Deep into the night, past midnight, a black two-wheeled carriage left Great Hill, heading towards Longbone Street.
Diane, wishing to be swallowed by the darkness, tightly wrapped herself in a black cloak and stepped out of the carriage. The back alley of the slum, obscured by clouds even from the moonlight, was eerily quiet.
Before she could knock, the door opened from inside. Diane quietly entered, and the door closed firmly behind her, obscuring the light seeping through the windows.
The old wooden frames of doors and windows rattled noisily in the wind, as if a storm was brewing by the sea. It was a desolate night.
As Diane stepped inside, she wrinkled her nose and frowned, assaulted by a strong scent of vinegar.
“Trying to brighten up these trinkets. Here, this way.”
The man cleared the table of shoddy jewels and vinegar plates and gestured with his chin towards a chair.
“Where’s the item?”
“You’re in such a rush.”
The man, revealing his yellowed teeth, went behind the workbench and returned with a small bundle.
“Here.”
Unwrapping the cloth, he laid out its contents on the table. Being made of glass, they were more delicate than the real jewels and needed even more careful handling.
“How’s that? Satisfied?”
His long scar twitched as he grinned maliciously. Diane’s lips also curled into a smile, looking at the replicated sapphire ring.
She picked up the ring with her gloved hand and examined it in the light. It was exquisitely made, surpassing her expectations. Even a princess, accustomed to seeing and handling precious jewels, would find it hard to distinguish these replicas.
She had never doubted they would be hers.
This thought, like a sharp knife piercing her heart, brought a painful and bitter sensation. All because of Olivia Blanchett, that foolish bastard.
The thought of all these misdeeds being exposed and blamed on that wretched thing made her feel slightly better.
“Finish these within two days.”
Without further praise, Diane gathered the items, picking up the bag that she had placed on her lap.
Suddenly, a thud sounded. Startled, Diane dropped the bag. A gust of wind through the door gap made the candle inside the glass cover flicker.
Their shadows wavered on the walls like ghosts. Then, as the wind stopped, an eerie silence fell.
“What was that noise?”
Diane’s voice trembled slightly.
“It’s probably the lady falling off the bed again. Don’t worry about it.”
The man grinned and tried to play it off, placing the bag she had dropped back on the table.
He was about to open the bag when another, louder thud came from the back of the house.
“What’s with her today.”
The man scratched his thigh, dismissing the noise nonchalantly.
“That noise didn’t come from upstairs.”
Diane snapped, her nerves on edge.
The rattling window only added to her anxiety. Something felt unusually unsettling today.
“On days like this, the back door always causes trouble. If it doesn’t fly off its hinges, we should be thankful.”
He laughed casually, reaching into the bag. Diane grabbed his wrist to stop him.
“Go and check.”
“Really, it’s nothing.”
“What if it’s the police?”
Diane glared at him. He snorted, looking down at her as she anxiously fretted.
“Those black dogs have no business here.”
The man was under police protection.
His ability to operate safely in Longbone Street, notorious for petty thieves, without ever being sent to the infamous Basta Prison, was solely due to substantial bribes.
So it couldn’t be the police.
“Go and see for yourself.”
Diane was insistent.
Cursing under his breath, the man reluctantly moved, his steps showing his displeasure.
Diane’s heart started beating irregularly. Her keen instincts were sounding an alarm. Danger.
Clutching the securely buckled bag to her chest, Diane watched the man’s back as he walked into the darkness, ready to flee at any moment.
The man, scratching his belly, stopped in front of the stairs leading upstairs, faintly hearing his wife’s snoring.
“Sleeping so soundly while someone’s working at this hour.”
He just wanted to finish his task quickly and go to bed.
Rubbing under his nose, the man turned and gripped the doorknob of the kitchen door next to the staircase.
Slowly turning the handle, the rusty hinges squeaked eerily. The man opened the door, holding up a lamp to illuminate the darkness.
The sink, old cupboard, display cabinet, and cast-iron stove, followed by the solitary table in the middle, appeared and disappeared in the light.
“It’s nothing, just as I said.” The man clicked his tongue.
As he expected, the old side door at the back of the table, a hastily made escape route, was just rattling in the wind.
“Not even a single ant here.”
Sarcastically raising his voice, he turned to leave the kitchen when suddenly, with a loud bang, the back door collapsed forward. The startled man quickly turned back as several lights and voices burst in.
“Freeze!”
Black helmets with silver stars gleamed in the darkness.
Damn it. It was the London police.
“You stupid woman, you brought the black dogs!”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
