But I Refuse to Reform the Villain

Check out the column for my upcoming stories. I won't disappoint you (holding a rose in my teeth) -- [Highlight: Master and disciple, younger love interest, happy ending, devoted to each other, one-on-one] Jiang Xuan transmigrated into a book. He set out on a path of redemption and took in the little villain who had been abandoned outside the home since childhood. Jiang Xuan did his duty and raised the villain with care and dedication. In the end, he became an obstacle on the villain's path and was stabbed to death by the villain, who couldn't change his nature. Jiang Xuan was reborn. Who could have guessed that this life would begin with everything going his way? He woke up at the very top. Under a new secret identity, he joined the greatest sect under heaven and became an easygoing peak master. His daily work consisted of drinking tea, reading, keeping fit, and walking his birds. Whenever he felt like it, he would swing his sword a few times, earning tearful, deeply moved cheers from the sect's disciples. What could be better? The sect leader watched him coast through life and sighed, shaking his head. So one day, the sect leader went down the mountain and came back with a ragged little boy, whom he brought to meet Jiang Xuan. The boy clutched the sect leader's robe, lowered his head awkwardly, and said, “D-disciple Su Huaishuang pays his respects to Master.” Jiang Xuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He'd avoided the villain, but now the protagonist had come knocking! He'd racked his brains for the villain in his past life, and now he had to pave the way for the protagonist in this one. What misery! Jiang Xuan resigned himself to his fate, diligently raising the boy. He took him down the mountain to gain experience, got him equipment, and helped him level up. Then, on one of their trips, he unexpectedly ran into the villain, who had also been reborn. The villain held his sword and gazed at Jiang Xuan from afar in an alley strewn with falling blossoms. Jiang Xuan's expression changed, and he immediately swung his sword. But the villain neither dodged nor avoided the blow. He simply smiled and said, “Now we're even. A-Xuan, come back with me.” Jiang Xuan thought, “Go back with you? In your dreams.” Then he took his disciple and ran. * In his previous life, Jiang Xuan was always worried. The boy in his care never listened. Though he knew there was a tiger on the mountain, he still went straight up it. Covered in wounds, he held out his palm, blood dripping from it, with a golden beast core resting in its center. He gazed at Jiang Xuan, his dark eyes filled with a cruelty born of ignorance. When he smiled, two pretty little fangs showed. “Elder Brother, a gift for you.” Later, when the boy grew up, the last gift he gave Jiang Xuan was a sword through the chest. In this life, Jiang Xuan was just as worried, but now the boy in his care was too well-mannered. If he suspected he'd said something wrong, he would kneel for an entire day in the thin snow on Jingxuan Peak. If he noticed Jiang Xuan was in a bad mood, he would drop everything and quietly beg forgiveness. “Master...” The youth cautiously took Jiang Xuan's hand. His fingertips brushed over Jiang Xuan's cool hand with near-reverence. A few flecks of frost and snow clung to his lowered eyelashes. “Please don't be angry... Huaishuang will change anything.” Later, when the youth grew up, he became the sharpest sword in Jiang Xuan's hand. He cut down every doubt and every threat that could have cost Jiang Xuan his life. At the bottom of a deep ravine beneath a sky swallowed by dark clouds, he reached out to Jiang Xuan. Jiang Xuan couldn't see him, but his voice, beneath the howling winds, sounded like a pure, gentle stream of clear water. He said, “A-Xuan, let's go home.” Reader's Guide: Master and disciple, younger love interest, one-on-one. A cool, reserved master who is the strongest under heaven x a seemingly sweet but secretly scheming disciple, an utterly biased love-struck fool. They save each other; both the master and the villain are reborn. A fiery, drawn-out redemption arc, with plenty of villains getting what they deserve. Not your typical motherly male lead. Strong characters, no delicate master, only the strongest under heaven, who can hack the world to pieces with one hand. He is weak and sickly early on, but that doesn't stop him from cutting people down. And here's another upcoming story: “My Senior Brother's Ghost Won't Leave Me Alone” As one of Tianzhao Sect's two pillars, Xie Lingfei was surrounded by admirers and lived a carefree life. He believed that one of the few things he disliked in this life was a certain person. Xu Mingtai, Tianzhao Sect's immaculate first disciple and his fellow disciple whose only redeeming quality was his face. He had a rare, handsome face, but a sharp tongue and a cold manner. He put on a lofty air that made people's teeth ache, and his deeds were even more irritating. Xie Lingfei had never liked him. As children, they fought over a few volumes of cultivation secrets. On their first trip down the mountain, they betrayed each other over a beast. Even when their sect fell into upheaval and they took on its responsibilities together, neither ever showed the other the slightest kindness. Xie Lingfei had a strong feeling that they would keep giving each other the cold shoulder in this life, the next, and the one after that. * As one of Tianzhao Sect's two pillars, Xu Mingtai bore the expectations of his sect, had extraordinary talent, and became famous at a young age. He believed that one of the few things he disliked in this life was a certain person. His junior brother Xie Lingfei, who never thought about the proper path, lived without restraint, and was bound to become a demon and bring shame upon their sect. He had talent to spare, but a poor disposition. Everyone in the sect answered his call, his master indulged him, and his fellow disciples respected him. Yet at such a young age, he had already gone astray, behaving recklessly and showing no remorse. Xu Mingtai had never liked him. From childhood onward, every time they met, they clashed in a hundred different ways. Xu Mingtai was always cold and cutting toward him, and Xie Lingfei always shot right back. It was like that when they first became disciples as children. It was like that when they went out together to exorcise evil as youths. And it was still like that on the night Xie Lingfei left the sect, covered in blood. Xu Mingtai had a strong feeling that they would keep giving each other the cold shoulder in this life, the next, and the one after that. ...That is, if they could still meet again after death, after being reincarnated once, twice, or three times. If Xie Lingfei had known Xu Mingtai was cursing him like that in his heart, he would have done everything in his power to stay alive!! He absolutely would have!! But the truth was, he died, killed by the backlash from the dark arts he'd spent years cultivating. The notorious Tianzhao Sect defector, who had killed countless people in life, met such an absurd end that his only real contribution was giving the cultivators of the righteous sects something to gossip about over meals for half a month. When Xie Lingfei opened his eyes again, everything he had once known had been turned upside down. The timid, teary-eyed junior who used to trail after him had become the head of a reclusive sect, and had nearly ordered his followers to dig up an entire mountain in search of him. The little junior sister who once wanted nothing more than to ride on her senior brother's head had become a fearsome demoness ruling her own territory. They said the people she'd killed could have piled up another Tianzhao Mountain. His junior brothers and sisters, who had grown up with him, had all made their mark. The sect, once barely held together by him and Xu Mingtai, had scattered like stars across the sky. Some were wealthy enough to stand atop the city walls and toss money around for fun. Others had mastered extraordinary skills and traveled the world alone, vanquishing evil... Only Xie Lingfei had died a miserable death, and his soul had been sealed inside a sacred tree by some unknown person. His greatest daily amusement was listening to the children who came up the mountain tell him stories. “What about the other one? The senior brother who's always rude, narrow-minded, and vindictive. You mentioned so many people just now. Where did that senior brother go?” “He's looking for a homeless ghost.” *The cold-faced, scheming lotus who pines for his beloved x the demon who'd hold up the sky with his mouth if it fell *Fake saint and true gentleman. A little ensemble cast, happy ending, one-on-one, steadfast to the end. Low-magic xianxia, with plot and romance in equal measure. Expect lots of pampering!! Lovers find their way to each other in the end. But tell me, Matchmaker Goddess, what are the odds that sworn enemies end up together: ____? Theme: Treat others with sincerity, and stay by each other's side through thick and thin.