Has Junior Sister Lost Her Disguise Today?

[Cold and Aloof Sword Lord of the Heartless Dao x Dual-Faced Junior Sister Who Walks Both the Righteous and Evil Paths]

[Character Art Notice: Rong Xinglan's character art was privately commissioned by reader 'Guitu'; Bad Snake's character art was privately commissioned by reader 'Chan Xu'. Thanks to both of you for sharing your art!]

Many years ago, a Daoist priest passed through Hao Niu Village and declared it a blessed place, destined to produce three outstanding talents.

The cultivator's prediction was just a little off. Hao Niu Village produced not only three outstanding talents, but also a scoundrel.

The Ghost Lord Rong Xinglan, who wreaked havoc across the region from Tuohua Mountain, was her name.

They say cultivating the evil path invites Heaven's wrath. Just as she stood atop Tuohua Mountain, facing an army of immortals with nothing but a single Yin talisman, a heavenly tribulation struck her down.

Reborn, Rong Xinglan learned that she was in the world of a novel called The Dao of Love? The Dao of Music. Its heroine, Rong Xuanyun, was decisive and ruthless: she killed her younger sister and abandoned her husband to attain the Dao, then ascended to immortality.

Rong Xinglan, the heroine's cousin, was a cannon-fodder character who died right at the start and merited only a few passing mentions. First, Rong Xuanyun killed her and stole her betrothed to escape a marriage tribulation. Later, Rong Xuanyun led a host of cultivators into Tuohua Mountain to kill her and uphold the righteous path.

Reborn once, Rong Xinglan schemed and struggled, but still couldn't change her predetermined fate. On New Year's Eve, as snow fell, her cousin's long hairpin pierced her heart. As she fell, wide-eyed, she happened to catch sight of her childhood friend's horrified face outside the window.

In both her lives, this was the first time she'd seen such a vivid expression on his face.

It was because she was dying.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in the familiar mass grave. She was in a carriage drawn by a white horse, and somehow she'd become the last disciple of Sword Lord Guanyin of Kunwu Mountain, as well as the junior sister of her stone-faced childhood friend.

Rong Xinglan's vision went black.

Who wanted to be a sword cultivator? She wanted to return to Tuohua Mountain and be a carefree Ghost Lord, commanding all the ghosts.

But when she looked at her fellow disciples crowding around her with concern, Rong Xinglan opened her mouth and couldn't say a word.

What else could she do? She could only desperately keep her secret identity under wraps and play a frail little junior sister who couldn't even take care of herself.

*

Kunwu had a new junior sister.

Before long, Kunwu's disciples began to realize there was something a little off about her.

Her room was full of rare flowers, strange plants, and exotic beasts.

She often talked to herself.

She didn't much care for sunshine.

She stayed up at night, and she wasn't practicing swordsmanship.

Her spiritual roots were terrible, making cultivation difficult, but she seemed to know plenty of unconventional tricks.

When gathering herbs in secret realms, she always spotted the finest spiritual plants at a glance.

When descending the mountain to deal with evil spirits, things always went inexplicably smoothly.

When they encountered vengeful ghosts, a gust of cold wind would blow, and the resentment seemed to... get blown away?

Most importantly, as a sword cultivator, she didn't practice swordsmanship like a sword cultivator at all.

Qingyuan Guan watched the path of her sword tip and frowned. "Are you drawing talismans?"

So what exactly was off about her?

Her disorganized yet dazzling swordplay, the growing number of ghosts wandering around Kunwu Mountain as if no one else were there, and the increasingly frigid Liusu Peak.

The cultivators pulled their sword robes tighter. Hmm. The junior sister didn't seem quite human. She was a little like a ghost.

Oh, right. They also heard she'd recently started dating a senior brother from the Heartless Dao.

That's right: the number one sword lord of the Heartless Dao had abandoned his path and started cultivating anew.

The Kunwu cultivators gasped. Junior Sister, you're incredible!

1. The heroine cultivates both talisman and sword arts.

2. The heroine is a delicate flower in public and a smiling ghost in private. She's not obsessed with revenge. She's a heroine who grows over time, neither a genius nor an idiot. She's clever, but not that clever.

3. Everyday life, a serious story with a light comedic touch, featuring an ensemble cast.

4. Both leads are reborn. They're big shots returning to the beginner's village, hiding their secret identities.

Note: The heroine, a powerful former villain, is reborn and takes up sword cultivation. She's a complete beginner at it.

5. The male lead is a brooding oddball who finally catches on, then fights tooth and nail to win her over.

[My next novel is complete and ready to post.]

[A romance-focused xianxia love story.]

Shang Miao transmigrates into a male-oriented novel.

The good news: she's become the younger sister of the overpowered male lead.

The bad news: this sister is a bona fide menace, constantly teetering on the brink of getting herself killed. The male lead runs her through with his sword, making her the textbook cannon-fodder female character.

Looking at the blind male lead, whom the original owner has nearly ruined, Shang Miao thinks: ...Can I still fix this?

She can't keep courting death. Shang Miao figures she can still keep her head down and survive.

Step one to staying alive: cover up the original owner's crimes.

Step two: care for her older brother and strengthen their sibling bond.

Step three: cling to her brother's coattails. She doesn't need to ascend to immortality alongside him; she just hopes he'll get rich and let her enjoy the benefits.

Time flies, and at last the day arrives when the male lead is supposed to leave for the immortal mountain.

Shang Miao waits in high spirits, only for the System to drop from the sky. To correct the plot, a streak of sword light runs her through.

Her usually taciturn brother sits in the snow for a day and a night, holding her corpse, then draws an elaborate, blood-red formation.

When she opens her eyes again, her brother's handsome face is right in front of her.

His calm eyes reflect her current appearance.

"...Woof?"

Shang Miao's eyes widen in shock. Damn! Why has my soul been stuffed into the puppy we picked up in the mountains not long ago?!

*

Life as a dog is unbelievably comfortable.

She wanders around secret realms, gobbles spiritual pills, and steadily grows stronger until she can take human form.

It's just that the System keeps popping up with melodramatic quests, which gets a little annoying.

Fortunately, her bargain-bin brother's cultivation improves by leaps and bounds, and he soon gets rid of the System for good.

With the System gone for good, the plot veers wildly off course.

Her brother, who should have been single-mindedly pursuing the Great Dao and indifferent to worldly love, holds her tightly in his arms and gently soothes her. His voice is calm, his devotion fanatical. "It's all right, Miaomiao. This time, nothing can come between us."

**

Li Yanyu suffered through a life of loneliness before finally glimpsing the secrets of Heaven.

Only then did he learn that all his past hardships and gains had been part of a fate someone else had written for him.

Looking back on his life, he saw nothing but misery, tedium, and endless years.

So he chose to perish alongside the Heavenly Dao.

After his soul returned to the dark void, he found himself back in his youth.

He had intended to destroy the world, but a change appeared in his dull, lifeless existence.

His wicked, foolish younger sister blinked her clear almond-shaped eyes. She clumsily tried to cover up her past misdeeds while coming up with all sorts of ways to please him.

At first, he only wanted to see what this stray soul from another world was up to. But before he knew it, he had tasted the sweetness of longing.

The mortal world meant desire, but it also meant belonging.

For her, he could become a righteous gentleman once more.

On one condition:

He bowed his head with an almost pathological devotion. "Miaomiao, now that you've come to my side, don't ever think you can leave."

Theme: Everyone is the protagonist of their own story.