I Really Can't Afford to Raise These Transmigrated Sons (ON HIATUS)

1: When am I not generous to you, you ungrateful little demon?!

"The last candle's in place, my liege."

The faint illumination caused by the array of flickering candles casted eerie shadows over the four cloaked figures in the room.

"And the dagger?"

"It is here, my liege."

A stream of withering laughter escaped from the throat of the figure who appeared to be the group's leader. "Splendid. At last, we can proceed with the ceremony."

❤️

As she impatiently waited for the elevator to rise to the thirtieth floor, Bai Wei Lan's gaze remained locked on her phone.

Since the clasp on her favourite pearl bracelet had inexplicably broke in the morning, she had already had the niggling suspicion that today would prove to be an inauspicious day for her.

Her suspicion was promptly confirmed at noon when the most popular manhua artist on the online manhua platform that she owned and operated had publicly announced that she would be taking an indefinite break from drawing—without discussing the details with any of the management staff beforehand.

When Bai Wei Lan's eyes swept across the preposterous lines of text posted to said author's Weibo that explained that she would be taking a much needed break "to seek new inspiration from the creative springs of the world", she barely restrained the urge to snap her phone in half. "Bai Qing Mei, you lazy and irresponsible thing! Can't you go even one week without trying to escape work? You're in the middle of a weekly serialization! Will you only be satisfied when you see my business go bankrupt?!"

As she ranted, Bai Wei Lan furiously jabbed a manicured finger at the cartoon style profile picture on the page wishing she could hit the person who drew it through the screen until finally, the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the thirtieth floor.

Bai Wei Lan's high heels clacked on the spotless marble floor as she stalked towards apartment 3002. "Don't count on me going easy on you just because you're my cousin, Bai Qing Mei! This time I'm really going to clean you up for good!"

As she passed apartments 3005, 3004, and 3003, her expression was terribly dark but the moment she came within ten meters of apartment 3002, her face collapsed.

Out of nowhere, a wave of pungent smells that seemed to contain notes of everything from smoked ham to teakwood to red wine to lavender to citrus fruits engulfed Bai Wei Lan's senses.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she started violently coughing and choking.

For a while she could not fathom what she was experiencing.

Had someone thought that it would've been fun to mix the world's most popular essential oils and the world's strangest essential oils into one large bucket? Or had someone been trying to murder their spouse by cooking with perfumes? What in the world could've been responsible for such a bizarre medley of fragrances from assaulting her airways?!

While covering her face with a balled up scarf, she staggered over to the entrance of 3002 and clumsily unlocked the door with her fingerprint.

In Bai Wei Lan's original plan, when she pulled the door open and entered the apartment, she would greet her stupidly indolent cousin with a shockingly harsh torrent of criticism that would leave the latter trembling with shame.

However, in reality, when she stepped into the entryway, it became she whom was shocked, for when she entered, she was greeted by the sight of three cloaked figures solemnly chanting around the dining room table. On top of the table was the outline of a human body covered by a large white sheet and encasing all of this was a ring of lit candles.