What Do I Do After Sharing Pain with the Demon Lord?

[My column's childhood-friends rom-com "Only You Can Desensitize Me" is complete~ My next novel, "After Moving In with My Nemesis," is looking for pre-orders~]

Jiang Changling is a demon hunter in the Demon Capital, but she has an unusual talent.

She can commune with spirits and see ghosts, and draw talismans to subdue demons.

So when a monster went on a rampage and sent her and her fellow disciples flying, she still had one last trick: summon a ghost to possess her, and fight evil with evil!

But her luck didn't last. She was beaten to the brink of death, and rescued at the last moment.

She didn't get a clear look at the man's face. She only remembered the cloak he left behind to shelter her from the snow, still warm from his body.

*

Ever since Jiang Changling lured a vicious ghost into possessing her, the ghost had kept coming to her to settle his grievance.

Luckily, she wasn't heartless, and investigated the cause of his death to repay him.

She never expected what she'd uncover: a huge conspiracy hidden beneath the little city of Qingzhu, something beyond the reach of a mere demon hunter like her.

But she'd already given her word, so for the sake of the common people, Jiang Changling decided to take a chance with the ghost.

Before long, she found herself caught in the conspiracy's vortex, facing nightly assassination attempts from those people.

Then something strange happened.

No matter how many top assassins they sent, none ever came back...

Could Jiang Changling really be that powerful?

Meanwhile, the courtyard where Jiang Changling lived was strewn with corpses. A mild-looking man stood alone among them, waiting for their owners to come and collect the bodies.

After the bloodstains at the gate had been covered up, he quietly stood outside Jiang Changling's room. "I wonder if Demon Hunter Jiang is asleep?"

"When I took out my money pouch, it was snatched away. I have nowhere to go now..."

The vicious ghost, who'd watched the whole thing from nearby: Bro, what are you pretending for? Didn't you kill all those demons just now?

Xiao Jin: You're noisy.

The next moment, the ghost was sent flying far away...

*

[The wilds were quiet and still, the night burned to ashes, yet Jiang proved hard to tame, her frosty chill lingering long]

Xiao Jin x Jiang Changling

Noble, soft-hearted Demon Lord x cool-headed, kindhearted demon hunter

One-on-one, happy ending, both each other's first and only partners, pure love and redemption. A little slow to warm up, plot first and romance second, with plenty of original worldbuilding.

Also titled "Following the Good Path," completed on February 28, 2025.

Theme: Staying kind in the midst of hardship can change your fate.