*
In the battle between immortals and demons, the renowned Sword Venerable Gui Wang died, his soul extinguished. Years later, he was reborn under the name Xue Zong.
Xue Zong was born with an evil nature, gloomy and withdrawn. According to the divination, he would one day rule the Demon Realm and plunge the world into chaos.
Chi Ying was a minor immortal who had once been saved by the Sword Venerable. To repay his kindness, she resolved to guide him along the righteous path and prevent the catastrophe before it happened.
At the time, the future great demon was merely a lowborn illegitimate son.
The first time Chi Ying met Xue Zong, the wounded boy was kneeling in the rain as punishment. She approached with an umbrella and met his blood-red, double-pupiled eyes.
The second time they met, Xue Zong had been force-fed several poisonous pills. Burning with fever and wracked with pain, he was carefully tended by Chi Ying, who stayed by his side as he hovered at death's door.
Chi Ying protected him and saved him. She thought she had warmed the heart of the demon seed, until someone else's sword pierced her heart and she learned the truth.
It turned out Xue Zong had only grown close to her to take the divine maiden's inner core from her heart. It turned out he thought her naive and foolish, and was disgusted by every time they touched.
It turned out Xue Zong wasn't really the Sword Venerable reborn. Their meeting had been nothing but a cruel twist of fate.
A hundred years later, immortal energy gathered in the mortal realm, and Chi Ying was reborn there. Only then did she learn that Xue Zong had fallen into the demonic path solely to bring her back to life. Now, he was neither human nor ghost, and his reputation lay in ruins.
Chi Ying listened, then let out a mocking laugh.
*
Xue Zong was born base and low, and suffered humiliation after humiliation. He was a wretch rejected by both gods and men, and only one person ever treated him differently.
In the pouring rain, a young woman bent down with an umbrella.
No one had ever looked at those ugly, double-pupiled eyes and reached out to gently wipe the blood from his face as she did.
Later, after Chi Ying died, Xue Zong became a demon and spent a hundred years searching for a way to bring her back.
Then one day, he saw her laughing and talking happily, with a graceful man standing at her side. That man was the Sword Venerable Gui Wang reborn, radiant and unblemished, a brilliant young prodigy.
At first, Xue Zong couldn't bear the thought that Chi Ying might see him only as someone else's next life.
Now, he hated how wretched his true identity was. Even the chance to become a substitute was just a dream...
The truth was, Xue Zong wasn't disgusted by her. Because of the shadows of his youth, he instinctively avoided being touched by anyone.
The truth was, his feelings had been real. He had been deeply in love with Chi Ying for years, watching her retreating figure on countless nights, the demonic mark in his heart aching relentlessly.
Xue Zong wanted to tell her.
But his hair had turned white early, and he was riddled with chronic ailments. All he could do was speak hoarsely while she slept: "Could you not fall for that man? Please?"
[Reading Guide]
1. The male lead suffers a lot, and it's extremely satisfying. A melodramatic groveling arc, happy ending. The male lead is a little ill and a little crazy.
2. The male lead never intended to hurt the heroine, and he wasn't the one who stabbed her. Don't worry, this is actually a story about healing each other (loudly).
3. One-on-one romance. The heroine only wanted to repay the Sword Venerable's kindness.
Theme: Learning the art of communication.
