Numbers x Casket - Chapter 20: Eight Pillars

To pass as an imperial concubine, one must be professional.

Actually, the profession of an imperial concubine is pretty good. The emperor will accompany you in eating and drinking, and even pay you for it. What’s not good about that?

Villain System: Let the Young and Naïve Duchess of the Cang Court Principality, Sylvia, Experience the Betrayal of Her Loved Ones, and Achieve Transformation and RebirthTransmigrating into a Western fantasy world centered around beast taming, Xia Ya stared at the beginner mission in front of him, lost in thought.Sylvia—the legendary “Silver Witch of Cang” recorded in history—had already ascended to legend status five hundred years ago. After establishing the White Chalk Tower, she vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. And as for the Cang Court Principality? It had long since been destroyed. How was he supposed to complete this f***ing mission?This system was five hundred years late!Yet, the mission reward was simply too tempting. After much deliberation, Xia Ya made a decision that would make his ancestors roll in their graves—[To Deceive History Itself]The capital was gone? Fine. Then I’ll just write my name into the duke’s family records and become the older brother of the duchess. No objections, right?Modify relics and ancient texts? Sure. Let’s say I was manipulated by cultists, falsely accused Sylvia of an imaginary crime, and personally exiled her. Then, later, I came to my senses and perished alongside the mastermind behind it all. That sounds reasonable, right?[The One Forgotten by Time][The Heartless Tyrant][The King Who Turned His Back on the World]One hidden truth after another began to resurface.[The Silver Witch’s Diary]Waking from my self-imposed slumber, my memories are in tatters—except for one, still deeply etched into my soul: the pain of betrayal.Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed the truth…It turns out that the principality had already been corrupted by a cult. Not long after my exile, an evil god descended upon the royal capital, annihilating all life.So… my brother did all of that… to save me?

Jianghu was in turmoil, an era of great strife. The leader of Great Qin wielded the Mo Blade, leaving the world battered and bruised. The ageless figures of Jianghu crouched upon the mountains, and with a single turn, they cast the entire world below them. Strong men measured the earth with their feet, and heroes of Jianghu could cleave the heavens with one sword, yet in the blink of an eye, they were drunk in the embrace of beauties. The Taoist carried his sword, the Scholar drunk on wine. Wearing tattered clothes, a beggar grasped a rotten branch and dared to storm the ancestral hall of the Taoist Sect. On the willow-lined causeway, in the long pavilion, a man who had sat withered for thirty years turned and stepped out, holding a peach blossom, with a flick of his wrist, he shattered ten miles of red candles. The era of Great Qin was renamed the Great Yuan Era. The youth with the Wooden Sword left his mountain village behind.

-- WSA 2025 Entry --“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.[Updating home-world 39515’s version][Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode][Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?][Yes] [No]“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…