The Outergod's Avatar - Chapter 20: Health Check

As long as the land is square, Yan Bicheng should divide the world into four parts.
The dark organization “Ruyimen” has abducted children for many years, trained them as assassin agents, and sent them to the families of various countries for use in order to collect a lot of secrets, and gradually extended their evil hands to the court.
Feng Xiaoya, the favored minister of the King of Yan, suffers from bone melting disease. She is unparalleled in her “sickness and beauty”. For some reason, she abandons the eleventh wife, Qiu Jiang, and puts her under house arrest in the mountains. Qiu Jiang, who has forgotten his past, fled alone on a stormy night. After several twists and turns, on the way back, he met Yi Fei, the third prince of Cheng who was in trouble in a foreign land.
One wants to regain memory, the other wants to regain the throne. The two people who are incompatible with each other walk side by side towards Cheng in a bloody storm… but they find that the Ruyi Gate, which has been entrenched in Chengjing for a hundred years like a poisonous snake, seems to have undergone an unknown shock… …
The situation of the Four Kingdoms is back, and there is only one goal – to eradicate the evil organization Ruyimen!
However, as Qiu Jiang’s memory slowly recovered, a unparalleled secret finally surfaced…
Mrs. Ruyi, who is it? There is another mystery behind Ji Ying’s death?
What is the purpose of this return journey after a narrow escape, and where does it go?

- Description from novelbuddy

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.

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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?

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Su Yan had been crushing on Wei Zhou for seven years, only becoming his wife after an accident. Everyone mocked her about her luck, claimed she had married above her station, ridiculed her, and ostracized her. But Su Yan didn’t care. Her seven-year crush had finally blossomed and she felt only bliss. Yet, Wei Zhou had thought she was a scheming woman who used underhanded tactics to win his hand. It was all a misunderstanding! Su Yan tried to explain but Wei Zhou wouldn’t believe her. Eventually, Su Yan stopped trying, believing that time would prove it all. One day, Wei Zhou was on the tabloids, rumored to be having an affair with a female celebrity. Su Yan sought an explanation from him. So long as he explained, she would believe him. But Wei Zhuo never explained. He merely answered coldly, “Just behave as Mrs. Wei and mind your own business.” Mind her own business? Su Yan laughed. Looking back, how much of a fool had she been to assume she could melt his iron heart? Any blazing passion would eventually die out from indifference until nothing was left. Su Yan then realized. She was rich, beautiful, and had a great body. Why must she waste her efforts on a heartless blockhead like Wei Zhou? Su Yan dragged Wei Zhou to the Civil Affairs Bureau to separate their union. From now on, whoever they dated had nothing to do with the other! After their divorce, Su Yan went back to being herself. Excellent as she already was, Su Yan unleashed her dazzling light upon the world once more. Then, once every few days, Wei Zhou would see gossip about his ex-wife on the trending searches. Yesterday, she was having a candlelight dinner with a movie star, today, she had brought home a young hunk to engage in passionate romance?! Wei Zhou threw his phone on the floor. “To hell with your passionate romance! That’s my woman!” Surrounded by gorgeous men and enjoying her life, Su Yan asked, “Mister, who are you?”

「Shimizu-san, you dyed your hair black.」「Ah, yes.」「Why did you dye it all of a sudden?」「Because…yesterday…」Shimizu-san, who sat next to me and had dyed her hair from blonde to black gradually lowered her voice, slightly blushed, and laid her face down on the desk.