain started "Therefore please hurry and give me a grandchild as my sun is almost setting,"
Xhemin almost choked at the Chieftain's request but she tried very hard to kept still. The blushed travelled back to her face as she tried to keep a straight smiling face.
"Father you are still young, your sun—"
When Xhemin tried to her way out, the Chieftain dragged his eyes to Xhemin's husband who was sitting on one table beside her.
"Hero of Somer lands please grant your Father in law this wish," The Chieftain desperately begged.
"Don't worry Chieftain, I'll work hard on it," Darryl to Xhemin's surprise and frustration answered confidently. She dragged her eyes onto his husband who was very unwilling to cooperate about her plea.
"That's the spirit brother!" Enoch raised another cup and the two—Darryl and Enoch, together with the Chieftain drank some more.
Xhemin of course was left bewildered with Darryl's actions.
With all that been said, the Little Miss wondered if Darryl does intend to make something on their wedding night.
The thought only gave her chills.


Warning: Amazingly, absurdly and deliriously funny chaps ahead. Read and laugh at your own risk.

--------------------------------------

"You are one of my many dreams, and the only dream I wish I should have chased desperately" 

Darryl Lemmuel was an aspiring engineer. There was only one word to describe him—exceptional.

He was the only male heir of the Lagdameo clan and the future of L Empire. Apart from that, he was rumored to be financially independent at the age of eight, tricked the present president of L empire—his father— into agreeing with his terms and left home at the age of sixteen to live on his own. He broke all the socialite’s rule to have a good taste of adventure! 

Xhemin Lae Dugmoch was a struggling botanist.

Enrolled in an A-list school, she knew nothing but books, experiments and strawberries. As the granddaughter of a retired famous doctor, Xhemin was very keen in keeping her profile low as per her granddad's wishes. Nobody in the elite community knew that she existed and that her grandfather’s corporation— Feather HealthCare had an heir.

One witty heir and one crazy strawberry girl; their predicament started when their life got tangled up against each other in a conference.

HE suddenly became her target prey.

And SHE was a little trouble not worthy of his attention.

The trouble he soon learned to want— so desperately and dearly wanted.

-----------------------
After a long hiatus, daily updates resumes today (Feb 24, 2019 EST)

Chapter release: 14 Chapters a week 
Regular Updates will be release at 4AM and 4PM EST. 
Bonus Chapters will be marked as bonus


Note: The author publishes raw chapters daily. Editors are still backtracking the unedited parts.

Cover picture is from www.pinterest.ph

COPYRIGHT © A. D. Torres

Date Published: March 17, 2020

Chapter Title: The Visitation to the Empress' Palace (1)

Chapter no. 24

(Qin Zetian's POV)

There are times when I ask myself why I feel alone even when I have everything that I wished for in this second-chanced life? But I don't know the answer, it feels like there are gaps in between my memories that makes me so vulnerable. And it feels like there are so many secrets that I need to discover on my own. The manor is so wide, it has passages I've never been to and I've only explored 10% of it.

I walked out of the library with a questioning mind. I continued walking till I stopped on a nearby window. That tree, made me question how hard this body fell from the highest branch and why? How come I stayed dormant and got the chance to wake up without serious injuries? Why did I inhibit a sharp vision and an incredible strength? And why does everyone smell like blood at night? 

Those unnoticeable facts are very interesting to me. I smiled and think about something that I can do today. Then I went to the kitchen. 

Since I am feeling well I decided to prepare different kinds of food for the empress and visit her palace. I think she has been hoping to meet me and the princess never failed to remind me to pay them a visit. I do not know what her highness like or doesn't like, I was only informed that she doesn't have allergies. 

"Did you prepare everything?" 

"Yes young miss, everything is according to your instructions. Shall we depart now?" 

"En. Let's go to the palace" 

The ride approximately took fifty minutes before we reached the front gates of the imperial palace. An eunuch was waiting for our arrival, then Han Yuomei and Han Wan accompanied me to the empress' palace. I saw Roushi along the way, and she was running while waving at us. And I waved back, then she hugged me, so tight that I thought my bones might broke.

"I've missed you, I'm glad you're finally here. My mother has been sick lately and she hasn't been eating well. She lacked the appetite to eat or drink something and father emperor even fired some of the imperial chefs. I do not know what I'll do with her." 

"Did the imperial doctors check your mother's condition?" 

"Yes they did, but they also found nothing" 

"I brought some detoxification tea, prepare some for her princess and do not let other servants do it" 

"Ze'er, do you suspect someone might have poisoned my mother?" 

I nodded. Then we walk to Green Ice Palace. There are ponds and bridges on both sides of the path we're walking on. But the water on the pond looks rather unhealthy and dead? What's unusual is that there are little yellowish flowers blooming at the bottom of the pond. Not that I have seen something similar before, but growing flowers at the bottom of a pond is rather odd. Though I have read once that poisonous weeds grow at the bottom of ponds with dead looking waters. Is it possible to link the two?

"Rou'er, does the empress plant flowers at the bottom of the pond?" 

"No, it's usually concubine Wu who volunteers to plant the flowers if I remember correctly."

"Are there any fishes living underwater?" 

"None, every time we try to nurture them, they all die a day after" 

I nodded, if that's the case maybe the water is poisoned. When water evaporates a good amount of poison will mix through the air and eventually harm the living organisms present in the area. The flowers at the bottom are in full bloom, so it might have affected the empress. 

"Is there a chance that I can invite the empress to the manor? My mom is very lonely, and I think they will have a good time together" 

"Sure! That sounds great. I'll ask imperial father about that" 

"Okay, I will arrange everything for you and the queen" 

Everything in her palace is strange. There are even bad luck charms and poisonous grass. 

"Does your mom propagate different types of poisons and does she love bad luck charms?" 

"What do you mean?" 

I closed the distance between us and whispered. 

"The grass at the front porch is highly toxic. The figurines are bad luck charms and the pond might be poisonous. Be careful, tell no one. Just arrange for the empress to leave this palace for a while and investigate later" 

She nodded, but the shock in her eyes is visible. 

"We must hurry" 

I nodded and silently followed behind her. 

And when we entered the palace I sniffed something that made me cover my face entirely, and even tightening the veil on my face. The burning incense is too strong. How can they live in a place that exudes toxicity?

The vegetation was even bushier farther down. They both had picked staff to ease their way. In the mean time, the two disciples reaped every food they could. Moss had shown her the easier plants to recognize as he knew novices could easily make mistakes. She did fine however, so he introduced a few harder plants, notably tubers. Those were especially good to have since they were a way more nutritious treat than greens. Once roasted, they would prove to be a fine meal. They could find five of them.
As for predators, they saw no clue of their presence. The boars were another story though. Their prints were way heavier than those Moss had been accustomed to. Probably another race, and nastier. Fortunately their mating period had not come yet. They would not attack on sight... Theoretically. Really, this place was different. Plenty of birds and plants were unknown to him. He stumbled upon them everywhere.
In that respect, he had taken care to memorize the plant draws of both scrolls. Whilst the planned hour almost expired, he finally glimpsed a leaf shape that reminded him of one in the sister's scroll.

-'Sister, come ! And take out your parchment.'
-'Why ? What did you find ?'
-'This.' He pointed a small seeding with weird split leafs and pure white flower buds. It grew in a fairly illuminated place.
-'Does it not resemble the second figure ?'
They had already tried one time but the comparison had not been convincing. This time was different.
-'Yes. It is the same, no doubt. Now this is good. We have only been at it for one hour !'
Both shared the excitement.

-'Please pick it up, brother. I do not want to mess this up.'

-'... Done.'
It had come easily. They stored the plant in the pouch with sparkling eyes.
-'Now I would dare say that our session ends on a high note.' The princess said.
-'Agreed !'
-'We just have to find a proper place to settle down and be done with the hiking.'
And as they kept descending the hill, they finally came across water.
-'Hear that, brother ?'
-'What ?'
-'There is a stream nearby.'
-'I hear nothing...'
-'It is coming from this way.'

The stream was just big enough to deserve that name. Still the water ran clean and fresh. After they drank a bit, they walked along in search of a suitable camp. Considering the distance they had crossed, returning to the glade was not an option any more.
Eventually, Lauren found a small clear space not far from the stream. It was fine, so they dropped their stuff there and accommodated the place.

Then it was time for their first training. As it happened, Moss and Lauren shared the same physical practice. The draws of the dual state moon cultivation art were just a bit more ornamented and its descriptions more convoluted.
Push-ups, headstand, squats, pull-ups, static positions, the old man was soon heavily panting. His old joints were not satisfied with this sudden madness. The commoner knew how injuries felt however, and those sensations were not stingy enough to worry him. He pushed himself as best as he could.
As expected, the sister did far better.
-'Come on grandpa, your push-ups are all crooked ! Straighten your back and your head. And bring your elbow closer ! You look like a weird worshipper !'
-'Punk ! From what I see you are not better, apply your own advices !'
They joked about it but the woods had no mirror and it helped to correct each others form. Moss could not train until the sun turned yellow, but the sister did. To avoid idleness he sorted their harvest and gathered some wood to start a fire. That was hard. Even his fingers had been persecuted by the hanging required for pull-ups. He did it anyway.
Then he waited for her to finish before starting the fire, as both methods recommended not to train near smoke.
A thought crossed his mind. If he was to train during the day and meditate during the night, when was he supposed to sleep ? He could only wait and see.

When time came to prepare for the night, they were both having trouble to move. They did not have the strength to joke any more. Lauren directly ate the spiritual plant they had found earlier.
-'What a weird taste.' She said.
After that they consumed their tubers eagerly with a fair supplement of greens. They had found some aromatics as well so it did not taste bad but definitely felt weird as well. To be sure, this was no castle cookery. Once their belly was full, the girl sat to meditate. Next to her, Moss had nothing to do until the moon was up. He listened to the wildlife and dozed off a little. In the end he really fell asleep. He woke up as Lauren shook him by the shoulder.
-'Hey, don't sleep ! Night has come, you must meditate.'
-'Yes. Thank you.'
-'You remember the instructions are read to you earlier, right ?'
-'Yes.'
He moved a bit in order to see the moon between the trees. It was enlightened on three quarters of its surface. The light method undoubtedly applied. The technique recommended to try to feel the moonlight on his skin and to watch it by intermittence. Else wise the eyelids had to be shut. He also had to try to feel the attraction of the heavenly body, and to meddle its energy in his own.

Lauren had come to sleep next to him.
A short time after that, she suddenly spoke.
-'Say, old man.'
-'Yes ?'
-'You are a commoner, right ?'
-'Yes, why ?'
-'I don't understand how you got a place in the trial.'
Moss was a bit lost.
-'I am not sure what you mean... The token was given to me, is that what you are asking ?'
-'Oh. Do you know its value ?'
-'Frankly I don't. With all those nobles, I guess it is not cheap ?'
-'No. It is worth the weight of ten men in pure gold.'
Moss flipped for the second time of the day.
-'What ?! So much ?!'
-'Yes. Can I ask who gave it to you ?'
-'Sure, but this is a strange story. I do not know him myself very well.'
And so, he briefly narrated her the circumstances of his meeting with the scholar.
That tale was hard to believe. Yet she knew that the sect could not be fooled by a simple thief. The token were not nominative but they could tell if one had be stolen. Some had tried.
-'What a strange story. I have bored you enough with questions, brother. I will sleep now. Have a good night.'
-'I know... You too, sleep well.'

Far from there, poor Marchen was alone in the dark, puking his guts out from random things he ate, next to a failed attempt to start a fire. Torim and Menlo were not better, only they had a fire. Yu had broken Elios's nose in a little argument, but now they were good friends. They had had a decent meal, but no fire...
With that, the first day of the trial finally ended.

An old peasant takes on a cultivation journey, assisted by the god of water.

Being the first-ever princess that completed every princess trial given by his father Yusael set on a journey to find her missing sister Alicia. That lead her to investigate Ren's past. Upon investigating Yusael pinpointed Alicia's current location.
"Steel Island... Just the feeling that the Island created gives me nervous. I'm worried about Alicia."
Said Yusael as she sails alone on a small boat the sea.
Back to her memories. Alicia is a very needy person. Alicia is someone that will cry just because it's getting darker. Yusael still remembers the time she always saves Alicia from her bully sisters and brothers.
To Yusael's eye's Alicia was a cute little sister this time. ad it bothers her when Alicia started to become a little darker in her thoughts and becomes a bit rebellious.
Even though, no one likes Alicia in the kingdom. Yusael loves her became Yusael to know that Alicia is indeed her sister. No matter what happened she is Yusael's sister. Even their not blood-related.
A noise from the island is heard. It's the noise of Hanayuki's lightning dragon breath. The magnitude makes the sea current high and the boat started to become unstable. Yusael grows her wings like an angel and started flying instead.
The magic feels so familiar. In her mind, she saw the image of Hanayuki.
"Why is that girl in the Islan too? Did she have a connection with the witch cultist? I don't now but Alicia needs me there. I need to hurry up."
Meanwhile in Sleeping Knights team. Kuro and Yuna's squad split and in the base there was Alicia and some medics with her treating the badly injured people.
The unexpected come. One of the demon contractors appeared and it's a handsome-looking man with blue-ish hair and silent looking expression. He is staying chill in the situation even though he already killed the guards in the base by himself. He never shows empathy to those he killed and just walk as nothing happened.
"I heard a beautiful girl is here. I want to make my way and make love with her?"
Turning his gaze around him all he saw is the injured people and the people treating them. Alicia is a cute girl and born in high status. She is very attractive and the royal family planned to use her to marry a prince in unknow land to gain more power.
"You're a cutie but not really my type... Youre is still young. I preferred someone more fierce-looking and oddly strong. It's a woman befitting to a handsome man like me."
"What a creepy narcissist? Stay away from here."
Said Alicia.
"Narcissist? That's a bit insulting. Since your a cutie. I might make you my slave instead... Demon plant magic: Roots of the World Tree."
Alicia fights back and used her barrier magic.
"What an incredible defense. My vines can even break that barrier. That magic and energy. I feel a royalty in you... Then, how about this..."
The roots appeared below Alicia and the patients.
"... With that, you cant block it. Demon plant magic: World tree super whips!"
"What a terrible naming!"
Alicia said.
Roots and whip appeared everywhere and attack everyone in the base. Some of the people fight back to the demon contractor but no one wins and in the end. Alicia is the only one that remains conscious.
"It's not really fun to end things in an instant... First, you should show your body to me. I must see it to knew if you are qualified to become my slave."
"Stop."
The vines put Alicia to the crucifix position and slowly the vines rip her clothes off.
Alicia started to cry and asked for help.
"Help me, somebody... Help me!"
At that time she remembers a hero that she looks up to. When she feels lonely and sad. a hero of justice that has wings of an angel.
"Help me... help me Big sister Yusa!"
With a blink of the eye. From above the sky. An angel comes down and helps the poor girl.
Stepping down to the face of the demon. Yusael appeared with angry-looking expression.
"What are you doing to my little sister you monkey?!"
The gravity intensifies and the face of the demon got buried to the ground.
The ground cracks and with Yusaels power. Yusael strikes the demon with a giant sword and killed him off.
"Yusa- one-chan..."
The demon magic got deactivated and Alicia ran toward Yusael with crying face.
"Don't worry now Alicia you are safe... Let's go home this place is really in chaos."
"Sorry Yusa-nee but my friend Hanayuki and Ren are here... Also, this is important. You need to stop the witch ritual."
"Witch ritual?!"
Yusael accel in academics and everything the kingdom got surprised to what she just heard. The ritual is a ritual to awake the witch that can destroy everything. The kingdom didn't know about this and this is really a bad thing to happen.
"It's a full moon tomorrow... Maybe the ritual will be held tomorrow night. Attacking tonight will be the more effective way. This place is so far and my troops will find it hard to go here. Since they are all recovering from the previous princess trial I take."
"Yusa-nee..."
"Don't worry... I will stop them. Don't worry your big sister is super strong you know. I'm going to be a hero of justice like you always dream of."
Yusael knew that Hanayuki is on the island with Ren. She judges their skills when they first meet and Yusael really thinks that Ren and Hanayuki are really a strong adventurer. With that knowledge, she knew that she has a chance to stop the ritual.
Yusael then uses her angelic magic to heal everyone in the base and restore it. They me a camp in the forest and placed a sealing in each tree surrounding the base to make it invisible and make monsters not enter.
"Alicia when you're in danger ring this bell. This will teleport everyone in the middle of the garden of the kingdom immediately. It's a tool for me to bring back my troops easily but you're much important. The use of the bell in once per day so uses it carefully."
Said Yusael.
Alicia nodded and Yusael's head patted Alicia.
Yusael flies up in the sky once again and goes directly to the tower.
As she flies she encounter monster and dragon-like a monster. she beat them all like Hanayuki.
"I must stop this ritual."
Yusael Current Stats.
STR: 9,999,999
INT: 9,999,999
AGI: 9,999,999
VIT: 9,999,999
Magic: All holy light magic, Angel healing, self-offering love, the light of God, sealing magic, barrier magic, Demon slaying art, Magic control, Magical zone.

One fiery night everything turned into ash.
Ren is a traveler searching for the killer of his precious friend Hikari. As he travels, he met a girl named Hanayuki and they unfold the past mystery that will lead into a conclusion he never thought.

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