Blossoming Path - Chapter 4: Path to Ascension

Lady Mi Qing ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage. She is then confronted with the following wretched situation:

Card stopped. Money stolen. All she had left was ￥308.50.

In this strange city, her sole hopeful light was a small advertisement on a lamppost——

Elaborately Decorated, 100 Square Meters, 2 Room Apartment, Monthly Rent Only ￥299! If interested, quickly contact Mr. Xiao at 138XXXXXXXX!

Mi Qing immediately rushed over to the address listed.

Xiao Gu looked at the woman standing in front of him, brows slightly furrowed. When did he post an apartment rental advertisement?

- Description from Novelupdates

In her third year living in this steampunk world, Ciel gained the ability to simulate both the past and the future.These simulations turned into a game where she could act without restraint, and after countless trials, real life became a replica she could navigate as though speedrunning it.Churches, potions, mutations, the Old Gods, witches, sealed artifacts… none of these have anything to do with Ciel. She’s just an ordinary girl who wishes for a peaceful life.She just happens to be particularly skilled at snuffing out danger before it even begins.

The Six Prefectures of Zhongbo were ceded away in surrender to the external enemies, and Shen Zechuan was taken into custody in the capital, reduced to *a drowning dog loathed and condemned by all. Xiao Chiye followed the scent of the furor and made his way over. But instead of setting others on him, he kicked Shen Zechuan with his very own leg that rendered the latter an invalid. Who would expect this invalid to turn around and bite him in a counterattack until he was all drenched in blood? That was the start of an epic feud between both men who tear at each other every time they come face-to-face with one another.

“Fate wants to bind me here for life, but this is not the path I choose. The yellow dust engulfed my closest kin whole. I have no wish to bow in submission to an illusory fate. The imperial edict couldn’t save my troops, and the imperial court couldn’t fill the stomachs of my mounts. I’m no longer willing to lay down my life for them all. I want to conquer that insurmountable peak. I am going to fight for myself.”

1v1, HE, HE, HE.

◆ Main Couple: Xiao Chiye (gong) x Shen Zechuan (shou)
◆ There’s a yuri cp that are both important characters.
◆ Gong is even more of a scoundrel than the various gege in the author’s earlier novels.

Note: a drowning dog is someone who is down and out having lost favor or power.

- Description from Novelupdates