Volume One, Chapter 22: Your Other Half Is Tainted

Qia Yaxin had already knocked on the door. Clearly hearing her friend's voice from inside, she felt a mix of excitement and nervousness: would Mantong be happy to see her?

Li Yi was still pondering how she should prepare when suddenly a thunderous explosion rang out in the sky.

None of these shadow cultivators had expected any human cultivator to be so bold as to enter their City of Wind and Flame.

As fifty men approached, Ye Xingjue stood motionless, his palm resting at his waist. With a metallic clang, he drew the Lingtian Sword and immediately sheathed it again.

Even Qiu Lanyi, who was held in Bo Yi'an's arms, shuddered at the cold tone of his words.

Everyone took out healing salves and spirit stones to tend to their wounds, preparing for a battle that could change at any moment.

His gaze circled the card. Thinking about it, if he were responsible, how would he make any money?

But no one had ever passed the final test, because there was no real test at all—players were transported to a void for a while, only to be inexplicably sent back out.

It seemed likely that Zeng Mina was still brooding over the preliminary selection, the bamboo fence incident, and wanted to use her as a tool to give Xia Yu a hard time.

Lian Shuo took Han Lianyi to the seaside; the night sea stretched out in impenetrable darkness. Lian Shuo retrieved a prepared lantern from the car, and its light instantly pierced the gloom. Yet along the vast coastline, the faint beam seemed no more than a star. It echoed the myriad stars above, each enhancing the other.

If she were to stay in America for life, wouldn't her dream of an ordinary, peaceful life be forever out of reach?

She did not even look up to meet the horrified gazes of those around her, surrendering her fate entirely to him.

Judging by Qin Fengyi's demeanor, she was not one to suffer injustice quietly. Besides, old Master He thought, no matter how far His Majesty had sent Qin Fengyi into exile, he was still the emperor's own flesh and blood, while the Prince of Min was a more distant relation. If a case arose between the two, even the emperor's private sympathies could not favor the Prince of Min.

His hand suddenly pressed hard against her lips, silencing the words she had not finished.

Yes, it was too rash of him to openly vie for her now—Kong Zhixuan made no further move.

Ye Chu thought to herself that Nie Yunqian, educated in new ideas, would naturally reject an arranged marriage. Like many young men, he harbored lofty ideals.

He gripped his keychain tightly. The joy that had lit his face a moment before now faded into gloom.

He gazed at her gently all along, making Yang Jin's cheeks flush a soft pink. The firewood crackled in the brazier; in the lamplight-less room, only the glow of the flames flickered on their faces. In that same instant, both were bathed in a rosy glow.

In the Liang Dynasty, Food Is Heaven ranked just below Luoyang's Star Pavilion. The head chef, Yang Tiewang, was known as the Silver Spoon, but the dishes on Wang Yan's table weren't his handiwork. To taste Silver Spoon's cuisine, one had to reserve three months in advance and have enough silver on hand.

A long silence fell. Suddenly, Bai Gongsha lifted the carriage curtain and flung herself into Wang Yan's arms, only for him to toss her back inside and scold her sternly from outside.

Now that was settled: his family fortune was what others coveted. They clung to his household, refusing to leave, and the reports from Cui Miaotong were not entirely negative. Presumably, she had already accepted things in her heart.

"Why would he appear at this moment? Hadn't he vanished long ago?" Liu Neng shouted into the phone when the other party didn't respond.

The power of sun and moon must be absorbed through exchange to form a vortex within the body; if the balance tipped, Chen Tian would be instantly frozen or burned to ashes.

"You two mothers have worked hard—the dinner tonight is so lavish, I must eat a little more," Ruomeng said with a smile.

"Not bad," Zhang San remarked, seeing that Xu Qi took losing his official post in stride, and felt even more free now that he was no longer a shadow guard.

Jing Cheng, although he had gradually started taking part in politics years ago, still struggled when faced with royal family strife, particularly when conflicts arose among his own kin—he was utterly at a loss.

"Isn't that so?" Shao An said, then turned slightly aside, unconsciously avoiding the Prince of Jin's probing gaze.

"I advise you to surrender. Otherwise, your fate will be too dreadful to bear." Gazing calmly at the poised youth, the elder in the duel remained unmoved, stepping forward with a relaxed air.

Previously, when his father Ye Binglong wrote that he intended to seek justice for him, he hadn't found any like-minded companion at all.

An Ge was kissed until she moaned softly, her fingers threading into his hair, answering his kiss with abandon.

If she met him, she would unhesitatingly use Quan Mo's black card to buy Xing Nanxing a new phone.

Long Aotian didn't hear much else, but what concerned him most was Long Yan. His involvement in this plot was entirely his own doing, unrelated to the Dragon Clan. He didn't even want to think what Long Yan would do if he found out.

He Yan had no idea why Chen Heguo used those digits as her phone password, but remembering how flustered Chen Heguo had looked when she said them, it couldn't be coincidence—it must have something to do with Fu Shenxing.

Although Shi Kai didn't feel he'd said anything wrong, he was truly moved that the other party would kneel and beg for his sake.

A black shadow shot from the cave, releasing a peerlessly savage aura, as if to rend the heavens and earth asunder.

But when he tried to control Ye Lingxi, a sharp pain stabbed through his brain, and he couldn't even muster his spiritual power.

He Xuan thought to himself, forget it. As long as it boots up, that's enough. If something goes wrong, it's nothing I can't fix.

The current court was corrupt; government notes in the east changed value daily. What was worth two thousand taels today might be worth only fifteen hundred tomorrow, or even less.

A black suit jacket lay discarded on the floor, the collar of a black shirt pulled crooked and askew.