A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands - Chapter 30Book 2: : Fated Reunion

“Welcome aboard the Dimensional Rift game exclusive train. This train will depart from the Level E Departure Station and head to Level D stations. Please ensure your safety while boarding in an orderly manner and abide by the train rules.”“The train rules are as follows:”“1. Do not bring non-game items onto the train. (Underwear is the exception)”“2. Consumption is mandatory. (All train staff are unpaid volunteers)”“3. Do not turn on the lights after they are out. (Except for those who are exceptionally talented and courageous)”“Additionally, the train encourages various leisure activities such as sneak attacks, brawling, and predation. Players are free to choose.”“We wish you a pleasant journey.”

The world is full of mysteries. Strange, seemingly unexplainable events occur more often than we may realize. A young boy may catch an illness no doctor can explain. An office may catch fire for no apparent reason. And perhaps, someone may die a sudden and unexpected death – their bodies blighted beyond recognition.

Some might believe that these events are merely freak accidents.

However, Ye Shaoyang knows otherwise.

The youngest inner disciple ever in the prestigious Daoist Maoshan Sect. Talented, handsome, and a hillbilly from the mountains who still uses a brick phone in the modern age.

Follow the tale of our quirky, snippy, but honorable hero, after he finally descends the mountains after fifteen years of being out of touch with normal society. Read on as he combats horrifying apparitions, charms ladies, and finds himself in all sorts of trouble along the way!

A story that delves into Daoism, Chinese sorcery, and the supernatural from Asian mythology.

- Description from Novelupdates

No one is optimistic about the marriage between the most respectable man in Yun Cheng and the most disfavored daughter of the Mu family.

'Nina?'The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.Me? Not so lucky.The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.“Why did you do that?” she kept asking, over and over. “Why would you do that?”I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.“Kofi, stay with me, okay?” she was saying. “You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming.”