Refining the Mountains and Rivers - Chapter 28 – Die in the Sun

He was supposed to be just a guardian.But love doesn’t follow rules.After losing his mother, 18-year-old Kai finds himself under the roof of his cold, powerful stepfather, Sebastian Vaughn. What begins as silence turns into lingering glances, late-night tension, and a love Kai can’t run from—even if he tries.But Bast isn’t just any man. He’s possessive, broken, and hiding dangerous secrets… including an ex-lover who wants to destroy everything. As feelings grow, so do the risks.How do you escape a man who says he’s your everything—your father, protector, friend… and lover?

William Scott, a soldier, returned to the city with the goal to live the rest of his life peacefully. He would practice the lifestyle of a retired person.

However, his mother set him up on blind dates time and again. Unwilling to keep up with her arrangements, he was left with no choice but to pretend to be in a relationship with Yvette Quinn, a female CEO who was also forced by her parents to go on blind dates.

To his surprise, this was only the beginning of many troubles to come. Before he could get to settling those troubles, he first needed to sort out an even more pressing problem.

The girl looked at him and asked, “Take a guess. Am I the elder cousin or the younger cousin? As my boyfriend, you should be able to differentiate between the two of us, right?”

His contract girlfriend was so unprofessional. Although they had an agreement, she was always asking her younger cousin to take her place and pretend to be her around him.

What should he do about that?

A Low-Stakes, Cozy, Slice-Of-Life Travelogue AdventureJohn, a 37-year-old widower, discovers the extraordinary power to travel between worlds via dimensional Gates. Overwhelmed by the sorrow of losing his wife and the pain of his past, he wants to leave Earth behind. After some research and training, he embarks on a journey to explore different worlds.Though John’s class could become incredibly OP, he doesn’t care about fighting, becoming a hero, or gaining power. His journey is about healing, rediscovering life’s simple joys, and exploring the magical wonders of the multiverse. Traveling at a slow, steady pace, he meets new people, helps others as a healer or doctor when he feels like it, and reflects on his experiences through a diary-style narrative. This is a tale of introspection and self-improvement, focused on exploring both the multiverse and Earth.This isn’t a story of epic battles, grimdark themes, or becoming a superhero. Instead, it’s about traveling with friends, trying new foods, learning magic, and shopping—lots of shopping. Through these adventures, John’s story highlights how small moments bring joy and purpose, proving discovery doesn’t require grand conflicts but thrives in the extraordinary and the everyday.

The century long war had just ended and humanity had managed to get their hands on alien technology, sending them years ahead in terms of technological advancement, fulfilling their hope of finding life outside their planet and their desire to dominate these extra-terrestrial existences. The effects of their technological advancement alone wasn’t capable of giving this result.The appearance of mutations which granted supernatural powers among humans was another boon giving them the chance to act out their darkest desires.Their joy took a dark turn when it was revealed that they were nothing more than livestock to the mysterious race, Xillthars, who cultivated them to that level. Like fattening livestock.Shortly before this dark turn of times was a forbidden creature, Kieran who had been born into the lowest levels of a society created by the greed of humans. To him, life had always been hard, but things got worse after the arrival of the Xillthars as he found himself on a trail of shocking discoveries about himself and the world around him.