An Old-School, Angst-Ridden GB Romance

Heartless Ghost King × unhinged disciple | female master, male disciple | he pursues her | single-couple | happy ending

As the Ghost King of Yedu, Hua Xun is someone no one dares look at for long. Yet a mortal boy has clung to her across two lifetimes.

When she first met Zhu Shang, he was a snow-covered boy on the brink of death on the night of the Lantern Festival.

The half-naked boy lay by the roadside, lifting his harmless, pale face only to beg her for half a piece of flatbread.

But after Hua Xun took him in, he went from being bullied by everyone to stepping over piles of corpses, becoming an arrogant and rebellious demon.

Seeing his talent, Hua Xun taught him magic.

He used the Ghost King's secret arts to threaten the Eight Wastelands, slaughtering everyone who showed her disrespect.

By then, blood had become a river and corpses littered the land. Red flames rose from the blackened earth and burned all the way to the ends of the world.

Dressed in black, Hua Xun stood high in the sky and severed all ties with the young demon in the inferno.

*

When she returned to the moment they first met, snow fell beneath the bright lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival. The dying boy's lips were blue, and his breath was faint.

All he could see was a black-clad figure walking away into the fading light, never looking back.

Hua Xun thought Zhu Shang would die in that snowy night without her help, but by sheer luck, he survived.

Several years later, Hua Xun happened upon the frail, slender boy again.

When he looked up at her with the same innocent, harmless face as before, his gaze resolute, Hua Xun knew there was no escaping this.

So she took Zhu Shang as her disciple. Not only did she refuse to teach him magic, she also severed all his spiritual meridians.

Every day, Zhu Shang copied books, practiced his writing, and studied the principles of righteousness.

But even after more than ten years, he remained incorrigible. He would rather secretly study forbidden arts than stop spilling blood for her in the shadows, time and again cutting out his enemies' hearts and presenting them to her.

"A little scene"

Zhu Shang spent plenty of time kneeling in the frost as punishment.

Then one night, he got Hua Xun drunk with a cup of strong liquor.

He planted a love curse in her heart, cradled her cold, haughty face, and drew her tightly into his arms.

The boy lowered his long lashes, dusted with frost and snow, and whispered in her ear, "Master, do you know how long I've waited for this moment? Back then, when I couldn't have you, the longing made my heart ache and itch unbearably."

But Hua Xun had opened her eyes without him noticing. Thick chains stretched silently across the snow from every direction, winding around Zhu Shang's neck, his limbs...

She easily gripped his cold throat. "Mortals and ghosts belong to different worlds. Do you really think a mere love curse could sway my heart?"

A flicker of surprise crossed the boy's sinister eyes.

He laughed hoarsely, then replied after a long pause, "Master may manipulate hearts and seize souls to fulfill Heaven's decree. I can also take up a bloodied blade for you. Our hearts are bound, and though our paths differ, we share the same destination. Why cling to the distinction between human and ghost?"

Theme: Strive to improve every day.