MTL - Creation Notebook - Chapter 15 Crucible, dry pot?

As part of the imperial family, every move by Chu Yuan in this game of chess is made with apprehension, fearing that with a moment of inattentiveness, the whole match will be lost in a single move.

Ascending to the throne at eighteen, not half a year passes before civil strife erupts in Yun Nan. Though the thoughts of the old guard at the imperial court are not exactly identical, they are all waiting to see how the new emperor will put an end to this.

Unexpectedly, before this side could make a move, a few thousand miles away, the King of Xi Nan, Duan Bai Yue, had already personally commanded troops to attack in all directions; not half a year had passed when peace was restored.

Sparse moonlight shines into the palace; Chu Yuan stamped the wax seal himself, and had a secret letter sent urgently to Yun Nan 800 miles away — this time, what must we(1) give in exchange?

Brush marks passed through the back of the paper; it almost can be seen, when writing this line, how angry the young emperor was.

Duan Bai Yue spread out a piece of paper unhurriedly, replying with only one word.

You.

Notes:
(1): Chu Yuan is using the royal ‘we’ here.

- Description from Novelupdates

On the haunted mountain in the kingdom, they say there lived a witch.

She was born a princess. But even before her birth, the priest declared her to be cursed and demanded her death. They poisoned the mother to kill the baby before she gave birth, but the baby was born out of the dead mother—a cursed child.

Again and again, they tried to kill the baby but she miraculously survived every single attempt. Giving up, they abandoned her on the haunted mountain to die but she still survived on that barren land— A witch

‘Why won’t she die?’

Years later, the people finally had enough of the witch and decided to burn the mountain. But someone arrived to her rescue and took her with him from that burning place, because dying was not her destiny even then.

Draven Amaris.

The Black Dragon, who ruled over supernatural beings, the Devil who no one wished to cross a path with. He hated humans but this certain human girl would pull him towards her whenever she was in danger.

‘Is she really a human?’

The devil named this mysteriously tenacious girl “Ember”, a piece of glowing coal in a dying fire.

This is a tale of the man who brings death and the girl who denies it.

For his sake, she was willing to abandon her career as the best actress and be his wife. With her own network, money and unscrupulous methods, she helped him rise to the top of the world. He, on the other hand, held another woman in his embrace and kicked her away with no mercy. It turned out that all he ever wanted was her rare blood type, her six-month-old child’s cord blood. It was her life… When she opened her eyes again, she returned to her 20-year-old self. Time repeated and her life rewound. In this life, she would live well.

Dong Xi transmigrated, but she was neither the female lead nor the villainess, but a tragic side character in a book. Even though she was a proper rich daughter, her mother used her as a substitute for her youngest sister, and sent her to train as a cultivator at the top cultivator sect in the world. Though she was initiated at eight years old and trained for eight years, she was talentless and didn’t have much experience. Eventually, her younger sister was recruited because of her outstanding talent, while Dong Xi was banished after it was revealed that she was just a substitute.

After that, someone caught her, imprisoned her, and tormented her for two years just because she was attractive. Though she was rescued by a senior disciple from the cultivator sect, it turned out that he did it to avenge her younger sister, and tortured her to death. When Dong Xi transmigrated, it was just after she was initiated and began life as a cultivator. She decided that she would do her best, improve her cultivation, and survive! Eating? Sleeping? All that was a waste of time! If there was a cultivator who practiced sword cultivation a thousand times per day, she would do two thousand!

Eight years later, when her younger sister was recruited for her talent, Dong Xi promptly packed her bags and left, leaving the cultivator sect panicking and wondering who had taken her away! Su Cheng, the most powerful demon lord: Who dares harm my beloved wife?! This means war! Dong Xi, still running away: What? Who are you? Su Cheng: Don’t you remember the snake you counted stars with years ago, beloved?