Return of the Legendary Hunter - Chapter 85 - Present (1)

A Deadly Secret, also translated as Requiem of Ling Sing and Secret of the Linked Cities, is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first published in the magazine Southeast Asia Weekly (東南亞周刊) and the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao in 1963. Its original Chinese title was Su Xin Jian before Jin Yong changed it to Lian Cheng Jue. The story revolves around the adventures of the protagonist Di Yun, an ordinary young peasant, who is imprisoned after being framed. In his quest for vengeance, he accidentally acquires the Liancheng Swordplay manual (連城劍谱), an ancient artifact not only prized for the skills detailed inside, but also for containing a secret leading to a treasure.

*Slow Burn Historical Fantasy Novel*

Elise had about to change into the dress that was lying on the corner of her bed when she heard a knock lightly calling from her door. Curious, she turned the door knob only to have a tall man towering in front of her.

“Master Ian!” She called.

Ian smiled with the usual mischievous smirk that he always used. His crimson eyes trailing a little over her room and spotted the black dress over her bed and shifted his eyes over to the woman in front of him. He stepped forward and spoke. “Where did you acquire that dress?”

“Mr. Harland gave it to me.” Elise replied and strained her neck to see Ian’s brows knitted in its elegance.

“Do you know why a man would love to give a woman a dress?” He gave the riddle that she always had to think twice before replying. But this time, she found no answer and instead shook her head. “I don’t know.”

His grin grew bewitching as though something had stirred deep inside the scarlet eyes that he had. He slowly slid his hand over the collar of her dress, sending a cold shiver that startled her for a moment due to its freezing temperature. After unbuttoning the first two buttons on her collar, he tilted his head down, whispering to her ears. “Because they want to be the one to undress the cloth.”

He paused and kissed her neck, turning the pale skin to red before retracting his move to fix his eyes on her and leisurely replied. “Unfortunately, you can’t wear the dress over there with this.” He chuckled and passed a box over to her hand. “And the fortunate news is I prepared a dress for you.”

Elise was a cursed little girl who could see ghosts. Her family hated her and threw her from one adoptive family to another. However, misfortune didn't act alone. When she was brought up by her aunt, she was sold as a slave. When she had thought she would become nothing but a sacrifice to the sorcerer, she was saved by a man whose identity was far different than a normal mythical being.

In her past life, Wan Chuo was unruly, taking a white lotus as her best friend, infuriated her mother to death, mistreated her in-laws, aborted her child, and ended up being despised by everyone, turning herself into a rotten wild flower.Heaven granted her a second chance, and this time she is determined to rip apart the facade of the white lotus.Hey, you there, in this life I planned to stay far away from you, not to wreak havoc on your family, so why are you sticking so close, what are you trying to do?!

“My unrequited love is over.” Compared to my perfect older brother, I, Ha Giyeon, was endlessly lacking. My first love and my last love—every single one of them were my brother’s friends. What I got in return for pouring all my affection into them were cold, violent words of rejection. Then came the thunderbolt: I wasn’t even their real son. My family, whose love I desperately sought, kicked me out of the house. Even though I scraped by doing hard labor, it didn’t feel like living. Then came the sudden car accident. Right before dying, I regretted everything and begged— That if I ever got to live again, I would never give my love to the family who scorned and discriminated against me, nor to the brothers who tormented me under the pretense of affection. I would live a life that was truly my own. And as if it were a lie, in the winter of my 17th year, Ha Giyeon returned. As Ha Giyeon began to change, so too did the family and the brothers who had once trampled him…