After the Little Qilin Mistook His Master for the Villain

[Major revisions to Volume Three are complete, with 8,000 new words added and some chapters completely rewritten. The complete, authorized version is available only on Jinjiang.] Lu Cheng is a qilin. His specialties are pretending to be a little horse, kicking people with his hooves, and flopping onto the ground and refusing to move. One day, the older brother he depends on is forced to undergo a trial and be reincarnated. He is destined to experience a romantic tribulation, so Lu Cheng decides to take human form and become his brother's disciple. He'll use his merciless iron hooves to kick away every one of his brother's romantic prospects. The plan goes perfectly. He becomes his brother's disciple and successfully helps him avoid the romantic tribulation. The only little flaw is that he got the wrong person. Not only is the man not his brother, he's the infamous Demon Lord, a villain straight out of legend. Thinking about how shamelessly he'd acted spoiled and thrown his weight around while treating the man as his brother, Lu Cheng shudders. He turns into a little horse and runs off into the night at full speed. Shang Yanshu has a very clingy disciple. His disciple's eyes always light up when he looks at him, boldly claims that he'll protect him, and won't let him like anyone else. “Am I not allowed to like my beloved disciple?” Shang Yanshu asks with a radiant smile. Of course not. He's not a romantic tribulation. Lu Cheng immediately says, “You can like me, though.” “Very well. I won't like anyone but you, my beloved disciple.” Shang Yanshu pulls him into his arms, wearing his usual insincere smile. Yet the delight and joy flickering in his eyes at that moment would look unfamiliar even to him. But not long after agreeing, his disciple disappears. After searching most of the cultivation world, Shang Yanshu finally finds his beloved disciple, who has been missing for days. He discovers that the boy has turned into a little horse to hide from him and now spends every day clinging to the Immortal Venerable, just as he used to cling to Shang Yanshu. He boldly declares that the Immortal Venerable isn't allowed to like anyone else. “Except me,” Lu Cheng adds with practiced confidence. Suddenly, every hair on his body stands on end. He turns around and finds the Demon Lord he's been avoiding for ages standing behind him, smiling as if he were the picture of kindness. The notorious Demon Lord has appeared again. He single-handedly breaks through every defense of the Immortal Sect and declares that he will take someone back to his Demon Palace. The members of the sect all look toward their aloof, otherworldly Immortal Venerable, who is always being pursued by the Demon Lord. Their faces fill with outrage and humiliation, and they prepare to resist to the death. Then the Demon Lord swings his palm, gives a slap, and steals the Immortal Venerable's horse. Everyone: ... Everyone: ??? Is this guy insane or what.jpg A confident, cocky little horse bottom x a twisted, fun-loving Demon Lord top who loves putting on a show Recommended upcoming novel of the same type: After Mistaking a Paranoid Eunuch for My Older Brother. If you're interested, please add it to your favorites. Thank you! The Qian Sui holds power as regent. In just three years, five emperors have died of sudden illnesses in the palace. When people go to retrieve the fifth prince, who was sent to live in seclusion in the mountains years ago, he accidentally falls into the water and loses all his memories, becoming a fool. A fool would be easier to handle, except he seems a little too foolish. The day he meets the Qian Sui, he ignores the palace servants cowering on the ground and cheerfully grabs the hand of the handsome man whose gaze is cold and terrifying. He even calls him, “Big Brother~” The man, who has never liked being touched, narrows his eyes. To everyone's surprise, he neither kills the boy nor pulls away. The little fool of an emperor grows even more audacious. He clings to the man all day, demanding hugs and cuddles, as annoying as a piece of sticky candy. Everyone wonders how many days the little emperor will survive under the Qian Sui. Yet He Jinchen, who has always been capricious and murderous, seems to become a different person. He lets the boy get away with all his outrageous behavior, and even holds him and soothes him on stormy nights. Yan Huan has a secret: he isn't the real fifth prince. The fifth prince is dead. Yan Huan is a nightmare spirit who has taken on the prince's appearance and impersonated him in order to find the older brother he lost years ago. Yan Huan has a feeling that He Jinchen is his brother, but he still needs to make sure. Nightmare spirits can enter and consume dreams. In He Jinchen's unguarded dreams, Yan Huan can discover who he really is. He keeps clinging to the man and getting close to him. At last, one night, He Jinchen falls asleep with his arms around him. The high walls of defense he used to raise in his dreams have silently crumbled after their long time together. But this man isn't his brother. After a brief spell of dejection, Yan Huan turns his attention to the young general at court. Overnight, He Jinchen notices that Yan Huan has changed. He no longer clings to him and calls him Big Brother, and he makes excuses to avoid him. At the same time, he becomes unusually warm toward the general, who has always opposed He Jinchen. He even tries several times to invite the man to spend the night in the palace, plotting ways to bring He Jinchen down. From a hidden passageway just beyond the wall, He Jinchen clearly hears every word Yan Huan and the general say. Half his face is concealed in shadow, the candlelight flickering over it. “Humph.” After a soft laugh, half mocking and half scornful, He Jinchen turns and walks away. On the day of the palace coup, Yan Huan finally realizes he hadn't mistaken the man. He Jinchen was the brother he had been looking for from the start. But when he rushes out of the palace in a panic to save him, he finds He Jinchen standing calmly outside the hall. A headless corpse kneels beside him, and a blood-soaked head rolls to Yan Huan's feet. It's the general. “Huanhuan, come to your brother.” He Jinchen calls to him softly, as kindly as ever. But when Yan Huan looks up, he sees a beaming, bloodstained face, both bewitching and terrifying, illuminated by the fierce flames in the soldiers' hands. Theme: The sea of suffering has no shore, but one can cross it by boat.