I Picked Up a Young Man from Miaojiang

"Baby" (in a deep voice, holding a rose between his teeth, tipping her chin up), he whispers in her ear, "Promise me you'll support the official release. I'd give my life for you~"

They say immortals live in Chu River, and south of Chu River lies Miao territory.

The Tan Clan of Xiang Mountain practices corpse-driving magic, while the Miao villages of Wanshan are masters of witchcraft and curses.

Tan An lives on Xiang Mountain and is a corpse driver of the Tan Clan.

As a child, she accompanied an elder on a corpse-driving journey and unexpectedly rescued someone from a coffin.

After bringing him back to life, she took him home.

She thought he was just a poor soul with nowhere to go.

Who could have known he was the young lord of Wanshan?

*

Years later, they meet again, only to be swept up in a web of mystery.

Wan Qi wears a nuo mask and leads her to Wanshan.

When Tan An opens her eyes, she finds herself in an unfamiliar place.

She cannot leave. She cannot escape.

Beneath that mask is a cultivator who has lost his Dao heart.

He strokes her hair.

"A Chuan, it's dangerous outside. Could you please stay?"

She is no sparrow in a cage, nor a golden canary.

She intends to leave, to see many things.

Wan Qi knows he cannot keep her. After tormenting her in every way, he still lets her go.

"Let her leave if she wants. I'll go after her myself."

He thinks she has really left, but Tan An is trapped in the far south.

It turns out there were signs of all this from the beginning.

Bonus scene:

In the hot spring

Tan An: "Can you make the snake let go of me...?"

Wan Qi: "But A Chuan, it likes you so much."

Tan An: "But I don't like it."

Wan Qi: "Try petting it."

Tan An: "Can I strangle it?"

Wan Qi: "..."

Reading Guide:

Tan is pronounced Qin, with a second tone.

Both leads grow and save each other (happy ending). Many original details.

On the surface:

A shy, introverted little bunny x a clingy, mischievous bad snake who loves to tease

In reality:

A high-ranking figure with a sharp tongue and a soft heart x a fragile puppy who's lost himself

Here's an advance preview, based on an idea I've had for a long time.

Ji Jinhuan is in the middle of weathering a tribulation when a thunderbolt strikes her into the body of a female cultivator, and she gets bound to a Dao-Proving System.

The System says she's the villainous master from a storybook, and must help the male lead become the foremost practitioner of the emotionless sword path.

Once his Righteousness Index reaches the maximum, she must take his sword bone, then be killed by him.

Her reward for completing the task is to retain all the cultivation she gains during this time. When she returns to the demon realm, she can ascend directly.

As a demon king, Ji Jinhuan agrees without a second thought.

It's just that the tasks are a little strange.

[Please gently pat his head]

[Please whisper guidance to him]

[Please let him rest on your lap while you treat his wounds]

Ji Jinhuan grows indignant: Is this what a master and disciple are supposed to do?

The System trembles: Once a master, always a father.

It's actually just a kill-your-wife-to-prove-the-Dao, romance-tribulation-correction System.

*

When Xiao Linhe undergoes his tribulation, demonic energy surges out of control. He fails, and a bolt of heavenly lightning sends him back sixty years. A Cannon Fodder System appears in his sea of consciousness.

The System informs him that this is a power-fantasy cultivation novel, and he's a cannon-fodder supporting male character.

If he wants to successfully overcome his tribulation and ascend, he must steal the male lead's fortune.

At first, Xiao Linhe doesn't believe it.

Until his senior brother appears.

The female cultivators flock around him.

The sect leader gives him all kinds of magical treasures.

Even his master, who tormented him countless times in his previous life, has become strangely different.

She doesn't even carve flesh from his body anymore. Instead, she treats his wounds.

Xiao Linhe hopes she'll cut off his limbs, so he'll have an excuse to slaughter the entire cultivation world.

But she shines too brightly, so brightly that he wants to peel back her skin and see what's really inside.

Bonus scene:

System: [Apply medicine to Xiao Linhe's wounds]

Ji Jinhuan grumbles and throws a bottle of medicine at his head. In her heart: A mere human thinks he's worthy of having this queen treat him herself?

Xiao Linhe pretends to be unhappy and glares back, but is secretly thrilled that she hit him.

Master really does care about me.

A haughty demon king of a master x a disciple who convinces himself to enjoy the pain because he can't bear it (with a little PTSD)

Theme: Losing yourself in love and soothing each other's wounds