Lin Ling is a little mushroom spirit that grew on the beam of the imperial study room. Every day, he watches the tyrant’s daily life, which consists of— Confiscating property, exiling people, and executing entire families. The little mushroom has no objections to this; however, his small flower pot used for moonbathing often gets innocently caught up in the chaos, along with the memorials to the throne that get thrown around with a crash. So, every night he enters the tyrant’s dreams to complain. In return, the tyrant gave him a new flower pot. Lin Ling sat on the beam, looking at his newly acquired flower pot, feeling all sorts of joy and imagining living in it. But then, the tyrant got angry again. As soon as the tyrant raised his hand, Lin Ling immediately became nervous and softly reminded him, “When you get angry and start throwing things later, please don’t smash my new flower pot again, okay?” The room fell silent. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the tyrant turned around and carefully moved the flower pot to a safer spot. The ministers, trembling with fear and not daring to look up, suddenly realized that even their ruthless and decisive emperor was learning how to care for a soft, tiny mushroom. PS.: The story is set in a fictional dynasty with modern language. It’s a light, sweet bedtime story meant to lull you to sleep; if you read it with too much thought, you might end up wide awake. OvO PPS.: There are many similar stories in the special section, all featuring the same protagonist but each one is a standalone short story. If you like this one, feel free to check them out!