Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 190: The bad one of the litter(1)

Anna Watson’s life was far from easy. A battle with cancer left her frail, defeated, and questioning her life’s meaning. Her final moments were filled with regret for dreams unrealized and paths untaken. But when death embraced her, it wasn’t the end—she awakened in an entirely new world: the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Yet, this wasn’t the familiar era of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She found herself in the time of the Marauders, a generation before the golden trio.Even more shocking, Anna had a new identity: Petunia Evans, the famously non-magical, bitter sister of Lily Potter. But this Petunia is different. Born as Lily's twin, Anna retains her memories of her past life and discovers she has magic—a shocking divergence from the character she once read about. Her magical abilities open up opportunities and challenges, not only for her but for her relationship with Lily, her new family, and the unfolding story of the wizarding world.As Anna navigates Hogwarts alongside the Marauders, Severus Snape, and her own twin, she realizes that the story she once knew is shifting. Her choices ripple across timelines, altering destinies and alliances. Struggling to reconcile her knowledge of the future with her growing affection for this new life, Anna must decide: should she preserve the world’s fate or carve out a new destiny for herself and those she loves?In this thrilling twist on the Harry Potter universe, the story explores themes of second chances, sibling bonds, and the weight of choice, painting a vivid and detailed picture of what might have been if Petunia Evans had the magic to change it all.

Ji Qingqing was at the end of her rope. When she was on the brink of wretched poverty, she received a system. The system told her; Lu Lixing came from a family that was rolling in money, but he was coming to the end of his allotted lifespan. If she married him, she would gain his enormous inheritance.

Lu Lixing was seriously ill. Just as he was about to die, he gained a system. The system told him: Ji Qingqing was young and beautiful. She was rich in vitality. If he married her, he could continue living.

Ji Qingqing happily came to Lu Lixing’s sickbed.

And then, Lu Lixing woke up.

***

Lu Lixing’s friends discovered that after Lu Lixing woke up, not only did this person that had always kept his distance from women gotten married, he spent every day being super clingy towards his wife.

Young Lu, can you be a little less embarrassing and act your age? Will you die if you take one step away from your wife?

Lu Lixing clutched his chest. His little heart had almost stopped beating because Ji Qingqing had left him for half an hour. He weakly waved his hand. He couldn’t be separated from her, not for the rest of his life. She was his life.

- Description from Novelupdates

One night of spring breeze, stirring the white window screen fluttering in the air.Only a nightstand lamp is on in the room.The light is a soft, dim yellow.......

How long will it take for a murdered thief to distill into something monstrous? In this story the darkness only grows stronger, and its reach only grows wider as it expands by devouring the life that surrounds it. This is a dark fantasy where evil is a where, not just a who that focuses on slow progression, undeath, and atmospheric storytelling.