The Taoist Priest and the Female Demon

[Black-Bellied Taoist with a Gentle Facade × Alluring, Powerful Female City Lord]

Yao Huayin, the ruthless and bloodthirsty City Lord of Shaoyang, hides a tender place in her heart where a young general named Yu Ziqin lives.

They were childhood sweethearts, betrothed from a young age. But after a conspiracy ensnared them, she had no choice but to order his entire family’s corpses hung from the city gate for all to see.

To her surprise, he survived.

Eight years later, she rescued a Taoist priest with a serene, moonlit air from the mountains and brought him back to her estate as a companion. The Yu family boy she had thought of day and night seemed to have returned to her side.

One night, beneath tender lamplight, the young Taoist carved a vivid Sheman flower into her left shoulder. From then on, she often woke with a rosy blush on her cheeks, gazing at the young Taoist with bashful desire.

The servants all said the Taoist was handsome and knew how to please the city lord. Only he knew that all their passionate delights were illusions brought on by a love curse.

In the deep of night, Yao Huayin fell asleep once more, panting. The Sheman flower on her left shoulder was red as blood, and a strange smile crept across the young Taoist’s face. “Sister, do you know what a demon is?”

He could not bring himself to kill her with one stroke. He wanted nothing more than to torment her in the most humiliating way until she died. But when he finally uncovered the truth about what had happened eight years ago, he was shocked and remorseful, his tears falling like rain...

Once love takes root, it is impossible to forget, even in death.

He had never forgotten their affection as children, even though eight cold crossbow bolts awaited him.

On a winter night, the withered grass outside the city was stained red with blood. The young Taoist looked back toward the city gate. For the rest of his life, he would live for her, protect her, and guard this land for her.

# Withered flowers must be watered with blood

# The one you love most will surely come asking for you again

[Reading Notes]

* A sweet-but-angsty romance. There is some angst early on, followed by a long pursuit of love and remorse. The story involves war and the fate of a nation.

* The male lead practices forbidden arts, and the female lead is ruthless in the early story, even calling herself a demon. They are both ordinary humans, with no supernatural elements.

* One-on-one romance, happy ending

Coming Soon

The Matchmaker's Bride

[Stubborn Girl Determined to Make Money × Peacock Spirit, Love-Struck Spoiled Young Master]

Li Fanxin is the daughter of a matchmaker. Her widowed mother used her silver tongue to arrange countless marriages, buying farmland and building a house, with enough money left over to send Fanxin to school. They lived a lively, comfortable life.

Then her mother suddenly died of illness, and the local tyrant who owned the estate set his sights on Fanxin. With no rent coming in, she had no means to support herself, and could barely afford to keep the little maid.

When the rice jar was almost empty, Li Fanxin wiped away her tears and decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and arrange matches for people.

The trouble was, Fanxin did not know which eligible, unmarried men and women in town might be suited for each other. Just as she was fretting over it, a white dog barged into the courtyard again. It was a little dirty, but looked remarkably like the one owned by Master Zheng of the eastern part of town.

Fanxin’s eyes lit up. A match was a match, after all!

-

Zheng Fei was Master Zheng’s only son and a notorious playboy.

One day, as he drank and caroused in his courtyard, he heard the steward say that a matchmaker had come to call. He snapped open his folding fan and wearily propped a foot on the stone stool beside him.

“I’m rich, with long, shapely legs and a handsome face. Girls who take a fancy to me can’t be driven away. Why would I need a matchmaker to find me a bride?”

But the visitor turned out to be a fresh-faced young woman, timid but with a stubborn glint in her eyes. In her arms was a white dog that had just been bathed, its fur still damp.

Zheng Fei could not help taking another look at her, only to hear the girl say:

“Excuse me, is your dog looking for a mate? Shiny coat, long legs, handsome too. Just one string of cash!”

His friends laughed so hard they doubled over. Zheng Fei swore in front of everyone that he would teach this insolent little matchmaker a proper lesson. Then he saw an official’s son holding her little white dog and chatting happily with her, and his heart felt as if someone had poured cold water over it.

Well, he could always change his vow.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of his friends caught sight of a tender love letter.

Zheng Fei’s handsome face flushed red, but he spoke with righteous conviction. “She hits me, uses me, gives my things away to beggars, talks to other men right in front of me, and won’t even let me hold her dog... She must like me!”

On the opposite bank of the river, Li Fanxin took a crumpled letter and casually sat on it. Stubbornly, she told the little maid beside her, “Only children have to choose. I want the farm and the money, and I’m going to keep matchmaking, too.”

She remembered there might have been a name in the letter and asked the maid, “By the way, who’s Zheng Fei?”

Message: Be honest with one another, and one day you will find your way back together.