She Fled to Her Death After I Mistook Her Target

[The next book will be "After the Villainess and Her Master Share a Dream," a master-disciple romance. Please add it to your favorites.]

[The entire novel is being thoroughly revised, and many, many new scenes will be added. Bonus chapters will be updated after the major revisions are complete.]

Jiang Li transmigrated into a book, an old-school cultivation novel with a male protagonist, and became the protagonist's junior sister.

The System told her that if she didn't win over the male protagonist, she would die.

Jiang Li: ???

When she opened her eyes, the place was thick with demonic energy and danger lurked everywhere.

Jiang Li had grown up in a peaceful world and had never seen anything like this. By accident, she ran right into someone else's fight.

The young man was quiet and dependable, with deep, beautiful black eyes. He casually dispatched several monsters.

The System told her that the person before her was the male protagonist.

Jiang Li: How is he the male protagonist? He's obviously my wife! He's powerful and gorgeous. Don't stop me! I'm happy to suffer for him!

Shen Qinghuai was quiet and taciturn, yet considerate in every way. He was exactly Jiang Li's type.

When her progress reached one hundred percent, Jiang Li was overjoyed, waiting for the System to evaluate her and let her leave.

But the System, which had been asleep for ages, came online and told her she'd pursued the wrong person.

Shen Qinghuai was the original novel's great villain who would destroy the world, not the person she was supposed to pursue.

Jiang Li glanced at the peachwood hairpin, their token of love, in her hand, then promptly tossed it aside and ran.

Sorry, darling! My life matters more.

-

Shen Qinghuai had lost both his parents as a child. His half-demon identity had made him suffer endless humiliation and abuse, and he trusted in love least of all.

Then he met Jiang Li.

She bought him sugar figurines, celebrated his birthday with him, and comforted him when nightmares tormented him. Even the blessing on the lantern she released for good fortune was for him.

She didn't even flinch when she saw his long fox tail. Instead, she eagerly wanted to touch it.

After testing her for a long time, Shen Qinghuai finally became certain that he was the only one in Jiang Li's eyes.

Only him.

But just as he was wildly swinging his sword, skewering the human cultivators who coveted him one after another,

he watched in horror as Jiang Li turned away with a terrified expression, leaving without a second thought.

She even casually discarded the peachwood hairpin that carried the scent of a fox.

Her eyes had turned to someone else, a truly gentle, courteous human cultivator, exactly her favorite type.

Shen Qinghuai's eyes nearly split with anguish. Large, crimson tears rolled down his cheeks as black energy surged around him.

Hundreds of years of humiliation and abuse had never driven him to become a demon. Jiang Li alone had let his inner demon grow unchecked.

-

Jiang Li opened her eyes once more and thoughtfully examined the delicate chains around her ankles.

A fluffy, soft fox tail tightened around her waist, and a pair of fox ears had been forcefully stuffed into her hands.

Shen Qinghuai, who had always fiercely guarded his fluffy fur, lowered himself to coax her:

"Jiang Li, I'll let you touch me, I'll let you touch me..."

"Please don't leave, okay? Just look at me, okay?"

"You like gentle types? I can be gentle too. Look at me, okay?"

[Reading Guide]

1. The male lead is a fluffy giant fox and a gloomy, lovesick demon lord.

2. The male lead is love-struck. One-on-one romance.

★ Upcoming novel 1: "After the Villainess and Her Master Share a Dream," an older-man/younger-woman master-disciple romance

Xi Shi was the only disciple of the Revered Swordmaster of Qingxu. She had ordinary talent and a spoiled disposition, but was dearly loved by the sect and got along just fine.

Until one day, she had a dream.

In the dream, she was an arrogant, vicious villainess. Her senior brothers and fellow disciples despised her, yet pretended to treat her well, all so they could refine her into a sacrifice and revive their beloved first love.

She was locked up in front of the Demon-Suppressing Tower and endured lashings and abuse. No one came to help her.

Xi Shi, who had just learned she was the villainess: Damn.

As she lay dying, she saw a figure.

It was her master, the untouchable, silent, strict man.

Xi Shi knew he was noble in character and loved cleanliness.

But in the dream, his usually immaculate robes were soaked through with blood. Black energy seeped from his eyes; he had clearly fallen into demonic ways. He swung his sword, cutting down the heads of his fellow disciples, while blood flowed across the ground.

He knelt in the blood and clutched her corpse tightly, his breath burning hot. "A Shi."

-

After waking, Xi Shi gritted her teeth and decided to get back at every one of them. Before taking action, she thought of her master.

Jiang Ningyan.

Detached and aloof, a flower atop a high peak, with unfathomable cultivation. He usually kept to himself.

Xi Shi had always thought he hated her.

After all, he was a genius and she was useless; he was steady and she was impulsive; he cared about the greater good and she was selfish and willful. They were opposites in every way.

But remembering the man who had gathered her corpse and avenged her all alone that night, Xi Shi hesitated for a moment, then decided to cultivate diligently and become a good disciple.

So she tried every way she could to be good to him.

At the sect competition, she worked hard to place well and bring him honor.

When her master was afflicted by a chilling poison, she rushed around gathering the ingredients.

At last, her reputation in the sect grew better and better. Whenever people saw her master, they praised him for raising such a good disciple.

But then Xi Shi gradually began to realize something was wrong.

By day, her master was aloof and stern, never smiling at her. But when night came...

In one dream after another, her master's gaze grew more and more intense and burning, as if he meant to drown her in it.

In those dreams, they did all sorts of outrageous things.

Xi Shi's earlobes turned bright red, and she finally understood.

What kind of prophetic dream was this? It was obviously her master's dream!

She tried to control her increasingly rapid heartbeat. No, this can't happen.

But then she realized...

Oh no, her master was different during the day now, too...

★ Upcoming novel 2: "My Lovesick Wife Has Always Treated Me as a Substitute," a male-substitute romance with angst for the man

Everyone in town said that Song Wanqing was madly in love with Wang Mingshen.

Song Wanqing was the daughter the Song family had brought back from the countryside. She had always been well-behaved and rarely appeared in public.

Until one day, at a palace banquet, she met Wang Mingshen and fell in love at first sight.

He liked peace and quiet, so she personally climbed a tree to catch the cicada that wouldn't stop chirping.

He liked tea, so she traveled to a tea-growing region, battered and bruised, to pick the freshest spring tea for him.

Every time they met, she gazed at his face with affection and presumptuously called him "Brother Xingzhi."

Xingzhi was Wang Mingshen's courtesy name.

But Wang Mingshen ignored her completely and faced her with a cold expression. When he had no choice but to meet her, he would only address her according to etiquette as "Miss Song."

He was distant and cold, with a hint of annoyance.

Until an accident, when Song Wanqing took a knife meant for him and saved his face.

Wang Mingshen finally accepted the Song family's marriage proposal and married her.

On their wedding night, he lifted her veil. His expression was cool, his voice indifferent. "I'm only repaying your kindness."

Song Wanqing didn't mind. She smiled and agreed, gazing intently at his face, her eyes full of admiration and joy.

-

After their marriage, they treated each other with mutual respect.

Wang Mingshen had just become the minister of the Court of Judicial Review. His work kept him so busy that he often stayed out all night.

Song Wanqing never complained that he was busy and rarely spent time with her. She simply took gentle care of everything and managed the household, never letting him worry about home.

His friends at the government office envied him for having such a virtuous wife, who never got jealous or made a fuss.

Half a year passed like this.

Wang Mingshen occasionally felt guilty and wanted to make a real life together with her.

He began coming home early, spending every night with her, remembering when she was due for her period, reminding her to dress warmly when it was cold, remembering her likes and dislikes, and always taking her side.

But whenever he did these things, his wife would look surprised, as if she couldn't accept it, and urge him to focus on his official duties.

Wang Mingshen assumed his wife was reserved and shy, and paid it no mind.

Until another palace banquet.

The newly appointed top scholar stepped inside wearing a reddish-brown robe. His appearance and attire were remarkably like Wang Mingshen's in his youth, and he drew everyone's attention.

His scholarly reputation shook the capital. People gradually began grouping him and Wang Mingshen together, calling them the Twin Jewels of the Capital.

Without exception, everyone at the banquet was watching the new top scholar.

Wang Mingshen merely glanced at him, giving it no thought, and was about to whisper to his wife as usual.

But when he looked at Song Wanqing, he found that the woman who had always gazed at him adoringly was staring dazedly at the top scholar, tears in her eyes, softly calling, "Xing Zheng."

They said the newly appointed top scholar was named Xing Zheng.

Wang Mingshen suddenly understood. He crushed the cup in his hand, his usually calm, composed expression cracking apart.

No wonder his wife cherished his face so much, even taking a knife for him and getting injured. It was because his face looked nine-tenths like that man's.

No wonder his wife never complained, as other officials' wives did, when he stayed out all night, and never got jealous. She didn't care about him at all; she only wanted to look at his face.

No wonder she clung to him at night, kissing his face and asking him to wear his reddish-brown official robes. It was only because that made him look most like the other man.

She had always treated him as a substitute for another man!

So when she held him every night and murmured "Brother Xingzhi," who was she really talking about?!

#She loves me, or so she pretends. Turns out she doesn't love me. She just treats me as a substitute for another man.

#At first, Wang Mingshen wanted to kill Song Wanqing. Later, he wanted to kill Xing Zheng and take his place. Later still, a living first love is better than a dead one.

#I may have treated you as a substitute, but I really was good to you, okay? OvO

#The aloof flower on a high peak gets turned into a dog TvT

[Reading Guide]

1. Male substitute. The heroine really does treat him as a substitute at first and truly loves her first love. The romance will probably be angsty for the male lead. The male lead pretends not to care, falls for her early but refuses to admit it and is stubbornly tight-lipped. There are elements of a groveling pursuit, and rival men compete for her.

2. Soapy melodrama and pure romance in equal measure. One-on-one romance.

Theme: Love is humanity's greatest emotion.