"Master...?"
Her legs were weak, as if they might give way at any moment.
She moved forward unsteadily, her steps trembling.
Her body was frail.
Her voice was faint.
Krisha's physical condition was poor—she was too weak, so weak that walking was a struggle. She could only inch forward with great difficulty, her breaths rapid as she slowly approached Xu Xi.
The scene was silent, yet it carried a deeply moving power.
The witch had proven one thing through her actions.
In the face of true willpower,
a frail body could not hinder her in the slightest.
The light fell upon the girl, further illuminating her pale, bloodless face. Trembling, she extended her slender, delicate fingers and rested them on the chair where Xu Xi sat.
With this support, the pressure of her movement lessened significantly, allowing her to reach Xu Xi's front.
And then.
Krisha saw it—the familiar face, now deeply asleep, marked by excessive exhaustion.
"Master... you're fine..."
She tilted her head slightly and blinked her eyes.
The truth of the matter was different from what she had imagined. Xu Xi was not in trouble; he had simply fallen asleep, nothing more.
"That's good."
Her calm voice echoed in the air.
Within her chest, the accumulated sorrow and worry dissipated entirely, returning to their usual hollow state.
What should she do next?
Krisha felt lost. After confirming that Xu Xi was fine, she suddenly didn't know what to do. Should she lie back on the stone slab and patiently wait for Xu Xi to wake up?
Light and shadow are inseparable companions.
When light appears, shadow follows closely, for without the light's illumination, shadow cannot exist.
So then.
When the light falls silent, where should the shadow go?
Krisha didn't know how to answer this question. Her life, her everything, had long been accustomed to staying by Xu Xi's side.
Beyond that, the witch had no interest in anything else.
But given her current physical condition, even if she stayed awake, what could she do?
She could barely take care of herself,
let alone anything else.
Thus, Krisha abandoned the impractical thoughts of helping with chores as she usually did.
Instead, she stood quietly, her expression calm and composed, her hands crossed in front of her abdomen, leaning against the edge of the table as she stood guard beside the sleeping Xu Xi.
The room was dim, the light hazy, creating an ethereal and fleeting glow that seemed to touch upon memories of the past.
Gently and tenderly, it enveloped the figures of the man and the girl.
One was deeply asleep.
The other stood watch.
This was the only thing the witch could think to do at this stage.
And it was also the only thing she wanted to do.
Since the light was in slumber, the shadow would stand by its side, waiting until the light rekindled and warmed the world, providing the shadow with its reason to exist.
However—
How should she put it? This feeling was somewhat subtle, even peculiar.
"Master's face..." Krisha murmured to herself. She wasn't as tall as Xu Xi, and though she could usually see his entire face, she hadn't observed the finer details.
But now, with Xu Xi sitting and sleeping, the standing girl could see his face up close.
This was the first time she had observed Xu Xi so closely.
The witch saw the swollen eyes, a result of long hours spent reading and overwork.
The witch saw the fingers, which even in sleep maintained the posture of holding a brush, a testament to his constant writing.
The witch saw the weary face, marked by exhaustion, with pale lips and a deeply fatigued expression.
She saw it all.
She saw the passage of time at his temples, the faint tremors of his breathing at his nostrils.
She saw the depth of Xu Xi's slumber, and the sacrifices behind that depth.
Ah...
Ah...
So this is how it is.
A heavy feeling seemed to pierce Krisha's heart in an instant, causing her pupils to dilate slightly.
Before, the witch had thought that if the light fell silent, the shadow would lose its sanctuary.
But now.
The truth showed the witch.
Even if the light fell silent, even if the sun briefly extinguished, its residual warmth would still penetrate the soul, providing the shadow with a path forward.
The witch didn't know what words or actions could do justice to that blazing, warm light. Her emotions accumulated, her thoughts grew chaotic, and her chest filled with an increasing sense of impulse.
The witch was too clumsy; she had no idea how to proceed.
And so.
Based on her own understanding, the witch did the best she could think of.
She carefully extended her fingers, moving as gently as possible, and lightly cupped Xu Xi's cheeks. She bent down, pressing her forehead against his, her nose touching his.
Strands of her silver-gray hair fell, a few brushing against the man's face.
"May you be well."
Krisha Christina whispered her prayer.
Her calm, even voice seemed to carry a fleeting mix of emotions, but the tranquility of her words made one wonder if it was just an illusion.
Touching, feeling the warmth of the light.
Time seemed to stand still.
Those brief seconds felt like an eternity, as countless new sensations burst forth within the witch's heart.
What was it, exactly?
Krisha felt guilty. She kept her forehead pressed against his, reluctant to part from that warmth and closeness, even though she knew that, as a "personal possession," such an act was overstepping.
Suddenly.
Perhaps her actions had disturbed the man's sleep.
Xu Xi's brow furrowed slightly, and he let out a soft groan. Though the sound was faint, it startled the 17-year-old witch, sending her fleeing in panic.
"!!!!!"
Despite her weak legs, the witch managed to sprint faster than ever before.
She scrambled back to the stone slab.
Grabbed the blanket Xu Xi had prepared for her.
Dove inside, hiding herself completely.
Curling up into a ball,
like a self-enclosed silkworm, she wrapped herself tightly, leaving no gaps, afraid to give the outside world even the slightest chance to observe her.
She trembled lightly, squirming slightly, utterly adorable.
Her heart was pounding, filled with unprecedented tension.
The witch didn't know why she was so afraid. Though she had overstepped, it was just a simple touch of foreheads. Yet, her heart was in turmoil.
"Master?"
She waited for a long time, but there was no movement.
No reprimand from her master came.
Krisha cautiously peeked out, letting her eyes emerge from the blanket. Seeing that Xu Xi was still asleep, her nervousness gradually subsided, returning to its usual emptiness.
However.
"So strange... so hot..."
Krisha was bewildered. She lightly touched her snow-white cheeks and found them burning.
The witch suspected she might have a fever. Was this the price for overstepping with her master?
The witch's knowledge had increased.
She thought that as long as her master didn't find out, this price was acceptable.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
