The Hidden Sea Plays the Qilin

[A male succubus protagonist adored by everyone + every character is two-faced and scheming + plots and conspiracies + feng shui arts + a touch of traditional fantasy + tragic, impossible love + love and mutual destruction + resurrection and immortality + beast summoning + yin corpse puppeteer]

Content warnings: 1. A love triangle involving three people. The male lead is a virgin, but gets tricked into losing his virginity. Very angsty. 2. The interlocking schemes require close attention to the logic; you may need to read it twice.

At thirteen, Wang Canghai acquired A Record of Strange Tales from Dongxia. From that moment on, he began seeking the little immortal qilin who could grant eternal life, and embarked on a destiny of being tricked over and over:

Tricked by his birth mother: abandoned at the entrance to a temple;

Tricked by his adoptive father: his birth parents were both dead;

Tricked by his dream lover: he resigned his post, left home, and spent three years in the mountains digging for wild vegetables;

Tricked by his lover in real life: he came to the spooky Kingdom of Dongxia, built palaces for the great demon king, and houses for the yin corpse puppets;

Tricked by his rival in love and archenemy: the pure little dragon boy lost his virginity and didn't want to live anymore (╥﹏╥);

Tricked by the Queen Mother of the West and his mother-in-law working together: “You're a god and a ghost. Why should I, a mere mortal, have to kill the great demon god?”

Tricked by the great black snake he had subdued as a summoned beast: “You stabbed me in the back! I'll lock you away deep in the Qinling Mountains!”

Tricked by the old man watching the gate: “This time, I'm really ascending to heaven!”

Still, the biggest liar in the whole book is Wang Canghai himself. There's not a single person he hasn't tricked. The Grand Chancellor of Yong, the Grand Preceptor of Dongxia, and Young Master Wang are all about striking before anyone can react: schemes come in the blink of an eye, and lies roll off his tongue.

Also known as:

Six Hundred Years of Canghai Playing with the Qilin: If I Love You, I'll Destroy Your Country; If I Hate You, I'll Bring You Back to Life

The Succubus Grand Preceptor's Counterattack Against the Mad Demon Lord: My King, It's Time for Your Medicine

Wang Canghai: Zhang Qiling, dig up my grave on schedule in five hundred years. Thanks!

A Grand Preceptor's Words: The Devil's Lies