The Reticent Blade - Chapter 15 - Zhuang Zhous Butterfly Dream

Du Xiao Li, the legendary person all look up to, yet couldn’t ward off the ridiculousness of fate!

Opening her eyes once again, the steady and calm her was still shocked senseless by her own withered little hands, and the leaking and windy rat infested surroundings before her eyes.

Both parents dead, three meals uncertain, and her only property was this shabby house and a cute little big brother.

What the hell is all this!

Buying a mountain top, planting fruit trees, opening winery, fermenting fruit wine, and developing a supply chain. From then on, profits poured in from all sides, bringing along big brother to lay down a family fortune and become rich!

Making close friends, kidnapping a prince, fighting villains, a peasant daughter can also live calling the wind and rain, laughing in face of the world!

Oh? This little guy looks pretty good, come plant a fruit tree for me then! How about also set a kiddy engagement?

With the roll of his eyes, the small child, who was currently being enslaved to plant trees gave her a cool turn of his back.

One separation, several years later, seeing this tall, rich, and handsome emotionless prince tell her with an ice cold face that she and him were already engaged, and moreover have long sealed the deal with a kiss, letting her take responsibility. He really was that little handsome boy from before?!

Du Xiao Li speechlessly look to the sky: I don’t want to be a princess consort! Can I get a refund?!!

The cold face prince, with a face full of grievance: You said before that once sold, can’t be returned. A few years ago, I’ve already obediently gave myself to you. In these years I’ve always carefully obeyed your teachings, keeping myself pure for you. How can you heartlessly abandon me now?

Du Xiao Li’s jaw was about to drop to the ground: Alright then, seeing that you’re this obedient, you can come home with me!

A certain young master charmingly smiled: This husband shall comply!

- Description from Novelupdates

Three rejections. Three shattered dreams. That was Layla’s reality, all because she was different—a half-shifter in a world obsessed with purity. Ostracized, shunned, and finally sold off like a pawn to the most feared ruler alive—the Lycan King. He was ruthless, a king with a graveyard of brides, each one a ghostly reminder of a fate worse than death.Layla loathed him. Hated the way his gaze cold and fathomless, held no warmth for her. Hated how his touch, both thrilling and terrifying, sent an uninvited chill down her spine.---“I hate you!” I screamed, hands clenched so tight my knuckles ached.He sighed, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips, his tone mocking as he closed his book with a deliberate snap. “Stressed, are we?” he asked, strolling toward me, each step reminding me exactly who held the power here.“Lucky for you,” he drawled, rolling up his sleeves as he stopped just inches away, “I know exactly 70 ways to ease those nerves.” His fingers brushed my cheek, a touch that seemed to burn into my skin. “The first… a hug.” His voice dropped to a rough whisper as he leaned in, breath hot against my ear. “And the rest... well, that's 69? what do you say about that?”I swallowed hard, my heart thudding wildly as he tilted his head, waiting for me to react, that insufferable smirk still in place.“What’s the matter, darling?” he murmured, a taunt lingering in his gaze.---A Dangerous ObsessionCan she resist the pull, or will she dance into the flames of her own destruction?A dark dive into obsession, raw need, and the razor’s edge between desire and devastation.---LYCAN KING CASSIANI will tear her apart piece by piece, feeding the wildfire that grips her with each shuddered breath. Like air to flame, I’ll claim every inch, drawing heat from her skin until it sinks into her bones.Her pulse will race under my hands, her breaths shallow, pleading. Her eyes may scream, but her lips will still murmur my name. That first taste of fear will only feed something deeper—a need that burns through her veins, molten and fierce.And just when she’s too far gone to turn back, I’ll twist the knife, giving her the pain she’s learned to crave.She’ll be the moth to my flame, helpless against the very thing that will consume her.

An Hao leaped, thinking she had died, but to her surprise, when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in the year 1985. To live a second life, did she have to endure the abuse of her stepmother and stepsister again, the dislike of her mother-in-law and disdain from her sister-in-law, and the betrayal of her best friend who bravely became the other woman just to slap her in the face and climb the social ladder? Was she supposed to end her miserable life in poverty again? An Hao's answer was, “Eat! Shit! No!” She was determined to make something of herself, to get rich by capitalizing on her knowledge and aim for a well-off life. This time around, she was going to be the protective big sister who reformed her worthless little brother who had died a wretched death, and the virtuous wife to make up for her past neglect of her husband! She wouldn't let this life go to waste in despair! A malicious best friend? Coveting her man? Not a chance! Go hang out wherever it's cool! Cough cough, how did she not realize in her past life that this “Stoic King of Hell” was so indecent. Decent? You've had your fill of decency during the day.

Catching arrows, running up walls, crushing boulders and bending metal, these are but petty parlour tricks in the eyes of martial artists. But where can a genuine martial artist stand in an era where martial artists are nothing more than a myth?