“Did you see my future as well? I’m curious about what I’ll be like in 10 or 20 years, in middle age or old age. It would be nice to be running a big pharmacy and be renowned as a pharmacist….”
“Jane in 10 years?”
He scrunched his face in thought. Seeing his expression, I prodded him.
“You said you knew about my childhood and watched me grow up through dreams. So, naturally, you must have seen me when I was older, right? Is it too hard to talk about… Does my pharmacy fail? Do I end up completely ruined and on the streets?”
Our pharmacy wasn’t doing great financially. Without Ian, it would have closed by now. If it were really headed towards financial ruin, Ian would help.
Or, as he often says, he might even get me a job at the palace. If he had seen such a future, he would have urged me to take a palace job.
However, Ian didn’t respond readily about my future. It seemed like he genuinely didn’t know, not that he was hiding something.
“Didn’t you see my future?”
A sudden fear gripped me. Did I not have a future? Do I die young? It’s not rare for pharmacists or healers to neglect their health and die early….
‘No, Ian’s last proper future vision was when he was 6, 17 years ago. Maybe he didn’t see too far ahead.’
I’m quite healthy, despite the workload. At 27, death seemed far too premature.
Ian’s medication suppresses his prophetic abilities. It doesn’t completely erase them, making the visions less vivid, more metaphorical. Guessing my future from such dreams would be challenging.
Ian spoke seriously, “Yeah. The most recent vision of Jane was when a bee landed on your head, and you screamed and fell into my arms. I haven’t seen beyond that.”
It was an incident from over a year ago. Startled by a bee entering through the window and landing on my head, I had flailed into Ian’s arms.
“Why didn’t you warn me about the bee?”
“I saw that scene in a dream, but I didn’t know when it would happen.”
Makes sense. Dreams don’t provide exact dates and times. Still, I pouted, recalling my fright at the buzzing bee, seemingly threatening with its stinger.
Remembering the incident made me shiver, and I rubbed my arms. Ian then casually mentioned, “Ah! I had a dream about Jane a few days ago.”
“A dream? What kind? Was it a good one?”
His expression turned somber, “Actually…”
He looked displeased, and I urged him to continue.
“Why? Was it a weird dream? Tell me quickly, I’m curious.”
As I pressed, he smiled. Light streaming through the window touched his cheek, casting soft shadows from his light eyelashes, adding new hues to his face.
“It was a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
It felt like I was admiring a warm-toned masterpiece. Even in the midst of my curiosity about the dream, his appearance caught my eye first. I really must be quite smitten.
“A nightmare?”
Startling me with talk of nightmares! Why did it have to be a nightmare featuring me? I urged him to explain quickly. If it was a bad dream, I needed to know what it was about so I could prepare for whatever might happen.
“Tell me in detail. What was the dream about?”
“In the dream, you were crushed under a huge dragon. And you said to me very calmly, ‘I’m sorry, Your Highness, but it will be difficult to make your medicine from now on. As you can see, it’s because of this ferocious dragon. So, please find another way.’ ”
I imagined the dragon, rumored to be bigger than a castle, and myself squashed beneath it. Compared to its size, I might have been as small as a fly under a bull’s rump.
“Was the dragon sitting on me? It must have been terrifying.”
I wondered how I could have left such a calm message while facing certain death. Only possible in a dream, I suppose.
“You weren’t scared at all. You were quite indifferent and nonchalant. The one who panicked was me. I was terrified at the thought of losing you. It was a truly dreadful nightmare.”
His ability to have prophetic dreams lingered in my mind, despite the dream being a mere fabrication.
Before taking the medication, Ian’s dreams were vivid and clear, but now his prophetic dreams have become highly metaphorical and indirect. They are unclear and ambiguous.
Therefore, interpreting his dreams has become more about skill than remembering the content. Once, there were specialists who interpreted the dreams of prophets, but now, with the prophetesses of Stefan Kingdom gone, and related books considered subversive, such knowledge has vanished.
Hence, his dream interpretations are always a mess. We can’t preemptively know the future through his dreams; we can only realize their meaning after events unfold.
His prophetic ability is practically useless. Of course, he could see clearer visions without the medication, but there’s no need to risk his life for that.
So, I definitely won’t end up under a dragon. Although the dream doesn’t seem positive either.
“That’s an unpleasant dream.”
“The dream has been bothering me a lot. It feels like a prophecy that you will be seduced by a powerful noble and betray my secret.”
I stared at him incredulously.
“I was struggling under a dragon, and you interpret that as me betraying you?”
“I wasn’t struggling; you were very calm. Dreams are full of metaphors, so it’s all in how you interpret them. So, tell me, what’s your wish?”
Worried that I might be swayed by another noble, he oddly asked about my wish.
“Why are you suddenly asking about wishes?”
“If I want you to keep the secret, I have to either kill you or bribe you. Killing would be cleanest, but who would make my medicine if you died?”
What a morbid joke, spoken so casually.
“Lucky for me that I’m the only one who can make your medicine. I’m overwhelmed with joy to have my life extended. But what to do? I don’t really have any wishes. Unless it’s to become about 10 years younger? No, that’s not necessarily a good thing.”
“Turning 17 years old? I’d welcome you being younger than me, but unfortunately, I don’t have the power to turn back your time…”
His words, although playful, reflected a deep bond and a unique understanding between us.
He suggested I come up with a wish that was more achievable and unique, something only he could grant.
“Then! To become a magician. A real magician who can heal people without herbs. It would save on medicine costs, and I could heal people, making me incredibly wealthy!”
“Why a magician of all things? Jane is already perfect; there’s no need to become such a foolish sort.”
Ian had a strong dislike for magicians, as much as he disliked healers. He had secretly searched for a long time for someone who could maintain his eye color change, but decent magicians were almost extinct.
“Today’s magicians are like clowns producing small flames in their hands. They lack real abilities but strut around calling themselves magicians.”
I nodded in agreement with his words.
Magicians, a curious and war-loving breed, were naturally not long-lived. Many of them perished in wars where magicians were massively deployed.
Even after the war, the death rate among magicians remained high. Many died foolishly while trying to research and develop magic, their numbers exceeding those killed in war.
There were quite a few cases of magicians dying in fires while practicing Fireball in narrow laboratories.
Ordinary people would know the danger of using fire, especially a powerful offensive spell like Fireball, in confined spaces, but these so-called geniuses seemed to be born without such common sense.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
