Also, I don't think that a slap would work, since slaps are still part of the regular "courtly" (for lack of a better term) contexts that Hesha is used to. I think Jolene has bitten her not only because of her impulses, but also because a bite would be so far outside Hesha's normal context, it would flip the power dynamic between them on its head instantly, without giving her any chance to respond. What I am saying is, she knows she could make things much, much worse for Hesha, but repeatedly stops herself in order to deescalate, and Hesha is too myopic to realize she is playing with chemical fire.

I will say thought that I don't agree with the read that anything she's done has been de-escalatory in nature.
If anything, whenever she "snaps" she seems to just do whatever she wants to do in the moment regardless of the implications or the consequences it could have, and it's nothing short of a miracle things have worked out as "well" for her as they have so far.

Cus like... if I managed to antagonize the local princess who literally owns the city I live in and had to make a list of things to do to try and de-escalate things, physically assaulting her in gradually more extreme ways wouldn't make the list if it was a million entries long. If anything, she's lucky Hesha hasn't just gone to her family and had her hanged for assaulting her the first time.

That's fair, but it's only luck if you have no idea how the local princess would react to violent actions. On the other hand, Jolene strikes me as someone who is (like a lot of sociopaths, accidentally) pretty good at reading people around her, so she might have picked up on the fact that Hesha is actually not in the position to run to her dad to complain quite early on. This makes her getting away with violence against Hesha twice more of a well-calculated risk than a miracle.

Remember in Game of Thrones, that one time the king had a peasant boy executed just for lightly tagging the prince with a practice sword while playing?

I haven't watched the series and stopped reading the books after the fourth. :)

last edited at Nov 29, 2025 1:57PM

Knowing Ruruna, her plan will turn out to be either incredibly dumb, or incredibly obvious. Either way, it will help them pass the time until Wakana shows up on her private helicopter to save them.

Never watched Dexter, but IMO Jolene has once again been very measured (which is the opposite of crazy) in her response. She used her one advantage (physical capability) to completely shut down Hesha's momentum, then backed off and explained exactly what that retribution was for. Note that Hesha does not carry any ill will against Jolene for biting her, because she seems to have accepted that the bite was a consequence of her own actions. Again, I am not saying that Jolene is not a sociopath, but if she is, she is a very high-functioning one.

A normal person does not bite people just because they're upset at them; if anything, the fact that she felt the impulse to bite her rather than something more mundane like slap her makes it much more abnormal behaviour that most people wouldn't even have considered.

She reads a lot like Dexter is intended to be; a sociopath with violent impulses that they keep in check through adhering to a strict set of rules about what's "proper" both in order to be a functional member of society and so that their violence only comes out towards targets deemed "acceptable."

Specifically, the way she speaks about- and treated "being naughty" towards Hesha implies that she has these thoughts and urges of violence normally, and usually she doesn't act on them because she's come to believe they're "naughty" but in the same way that Dexter has no reservations going after someone who's a "killer" Jolene has no reservations "being naughty" towards someone who has also been "naughty."

Yeah, I can agree with all of the above. Still, the amount of self-control you describe, especially if she does have to restrain her "naughty" impulses at all times, is remarkable.

Also, I don't think that a slap would work, since slaps are still part of the regular "courtly" (for lack of a better term) contexts that Hesha is used to. I think Jolene has bitten her not only because of her impulses, but also because a bite would be so far outside Hesha's normal context, it would flip the power dynamic between them on its head instantly, without giving her any chance to respond. What I am saying is, she knows she could make things much, much worse for Hesha, but repeatedly stops herself in order to deescalate, and Hesha is too myopic to realize she is playing with chemical fire.

At this point, Jolene is basically playing Raise-a-Villainess with Hesha by teaching her how to function in society, which nobody in her family has bothered to do so far.

Welp seems like the protag at this point is just straight up Dexter-style crazy

Never watched Dexter, but IMO Jolene has once again been very measured (which is the opposite of crazy) in her response. She used her one advantage (physical capability) to completely shut down Hesha's momentum, then backed off and explained exactly what that retribution was for. Note that Hesha does not carry any ill will against Jolene for biting her, because she seems to have accepted that the bite was a consequence of her own actions. Again, I am not saying that Jolene is not a sociopath, but if she is, she is a very high-functioning one.

last edited at Nov 29, 2025 9:32AM

"Why put on clothes if they're just gonna come off anyway?" Indeed, Kase-san, indeed. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

That track physique is doing things to Yamada's brain and understandably so lol

Honestly, that physique would do things to most people's brains, not just plants'.

last edited at Nov 25, 2025 6:07PM

So Babulus feared Luliam and Nana's crowning would endanger her standing at court, so she sabotaged Nana's staff to fire miasma at Luliam, but Eldora turned out to be a siscon and took the bullet for her instead?

Other series may bother with nuance, depth and all that rigmarole, and they're all cowards. Just cram all the good stuff together like some semi-insane himejoshi's ravings.

I tried my best to come up with my own clever comment about this chapter, but you have basically done it for me, so kudos to you.

Damn! Yura's been my favourite but this Ruruna beach look is so damn fire.

Hm... so, what's the hypothesis on Ruruna's seduction power? Does it actually work, just not on Yura, or does it not and Wakana and Miyako are really into Ruruna?

The latter IMO. She can force her thralls to obey her orders with some effort, but she cannot make them actually like her -- in other words, control over physical actions, but not over emotions. Wakana has clearly been down bad for Ruruna from the start, and Miyako is so desperate, she is fine with anyone, but Yura's thralldom was effectively a favor for Wakana, so she won't do anything for Ruruna unless directly ordered/forced to.

Reina is so down bad, it's almost painful to watch.

last edited at Nov 22, 2025 3:17PM

That panel dividing to censor just enough lmao

Yea, art censorship is all fine and good, but what if censorship was an art?

I accidentally popped to the start of this thread and realized this manga started in early 2019. It really really doesn't feel like it was that far back. WTF even is time?

Time is that which prevents everything from happening all at once.

I guess we've dealt with Zhixu's demons, so now it's Tang Chao's turn?

I respect the author's vision, but "yandere" just doesn't mean what they think it means. "Mentally snapping under the weight of impossible expectations of being a culturally-perfect love interest" is not the same as "being a confident young person who breaks restrictive gender norms in a calculated way to advance in life".

So far, in fact, I haven't even seen any particular cruelty from Jolene. She has been merely setting and enforcing her boundaries in ways that are largely proportionate to the respective original violations.

Jolene exhibits more Yandere traits as the story goes on though she’s never really what you’d consider a classic Yandere. There is another character later on that does feel more like a true Yandere (obsessive, manipulative, controlling, etc)

Thanks. I will reserve judgement until more chapters have been translated, then. :-)

This will be a good one.

For the people questioning the yandere thing, its valid for you to do that. Its shows up now and again, but i think the interpretation of "yandere" expressed by this author with a certain character's actions are different from the mainstream view of how a typical yandere would act or think. Imo, I think the author's view of a "yandere" is a character that appears kind, calm, and level-headed on the outside but they are actually on the inside cold, calculated and cruel and will express/act on that cruelty when it comes things or people they care about or getting something or someone they desire. Either way, this story is dope and ill happily reread this here since the translation is actually good

I respect the author's vision, but "yandere" just doesn't mean what they think it means. "Mentally snapping under the weight of impossible expectations of being a culturally-perfect love interest" is not the same as "being a confident young person who breaks restrictive gender norms in a calculated way to advance in life".

So far, in fact, I haven't even seen any particular cruelty from Jolene. She has been merely setting and enforcing her boundaries in ways that are largely proportionate to the respective original violations.

last edited at Nov 21, 2025 2:41PM

Maybe Ruruna should just accept that Yura is simply her girlfriend's (other) girlfriend?

The number and power of one's enemies can be a measure of one's character, Ms. Ye.

Check-and-effing-mate, sister.

last edited at Nov 19, 2025 6:53AM

"B-But your hand is injured, Evie!"
"Where I'm going, baby, I don't need hands. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"

The goober is going for it now. :3

Drowning your not-yet-girlfriend to give her her first kiss is a galaxy-brained move that only a very useful lesbian could come up with.

Also, the vignette with Weixi's drunken mom seems to establish that Weixi's story about her parents being dead is a lie, which strengthens my speculation that she is the usurper emperor's daughter, because that's a fact she'd definitely want to hide from her cousin.

That's what's great about authentic people: no matter how hammered or not they are, they are consistent in their preferences...

Had to got back and check, but yeah, Lily's devil genes are from her mom's side, so this seems to be it.

I am reading strong Nasuverse inspirations from this world-building... Progenitors = True Ancestors, Servants = Dead Apostles, Wanderers = Dead/Ghouls...

The sociopath cult leader tactics showcased in this chapter: Pretend that leavers have never existed, make those who remain feel extra special.

Easy choice, becoming hers!

Not before the poison gets her first.

I don't think it's lethal, it's just poppy seed fumes, read: opium. Not sure if that small of a dose can knock grown-up people out so fast in reality, but it should be far below the deadly dosage even in this world.

Heck yeah, am I down for another wuxia yuri!

Murder wives!

The best kind of couple.

Question/Remark for the Scanlator:: are "Gesang" and "Lanze" supposed to be german words, or chinese ones that just happen to look like that? As those are terms for (suspiciously blonde) "Westerners" both seem possible.

Gesang is a Tibetan flower. There's a symbol of it on the first page just above the hand holding the knife. I have no idea how relevant that will be in the future lol. And I think Lanze is just a coincidence.

Thanks for the prompt reply. The ambivalance had me lowkey out of my mind.

You were not along in that, and another thanks from me. :D

I hope it's not a split personality thing and she really was just messing with the bandit

Judging from the series blurb, "Lanze" is actually an undercover agent herself, so it seems like all of it was very intentional on her part. My guess is that she has been vetting her entourage for those actually loyal to her, and the bandit appears to be the only one who actually is. Though Jiujin does mention her "real mission" once, so that's still up in the air...

last edited at Nov 2, 2025 10:17AM