My Rented Husband Is the Ancestor of the Righteous Path

Blurb

The little cat demon Li Yao was being pressured by her mother to marry and have children.

If she couldn't find someone she liked, her mother would marry her off to Brother Tieniu, who lived in the neighboring mountain. Clutching the glittering box in her arms, she had a flash of inspiration and came up with the perfect plan.

On a bustling street, Li Yao's catlike eyes scanned the crowd until a man in a long robe came into view. Her eyes lit up.

The man's features were cool and striking. His brown robe had been washed until it was faded, and he held a battered black sword. Even the hairpin holding up his hair was just a dead twig.

Li Yao decided: He was the one! His cultivation was so low that he surely wouldn't see through her disguise. He was poor, sure, but he was better-looking than Brother Tieniu from the neighboring mountain. He had to be the husband fate had chosen for her!

Yun Jiqing had not left his mountain gate in nearly a hundred years. He had once divined that a romantic tribulation awaited him. He could neither kill the person involved nor simply leave matters alone; he would have to resolve it slowly. He had been waiting ever since, until the little flame beside his heart lamp grew more and more unruly. Only then did he decide to venture into the mortal world.

Just after he came down the mountain, a bold little cat demon blocked his way on the street. At that moment, the little flame beside his heart lamp seared his chest with pain.

This little demon was audacious enough to try to hire him as her husband with a piece of jade spirit stone. Were demons this bold these days? He had never imagined that his romantic tribulation would turn out to be a demon.

The little demon held out her pale, delicate palm. Lying in it was a lustrous, translucent jade spirit stone. "Little cultivator, would you be my husband for a month? I just need to get pregnant and give my mother an answer."

Since she had barely any cultivation and didn't seem capable of causing trouble, Yun Jiqing decided to go with her and investigate. If he could find a way to resolve the tribulation, all the better.

On the first day with the little demon, she took out the jade spirit stones she had saved for years. Her catlike eyes sparkled like stars as she generously showed them to him. "Husband, you've surely never seen so many jade spirit stones. They're all yours now." Where Li Yao couldn't see, he secretly tossed the Ice Profound Pearl on his wrist back into his storage space.

One month into their life together, the little demon sat frowning on a boulder beneath a pear tree. "What are we going to do? Those righteous cultivators have ordered another manhunt for us." So he secretly sent a message ordering all demon-hunting operations to cease for the time being.

One year into their life together, the little demon charged straight into his arms. "Husband, why haven't I gotten pregnant even though we've kissed so many times? Mother says that if I still can't get pregnant, she'll find me a second husband."

Yun Jiqing's dark eyes narrowed. She was his, and no one could take her away. He pulled Li Yao tightly into his arms and pressed his thin lips to hers, his breath filled with tenderness. "You will. Right away..."

Theme: After weathering life's storms together, they come to understand the meaning of true love.