A Trainee Shrine Maiden's Study Abroad Journal

Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City. A full subscription costs only 5 RMB.

[New Novel: No Romance, Ensemble Cast, and a Survival Show: Evil Woman Specialist Makes a Sensational Debut on a Survival Show is currently serializing. If you like it, little angels, feel free to check it out in my author column!]

The early chapters are everyday cooking stories; later on, it becomes an ensemble adventure full of foolish antics.

[Important!!: The later chapters feature a long adventure arc, so there will be relatively less food. Feel free to pick and choose, little angels. Most of the food content is before the VIP chapters!]

Blurb:

Ji Yao graduated with honors from the Intermediate Academy of Dao Arts. While waiting for her acceptance letter from the Advanced Academy of Dao Arts, she suddenly received an invitation from a famous magic academy in Western Europe.

Ji Yao: ?

The white-haired old dean before her gazed at her with hopeful eyes, earnestly telling her this was a rare opportunity that would make her an even better person, and so on.

After a long silence, Ji Yao asked quietly, "There are so many outstanding senior students. Why does it have to be me?"

The old dean awkwardly stroked his snow-white beard and replied sincerely, "I hear the food there is terribly scarce. You're the best cook in our academy, so you certainly won't let yourself go hungry."

Ji Yao: "..."

Life at Selos Academy was incredibly lively. Silver-haired elves with long ears could be seen everywhere, as could dwarves skipping along with baskets in hand. And the most classic and famous dragons, you ask?

Oh, aren't they flying in circles up there right now?

Before long, Ji Yao, with her superb cooking skills and mastery of talismans, had become a favorite among both the students and faculty.

The usually aloof, distant elf was helpless against sweets. His hands, normally so sure with a bow that he never missed, cradled a crisp, milky biscuit as if it were a priceless treasure.

The biscuit was only palm-sized, yet he took several bites to finish it. Ji Yao could only stare at the biscuit crumbs in his moon-silver hair, unsure what to say.

The adorable little dwarf, bashful and shy on the surface, was actually a famously brilliant madman among his people. The very first time he met Ji Yao, he challenged her to a duel.

Having heard of his fearsome reputation, Ji Yao drew a talisman and braced herself. She had heard that he performed a sacrificial ritual as soon as he came of age...

But this tough guy was now panting from the heat of the spicy boiled pork, while even the mechanical puppet beside him seemed to notice and hurried over with water.

Ji Yao was just about to tell him to stop eating when she saw the dwarf gulp down a whole glass of ice water.

...Why couldn't he just put down his chopsticks?

The clear-eyed dragon had "I'm easy to fool" written all over him, and he really wasn't all that bright, either.

The day before, he had eaten so much at Ji Yao's house that sparks flew from his mouth whenever he burped. When he returned to his lair, his dragon parents gave him a thorough scolding.

The very next day, he dragged his parents and a huge pile of gifts to Ji Yao's house, insisting that they all try yesterday's garlic-honey fried chicken again.

Ji Yao had just thought, "With his parents here, surely he'll behave himself a little better." Then she turned around and saw all three dragons, two big and one small, sitting neatly in a row, burping sparks in unison.

By the third year, the century of peace brought about by the reconciliation of the various races fell apart.

The rebel forces grew stronger by the day, until even the kingdom's army could no longer stand against them.

Teacher Diya, usually meticulous in everything, didn't even have time to straighten her wizard's hat. She grabbed Ji Yao by the arm and pushed her all the way onto the broad back of a dragon.

She gently stroked Ji Yao's hair and said hoarsely, "Go home, child. Selos has failed you."

Just as she had held out her hand to Ji Yao the year she first enrolled.

"No!"

Ji Yao wrenched herself free and said firmly, "Teacher Diya, Selos Academy doesn't teach its students to run away. You told me that yourself!"

In the distance, the dragon's roar drifted closer, mingling with the smell of smoke. The cannons thundered across the sky.

The elf who had stayed behind to cover her escape had blood in his long hair. Even with his hands covered in cracks of every size, he hadn't lowered his bow.

Ji Yao jumped down from the dragon and looked straight into the eyes that had taught her for thousands of days and nights.

"I'm staying. I'll stand with Selos!"

Thousands of days and nights studying by lamplight, countless talismans that failed and were made anew, wounds that split open and healed again and again: at last, they had brought her to this moment, when she could ignite the talisman at her fingertips to protect what she loved.

Reading Guide:

1. No romance, ensemble cast, and lots of food. The heroine will level up while cooking delicious meals, and later there will also be travel and an internship arc at a magic tower!

2. This is my take on Western fantasy. Every setting exists to serve the plot.

I hope you enjoy reading.

Pre-Release Martial Arts Novel: No Romance, After Her Divorce, She Returns to the Martial World

Blurb:

Ling Yuehan was born into the Ling Clan Manor, the greatest clan in the martial world. The affairs of the martial world were treacherous and unpredictable, and the Ling Clan Manor's position was of great importance to its sects.

When she was eighteen, the Zhujing Sword burst onto the scene, and Ling Yuehan won fame in a single battle.

She traveled over mountains and rivers, crossed lakes and seas, righted wrongs, and rooted out evil. Her light, graceful swordplay and ever-changing movements earned her the name "Rainfall Goose" among martial artists: a wild goose that could still fly forward through fierce winds and torrential rain. In those years, the name Rainfall Goose resounded throughout the martial world. Everyone knew it.

But when she was twenty-one, the Ling Clan Manor suddenly summoned her home. At the time, the Yun and Ying factions were locked in a fierce struggle. The Yun faction conducted itself with dignity and enjoyed a fine reputation, but it was no match for the Ying faction's petty scheming and corruption, and eventually fell into a disadvantageous position. At this turbulent juncture, the old clan leader of the Ling Clan Manor publicly backed the Yun faction. To prove his sincerity, he betrothed his eldest daughter, Ling Yuehan, to the Yun faction's next sect leader.

And so the free-spirited girl who had once roamed the world with her sword was forced into fine clothes and an elaborate hairstyle, her spirit bent beneath the weight of high walls and lofty ideals.

When she was twenty-eight, the Yun faction had finally secured its footing, the remaining members of the Ying faction had been wiped out, and peace had returned to the martial world. At last, Ling Yuehan drew the Zhujing Sword from its sheath for the first time in eight years and cleaved through the lofty pavilions that had bound her for so long.

That night, the moonlight filled the courtyard, vast and dim. Ling Yuehan held the long Zhujing Sword as she pushed open the towering gate. She raised her head and gazed across at the disciples who stood throughout the courtyard, swords in hand.

"Since I intend to leave,"

A ringing sword cry startled everyone. The Zhujing Sword slid halfway from its sheath, its snow-white blade gleaming like water beneath the moonlight, slowly illuminating her calm face.

She said softly, "Who dares stop me?"

Theme: Even in darkness, hold on to the most beautiful hopes for life.