Peach

The slopes of Jianglin Hill are teeming with spirits and monsters. A scholar named Zhang Liu loses his way while traveling to take the imperial exams and has to shelter beneath a peach tree. But a bolt of lightning strikes him. He thinks he's done for, only to be saved by a peach blossom spirit who has just taken human form.

"Hey, miss, why aren't you wearing any clothes?!" Zhang Liu turns away and covers his eyes.

"Take a good look. Which one of us isn't wearing clothes?" A Tao giggles and taps his shoulder, then slips into Zhang Liu's clothes in an instant.

"Hey, miss, why did you steal my clothes?!"

A Tao escorts Zhang Liu down Jianglin Hill. He promises that once he's made a name for himself, he'll come back for her.

A Tao tilts her head and tells him, "It's all right. You can come for me even if you never amount to anything."

Later, Zhang Liu abuses his power and influence, offering A Tao to Prince Jing, Li Huizhao, in hopes of climbing the ranks. Three years pass. After experiencing every kind of warmth and cruelty in the political world, he remembers how good A Tao was to him.

But by then, A Tao and Li Huizhao are deeply in love, and she's living a life of luxury.

Zhang Liu can't believe it. "Did you ever have feelings for me?"

A Tao: "...But he's good to me, so of course I'm with him!"

Because when she asked for his heart, he really gave it to her!

Male lead's perspective:

Li Huizhao gazes at the person on the bed, emaciated and still murmuring his name: "A Zhao..."

He leans over and strokes A Tao's face, chiding her. "You really are a demon. Even now, you call me A Zhao. How could I refuse to give you my heart's blood?"

The two demons are struck with fear. They kneel and kowtow again and again, pleading, "Your Highness, you mustn't! You mustn't! Let us think of another way!"

After much deliberation, the old tree immortal grits his teeth and tells Li Huizhao that he can offer up his own inner core to keep him alive for now, but it will only buy him seven days. If A Tao wakes within that time, then, having received Li Huizhao's heart, she can use a fragment of her own inner core to fashion a heart for him. Then both of them can survive, though Li Huizhao will be severely weakened and need a long recovery. The tree immortal kneels on the ground and delivers a long, sorrowful plea.

But Li Huizhao simply turns to him when he's done and asks, "Finished?" A flash of swordlight follows, and blood sprays...

*

In the main hall, Li Huizhao storms in, drenched in blood, holding a decree of ironclad pardon in one hand and an imperial sword in the other.

The guards erupt in an uproar, draw their swords, and surround him.

The man is ashen-faced, his clothes disheveled and his hair loose. Leaving a bloody footprint with every step, he walks straight to the throne and drops heavily to his knees. In a hoarse voice, he says, "I beg Your Majesty for mercy. Grant me a bowl of imperial blood to save my wife's life. I, a guilty subject, will submit to the axe and die without regret!"

The emperor: ??? (ಥ_ಥ)

[Reading Guide]

A sweet little romance, single-couple

Quirky peach blossom spirit x gentle, love-struck young prince

Zhang Liu won't appear much. He's just part of their games

Updates according to the rankings. Stable updates once the book earns 300 yuan

Theme: Do good deeds and build up good karma