Unfilial disciple, do not ruin your master's dream of ascension and peaceful life.

Xin Wenyue doesn't know if her life so far can be considered happy.

Her father is an entrepreneur whose specialty is exploiting people's blood and sweat; her mother is a well-known lawyer whose specialty is distorting the truth.

She had witnessed her father use his power to silence the family members of employees who died in workplace accidents, and she had also seen her mother spread rumors and slander people for money. Both of them were thorough and extreme pragmatists and socialites, fawning on their superiors and bullying their subordinates, and desperately trying to squeeze into the upper echelons of society.

She felt disgusted by it, but she also knew that she, who was raised by her parents and spent their money, had no right to criticize anything.

Born into such a wealthy family, with no worries about food or clothing and a bright future, this starting point already puts her ahead of 99.9999% of children. Precisely because of this, she doesn't know if such a lucky person like herself has the right to say things like, "My father is a scumbag, my mother is a scumbag, I am not happy at all, I hate this family."

She entered a prestigious public high school with the highest score in the city on her middle school entrance exam, instead of going to the elite school arranged by her parents. She also didn't follow their plans to study abroad; instead, she took the college entrance exam and entered Haikou University of Science and Technology with excellent grades. At the time, she thought this was a rebellion against her predetermined life, and even felt smug about it. Looking back now, it was just naive wishful thinking.

That's too naive.

(The dinner party... to put it bluntly, was just a way to force me to join the circle of those rich young masters...)

Her parents were desperate to break into the real upper class, so they not only built their careers but also cultivated connections, and their beautiful daughter was naturally one of their assets. So far, she had either skipped these dinners using schoolwork as an excuse or deliberately stirred things up, but her parents' patience had reached its limit, and she knew she couldn't escape this time.

"well……"

Xin Wenyue lay alone on the large but lifeless bed, recalling everything that had happened yesterday. She still felt a sense of unreality, her mind still foggy.

(What exactly happened... How is Qianmo now?)

Qianmo is her best friend since high school. She cherishes this pure friendship without any impurities, even though her parents look down on Qianmo, a girl from a humble background with no mother, no money, and no connections. They believe that their daughter should focus her energy on getting to know "more worthwhile people to befriend".

As for Qianmo's brother, Qianjing?

He was the only man she had ever secretly loved since she was a child.

During his high school years, Qian Jing was absolutely radiant. He was handsome, academically gifted, had a great personality, and was an all-around athlete—the epitome of a school heartthrob straight out of a female-oriented novel. Countless girls were infatuated with him, including Xin Wenyue, who even had the opportunity to take advantage of her best friend's relationship to win his heart.

Originally, she planned to ask Qianmo to matchmake her and Qianjing after she entered university, so that they could establish themselves in academia with their extraordinary talents, break free from their parents' control, create a beautiful story, and eventually get married...

As it turned out, this beautiful vision was flawed from the very first step.

Qianjing suddenly changed his mind.

She was always up to no good, skipping classes to play games was commonplace for her, and she didn't participate in any activities. Suddenly, she became the kind of person that she, who had always been diligent and hardworking, hated the most.

The girl's dream was shattered just like that.

That's how it should be.

But why has she recently developed different feelings for Qianjing again?

(I don't understand this at all, can someone teach me...)

As sleepiness crept in, her consciousness gradually became hazy. In her daze, she seemed to hear a conversation that was both familiar and strange.

------

"Qianjing, Qianjing, why is he called Qianjing?"

"The character '阡' can mean a path in the fields or a tomb passage, and '景' naturally means 'scenery.' So, his honorific title probably means 'scenery leading to the tomb.'"

"But the character 'Jing' as a posthumous title can also be interpreted as 'spreading righteousness and acting with integrity,' so perhaps his name could also be interpreted as 'facing death head-on, spreading righteousness and acting with integrity'?"

"Perhaps it doesn't have any special meaning; it's just that his surname is Qian and his given name is Jing."

"Possibly, but interpreting it as 'the view leading to the grave' would probably be more fitting for him."

Why?

"Because, don't you think he looks lonely?"

------

Who is speaking?

Are you talking about Qianjing?

She opened her eyes groggily, got up from the bamboo bed, took out a dagger from under her pillow, and silently climbed out the window.

The place where they landed was covered with insect tentacles, and sticky larvae crawled between the tentacles. The female cultivator, who was connected to the giant cockroaches above and below, crawled around on all fours with her back arched. The male cultivator, whose seven orifices were oozing maggot tentacles, danced in the moonlight.

She drew her dagger and fought the swarming insects, severing tentacles, cutting off limbs, gouging out compound eyes, and chopping off heads. Human blood mingled with insect pus. Blood, blood, blood, blood everywhere—it was terrifying, so horrible, so terrifying, so…scary, isn't it?

Is it scary?

It doesn't seem like there's anything scary about it.

The warm, sticky feeling of blood droplets splashing on her hands even evoked a sense of nostalgia in her.

The sensation of a dagger severing flesh is even somewhat reassuring.

You foolish people of the Nine Heavens Palace, this is the fate that befell you for daring to tamper with forbidden communication with extraterrestrial demons. You deserve it; the more the merrier, and none of you are allowed to hinder my love—

"Ughh ...

Xin Wenyue woke up with a start. The glaring sunlight shone through the curtains onto her face; it was already the next morning.

She lifted her pajamas and touched herself; she was covered in cold sweat. She couldn't quite remember what she saw in her dream, only that it was a terrible nightmare.

With neither her parents home, they spent all their free time at various social events trying to make a name for themselves. There was a message on her phone from her mother, a notification about the Liu family attending dinner that evening, asking her to check it beforehand. But she didn't want to see it at all and secretly deleted it.

There were no exams today, and she wasn't really in the mood to study, so she got up, quickly washed up, and went out.

She wanted to change her mood.

Xin Wenyue has a hobby of petting cats, which her parents disapprove of, believing that cats and dogs are useless except for spreading fleas and toxoplasmosis. So she never tells her parents when she goes to a cat cafe.

She usually goes with her best friend Qianmo, but today Qianmo was busy with exams, so she had to go alone.

She took the subway to Xiaxi Road, a popular spot for young people. The area was bustling with students about to start their summer vacation. She instinctively reached out to hold her best friend's hand but found nothing.

(Shopping alone...it's a little lonely.)

Thinking this, she felt a little regretful; going to pet the cat alone always felt a bit lonely.

However, as she passed the street corner, she encountered an unexpected person.

"……Why?"

"what?"

Qianjing, carrying a large bag of potato chips and cola, stared at her blankly.