Purgatory Artist - Chapter 404: The Walker, the Clown, and the Knight

The person who was locked away inside the thorn-covered tower was not a princess, but a witch who employed the powers of darkness.

A brave young hero came searching for the tower in order to kill the witch.

– Light would force the darkness to recede, and grant it eternal rest

The witch wished.

That things would end with, ‘and the hero lived happily ever after killing the witch,’ like in the fairy tales.

And so, she had devised everything to happen in accordance to her wishes.

But the boy, who had grown up in but no time at all, would make the unfamiliar face of man’s from time to time.

“You want me to kill you? ……Do you really think I’ll let you go?”

Reality was very different from the fairy tales.

“The people don’t know of the precious treasure locked away in the tower.

I won’t let anyone else have this god given treasure, this crown of god surrounded by thorns that no one else could recognize.”

The hero gave the witch a slow and deep kiss.

“I am the true victor, and no one else.”

You are the ruler, I am a subject, you want loyalty, I’ll give you loyalty. You are the ruler, I am the subject, you want my sacrifice, I will sacrifice for you. This lifetime, we’ll only be ruler and subject…… cannot become the one who accompanies you to experience everything.

A deposed empress, a failure of a substitute. Charging into battle, he was the emperor, and she, his general. But within the intimacy of their military tent, he was her husband, and she, his wife.

But everything was star-crossed. For the one he loved the most, he would push her into hell again and again.

- Description from Novelupdates

She comes from the top of Zhongshan Mountain, she is covered with frost and snow, she is unparalleled in beauty, but she has no talent for “love”, and she likes nothing more than a cup of tea in her life, watching the excitement.

It is said that she was young and ill-fated, with a weird personality, but in fact, she can also be obedient and docile, with a smile like a flower.

It is said that she has a mean tongue, arrogant and rude, but in fact, she can also smile sweetly and be gentle and amiable.

but–

She… is… is… no, happy, willing!

Until that day, she met a boy.

Half of the city is full of wind and moon and half of the city is snow. All the scenery in her life are brilliant because of him.

…

- Description from novelbuddy

Li Wei lived a dull, overworked life—until destiny (or a rogue truck) intervened, catapulting him into a world of mystical cultivators and deadly power struggles. Waking up in the body of Li Wei, the infamous and lazy heir of the Immortal Ice Sect, he finds himself in a precarious position: surrounded by enemies, burdened by a reputation for arrogance, and targeted for assassination. The only thing worse than inheriting this life? Realizing his new body’s cultivation potential is off the charts... if only the previous owner hadn’t been an idle narcissist.With the sect matriarch as his coldly disappointed mother, a stoic yet dangerously competent protector in the ice-cold beauty Leng Yue, and a mysterious “Young Master System” pushing him toward reckless behavior, Li Wei must balance survival with ambition. Every quest forces him to embrace the absurdities of an over-the-top cultivation world—whether humiliating enemies or accumulating riches—while concealing his true identity as a transmigrator.But as he’s exiled from the safety of his sect and thrown into the chaotic world below, Li Wei quickly learns that charisma, cunning, and a knack for manipulation might be even deadlier than swordsmanship. After all, why fight fair when you can command, deceive, and dominate?With ancient relics, feuding clans, and dangerous beauties complicating his journey, Li Wei's rise through the cultivation ranks is anything but conventional. What starts as a quest for survival may just become a path to unstoppable power... assuming his outrageous system quests don’t get him killed first.Will Li Wei overcome his past’s shameful legacy, outsmart his enemies, and become the true master of his destiny—or will his laziness, scheming rivals, and shameless arrogance bring him to ruin?