Dogs Barking at the Palace Gate

An early, immature work. Read at your own risk.

Cover art thanks to my dear high school deskmate, Ms. Q. Writing together with you was what made our most grueling senior year feel wonderful.

[Wild on the outside, loyal attack x gorgeous, free-spirited beauty receiving]

Man Yuhai x Wan Feng

Beast x Viper

Seven years ago, after being kidnapped and taken to a Northern Yan military camp, Wan Feng was forced to become the wolf prince's male concubine for two years to stay alive.

The wolf prince, Man Yuhai, was cruel and vicious, bloodthirsty and cold. He pinned Wan Feng down on wolf pelts, leaving deep, unforgettable marks on both his body and his heart.

Seven years later, the Northern Yan army was defeated, and Man Yuhai was brought to the capital, Zhongjing. But in prison, he was summoned by the peerlessly elegant Ninth Thousand Years, clad in red.

The beautiful eunuch, with black hair and red robes, leaned against soft pillows and slowly lifted a pair of exquisite, pale feet from a wooden tub.

"Here, puppy. Wash them clean for me."

The defeated wolf king raised a murderous gaze, only for the beautiful eunuch to plant a foot in his crotch.

A soft, damp arch, pressing with just the right amount of force.

"Hurry up, puppy."

"The ever-burning lamp that once gifted a bright moon to a place where no light could be found should not, under any circumstances, be left to wither alone in the wilderness. If the web of fate must bind this body, then let the fluttering of this fragile insect's wings ring across the land and roar through the heavens."

"Go beyond the highest heavens, and seize the freedom that millions have sought in vain!"

1. One-on-one, both leads have no prior romantic or sexual experience, happy ending. Romance and plot are equally important.

2. The setting is loosely inspired by the Ming Dynasty, with a touch of the Song. Overall, it's my own fictional world, so please don't nitpick historical accuracy.

3. An over-the-top, passionate story about a chuunibyou young man navigating political intrigue. Don't take it too seriously.

Ongoing story: The Pretty Spare Is Causing Chaos in the Immortal Sect, click to read

Powerful, fatherly, ambitious top x cunning, spoiled little beauty bottom

Can even the infamous scum-bottom specialist of the Quick Transmigration Bureau end up as a spare?

Ming Youjing's answer: If you accidentally scorn the God of the Main World, then yes.

His top-tier beauty rating is forcibly lowered to just passing. The bewitching beauty becomes a cannon-fodder nobody, throwing himself at an ordinary man, while the person he's up against is the coldest and most ruthless top in this world.

The System gives him a path to turn things around: throw yourself at the top, no matter what it takes. As long as your spare rating goes up, you can exchange it for your original beauty!

To build up his points and make a comeback, Ming Youjing swallows his pride and bears the humiliation.

He climbs the heavenly steps for the male lead, plays the part of his first love, and gets wounded again and again for him...

The pale, frail boy gradually blossoms into a captivating beauty, with rosy cheeks, a slender waist, and skin as white as snow.

Unfortunately, the male lead, Zong Cang, is so guarded that winning him over is like laying siege to a fortress.

When the little beauty, with a slightly swollen belly and hopeful eyes, sits on his lap, Zong Cang pays him no mind.

When the little beauty wears a woman's silk dress, clings to his arm, and calls him husband, Zong Cang acts as if he doesn't hear.

When the little beauty is stirred by a love charm and clings to him, soft and pleading for a kiss, Zong Cang seems to be in a world of his own.

Ming Youjing is at a loss and nearly gives up several times.

Meanwhile, the protagonists who should have hated him are beginning to look at him differently.

The arrogant, unruly senior brother rubs his face against Ming Youjing's tender neck. "I choose to be your dog."

The sickly, obsessive, unhinged junior brother secretly keeps the handkerchief Ming Youjing used. "Jingjing's scent... smells so good."

The cold, ruthless seal-wielding official can barely control himself around him. "If it's you, then falling in love is only natural."

What he doesn't know is what Zong Cang does with the image of him in a water mirror, where no one can see.

...Until Ming Youjing is imprisoned in the Demon Sea. The Motian Sect loses a spirited young disciple, while the demonic cultivators gain a beautiful, mute immortal slave who has lost his mind.

No matter how others kiss and fondle him, he only stares blankly with beautiful eyes, clutching the broken sword in his arms, unable to say whose name he is calling.

The usually cold and self-possessed Zong Cang's eyes turn bloodshot, his fingers crushing the back of a black iron chair until it bends out of shape. He goes on a killing spree, until blood flows beneath the long steps.

Only after rescuing his little disciple does he kiss Ming Youjing's forehead, nearly out of his mind.

"This is good too..."

"A pretty, obedient little mute. A little fool..."

He'll never flirt with other men again.

He'll only need to be obedient, live under Zong Cang's care, share his bed, and bear his children.

Bonus Scene

Everyone says Zong Cang lets Ming Youjing do as he pleases, and that the only reason they became master and disciple is because Ming Youjing threw himself at Zong Cang.

The pretty young disciple really is good at it, serving tea and water and tending to his every need.

But in private, he drinks and smokes, and never turns away a fellow disciple who tries to court him.

He even boasts, "If Zong Cang didn't have so many treasures, who'd want to be his spare?"

The other disciples believe him, and they wait.

Surely, one day, the two will split up, leaving Ming Youjing nowhere to go but into their arms.

They wait and wait, until one day Zong Cang gives a lesson in person.

The stern sect leader holds the little beauty on his lap, pins him in his arms in front of all the disciples, and kisses him until the corners of his eyes turn red.

"Your junior brother is pregnant, so he won't be coming to lessons for the next few days."

"Everyone, disperse."

Theme: Love is a weapon that never fails, even in seemingly insurmountable hardship