Becoming a Demon: The Path of Compassion

[Not a feel-good story] [No transmigration or rebirth]

[An ill-fated, ruthless, cowardly beggar & a cold, world-weary monk who's conflicted and soft-hearted]

One-on-one, both pure

You are a Buddha. I am a demon.

If you do not save me, I will not kill you.

What would be wrong with living in peace like this?

Once greed takes root, our bones entwine.

The golden lotus before the altar is nothing but an empty thing.

"Since you hate me so much, why don't you push me away?"

"You're tying me up. How am I supposed to push you away?"

-

On the night the storm first broke, Ruan He was forced to kneel on the ground, bent over beneath his tormentors.

Ever since his mother died, he had stopped caring about anything, so he didn't mind if he died.

But when lightning flashed, a little "immortal" with a gleaming bald head somehow appeared at the doorway.

For a moment, he froze, thinking salvation had come.

But the person at the door turned to leave.

Still, when fate arrives, there's no stopping it.

The people tormenting him "invited" the little "immortal" inside too, forcing the two of them to go through a wedding ceremony.

-

It was supposed to be a cruel joke, humiliating them for other people's amusement.

But later, Ruan He truly wanted to marry his little immortal.

Even though he had become a demon.

*

Ruan He: If you come close to me, don't even think about abandoning me.

Bu Lian: I never thought of leaving you.

-

A heads-up: the gong appears later in the story.