After Pretending to Be in Love with the Demon Lord for Real

[The demon lord took the blame for me for half my life, then the whole mess landed on my head.]

[Life-preserving, wooden heroine x scheming, mad-dog hero]

You can't walk by the river all the time without getting your shoes wet.

In Jiang Yu's tenth year in a small fishing village, that saying finally came true.

She was walking along the riverbank as usual when she suddenly saw a pale hand reaching out of the water. Jiang Yu was about to pretend she hadn't seen it and step right over, when she lifted her foot slightly.

...Huh? She looked down. The hand, which had been resting loosely on the bank, had grabbed her with perfect precision.

Her mind froze. Three seconds later, something appeared in her head.

First line: Heaven and Earth bear witness. This marriage pact is destined.

Second line: First clause of the marriage pact: Share life and death, stand together through hardship.

So, should she save him or not?

Jiang Yu stared at the hand wrapped around her ankle, like a vengeful ghost come to claim her. "..."

Great. So in this fantasy world, you form a marriage pact by ambushing someone?

*

Jiang Yu's greatest wish was to live a long, peaceful life.

But in her tenth year in the fishing village, she accidentally became bound by a marriage pact to a man named Yin Zhaoxue.

Only after leaving the village did Jiang Yu learn what kind of person she had been bound to:

Yin Zhaoxue, the great demon lord whom people described as "bloodthirsty, a ruthless killer, cruel, and capricious."

Yin Zhaoxue had countless enemies and hadn't recovered from his injuries. To stay alive, Jiang Yu had no choice but to begin cultivating while keeping her identity hidden alongside him and pretending they were an exceptionally loving couple who whispered sweet nothings to each other.

In public, Yin Zhaoxue was gentle and affectionate, serving her food and riding with her on the road, always indulging her.

In private, Yin Zhaoxue was a mad dog and a stubborn mule. He swung his long saber, leaving heads everywhere, without caring whether Jiang Yu lived or died.

Several times, they were both on the brink of death, and he nearly got her killed along with him.

Jiang Yu was anxious and furious. She thought, What a complete bastard!

But she knew the demon lord was fated to have few family ties, burdened by karmic debts, and that his destiny could not be changed. All she could do was put extra effort into other things to make sure he stayed alive.

She and the demon lord traveled together.

At first, Jiang Yu's only goal was to be a peaceful medic, feeding Yin Zhaoxue a dose of medicine whenever he got hurt.

Along the way, several great factions became locked in bitter power struggles. An age of chaos began, and the threat of demons and ghosts proved difficult to quell. All she wanted was to keep Yin Zhaoxue from getting hurt so much.

But in the end, when she realized Yin Zhaoxue was at the heart of the chaos and could not escape his fate of death,

he was the one who voluntarily ended their marriage pact.

*

The world has seven emotions, and cultivators have seven paths.

Six paths flourish: joy and anger, sorrow and fear, love and hatred.

Those who follow joy and anger are fickle and unpredictable.

Those who follow sorrow and fear restrain themselves and act with caution.

Those who follow love and hatred are twisted and hard to understand.

The final path is desire.

Those who follow desire are consumed by madness for life.

Yin Zhaoxue bore countless desires within himself, yet just as he was about to descend into madness, he glimpsed a light from the other shore.

He seized that light with all his might, and from then on, he never wanted to let go.

Upcoming novel: Senior Brother Always Thinks I'm Going to Kill Myself. Please add it to your reading list, mwah.

Blurb:

After Jiang Chanxin died, she transmigrated, only to accidentally take over a body that had been prepared for the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon of this world had long been sealed away. The remnants of the demon race lived like rats in the gutter, desperately hoping for the Heavenly Demon's return so it could lead them back to glory.

Jiang Chanxin had no choice. She had to take the path of overthrowing the old king and becoming the new one.

*

[Sleepy warrior who hates the world, junior sister x beacon of righteousness who's actually two-faced, senior brother]

Jiang Chanxin had a pair of unusual eyes.

Everything has qi, and these eyes meant Jiang Chanxin had been able to see "qi" since birth.

Whether someone was human or demon, a monster or a fiend, blessed by Heaven or evil, she could understand them with a single glance. As a result, she was always attracting evil beings.

Before joining the immortal sect, Jiang Chanxin had never had a good night's sleep. That changed when she entered the sect and learned about a place called Yuyuan.

They said the most evil demon in the world was sealed beneath Yuyuan. Jiang Chanxin discovered that the demonic qi there could crush any evil being, and that she could absorb it and use it herself.

Jiang Chanxin moved her home to the edge of Yuyuan overnight and stayed there for several years. She thought it was a pretty good place, apart from the cold mountain wind.

That was until she met the senior brother whose qi shone so brightly he seemed to glow, dazzling as the sun.

That night, for the first time in her life, she slept soundly until dawn.

[This senior brother works just as well as Yuyuan.]

*

Zhao Yuzhao returned from an outing with a new junior sister. She was wonderful in every way, except that she couldn't let go of her suicidal thoughts.

The first time Zhao Yuzhao saw her was by Yuyuan. The girl was breathtakingly beautiful, like an immortal, and completely out of place there, yet she jumped down without even blinking.

He was so frightened that he immediately pulled her back up. After that, he kept her by his side, never at ease. He had to worry about her mental health and protect her from the wolves around them who coveted her.

Because he protected her so well, rumors gradually spread through the immortal sect that Zhao Yuzhao was taking advantage of his position to steal her for himself.

And eventually, Zhao Yuzhao really did become a thief.

·

The cultivation stages, from first to twelfth:

First: Spirit Awakening Realm; second: Spirit Platform Realm; third: Spirit Seeking Realm;

Fourth: Spirit Shaping Realm; fifth: Spirit Gathering Realm; sixth: Spirit Control Realm;

Seventh: Spirit Illusion Realm; eighth: Spirit Transcendence Realm; ninth: Deathless Realm;

Tenth: Origin Return Realm; eleventh: Heavenly Apex Realm; twelfth: Creation Realm.

Reading Guide:

1. The heroine has trouble sleeping. She doesn't truly hate the world.

2. This will most likely be a long novel. I want to write more serious cultivation content.

3. Important things must be said three times: I'm bad at writing blurbs, I'm bad at writing blurbs, I'm bad at writing blurbs. For anything unclear, please refer to the main story. No labels, please.

Reading Guide:

1. This is not love at first sight or brainless romance. Neither lead is perfect, and both have flaws.

2. I'm bad at writing blurbs. A lot happens to bring about the changes over time. The heroine does not have Stockholm syndrome, does not have Stockholm syndrome, does not have Stockholm syndrome.

3. If you don't like it, please don't force yourself to read. Feel free to leave. Let's both be happy.

Theme: We live for ourselves.