THE DIMENSIONAL MERCHANT - Chapter 2 - 1: The Funeral

Akashi was a boy so beautiful it seemed the gods had sculpted him with a touch of mischief and a dash of fragility. He wasn’t handsome in the rugged, masculine way of knights or warriors. No—his beauty was softer, captivating in its innocence. His frame was small, almost delicate, and his pale skin looked as if it had never known hardship, kissed only by the gentle sunlight of his village fields.With wide, striking black eyes that shimmered like obsidian under moonlight, and hair the color of a calm, endless ocean, Akashi possessed a charm that defied age, status, or reason. He didn’t know it, but his very existence pulled at the hearts of those who saw him—like an untouched gem waiting to be claimed.And yet, he had been untouched for a reason. Akashi had never known life beyond the boundaries of his village. He grew up surrounded by warm smiles and familiar voices. Every elder knew his name. Every child wanted to play by his side. His days were simple, his heart untouched by cruelty.But peace is a fragile thing.One night, it shattered.The sky turned crimson. Screams tore through the quiet air. Fires devoured homes. Demons—twisted beasts of shadow and rage—descended without warning. They killed with a hunger that could not be reasoned with.By morning, the village was gone.Ashes, corpses, and silence were all that remained.And Akashi… Akashi was alone.The last heartbeat in a graveyard of memories.He wandered for days, hollow and dazed, until rough hands seized him. Chains replaced freedom. Smiles were replaced by cold appraisals. And so, the boy once adored by all became something else—something to be sold.A slave.At the capital's grand auction house, he was stripped, washed, and displayed like merchandise. His beauty caused a stir. Whispers spread like wildfire.“Look at those eyes...”“That hair... Is it dyed? No, it’s real...”“So delicate... Is he even human?”To them, he was no longer a boy with a heart, but a prize to possess. A fantasy in fragile form.He stood on the stage, trembling slightly, barely able to process what was happening. The voices of the crowd blurred together—hungry, leering, filled with desire and greed. The auctioneer’s booming voice called out the bids as if Akashi were nothing more than a fine vase or a rare jewel.The numbers climbed quickly. Too quickly. Akashi’s knees weakened beneath the weight of invisible eyes drinking him in. He stared at the marble floor, trying not to cry.Then, suddenly, the room fell silent.A voice—deep, commanding, and heartbreakingly beautiful—cut through the air like silk over steel.“Fifteen thousand gold.”Time seemed to pause.Every head turned.At the back of the room, standing beneath the golden chandelier, was a woman unlike any other.She wore a flowing red gown that hugged her form like it was crafted by the gods themselves. Her long, golden hair shimmered like strands of sunlight, cascading over her shoulders with effortless grace. Her eyes, cold and blue as a glacier’s heart, stared ahead with quiet power.Even the nobles drew back. This was no ordinary bidder.It was one of the Princesses of the Three Great Kingdoms.Whispers erupted anew—but no one dared challenge her offer.Who would?She stood like royalty incarnate, a goddess who walked among mortals, and she had just claimed Akashi as her own.The boy raised his head slowly, unsure of whether to feel fear or relief. His eyes met hers—just for a second—and something in his chest shifted. She didn’t smile. She didn’t leer. Her gaze was unreadable.But it was powerful. Absolute.And it made his knees weak for an entirely new reason.He didn’t know her name. Not yet.But she had bought him.And somewhere deep inside, something told him—his life was never going to be the same.

Former bigshot, Ying Zijin, woke up one day as the lost daughter of the Ying family, who had been missing for fifteen years. The Ying family promptly adopted another child to replace her.Upon returning to the wealthy family, everyone mocked her for not being as clever, capable, sensible, and elegant as a fake heiress. Her parents considered her a stain on the family and warned her not to harbor any illusions of being a lady of the family. They said she should be grateful for being a foster daughter, or else they would send her away.Ying Zijin: “I’ll leave then. No need to see me off.”While the Ying family celebrated joyously and others waited to see the real heiress make a fool of herself, influential figures from various fields took action.The top-rated idol with the most influential fans said, “Miss Ying, just let me know if you need anything.”The heir to a global economic monopoly said, “Ying family? What’s that? Boss, should we just wipe them out?”The number one martial artist in the country asked, “Who dares to bully my master?”The genius teenage boy with an IQ of 228 said, “That’s my sister.”A man with an incredibly seductive appearance smirked lazily and casually, saying, “Sure, then call me brother-in-law.”The influential figures were confused.When the real heiress’ true identity was restored, it caused a sensation on the internet. The Ying family went crazy and knelt, crying and begging her to come back.

Having brought up her younger siblings in troubled times and guiding her younger brother to the throne, Xia Wanyuan is the most legendary eldest princess in the history of the Xia Dynasty.When this eldest princess opens her eyes, she finds herself in a world a thousand years into the future. While she is still called "Princess", it's only a nasty jeer imparted on her as a mockery for her arrogant connections within the entertainment industry. So what if you were rich? In the end you've fallen to a status far lower than any beast!In response, Xia Wanyuan promises that a day would come when they will sincerely call her Princess. Everyone laughs at her, waiting to see the day when she'll be abandoned by the wealthy and affluent.Handsome yet aloof, President Jun Shiling is known only for his success in the corporate world with a demeanor cold enough to cut through ice. He has just one thing to say: Take the one hundred million divorce fee and leave quickly.Two years later, the eldest princess is a two-time winner of a prestigious acting award. The darling of the fashion world, she has become a style icon who is also proficient in the four classical arts. As an all-knowing professor in both literature and poetry, she is also a professor in two departments at the most renowned institute of higher learning. The Olympics? Gold medals are a dime a dozen when considering her skills in fencing and shooting. Her name is spread all over the world and she is filled with an unprecedented glory never bestowed upon any other.The CEO who wanted a divorce at the start refutes on television: "How dare anyone spread rumors about our divorce? My dearest wife, can we have another child?"

Lin Jin never imagined he would ever transmigrate. And to such a peculiar world at that. Here, deadly beasts were regarded as sacred, and thankfully, he owned a museum for deadly beasts.