A Captivating Allure

The day before Hua Li put herself up for sale, the entire Fragrant Pavilion was raided. She eventually made her way to Peach Blossom Village, hoping to live a quiet life, but she just couldn't shake the habits drilled into her. After looking around the village, Hua Li set her sights on a young physician who was about to go to the capital to sit the imperial exams. He was handsome, scholarly, and everything about him suited her. More importantly, once they parted, the world would be vast and they would have no ties to each other. Boldly, Hua Li flirted with him. She deliberately dropped her handkerchief beside him and took his hand to guide it to her pulse. "Doctor Lin, I don't feel well." The young physician was stiff and proper. Every time, he would blush and not know how to respond, his restrained voice tinged with flustered helplessness. "Miss Li, don't do that." Before long, the young physician left for the capital to take the exams. Hua Li sighed mournfully, "Don't forget me," then turned around, put him out of her mind, and went looking for new amusements. Until someone told her Doctor Lin had placed first in the imperial exams and become the top scholar. Hua Li looked bewildered. "Which Doctor Lin?" That very night, the top scholar blocked her at her door! "Didn't you tell me not to forget you?" He still had the same handsome, scholarly face, but when he smiled, there was none of his former harmlessness. His eyes and brows were full of danger and mystery. "It seems you're the one who forgot me, Miss Li... After all the time I spent playing along with you." Only then did Hua Li learn that his scholarly restraint had all been an act! His trembling hands and flushed eyes had only been signs of how hard he was holding back his excitement. Blurb written in 2021, revised on 2024.8.18 and 2024.11.25 ------Coming soon: Snake's Devotion------ Bai Su was a snake demon devoted to cultivation, but she always felt she'd forgotten something important. Whenever that happened, Ji Qing would coil his tail around her, his bewitching voice whispering in her ear, "Sister, is there anything more important than cultivating with me?" Snakes are lustful by nature, and Ji Qing most of all! Even Bai Su, a snake herself, couldn't resist him. The moment she saw his gaze, she would get ready to run. Ji Qing tightened his coils around her, hurt showing in his eyes. "Sister, you promised to cultivate with me. We'll be together forever." Bai Su's heart softened, and so did her whole body. She comforted herself that it was all for cultivation. Just as she thought she would live like this with Ji Qing forever, a little demon wandered into their cave. "Bai Su, aren't you going to look for Xu Xian?" At last, Bai Su remembered what she had forgotten. Ji Qing appeared in her way. His eyes were no longer gentle, but filled with an undisguised, obsessive madness. "Where are you going, Sister? Didn't we promise to be together for all eternity?" [Important notice]: The Green Snake is male here. This story continues from the ending of the 1956 version of Legend of the White Snake. Please don't read if that's not your thing. ------Coming soon: Delirious Escape------ At first, Xiahou Tuo saw Qiao Xue as a little cat he kept by his side, something to amuse himself with when he had a spare moment. She could even be a pawn for him. "Could I stay by your side, my lord?" The girl pleaded helplessly, her eyes swollen and red with tears. He was probably a little moved, but that feeling was nowhere near as important as what he was pursuing. He casually wiped away the tear beneath her eye. "Of course, as long as you behave." He thought that if she behaved, he would keep her by his side after he claimed the empire. But he never imagined that one day his well-behaved little cat would dare to dream of escaping. * The more Qiao Xue had once depended on and loved Xiahou Tuo, the more she hated him later. Because he told her to behave, she was willing to be his puppet. Only at the very end did she come to her senses. She knew she had been foolish. She accepted that. All she wanted was to leave, but Xiahou Tuo refused to let her go. "You have everything you want. I only ask you to let me go." Xiahou Tuo smiled as usual. "But Xue'er, you once begged to stay by my side." She pleaded with him, even threatening to die. Xiahou Tuo's smile grew colder and colder. "What am I supposed to do? Whether you're alive or dead, now that you've said it, you can only be mine." Theme: We can all find happiness.