I Can Abdicate and Make Way for the Worthy

Please check out my upcoming works: The Immortal Sect's Undercover Agent Is Taking It Easy and The Crown Princess Is Taking the Entertainment Industry by Storm

[An upbeat, ill-fated big villain x a stone sidekick who reasonably lies flat] Dan Zheng x Cang Cang

After dying from overwork, Cang Cang is reincarnated as an immobile stone NPC, dumped in a mountain valley. The System tells her: Don't concern yourself with anything else. Just lie flat.

Luckily, someone soon fishes her out. In doing so, they bind her by a life pact to the future great villain bent on destroying the world. From then on, she becomes a working stone at Dan Zheng's side.

To avoid the ending where she and the great villain are both reduced to ashes, Cang Cang, who can't afford to slack off, learns to find excuses to lie flat reasonably:

The great villain tells her to finish off their enemy, but she faints at the sight of blood.

The great villain complains that her cultivation is too weak, so she goes along with it, saying, "This subordinate is incompetent," and suggests he find someone better.

The great villain asks what she would do if he were badly wounded and couldn't beat the female demon who was trying to force him to marry her.

Cang Cang says, "Don't make hypothetical tests of a stone's integrity. There's no point."

Dan Zheng thought he had found a rare stone spirit, one that could become a great talent with a little polishing. He never expected her to give him heart palpitations with frustration every now and then, and yet he couldn't bring himself to set her free.

Cang Cang is also puzzled. Why does this fallen demon seem to be in better mental health than she is?

When she offers to resign and take responsibility,

Dan Zheng refuses, then casually dangles a carrot in front of her: "No matter. Given time, I may find a way for you to cultivate."

When she asks whether he plans to silence everyone who knows the truth,

Dan Zheng looks surprised. "You've only recently taken human form. Why are you already so extreme in your approach?"

"Don't you want to slaughter the Immortal Sects and rule both realms in the end, Your Excellency?"

Dan Zheng gives her a look of utter disbelief. "...What made you think that was my ambition?"

Later, the stone's cultivation advances by leaps and bounds.

Amid a field of demon beast corpses, a young woman stands with a sword in hand, blood still wet on her cheek.

Dan Zheng's luminous eyes curve into a smile. "Why not consider it? I could step aside and let you take over."

[Relationship Comedy]

The great elder of the demon cultivators looks glumly at the pile of fluffy creatures that have been turned away. "So the lord doesn't like fluffy things. Then what does he like? There isn't a creature in the sky or sea that this great elder can't find!"

Dan Zheng ponders for a moment. "Something exceptionally sturdy, highly cultivated, and especially levelheaded?"

The great elder glares and strokes his beard. "Why don't you just say it has to glow green, too?"

The next day, the great elder intercepts his lord and pulls a green, hard, heavy object from his robes right there on the spot.

[Reading Guide]

1. A lighthearted, healing coming-of-age adventure, happy ending, hidden mutual salvation, modest ensemble cast, subversive tropes, plenty of boomerangs, and a fresh take on the Classic of Mountains and Seas

(If anything seems inconsistent, it may be foreshadowing or setup.)

A growing heroine, not a System-powered leveling story

2. Comments are open. Hope you have fun! The author's notes include little skits, so I recommend not blocking them.

3. I drew the cover and character designs myself. They're pretty rough, so please bear with me! (Layout by Lucky Little Lotus)

4. Other illustrations and skits are on Weibo: @DanZhiDanMuYa

------ Upcoming works seeking a home ------

The Crown Princess Is Taking the Entertainment Industry by Storm

[A mischievous, straightforward ray of sunshine (the Crown Princess) x a cool, dignified beauty on a high peak (the Grand Tutor)]

Crown Princess Jing Weizhen hid her identity and diligently served as heir to the throne for over a decade. At long last, the day she was to ascend the throne arrived.

But a bolt of heavenly lightning struck, and the throne she'd all but claimed slipped away.

Time and space shifted, and their souls switched bodies.

The bad news: She had become a universally disliked, D-list celebrity in the modern entertainment industry, notorious for her terrible acting and reputation.

The good news: Her Grand Tutor, so cold and untouchable that no one dared approach him, had come along too. He was a young, popular movie star with both the fame and the talent.

A few thousand haters were nothing compared to the hidden dangers of court politics. The Crown Princess had faced too much to be intimidated:

On a variety show, despite being terrible at singing and dancing, she showed off her mastery of the Six Arts and became a calligraphy and guqin enthusiast. Quite a few viewers turned from haters into fans.

On a livestream, she demonstrated her encyclopedic knowledge of jewelry and antiques at a museum, explaining both their origins and craftsmanship, and earned the title of treasure-appraisal expert.

On the red carpet, a scheming, two-faced woman deliberately tripped and fell in front of her. The Crown Princess pretended to help her up and casually said, "You needn't bow so deeply."

There was more. The Crown Princess had spent years cooped up in the palace. Now free of restraint, she started letting loose.

But she let loose a little too much, and her secret identities were exposed:

"Breaking! Star with a ton of scandals exposed for having multiple secret accounts!"

Netizens clicked in with eager curiosity and burst out laughing:

The account "Lonely Frog" shared a three-pull gacha session that yielded three rare characters, with the caption: "I am appointed by Heaven, a child of fortune. A mere gacha pull is nothing to me. (Grinning)"

The account "Taiye Frog" appeared in a music section on a video site, leaving a midnight comment: "Tonight's music was heavenly. I am most pleased. Reward them handsomely. Coins +1000."

Under a video of a beautiful woman with a generous bust and long legs: "You may have a place in my harem!"

In the comment section of a handsome fitness blogger with an eight-pack: "When will my harem have a beauty like this?!"

The Crown Princess's string of secret identities, along with the 108 male models she'd liked, all started trending.

Seeing this, the Grand Tutor, who had been earnestly urging her to study for the civil service exam, could no longer sit still.

Late at night, after enjoying some fruit wine, the Crown Princess received a call. A cool voice spoke softly: "Your Highness hasn't replied in ages. Which beauty are you favoring now?"

As she casually flipped through the beautiful people section and liked posts, the Crown Princess replied mournfully, "They're only cyber-beauties."

The voice on the other end grew a little lower. "So Your Highness wants a real one, too?"

Tipsy and unusually bold, the Crown Princess let slip what she really thought. "Yeah. But preferably you..."

Before she could finish, the Crown Princess drifted off to sleep.

A moment later, a voice came softly through the phone. "Your Highness?"

"...I'm listening, Your Highness. Finish what you were saying before you go to sleep?"

[Little Skit]

The Crown Princess is angry and decides to go white-haired overnight. She changes into a wig, puts on a deathly sick makeup look, lies in bed, and asks her assistant to take a photo to send to the Grand Tutor, with the message: "She's dying, and you still won't come see her??"

Half an hour later, the doorbell rings.

That fast? It can only be a food delivery.

The Crown Princess bolts upright from her deathbed. As soon as she opens the door, the Grand Tutor, eyes red, pulls her into his arms.

A moment later, his long fingers gently wipe away the dark circles beneath the Crown Princess's eyes. The Grand Tutor's expression changes several times before he finally laughs in exasperation.

Then the Crown Princess watches as the usually impeccable young man calmly removes his tie, winds it twice around his hand, and slowly advances toward her.

"Hah. Your Highness is always playing tricks on people. Would you like to try being the one who's tricked?"

The Crown Princess stares at the tie, feeling both excited and nervous. Wait, how long has the Grand Tutor been here? Has he already gotten more adventurous than she is?

Theme: Love life