Doll

Things have been a little quieter lately, so the author plans to revise the entire novel. It should take about a month, so you may want to wait until it's complete before reading.

I can't promise daily updates, but I can promise a complete story.

When A Li turned seventeen, she finally summoned her life-bound spirit puppet. Unfortunately, the timing was terrible. She was in the middle of running away from an arranged marriage. Her clan wanted to marry her off to the young Prince Cheng, rumored to be cruel and brutal, and to kill without blinking.

A Li didn't want to die. She packed her things and fled in the middle of the night, stumbling into a sealed site. The moonlight was cold, and the mountain still reeked of demons. She tried to summon her spirit puppet again, only to encounter a young man holding a bone whip, with crow feathers dangling from his ears and demon blood at the corner of his brow.

A red thread connected their palms, a bond unique to puppet masters and their spirit puppets.

She gazed at the young man's extraordinarily beautiful face, hesitating. "Are you... my puppet?"

The young man lowered his eyes to the red thread around his wrist, murderous intent surging in his gaze. After a moment, he heard himself speak against his will. "Yes, Master."

.

He Xuan Du hated being controlled more than anything in this life, yet a young woman had placed a life-sharing curse on him.

A heart-linking curse, binding them in life and death.

If she hurt, he hurt. If she was afraid, he could hear her heart pounding in panic. If she died, he wouldn't survive either.

He had planned to wait until the curse was broken, then wring her neck with his own hands. But she was simply too weak. When monsters frightened her, she trembled, and he had to protect her. When villains set their sights on her, he had to save her. She couldn't even sleep peacefully, yet insisted on curling up beside him, whispering, "Huaizhen, you won't leave me behind, will you?"

He Xuan Du kept his face cold and shielded her from the night wind. "I won't."

The moment the words left his mouth, he was the first to turn grim.

.

A Li had recently begun to think there was something strange about her life-bound spirit puppet. He didn't eat offerings, but he did get jealous. He disliked taking orders, yet always stood between her and danger when she was afraid. If anyone else looked at her for too long, he'd slowly raise his eyes and smile in a rather frightening way.

A Li couldn't help asking, "Can spirit puppets act like that?"

The young man propped his chin on his hand and looked at her, his tone casual. "They can."

"Can spirit puppets hug people?"

"They can."

"Can spirit puppets kiss people?"

"Of course."

A Li believed him.

Until her real life-bound spirit puppet suddenly appeared, crying as he clutched the hem of her skirt. "Master! You've got the wrong puppet! He's not yours! He's the young Prince Cheng you ran away from!"

At that moment, the blood in A Li's veins turned cold. She tried to flee, but the young man abruptly wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, his voice dangerous:

"A Li, where are you going?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

.

Reader advisory:

1. A story about a man who originally planned to keep the heroine around until he could kill her, but ends up falling for her for real.

2. Much of the story is purely for indulging the author's tastes. Don't read if that's not for you.

3. The heroine remains a good girl throughout. She's not a strong, independent heroine.

Theme: Keep striving to improve