Desolate Era - Book 2, Chapter 9 - The Traceless Talisman

Somebody once told a joke.A man ran in place all his life. He worked a job he didn't love for people he couldn't stand. But at the end of the day, the number in his bank account went up.That man got a second chance at life. He woke up in another world, full of adventures and romances and monsters and gods. And floating above his head he saw the number “1”. So what did he say?“Gosh I better make the number go up.”Not today. Not for this old soul. Reborn as a beast of battle meant to live a short life and die screaming, Garek refuses. He puts the madness of skills and levels behind him and sets out to found a little farmstead. He grows crops. Maybe someday he'll get a pig, and have bacon.It's a shame the world won't let him be. It's a shame that the warmongers and level-grinders hate nothing more than a soul at peace.He put down his sword for a plowshare, but when trouble comes calling, he'll pick it up again.

Mo Yan was an illegitimate child of a rich family and was arranged by her mother to take the place of her sister in marriage to a poor man in order to fulfill the marriage contract set by the previous generation, allowing the Mo family to get their hands on that substantial dowry.

Learning crude martial arts had always made Fourth Miss Zhu the laughingstock of Beijing’s elite families. In their eyes, such skills were fit only for common bodyguards.Yet Zhu Changle, who considered herself invincible, felt no shame. On the contrary, she took pride in her abilities.Not everyone could protect their own household, but she could! And exceptionally well at that! She’d even dare to turn the whole of Beijing upside down for the sake of her family’s estate!Don’t believe it? Just try her!

In the city of Graheel, a small antique shop sits quietly mixed in with all the other shops. Its unassuming appearance is easily overlooked by many. However, this store and its owner has a terrible secret. A devil lives in that building. The owner of the store, John Li, an enigmatic figure whose origins and intentions are unknown. The desperate from around the world, often unknowingly, come to him in search of salvation.A red witch thinks the owner is an ancient creature, a white fox calls him a wizard of eld, a warrior believes him to be a spirit, and a holy woman declares him a god. This mysterious individual and his customers would stand at the center of a strange series of events. From the store owner John's perspective, he has no idea what's going on. He really was just an unlucky dude that got caught up in some crazy stuff.