Shadow Monarch's Requiem - Chapter 26: The Phantom’s Descent

Xu Shulou dreams she’s a character in a bizarre storybook.The male lead is Long Aotian, a man with a “Dragon Overlord” script: treasures fall into his lap, beauties vie for his heart.The first heroine is his delicate junior apprentice sister. The second, the Demon Sect’s saintess. The third… the fourth…Where does Xu Shulou rank? She flips through the plot and realizes—despite being Long Aotian’s official fiancée, she’s nothing but a disposable pawn.In the story, her sect elders dote on her fragile junior sister.“Shulou, yield this treasure to your sister. She’s weaker and needs it more.”“Shulou, don’t be unreasonable. Your gentle sister deserves care.”Even Long Aotian prefers the junior sister. He’s a flirtatious mess, forcing Xu Shulou to compete with other women, her jealousy twisting her into a villain. Meanwhile, the junior sister blossoms into a pristine lotus.But Xu Shulou refuses to play along.When the script demands she and her junior sister be kidnapped, Long Aotian saves the “weaker” girl, saying, “Shulou, you’re stronger—you’ll understand.”In reality? Long Ao Tian arrives just in time to see Xu Shulou slaughter the villains, scoop her sister into her arms, and vanish into the sky—without sparing him a glance.When demons attack, the story expects Long Aotian to leave his fiancée and lovers in the sect’s care. The elders protect only the junior sister, letting Xu Shulou be humiliated.In reality? The elders sneer: “Our senior sister dominates the cultivation world. Why would we need you to worry about her?”When the story’s Long Aotian coaxes the Demon Saintess into betraying her clan for him…In reality, the Saintess timidly asks Xu Shulou: “You’re a righteous heroine. I’m a hunted demon. Why would you want to befriend me?”In the script, Xu Shulou claws at other women in jealous rage.In reality, she’d rather live in peace—until Long Aotian pushes too far. Then she draws her sword.In the story, Long Aotian reigns supreme, surrounded by beauties.In reality, Xu Shulou steals his allies, hoards his treasures, and occasionally beats him up—while he sulks.“My sword saves the world and shields the innocent. It’s not for fighting over men.”“See? Dreams lie. I’m the one holding the Dragon Overlord script.”

Fengyu loved gold, silver, and jewels more than anything. Her greatest dream was to eat, drink, and enjoy life as a salted fish. Her fiancé was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial exams, handsome as the legendary Pan An. Her salted fish life was perfectly complete.Her husband was poor? No problem, she was rich!But who would have thought that the winds of fate would shift, causing her soul to transmigrate into the body of Xie Xun, a dashing and rebellious young marquis, even making him lose a leg due to her. To survive on the battlefield, the salted fish had to turn over and rise, learning horseback riding, archery, and military strategy. The young marquis, bearing her face, caused chaos everywhere. Her fiancé, deeming her wild and foolish, broke off their engagement.She got engaged, and he reneged. She made money, and he squandered it. Her mountains of gold and silver were all emptied by him, and the two became locked in a love-hate relationship. Gradually, the plot started to go off the rails.The ex-fiancé, after breaking off the engagement, regretted it and confessed his deep love.Fengyu: I've already fallen for someone else.A scheming girl at the archery range tried to kill her, only for Fengyu to stab herself instead.Fengyu: What to do now? It looks like you've committed murder.Her parents, who had defended the borders for decades, returned home only to say, “Daughter, go follow the young marquis and start a rebellion!”How did the originally carefree salted fish storyline turn into one of a villain rising?In the end…Raising a husband turned out to be a money pit, but the husband was certainly worth it!A sickly schemer hiding their true nature (Fengyu) vs. A dashing but cunning strategist (Xie Xun)

Adeline Smith's life took a sudden and dangerous turn when her grandmother’s will named her as the sole heir to her massive fortune, leaving her uncle with nothing. But the rules that came with the inheritance only made her a target, as her uncles would stop at nothing to claim what they believed should have been theirs.When one of her uncle’s murderous schemes left her gravely wounded and on the edge of death, she was found by Enzo Laureati, an annoying, yet breathtakingly handsome man. What she did not know was that Enzo was no ordinary man—he was a vampire prince who had abandoned his world and royal duties to live among humans just for fun.The moment he saw Adeline, he knew she was his mate, as his heart that had remained dormant for hundreds of years suddenly began beating. But despite knowing what she meant to him, he felt no love or attachment toward her.Out of curiosity, Enzo saved Adeline’s life and proposed an unusual deal: he would become her fake fiancé, help her expose her uncles for trying to murder her, and secure her inheritance. But he didn't propose this deal because he wanted to help her, but because he was simply bored. Adeline agreed, unaware of the chaos that was about to come her way.At first, their partnership was nothing more than a random deal. Living with Enzo wasn’t easy, as he was infuriatingly confident, annoyingly flirty, and had a knack for driving her crazy with his nonchalant attitude.When Adeline finally discovers who Enzo truly is, will she see him as a monster or the man who had always protected her from her uncles? And will Enzo be able to embrace their mate bond, or will secrets tear them apart?(PS: I'm not sure if one would consider this novel slow burn, but the REAL romance between my MC and ML begins at chapter 74.) Thank you so much for supporting my book!

This was a fragmented and disorganized world, this was a place that had been forgotten.