Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty - Chapter 86: Strange Village (03)

«Until death do us part.»That was our vow.And she kept it... by driving her sword through my chest.I was a hero. A symbol. The one chosen by the gods to free humanity.I fought for her. For us.But in the end, it wasn’t the demons who killed me.It was the woman I loved.Helena betrayed me.I fell with my heart shattered and my blood burning between my fingers.But death wasn’t the end.I woke up in another body, in another world...No, not exactly.I woke up inside the very story she wrote.And now, I am Daven von Riesenhart:the bastard son of a marquess, a noble outcast with a name no one respects, and a life I never asked for.I no longer believe in ideals, in gods, or in happy endings.I won’t fight for others.I won’t die for anyone.This time, I’ll live only for myself.And if surviving means deceiving, betraying, or destroying...so be it.Even if it makes me the villain of this story.

Thousands of years ago, the great abilities of the three teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Demonism decided on a place for becoming immortal. Three thousand years ago, a Taoist was close to becoming immortal. Three hundred years ago, the Daqian Dynasty was established, and chaos is expected in another three hundred years. In this era, the path to immortality opens; a celestial swordsman freezes fourteen states with one sword, a heavenly Daoist maiden seeks eternal life, a naturally born Holy Son claims to be invincible, and a Buddhist Holy Monk saves all sentient beings.Gu Wen lives as a beggar, enters a household as a servant, witnessing the disordered world, drifting aimlessly.In a world filled with divine beings, he alone is a mortal.However, a lowly origin is not a disgrace; striving through the grand path, even as a common man and mundane son, he can still be the foremost in the world.“Mortal Gu Wen, my Dao is euqaling the heavens!”

After a god screws up and accidentally takes high schooler Shou’s life, he offers him reincarnation with a gift to make up for it. Shou asks to retain all his old memories for the new life. Shou is reborn as Will, a noble’s son in a world where magic use is common and involves knowledge of kanji characters. With all his memories, he’s a brilliant toddler, and when he experiments with magic, he finds that he has an amazing talent for it! What’s more, though he was smart but unloved in his old life, in his new life he has a mother and a father who both love him deeply. His future as Will is looking very bright and cool!

In the first episode, Little Palace Maid Lian Hua, holding tea leaves, thought to curry favor with Zhaoyi. The Emperor intercepted her halfway, and before she could react, he hijacked her tea leaves, leaving her bewildered.In the second episode, she wanted to curry favor with the Noble Consort. During the Noble Consort's birthday feast, she hadn't even presented the meticulously prepared tea leaves before the Emperor seized them, leaving her aggrieved.In the third episode, she had just sneaked out with the Palace Maids to pick bamboo shoots, planning to go back and cook something delicious when the Emperor burst out of nowhere wanting to freeload a meal. If it wasn't tasty, he would punish her, she managed to barely pass muster by exerting all her energy. Before she could feel relieved, the Emperor told her he was also staying to sleep!This time, he was thoroughly taking advantage of her, enjoying free food and lodging without the slightest intention of rewarding her.At night, the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. All the silver she had saved up in earlier years had been used to sustain the Emperor. Now that the money was gone, she feared being punished for not being able to support him in the future. The more she thought, the sadder she got, her tears plopping down, which woke the Emperor sleeping beside her.In a flurry, the Emperor consoled her, “There, there, don't cry, don't cry. I haven't even had time to reward you, how could I punish you!”After much consoling, and finally with his promise to provide for her sustenance, she turned her tears into laughter.The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. This Little Concubine would need to be favored properly from now on—he dared not make her cry again.→→【This story has concluded, thank you for reading】→→New book recommendation:“Consort of the Roll-Royce is Here, Run!”—It's a good read! Please add it to your favorites.