The Red Monk's Robe

-

Xie Linfeng had one misstep and found his soul transported to ancient times, where he became a ghost, and a penniless one at that. To reclaim his family estate, he raised a Nuo Immortal and swaggered into the land of the living to capture plague ghosts, only to run into a hall master who loved picking up junk.

Everyone said Hall Master Yan would answer any question and was the easiest person to get along with.

So Xie Linfeng kindly asked, "Hall Master, how did you raise such a stupid dragon?"

Yan Bingsui: "What can I do? You could report me to the authorities and have me arrested."

Xie Linfeng: "?"

Now that's easy to get along with.

Everyone also said Hall Master Yan was approachable and the best at making conversation.

So Xie Linfeng asked, "Hall Master, you're handsome and kind, and treat everyone well. What about me?"

Yan Bingsui: "You're handsome too."

Xie Linfeng: "?"

Now that's a great conversationalist.

Everyone also said...

Xie Linfeng had his way with him, pinning him beneath himself. He didn't believe a word everyone said.

He said, "You love everyone, and I'm the only one left out."

Yan Bingsui replied innocently, "Everyone loves me, and you're the only one left out."

Xie Linfeng: ?

Later, everyone said Hall Master Yan was cold and heartless, and that he seduced people only to abandon them.

Yan Bingsui: "You'd make up all this nonsense just to ruin my reputation?"

Xie Linfeng: "You abandoned your wife and child. I'm just voicing my grievances."

Yan Bingsui: "You left me for a thousand years. Shouldn't I be especially cruel to you?"

Xie Linfeng froze. "?"

That's just too cruel.

I mean, me.

A shameless pursuer who catches feelings for real x a prey-playing recipient who turns the tables.

Little Dragon's Notes (in crooked handwriting)

Dan Sheng was a short dragon with a troubled fate. Half the darkest moments of his dragon life came courtesy of his master. Specifically...

The moment he was born, his master very reasonably asked him, "Sorry, I'm too busy. Evil ghosts are causing trouble here. Could you kill them yourself?"

So while still nursing and unable to speak, Dan Sheng learned to swing a knife at people first.

Dan Sheng came to terms with it: "It's okay. He's my master!"

*

His master spent year after year fighting by the banks of the Wangchuan River. One day, when his master was late returning, Dan Sheng went to Wangchuan to look for him, only to be swallowed whole by a ghost serpent.

He spent half a month inside the serpent's belly before finally receiving a telepathic message from his master.

His master said, "I'm not coming back for dinner today... Hm? Where are you? Why is it so dark?"

Dan Sheng said numbly, "I'm inside a snake's belly."

His master said, "Stay safe, and come home soon."

Dan Sheng: "."

It's okay. He's my master...

*

Several hundred years later, his master stopped fighting at Wangchuan and finally had time to enjoy a loving master-and-disciple life with him. Then his master got possessed by a wild ghost.

That wild ghost was quite the charmer. Wearing red was enough to entrance his master, and giving him an earring made his master devoted. The worst part was that the ghost had a terrible character: tender and affectionate in front of his master, smug and self-satisfied behind his back.

Gradually, Dan Sheng watched the wild ghost grow bolder and bolder until he climbed into his master's bed. It's okay. He's my

"Master! That's where I sleep!" Dan Sheng raged, then declared solemnly, "Rules are dead. I can be dead too!"

Unexpectedly, the wild ghost said, "I raised such a scatterbrained little thing, and you went and raised a stupid dragon. Fine, let it come in and see you."

His master immediately looked terrified. "N-no need..."

Dan Sheng was already feeling miserable when a secret message suddenly entered his mind, making him stiffen and tumble down the steps.

The next day, he appeared in front of his master with a bruised and swollen face.

His master asked, "Dan Sheng, what happened?"

Dan Sheng frantically shook his head.

His master: "Are you sure you're all right?"

Dan Sheng put on a fake smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fiiiine!"

Because the secret message had been gentle and soft, with a knife hidden in its smile. It had said: "You little beast, if you come in, I'll make your master give birth to another you."

Dan Sheng broke into a cold sweat and spent a month in a daze.

Even if he had been hatched.

-Cover lettering by @Yi Ye Lang Li Xing Ge

-This is not a childbirth story!! This is not a childbirth story!! This is NOT a childbirth story!!! (screaming)

-The story itself is the focus. Not suitable for readers who are intensely devoted to either side, so please avoid it early if that's you.

[Upcoming 1] Urban supernatural tale, "Careful! Don't Step on the Director's Tail." Blurb:

-Cocky, cool, destructive cat recipient x pretend-weakling, actually vicious drama-queen snake pursuer.

-Older pursuer. Very likely to launch on September 27!

[Main Story Blurb]

People say a new official brings three blazing fires, but Lu Yize was a new cat on the job who burned three sticks of incense.

On his first day reporting to the Paranormal Bureau, he accidentally got three leaders killed.

Meanwhile, strange incidents plagued the city, and projects suffered heavy losses.

Yet the director was magnanimous and kept handing out benefits!

Deeply moved, Lu Yize prepared to turn over a new leaf at work. Then, in his second month, he accidentally got the director killed too.

Lu Yize: .

...Maybe I should just quit.

*

A colleague in the fortune-telling department couldn't bear to watch and volunteered to tell his fortune.

The result was startling: the reading showed that Lu Yize had a vicious, ferocious, blue-faced, fanged, thousand-year-old corpse at home!

Damn!

Lu Yize was horrified.

Remembering that he'd recently rescued a cripple, he immediately grabbed a peachwood sword and rushed home.

But when he entered, he saw the cripple had fallen out of his wheelchair and was sitting on the floor, looking miserable and lonely as he stared at the food he'd knocked over.

Good heavens.

A sudden disaster,

complete chaos,

a total mess.

And the gas was still on!

Lu Yize was so startled that his tail stood on end. "...What have you been doing at home now?"

Lou Suxue said innocently, "I wanted to repay you."

Lu Yize smiled. "...?"

His ways of repaying kindness included, but weren't limited to:

Nailing things to the wall while Lu Yize slept,

"standing" guard while Lu Yize carried dishes,

Blowing up the house while Lu Yize was at work.

In short, he managed to give the impression of, "I'm at my mom's house."

...Was this repayment? It was more like payback.

Lu Yize didn't know whether to be grateful or accept that he was out of luck.

How could such a troublemaker be a thousand-year-old zombie, evil ghost, and wicked god?

But just then, the other man secretly glanced at the peachwood sword and suddenly struck a pose as if offering his neck to be executed.

Lou Suxue sighed. "I can't do anything right. Just kill me."

Lu Yize hid the sword. "No, don't."

Lou Suxue lowered his eyes. "I keep causing trouble."

Lu Yize: "That is true, wait!"

"That's not what I meant. Put down the cleaver!"

"Forget it, forget it. We all have it tough."

"Handsome guy, big brother, that's the balcony! Help, someone's about to jump!"

*

Before long, the truth proved that his colleague in the fortune-telling department had been right. The misfortune wasn't caused by the person at home, but Lou Suxue really was a powerful evil spirit!

An evil Black King Snake, no less!

But Lu Yize had seen every kind of monster on his assignments. Before he could even voice an opinion, the scheming snake had already been driven to a breakdown by his own overthinking.

Overthinking was no good, so Lu Yize raised his tail and planned to have a heart-to-heart with the snake when he got back from his trip.

Who could have guessed that half a month later, when the cat returned home, the house had turned into a gloomy, soaking-wet haunted mansion?

Lou Suxue's long hair was drenched. He silently counted the red thread wrapped around his finger. He was still here, but barely clinging to life.

Lu Yize was so startled his fur stood on end. In a chaotic rush, he sent the snake for emergency treatment.

After finally saving the snake, the cat was in turmoil, inexplicably shaken.

Lou Suxue squeezed the cat's fingers:

"I'm sorry."

"Don't cry."

"I overthought it."

"I thought I still hadn't woken up from the dream."

Lu Yize didn't understand. "What dream?"

Lou Suxue looked at him and said nothing.

A two-thousand-year dream, repeating through countless cycles, searching in vain.

[Bonus Scene]

After Director Cat's run of bad luck passed, the kind-hearted fortune-telling department decided to give him a "follow-up reading."

But this time, when they made their calculations, everyone was so frightened their eyes rolled back!

Lu Yize's brow twitched. "How did it get worse?"

Colleague: "A great calamity! A great calamity! Director, you're being haunted right now!"

Lu Yize's tail started lashing around. He asked guiltily, "Where is the ghost?"

His colleague turned pale with terror. "It's wrapped around your body, from your legs to your waist. It's all over you!"

At the same time, a chilling voice rang out:

"He looked at your body. I'll kill him."

Lu Yize went rigid.

He grabbed the snake tail coiled around his waist and silently warned it:

"Damn it, shut up. Keep moving and I'll stew you for dinner."

But this time the Snake King didn't pretend to be pitiful and wronged.

In full view of everyone, his soft chuckle reached the cat's ears.

Cold scales, an entwining body. The Snake King went further, wrapping the cat in his embrace with his icy tail.

"Does it matter if people see us?"

The cat's pupils narrowed. He wanted to stop him, but it was already too late

"Hiss."

The snake's tongue had already touched the cat's skin.

*The pursuer is injured and disabled early on, but recovers after treatment. (A snake, yes!)

*Older pursuer, slight nurturing dynamic. The recipient is cat-like, and the pursuer is snake-like. I say "-like" because they aren't traditional animals. They're the culmination of all the author's preferences!

*Don't worry about anything else in the end. Kittens are the best (thumbs up).

[Upcoming 2] Historical fantasy xianxia, "Not Big Enough"

A rebellious model student x a tender, scheming, gloomy ghost

-

After losing his memory, Li Jiuge joined Baiyun Bureau to find his lost sword spirit. On his first day at work, he ran into several strange ghost cultivators.

Li Jiuge pulled out a flag. Ghost cultivator: "Th-this is the Commander's Flag?!"

Li Jiuge put up a whistle. Ghost cultivator: "Wahhh, it's the Soul-Summoning Whistle!"

Li Jiuge drew his sword. Ghost cultivator: "Ahhh, the Lihuo Sword!"

The ghosts all agreed: "No doubt about it, he's our legendary commander!"

Li Jiuge blew his whistle, waved his flag, then swung his sword.

The ghosts waited eagerly: Ooh, a triple-power move! Is a bloody storm about to break? After all these years, our Ghostbane Bureau is finally

Li Jiuge was baffled. Then he turned to the cultivator flying on a sword in front of him and said, "Finally caught you! I told you not to run a red light. Which hall and bureau are you from? What's your employee number?"

...Huh?

The ghost cultivators all collapsed, spitting blood:

"Boss, with your status, why are you directing traffic?!"

-

It turned out Li Jiuge was the commander of the Ghostbane Bureau. Several years ago, the bureau had rebelled and been brutally suppressed by the Sanqing Hall, and its commander had vanished.

Not only were they without a commander, they had no money, troops, or weapons!

How could they dare start from nothing like this?!

Looking at his eager subordinates, Li Jiuge could only laugh awkwardly. "...How about we put rebuilding the bureau aside for now? Baiyun Bureau pays 9,000 a month, and Lord Cuihua even personally checks on colleagues at night. He's very gentle."

The demonic cultivators were dumbfounded.

"Which bureau?"

"How much is the monthly salary?"

"Lord Cuihua?!"

"At night?!!"

"Checks on you?!!"

"Very gently?!!!"

"What kind of check-in, er, is this?!" "Um, where does he check..." "The claim that colleagues are all this way is a lie!" "An enemy is an enemy. An enemy can't become a cultivation partner!"

"Er, do you know you two used to have a thing?"

Li Jiuge: Have what???

-

It turned out that Lord Cuihua was the Lord of Sanqing Hall, the sworn enemy from Li Jiuge's previous life who had led the campaign against him!

With disaster looming, Li Jiuge immediately went to resign. But that day, Lord Cuihua's bedroom was gloomy, and the floor was covered in words written in blood.

Things like "I'll kill you," "Don't leave me," "I think of you every day," "Don't forget me," "Let's die together," "Pain," "I'm going mad," "I... love you," and "We'll be together forever."

None of it fit Lord Cuihua's elegant, gentle, and gracious image!

Li Jiuge was horrified and ran off, leaving the letter behind.

Holding a white lantern, Lord Cuihua stood waiting at the door like a ghost.

He'd been caught in the rain, yet his gaze was still full of tenderness, and he wore the warm smile of a gentleman.

"It's nearly dark. Where are you running off to, An Rujun?"

"I'm so cold. Let's go inside, and I'll help you change and bathe."

Li Jiuge: I can go back to my own room!!

N-no, don't! Help!!!

Theme: Evil can never overcome good.