They Regretted It After the Sickly Priest Died

(Sorry, I've changed the story idea.)

Baili Cen was a thousand-year-old monster who had been dead for a millennium.

According to the historical records, he was exceptionally gifted and rose to the highest position as High Priest, but fell into the demonic path, rebelled, and was executed.

He became a notorious traitor in the annals of history.

But history would never record that he was born half-demon. On the day he was brought back to the human race, his father told him that a priest's duty was to pray for the living and guide wronged souls to rest.

So he sang himself hoarse at the altar, drained his blood in the spell formations, offered sacrifices to the spirits and guided his adoptive mother to the afterlife, had his spine pulled out to forge a sword for the Demon King, and destroyed the home of his childhood with his own hands, all to stabilize the empire's fate for the Emperor.

He couldn't even protect the one thing he held dear. Amid the scorn and hatred of the world, he drew his last breath.

A thousand years later, all that remained of him was a frail, insubstantial spirit. Yet his old acquaintances began appearing before him one after another.

The brooding Emperor who had been his childhood companion became a skin-stealing demon, insisting on protecting him day after day without a word.

The fierce Demon King, who had never liked him, had his demon core shattered and now treasured Baili Cen's bone sword as if it were priceless.

His cold, vicious adoptive mother was trapped in a tower, unable to enter the cycle of rebirth. She smiled gently and offered to comb his hair.

Even the younger brother who had once hated him, and the father who had treated him like a tool... all came before him in human, demon, or fiendish forms, saying they wanted to make it up to him.

Baili Cen: So it turns out I'm the only one who died. :)

*

On his first day as a ghost, the old-fashioned Baili Cen bumped into some unfortunate human and ended up bound to him.

So Baili Cen had to take on the responsibility of raising a child.

Raising a kid was easy. The hard part was that this unlucky kid kept growing taller, insisting he use a thermos and stop smoking and staying up late. Every so often, he would even pin Baili Cen down and force him to share his breath, claiming he was afraid Baili Cen would vanish.

On top of that, the little brat was starting to look more and more like one of Baili Cen's old acquaintances...

*

Later, no one could find Baili Cen.

All they heard was that someone had burned the entire history archive in the Immortal Palace, and that no one in the Nine Provinces or Three Realms dared speak of the traitorous minister anymore.

And the rumored ruthless, merciless King of Ten Thousand Ghosts had acquired a beloved companion whom he cherished and protected in his chambers.

A thousand years ago, Bo Ning was just a wandering soul with nowhere to go.

He had never imagined that the High Priest, noble as a god descended to earth, would reach out to him.

Even less did he imagine that the person powerful enough to bear the world's prayers alone was really just a pale, frail boy.

Since you're responsible for slaying evil spirits and quelling calamities for the world, then I will be the one to bring you back to the human world.

"This time, let me be the one to catch you."

[Devoted, protective, pure-hearted puppy-like gong x cool, elegant, sickly beauty priest shou]

P.S. 1. Everyone chases after him, but no one can win him back. The gong gets a second-chance-at-love storyline.

2. The story opens a thousand years later. The gong and shou don't know each other at first, and the gong has a hidden secret identity as a powerful figure.

3. Both are each other's first. Younger gong, strong and evenly matched leads, mutual devotion, happy ending. The supernatural elements are all made up. It's probably a story of mutual salvation.

(Character design inspired by Rong Yan'er from Wen Shanyi.)

Theme: None for now.