Synopsis updated 26.9.7, screenshot saved
A passionate boy who loves money more than life & a chivalrous, strong, adorable girl
[Self-taught talisman genius x girl who controls demons through physics | Both sexually inexperienced | Rivals-to-lovers]
Li Zhi, the "nation's darling daughter," was famous throughout Chenyang Street. On her seventeenth birthday, she made a promise in front of guests from half the neighborhood:
"I, Li Zhi, will make good on my word. Within a year, I'll be selected for the Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau and become a newly appointed demon controller!"
Her mother, who was slurping noodles, choked and started coughing on the spot. Her father, who was welcoming the guests nearby, almost rushed over to smack her on the head.
From that day on, Li Zhi lost the title of "nation's darling daughter" for good. Everyone on Chenyang Street now knew her as "that simple-minded, brawny girl from the Li family."
The Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau was the government-sanctioned demon-hunting organization, and an excellent destination for all kinds of talented people among the common folk.
But many capable people weren't willing to join. The pay wasn't great, and their schedules weren't flexible. So it was common for hidden masters to accidentally reveal their skills in public.
The government was short-handed and immediately sent people to recruit them, but the masters always had their own ideas and would rather die than comply.
The Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau gradually fell into decline, until it couldn't even compete with some of the demon-hunting groups formed by ordinary people.
Li Zhi volunteered to join for no other reason than that her childhood friend was the Bureau's ace demon hunter.
"A sister's call means more than anything. Our friendship will always be in my heart."
She patted her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry. Just wait for me to catch that Wulie and become the world's greatest demon controller after my mother. Then the government will beg me to join!"
-
Chen Sinian was a bounty hunter. He'd always thought the Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau was full of cheapskates.
He liked to wander around with a steamed bun in his mouth and a sword in hand, picking off the most expensive vicious demons on the wanted posters and turning them in for cash.
His dream was to buy a big house with a courtyard, retire early, and enjoy his golden years.
But the Bureau's regular soldiers often complained that the pay was too low, so they would take private jobs and compete with him for the most valuable bounties.
He hadn't bothered to fight them at first, but then he realized that if he didn't compete for a day, he couldn't afford a bun, and if he didn't compete for a month, he'd be no closer to his dream. So he had no choice but to get faster than them.
This time, as usual, he slept right beside the public notice board, and sprang up to check as soon as the bounty list was updated.
The most expensive target today was a great demon called Wulie, worth a whole silver ingot.
Heart pounding, hands trembling, he grabbed his sword and set off at once.
He hadn't expected to run into someone else sneaking off to hunt demons in the middle of the night, and targeting a vicious demon that was hard to subdue, too.
Chen Sinian looked at the girl in front of him. She was only seventeen or eighteen, and she didn't look like she had what it took.
He didn't take her seriously at all.
-
In their first fight, Chen Sinian narrowly won and snatched Wulie away.
Li Zhi was rejected by the Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau, and from then on she held a grudge against the boy whose talisman skills were so varied that she couldn't tell what school he belonged to.
Afterward, she thought he must be a talisman genius hiding his identity in the martial world. The next time she saw him, she would challenge him again and settle once and for all who was better.
At dawn, Chen Sinian happily headed home, chewing a steamed bun and clutching a silver ingot. He cuddled up with his money and slept soundly for two whole days.
Later, it occurred to him that the girl he'd met that day must have been from the Three Watch Bone-Lifting Bureau. Otherwise, why sneak out to hunt a great demon in the dead of night?
Her demon-control techniques were interesting, too. If he ran into her again, they could have a proper discussion.
Then the two of them met again at a small gathering with friends.
Their friend pointed at Chen Sinian. "This is the famous bounty hunter Chen Sinian, known in the martial world as 'Who?'"
Then they pointed at Li Zhi. "And this is the demon controller Li Zhi, famous throughout Chenyang Street as 'simple-minded and brawny.'"
...So she/he was just a lazy fish like them.
Theme: I have a concubine's smile.
