Do We Really Have to Let the Demoness Save the Cultivation World?

[Please add my upcoming fantasy novel to your favorites: The Fox Spirits Made Me Do It! A slacker, snarky demon hunter x mischievous twin fox spirits

[Sharp-tongued, willful, innocent older brother & honey-tongued, scheming black-lotus younger brother], come on in~ (tapping bowl) (Blurb below)]

[Hard-mouthed, soft-hearted, reserved, beautiful and tragic heroine x fragile, awkward, pampered young master]

#The heroine is on a strong heroine career path, the hero is on a love-and-pursuing-his-wife path, and everyone else is in a fantasy, Lovecraftian horror story.*#

Also known as: "Startled Magpie"

Ming Que was a notorious demoness feared by immortals, demons, and humans alike.

Legend had it that the immortal sect abandoned her as a child, after which she defected to the Demon Realm and entrenched herself in the desolate southwest. She mastered the Five Poisons arts and became one of the Four Evil Lords. She slept on snakes and used toads and spiders as pillows. She was cruel, ruthless, and killed without mercy.

In response, the Poison Lord herself, who had been unwilling to die in the war between immortals and demons, said: I'm dead and gone. Don't drag me into this.

But when Ming Que opened her eyes, she had been reborn 200 years earlier, with a mysterious System of unknown origin bound to her.

The System told her that this world was actually a book.

And she was merely a minor character in it, in short, a cannon fodder.

So the infamous Poison Lord was forced to work and repay the System for its "life-giving kindness" in bringing her back.

But the System didn't want her to destroy the world or break up a couple.

"Your mission is to redeem Xie Jingtang, the original novel's second male lead, and then..."

...save the cultivation world from being corrupted by an evil god?

Ming Que: ?

Has the cultivation world really fallen so far that it needs its sworn enemy, a demoness, to save it?

Xie Jingtang was the beloved youngest legitimate son of the great Xie clan, renowned for its artifact crafting.

But when he was fifteen, the entire Xie clan was slaughtered by Tongtian Sect, who coveted its secret treasure.

The once-spoiled young master lost his family overnight and fled in a panic, carrying the treasure with him.

At his lowest point, he was picked up out of the mud by the legendary Five Poisons Demon Lord.

The demoness spoke with utter indifference: "I saved you. From now on, call me Dad."

The boy, who had just lost his real father, was so humiliated he could have died of grief.

Unexpectedly, the demoness continued: "Then I'll take you on as my younger brother. I'll help you get revenge, and you'll help me save the cultivation world. We have the same goal: overthrow Tongtian Sect and change our lives. Got it?"

Xie Jingtang: ???

Hey, miss, have you really thought through how family seniority works?!

No, more importantly... save the cultivation world?

Is that really something a demon should say? Are you okay?!

But Xie Jingtang gradually realized that the infamous Five Poisons Demon Lord, whom everyone called an irredeemable villain, seemed to be hard-mouthed, soft-hearted, beautiful, and tragic.

She helped him, protected him, and comforted him. Even after seeing him at his most pathetic, she never abandoned him.

The young master, who responded to kindness but not force, gradually let down his guard and hurtled down the road to falling for her on his own.

Xie Jingtang: Why are you so good to me... I'm down and out now. I don't deserve your affection.

Ming Que: Oh, it's fine. It's just what I'm supposed to do (System mission).

System: Ding! Xie Jingtang's affection +10.

Ming Que: ?

After being rejected again and again, Xie Jingtang finally realized he'd been imagining things.

Humiliated and angry, he decided to change his strategy.

Ming Que had recently felt that the plot was starting to go in a strange direction.

The innocent second male lead, who in the original story "would love the heroine even after death," was now rubbing his cheek against her hand with a deeply unsettling smile.

Xie Jingtang: "Look at me more. Even if you could love me just a little, that would be enough."

Ming Que: ...Did she really turn the righteous orphan into an awkward, lovesick yandere?!

[Reader's Guide]:

1. The original hero and heroine appear in the story. They aren't vilified; they're good allies.

2. The romance and plot get equal attention. This isn't a pure romance story.

3. *Content warnings (please read):

The heroine really is a demon lord, not a morally perfect character. Her characterization is inspired by the Five Poisons sect.

There are only [a few elements of Chinese-style Lovecraftian horror], included to fill out the worldbuilding. The execution may not suit everyone's taste!

The dream realms contain [blood, gore, and horror]. If that frightens you, please read with caution!

The heroine is truly stronger than the hero! The hero grows through his talent, but he won't surpass the heroine overall! The hero really does cry! If you don't like male characters who cry, this may not be for you!

4. Slow-burn 1v1, mutual healing, with a love triangle. The hero is truly, ridiculously pure-hearted and completely lovestruck, and has a huge imagination. Please don't read if that's not your thing!

5. My own take on cultivation, with loads of original worldbuilding. Please be gentle ^^

A slacker, snarky demon hunter x mischievous twin fox spirits

[Sharp-tongued, willful, innocent older brother & honey-tongued, scheming black-lotus younger brother]

When Jiang Qiao transmigrated, she was already kneeling beneath the throne in the Golden Hall, listening to the emperor's PUA speech:

"As one of the few demon hunters in the Qianqing Kingdom, a great responsibility is about to be placed upon your shoulders..."

That great responsibility was to take the place of the Grand Princess and marry into the Demon Realm as the Crown Princess, then use seduction to assassinate the demon prince.

The prince himself was supposedly a socially anxious shut-in who never left home. His appearance was unknown, his personality was unknown, and even his name was unknown.

Jiang Qiao: A great responsibility is about to be placed on my shoulders. I'm not up to it.

Two months after marrying into the Demon Palace, she hadn't even seen a strand of her cheap husband's hair. She'd given up completely.

She lazed around the Demon Palace, eating and drinking well, sneaking around and stealing things. Life was wonderful.

She had no idea that someone had been watching her every move from the shadows.

A handsome young fox spirit leaned on the railing and watched Jiang Qiao, eyes sparkling and voice gentle as he said to the person beside him:

"Brother, she's really interesting."

The person beside him had exactly the same face as the young man, but an entirely different air of arrogance.

He sneered. "Did the human race really send such an idiot to assassinate us?"

When they said this, Wei Sheng Suyang and Wei Sheng Yun Zhi had no idea that one day they would fight tooth and nail over this girl.

At year's end, heavy snow fell from the sky.

Jiang Qiao was crouched in the courtyard building a snowman when a fox-eared boy behind her covered her eyes.

"Guess who I am?"

She flung a snowball at the boy's face and heard him yelp in anger.

"Suyang."

The boy protested indignantly: "How can you tell us apart even like this?"

"Because your younger brother isn't as childish as you."

Yun Zhi stood at a distance, wrapped in a thick cloak, smiling at them. His handsome features made him look like a fox spirit bodhisattva.

"He's like that. Nothing matters to him."

Suyang gave a soft snort, his face turning red as he took her cold hands and tucked them against his chest.

The innocent boy was sheltered from the ways of the world and impossibly arrogant, yet he was willing to humble himself for her and offer her his fluffy ears.

"I'll warm your hands for you, just this once."

*

But that same Yun Zhi, who seemed as desireless and detached as a bodhisattva, tricked her into getting drunk.

"My brother was wrong." The young man held her face and smiled faintly. "I care about plenty of things. It's just that I care about him more than all the rest."

I used to look down on you. I thought you were utterly ordinary, and wondered what gave you the right to come between my brother and me.

But now, he felt that being so similar to his twin was a kind of sorrow.

We look so much alike. If it can be him, why can't it be me?

"But, Qiao Qiao, if the price of not fighting for you this time is losing you..."

On a lonely, moonless night, he secretly gathered into his arms the girl his older brother held dear.

"Then I want to fight for myself, just once."

Also known as: #How Could My Handsome Husband Fall for a Good-for-Nothing Like Me#

#The One Stealing Chickens and Dogs Turns Out to Be a Fox Spirit, Also a Canine#

Theme: Everyone deserves to be loved