There's Something Off About This Monk

Xie Li was a die-hard fan of Brother Monkey. When he transmigrated into a book, he thought he'd have the script in hand and get to do great things alongside Brother Monkey.

Instead, the System coerced him into raising the Tang Monk he'd always looked down on, starting from when the monk was a tiny, month-old baby!

Later, the person he'd looked down on most became the most comforting presence in a world overrun by spirits and monsters.

Xie Li was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His life motto from childhood was: "My rules are the rules!"

The person he admired most was Sun Wukong. The person he hated most was Tang Sanzang.

As an adult, he accidentally transmigrated into the Journey to the West world while playing an immersive RPG based on the story, which he'd spent a fortune creating himself.

The System that came with him told him his main quest was to help Tang Sanzang obtain the true scriptures and save all living beings.

Just as Xie Li happily thought he'd gotten Brother Monkey's script, the System told him something else: they were at Jinshan Temple, and he was an elder of the temple. In other words, the monk who found Jiang Liu'er.

Xie Li rolled his eyes so hard he nearly fainted. "Why would anyone help that hypocritical, meat-eating bald monk? Doesn't he have disciples?"

Luckily, Xie Li was good at talking himself into things. No matter what script he'd been given, at least he really was in the Journey to the West world. If he got lucky, once that monk obtained the scriptures, he might get to meet his idol and ask for an autograph or something.

So Xie Li waited at the place he hated most, with a bunch of monks he hated most, for the person he hated most. He waited a thousand years.

A thousand years ground down all of Xie Li's edges and dreams.

Now he just wanted to finish the quest as soon as possible and return to the real world.

A thousand years later, the System finally told him that Tang Sanzang was coming.

Xie Li wept tears of joy. He could hardly wait to set off a twenty-eight-shot salute for him!

A few days later

Xie Li stood by the river, looking at the sleeping baby. "...System, if you were a person, I'd cut you down!"

Eighteen years later

Xie Li was nailed to the boundary marker of the Hell Path, watching the little monk he'd raised himself punch the Heavenly Court's hundred thousand soldiers and trample the Underworld's six realms of reincarnation, showing even more demonic defiance than the Three Great Rebels of the Three Realms.

"Something's not right with this monk. Has he been possessed by Brother Monkey, Nezha, and Yang Jian all at once?"

This demon seed would kill Buddhas when he met them, and slaughter demons when he encountered them, arrogant all his life.

Now he knelt before the Buddha, eyes bloodshot. "I'll fetch the scriptures! I'll give up my cultivation! I only ask you to send him home."

In the Hell Path, Xie Li shook his head and sighed. "When love takes root, how can you fetch the scriptures? If you don't obtain them, how can you go home?"

Reader's Guide:

1. Cool and ruthless bottom x loyal, demonic top

2. Both have hair, and their looks are out of this world. Don't be put off by the fact that they're monks.

3. Both are powerful, and both are highly skilled in combat.

4. Both are virgins, and each is devoted to the other.

5. The top's feelings for the bottom are somewhat obsessive and a little twisted. Proceed with caution if that's not your thing.

6. Overall, it's still a light, sweet story.

Theme: Growing up is a journey of learning through failure