Sickly, timid new witch x arrogant, protective older dog of a man
[Plot blurb]
When Qin Jingxing had seventy-nine years left to live, she abandoned her usual caution and fear of death and went alone to an ancient battlefield to seek a chance to break through.
There were occasional dangers along the way, but she managed to get through them safely.
But her good luck didn't last. Mistaken for a vulture waiting to swoop in and steal the spoils, she was dragged into a mess of demon beasts where one mantis stalked a cicada, another vulture lurked behind it, and yet another waited behind that one.
The biggest victim, a certain demon beast, ended up self-destructing. Qin Jingxing was caught in the blast and lost consciousness.
When she woke up, Qin Jingxing was horrified to discover that although she was only fourteen, a frail mortal, her body's memories told her she was over two hundred years old and a Golden Core cultivator.
It was like a dream. Little Qin, a mortal in Big Qin's Golden Core body, was framed, ambushed, and killed. It was one calamity after another.
Huh?
The good news: Heaven hadn't abandoned Qin. Little Qin was resurrected.
The bad news: She was told she'd become a demon.
Little Qin: ...The dream is over.
Once she became a demon, everyone found her unpleasant.
With seventy-five years left to live, the demon beast who had traveled with Little Qin was taken away by their benefactor. Little Qin alone was abandoned by them.
Little Qin: I'm still not strong enough.
In despair and fury, she resolves to repair her severed arm, secretly seek out the demons, leave humanity behind and join them, grow stronger, and repay the demon who helped her!
[Romance blurb]
Qin Jingxing had been in poor health since childhood. Everyone treated her like a porcelain doll, too fragile to touch or handle.
Only this creature was different. The first time they met, it charged straight into her and knocked her flat.
She fell to the ground, completely unprepared, and stared at it in disbelief.
The mutt couldn't care less. It swaggered past her, wiggling its bottom.
Qin Jingxing suppressed the urge to curse and thought it over:
She's the host. She has to be gracious and magnanimous.
So,
Qin Jingxing refused the servant's help and struggled to her feet by herself.
Then,
She immediately turned around and got into a fight with the mutt.
No matter how much the servants tried to stop them, they couldn't.
And so began the feud between a girl and a dog.
Where no one else could see, she and the dog played tricks on each other, shouted insults, and fought...
"This Changsheng is so annoying."
Later,
"I miss you so much, Changsheng."
Reader's guide:
1. The female lead grows stronger over time. Early on, she's not very tough and has little strength. She enters the demon realm and officially begins cultivation after twenty-odd chapters.
2. Plot-focused. The main story is told from Little Qin's perspective. Big Qin's situation will be explained as the story develops.
4. The female lead's arm will recover later on.
5. Human-demon romance. The male lead appears later and is a dog who will eventually take human form.
6. My own take on cultivation, with quite a few original worldbuilding details.
Theme: There are many choices in life, and more than one path to take.
