MTL - The Job of an Imperial Concubine - ~ 8 heart attack (catching insects)

All Chu Lian had done was to read a book where the female lead had cheated on her wonderful husband. While wondering why, before she knew it, she was waking up in the body of that very same female lead!

Wait, did that mean the handsome husband from the book was hers now? Chu Lian decided to welcome him with open arms!

However, what she got wasn’t the kind husband she had been expecting. Instead, his personality seemed to have been completely flipped! He left her all alone on their wedding night… and just five days into their marriage, her dear husband abandoned his loving wife and left to enlist in the army!

Fine! Be that way! She could pass her days perfectly well somehow, even if she had to do it alone!

Chu Lian put her household in order, charmed the rest of her new family, and did a little business on the side. She even opened up some new trade routes! Her days passed peacefully and leisurely… Until her dear husband got into trouble at the frontline of the war.

Hmph, isn’t he crawling back to me for help in the end? Forget it, I’ll go save him myself!

In a world ravaged by fiend beasts and spatial rifts, humans fight back using “”Soul Contracts”” to tame these creatures, turning them into protective spirit animals. Amidst this chaos, Zhou Mu, born with inadequate soul intensity and physical prowess, struggles to become an esteemed Animal Whisperer.With only a low-tier grass snake as his spirit animal and limited chances to pass the Whisperer’s test, Zhou Mu’s future looks bleak. However, an unexpected twist comes with the discovery of a mysterious system that allows him to trade personal attributes for power. As he navigates this new potential, Zhou Mu faces the challenge of overcoming his limitations and rising to power in a world where strength determines one’s fate.

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

=========================================

I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

……………………………………………………………

Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

A ritual gone wrong gave him the world's deadliest Class—now all he wants is blood.Zeth stole the most powerful ritual magic in the world from a mad cultist. A Class that's fueled by the blood of his enemies and human sacrifice. One that's illegal to use, punishable by gruesome death. And now that he has it, he's faced with a choice: hide away for the rest of his life from those who would hunt him down, or embrace the power, becoming the hunter to get revenge on the murderer that stole his friends' lives.For Zeth, that's no choice at all.His enemies have to die. And he plans to use every drop of blood, eldritch ritual, and demonic summoning he can to kill them.