Bustling.
Noisy.
Chaotic.
Allenson City today remains as prosperous as ever.
At the steel and gear-crafted city gates, merchants come and go in steam-powered magic carriages, their faces brimming with smiles and joy. The residents, too, chat with their families and friends as usual.
No one noticed.
Among the crowds entering and leaving Allenson City today, there wasn’t a single high noble.
To ordinary people, high nobles are incredibly rare, so even if they vanished, few would take notice.
Now, at this very moment.
This steam-powered city, standing tall in the northern part of the world.
Inside, only a large number of commoners and mid-level individuals, unqualified to know the truth, remain. The true elites have long since departed.
“I need… to buy what I need… quickly…”
In the sky above Allenson City.
Krisha no longer concealed herself, pushing her magic output to the limit as she cast a wind spell to fly faster, heading straight for the bustling market at the city center.
When she landed, she immediately drew gasps of surprise.
About Krisha.
About this girl with a lovely face.
The market vendors all knew she was connected to a formal mage, possibly as a relative or the mage’s personal maid.
It was precisely because of this ambiguous relationship that the witch had never been harassed.
But today.
Witnessing Krisha use magic firsthand.
The ordinary vendors in the market were utterly shocked, their eyes wide as they stared at Krisha holding her wand, their voices trembling.
“A mage, that child is actually a mage?!”
“Hiss… If I had known, I should have been more polite to her before.”
“Blessed be the Goddess of Harvest, this is truly unbelievable!”
People chattered away.
Some were envious, some jealous, and others completely dazed.
But soon.
As if in unison, everyone began showering Krisha with all kinds of praises, calling her beautiful, kind, and compassionate.
Some even boldly offered her free goods.
There were delicate mechanical pocket watches, crisp and fresh vegetables and fruits, and even outrageously gorgeous women’s clothing.
The vendors desperately.
Fought to be the first.
With fervent expressions.
Trying to force their best items into Krisha’s hands.
“…How dull.”
Krisha calmly watched the spectacle before her.
Was it because the thick steam from the machines no longer obscured everything?
For some reason, even though it was the same market, the same vendors, the same buildings, the ugliness and ferocity on people’s faces had become glaringly obvious.
Everyone crowded into the same space, flattering her to curry favor.
But.
Wasn’t this the very scene she had once longed for?
No one hitting her, no one spitting on her, everyone vying to be her friend, everyone eager to get close to her—wasn’t this the life she had dreamed of?
Why did it now fill her with such disgust?
“Ah, I see…”
Looking down at her delicate hands, then at the exquisite wand.
Krisha suddenly understood.
The people here, the surging crowd around her, didn’t like Krisha. They liked a beautiful female mage named “Krisha,” a mage with a bright future compared to ordinary people.
They didn’t like the witch, nor did they like Krisha herself.
From beginning to end.
The one who would extend a helping hand to the witch, who would embrace her like the sun, offering warmth and hope.
Was always that person.
Only him, just him, who didn’t care about getting his hands dirty, who would take the foul-smelling witch by the hand and gently lead her home.
“I need to finish Master’s task quickly,” Krisha thought, waving her wand and using wind magic to forcefully disperse the surrounding vendors.
Under the vendors’ fearful and cowering gazes, Krisha quickly identified various items.
Food.
Daily necessities.
Clothing and tools.
She swept them up with wind magic, sorted them into categories, and stored them all in her spatial ring.
The entire process took less than three minutes.
Magic was truly a convenient thing.
“Now I can go back.”
Krisha glanced at her spatial ring, sensing its fully packed interior, and nodded lightly before tossing out a bag of coins, distributing them among the vendors.
Equivalent exchange.
This was the first lesson Xu Xi had taught the witch.
The witch remembered it well.
“Wind spell, gather,” Krisha waved her wand without giving the vendors a chance to speak. The howling wind wrapped around her once more, carrying her back toward the courtyard.
She had completed her task quickly, the round trip taking less than ten minutes.
Perhaps she would earn her master’s praise?
With this thought in mind, Krisha increased her magic output, making the wind fiercer and her flight faster, eager to return to Xu Xi’s side.
But.
But why.
Did her chest feel so heavy?
“Whoosh—” The wind roared in the sky.
Krisha rode the gale, flying faster and faster as she approached the courtyard. She was almost there, so close, yet the unease in her heart grew stronger.
She clutched her chest, her eyes blank.
She didn’t understand, didn’t know why, but the weight in her heart was unbearable, and she instinctively sped up.
This familiar pain.
Made the witch panic.
“Return… return to Master’s side…”
“As long as Master is there, everything will be alright,” the witch, unable to comprehend what was happening, instinctively chose to rely on the person she trusted most.
Xu Xi, her master, her sun.
As long as she returned to Xu Xi, all her unease and pain would vanish. Krisha truly believed this.
Soon.
The rapidly flying Krisha caught sight of the familiar courtyard.
Just the thought of the man inside lessened the weight in her chest.
So, Krisha sped up, flying with a desperation she couldn’t explain, as if her life depended on it, even forgetting the caution Xu Xi had always taught her.
Faster.
Even faster.
Please, faster.
The witch frantically pushed her wind spell, and finally, she reached the vicinity of the courtyard.
But just then.
The sky darkened.
“BOOM!!!!!”
An unimaginable barrage of fireballs rained down from the sky, like thousands of falling meteors, suddenly appearing above Allenson City.
Roaring, raging, and destroying everything in their path.
And one of those blazing fireballs was headed straight for the courtyard Krisha was trying to reach.
“No, wait!… No, no… You can’t!”
Sensing something terrible, Krisha’s pupils contracted, and she let out a cry of panic she had never uttered before, her voice trembling.
The weight in her chest reached its peak at that moment.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
