Talisman Emperor - Chapter 2015: Chen Baling

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.

In her past life, Xia Chu lost her virginity before marriage and was scorned by her family as a wanton woman, forced to marry an old widower with a limp. Her aunt and mother died one after another because of her. Fleeing alone to the south to work, she suffered a hard life and eventually died tragically at the hands of a scoundrel.Reborn, she is determined to protect those who love her and those she loves, to rewrite destiny. Those who framed her, she will make them suffer the consequences; those who forced her, she will make them kneel and beg for mercy; and those who killed her, she will make them wish they were dead!By the way, that tall, stoic man with good looks, loyalty, and skills, I might as well marry you since you’ve got it all.

To win a grand prize of five million, Chen Xixi signed up for a variety show called 'Saving Battle'.As the show began, other guests were scrimping and saving by eating the cheapest instant noodles or even starving. But Chen Xixi got a pound of eggs for free during a pharmacy event and even managed to score ten free lunches!The internet exclaimed: This lady really knows how to freeload!While other participants were too thrifty to buy cosmetics, Chen Xixi managed to have makeup without spending a dime.The internet responded: When it comes to saving money by freeloading, Chen Xixi is the master!Other guests obsessed over how to spend their money most effectively, meanwhile Chen Xixi was leisurely enjoying free afternoon tea!The internet complained: Darn it! Chen Xixi's not spending a cent, yet lives better than all of us!To save money, the other guests decided to beg at the train station. In contrast, Chen Xixi became a middleman and made a profit!In the end, all the guests were shocked by Chen Xixi's bank balance: Damn it! Not only does she freeload and pinch pennies, but how on earth is her money multiplying?!...Every time Chen Xixi freeloading, she found herself reluctantly signing up for memberships that not only led to an onslaught of spam messages and calls but also posed a risk of personal information leakage.Then she thought of the spam text that was blocked by the anti-fraud app, why not leave the scammer's number active!...At Zhongjing Group.Zhou Jingyuan was silently suffering from the barrage of spam texts and nuisance calls every day....Later on, Zhou Jingyuan's nephew pointed at the woman on the computer screen, saying: 'Uncle, this is your future niece-in-law.'Zhou Jingyuan replied: 'That's your aunt.'

“You will be my wife one day.” Declared Liu Jun - the handsome and wealthy young master to his beloved childhood friend. He vowed to marry her at all costs. But that vow made him a villain. The woman he desired didn't return his love. Crazy and heartbroken, he crashed into her wedding, who was going to marry the love of her life, Liu Jin, unfortunately his own younger brother. Circumstances took a drastic turn, leaving him with only one choice to pay for his sins - His death. But fate gave him another chance. Liu Jun was reborn. In this new life, he chose to let go of his love and start anew. He discarded his villain's identity and closed his heart forever. But a new encounter and new troubles come knocking on his door with the secrets of his past life that even he doesn't know. Will the villainous Mr. Liu find his happy ending this time? *Excerpt* Ai said, “I forgot to clarify something. It seems you have a misunderstanding that I am interested in you because I stared at you.” Jun blinked once. “Rest assured that's not the case. I won't look at you that way. You are not my type.”