The Great Demon Always Tries to Trick Me, But I Never Fall for It

(For various reasons, the hero's characterization is being changed. Most likely, he won't be a Buddhist ascetic anymore, but something else.)

Shanying had been frail for sixteen years and was destined not to live long. Then one day, an immortal master arrived at her home and said she was fated to become an immortal.

Her parents tearfully packed her off to the immortal mountain. She wiped away her tears, crossed the Bodhi barrier that marked her immortal destiny, and became the only junior sister of Tianding Sect.

On her first night after joining the sect, snow fell. Shanying's weak body developed a fever, and in her haze she heard someone calling her from beside her ear

"Come here. Come to my side."

The voice was clear, carrying a pleasing smile, slightly hoarse, and utterly bewitching.

Shanying was startled, then shocked and annoyed. How could there be a ghost in a sacred immortal sect?

She got through that night without telling anyone, since she'd only just joined the sect. But the voice entered her ears night after night, tempting her in all sorts of ways

"You are fated to become an immortal. Do you know what kind?"

"Come to me, and I'll tell you."

"Cultivating in seclusion is hard, isn't it? Come here. It isn't hard where I am."

Shanying went from being unable to sleep all night to remaining calm and even managing to exchange a few words with him

"You talk too much. I'm weak, and I need to sleep."

"I practiced three spells today. I'm a little tired."

"I'm not afraid of hardship. I want to live a good, long life."

Later, the voice asked her, "What's your name?"

"Shanying. What about you?"

"Zhaoyu. Remember it: Zhaoyu."

Deep within Tianding Sect, someone was sealed in an underground cavern. His body was steeped in sin, and after death, his murderous resentment was too great for him to enter the cycle of reincarnation. His soul was imprisoned in the Bodhi Realm, his body covered in seals of Buddhist script, his legs nailed into the abyss, forever unable to escape.

One day, a frail junior sister arrived at Tianding Sect. Night after night, he tried to tempt her into coming to release him.

Later, he could no longer restrain his desire. He lowered his head and begged, "Fall in love with me, Shanying."

Plot conceived on September 6, 2022. First version of the blurb; the hero's characterization was changed on November 28.

Cover art used with permission from Rui Si of Shili Changhuan.

Theme: Love and being loved.