Me, the Heavenly Master: Pay Up

The brash and overbearing female Celestial Master Su Shang burst onto the scene and quickly made a name for herself. Everyone knew her for three things: she was beautiful, powerful, and ruthless with her prices.

She was the occult world's most tyrannical contractor.

She had her own rules for doing business:

You get what you pay for. No credit.

I only drive out ghosts. I don't save lives.

Su Shang was born in a world destroyed by supernatural disasters. To survive, she made a deal with the powerful evil spirit Wu Huai from beyond the borders of this world. She could borrow Wu Huai's power to protect herself, in exchange for helping it open the boundary between worlds so it could descend upon the world.

But she had a trick up her sleeve. She wasn't opening the boundary to summon the evil spirit. She was grabbing her things and running away, transmigrating to a peaceful, stable otherworld!

The otherworld was backward and conservative, and from the start all she had was a dilapidated temple. But when she opened the door, the streets were full of living people. Surely that counted as peaceful and stable!

Who could have guessed that Wu Huai would follow her like a persistent ghost?

Fortunately, its power had only seeped weakly into this world. It needed Su Shang to sustain it before it could take physical form, so all it could do was serve as an eye-catching vase at her side.

One day, after collecting her fee, Su Shang got into a small car. A beautiful, exquisitely formed human figure appeared in the driver's seat.

The man's overly gorgeous lips curved into a smile, so perfect it seemed almost fake. "You'd rather risk your life negotiating with those things than make use of me?"

Su Shang rolled her eyes. "Shut up and get to work. Stay out of your master's business."

It was a long time before Su Shang learned that Wu Huai's power hadn't failed to seep into this world. Rather, when it forcibly followed her through the transmigration, it burst apart like fireworks and scattered everywhere.

As she exorcised demons and vanquished evil, it gradually reclaimed its fragments.

Playful shadows crowded the room like tentacles. Wu Huai's icy fingertips traced Su Shang's trembling lips. "We were always one. You were always meant to take my spirit and flesh, control me, and enjoy me, my dear... master."

A few things to know:

Broadly speaking, this is a feel-good story, and it's sweet, too. One-on-one romance.

My take on supernatural stories, with a bit of folklore. I don't think it's scary.

The setting is very loosely defined, with plenty of original worldbuilding. Please don't compare it to real life.

Theme: Love must be built on equality.