He’s Seriously Ill

I

Hao Zhenzhu, daughter of the military governor of the western frontier, is as pretty as a doll, innocent and carefree, never showing the slightest trace of sorrow.

Then she gets something to worry about: she's fallen in love with a young man, but he seems seriously ill.

There are five people hidden inside him. They envy one another, vie for her favor, and fight to the death, crawling one after another to her feet and begging for her affection.

[The insecure, abandoned puppy Xiao Jinu, who suffers from separation anxiety]

If Zhenzhu leaves for even a little while, he'll droop his head pitifully and hide in a corner, despising himself. "Why hasn't she come back yet? Does she not want me anymore?"

When their eyes meet, he'll come closer on his own. "Don't leave Jinu behind. If I'm abandoned, I'll die."

[The green-tea puppy Xiao Shiqi, willing to be her substitute]

If Zhenzhu spends a few extra words with another personality, he'll look at her with reddened eyes, tears threatening to fall. "I'm too stupid. I can't even be a good substitute, but I know I can learn. I'll be more obedient than them." Then he'll kneel before her and beg in a hoarse voice, "Will you use me? I'm better at panting than they are."

[The gloomy ghostly monk Xuyun]

A white-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside monk with a sesame-paste heart. While Zhenzhu sleeps, he slyly sidles up to her and presses close. By day, he pretends to be an innocent, guileless holy monk. Somehow, he's found a book of erotic stories, and now he accuses her in a plaintive voice: "Female benefactor, you hid in a corner of the sutra library to read this. Are you learning these ways of tormenting people?"

[The uncontrollable mad dog tyrant Xie Jin]

A mad dog traumatized by abandonment, he breathes harshly with rage. "Abandon me one more time, and I'll bite through your throat!"

But when she strokes his head and soothes him, he grinds his teeth against her palm. "Hold me, please."

[The deranged, obsessive Buddhist devotee Wudu]

Zhenzhu's former fiance, and the dominant personality. He unhurriedly wipes the bite marks from her neck, his movements supremely elegant. "Those mutts touched you?" Then he suddenly grabs the back of her neck and pulls her into his arms. "I'll lick you clean from head to toe, then carve my name into you again, inch by inch."

Hao Zhenzhu worries for a long time, but soon finds a way to handle it. Isn't this just dog training? Silly dogs, mad dogs, sick dogs, abandoned dogs: they're all puppies. They know how to act pitiful, play tricks, bare their teeth, and push their luck. But give them a single treat, and they'll tuck away their claws and fangs and wag their tails for affection.

II

Xiao Jinu, the abandoned prince, dons Buddhist robes and turns a bloodbath loose, rising to the top in the name of the Buddhist devotee Wudu.

On the day of his triumph, he receives a letter breaking off his engagement, signed by the girl he'd cherished in his heart and bones for years.

"She doesn't want me." In unbearable pain, his face streaked with tears and blood, he destroys himself with love and hatred. Through his fading consciousness, he sees new monsters crawling out of the blood. Soon the ground is covered with bloody versions of himself. The one standing in the middle has become unrecognizable. Before a mirror, he spreads a sickly, satisfied smile.

"Now she can at least pick one she likes, right?"

Reader's guide:

* Hao is pronounced with the fourth tone.

* Earnest, sweet girl x gloomy, deranged obsessive

* The male lead is ill: a gloomy, deranged, lovesick obsessive with multiple personalities, consumed by love and hatred. Five personalities, possessive, with different personalities taking turns controlling his body.

* There is only one male lead. All five personalities belong to the same person. This is not a professional analysis of dissociative identity disorder, but five facets of a complex personality. The author's headcanon abounds, so don't scrutinize the details.

* A story of redemption.

* Reborn setting, with no fantasy or transmigration elements.

Theme: Learn to love yourself, others, and the world.