[A Daoist with no worldly desires x a male fox spirit]
Zhang Qingyuan has been alive in this world for quite a few years. He possesses strange arts, has an unknown origin, and spends most of his time mooching food and lodging at a Daoist temple.
After accidentally causing a tangled romantic debt, he is caught by his senior brother, who has always complained that he is lazy and loves to eat. His brother kicks him out of the temple and tells him to make a living on his own.
With no other choice, the impoverished Daoist becomes a corporate drone in the twenty-first century.
A nine-to-five job, a monthly salary of three thousand, and rent of fifteen hundred at the end of the month.
Money is impossibly tight. Before leaving the temple, Zhang Qingyuan swore never to reveal his strange arts, but he secretly takes on a side gig: he finds a piece of white cloth, writes “Ward Off Evil and Tell Fortunes” on it, then crouches by the roadside after dark.
And, surprisingly, business is booming.
One day, he gets a job: a family is haunted, and they want him to “ward off evil.”
Zhang Qingyuan arrives and puts on a show of mysticism. Just as he is about to take the money and run, a shadowy figure flashes through the darkness...
Wait, are there actually ghosts?
He chases after it to take a closer look, then grabs hold of the figure's furry... tail?
On closer inspection, it's a fox.
And not just any fox, but the little red fox with whom he once became entangled in a romantic debt!
*
“I'm a nationally protected Class II animal now. Let go of me!” Qiao Lin snarls, dangling upside down as Zhang Qingyuan holds him by the tail.
Zhang Qingyuan lets go. The fiery red fox hits the ground and turns into a beautiful young man, his black hair cascading like a waterfall, his eyes alluring, and his golden pupils glaring coldly at him.
Zhang Qingyuan: “I let you go back to the mountains and forests back then. What, have you come back to wreak havoc in the area?”
Qiao Lin: “Mind your own business!”
Zhang Qingyuan narrows his willow-shaped eyes and grabs the young man by the scruff of his neck. “If you want to stay in the human world, fine. Send out your resume and find a proper job!”
Qiao Lin: “?”
A... a what?
*
The little red fox really does find a job.
Zhang Qingyuan has no time to feel pleased with himself for helping someone turn over a new leaf. He opens his phone and sees the young man, with his cool and dazzlingly beautiful face, awkwardly winking at the screen. “Dear viewers, see that little heart in the upper right? Give this little fox a heart, and I'll dance for you!”
Zhang Qingyuan: “...”
He throws down his phone and rushes to the livestream room in the middle of the night to drag Qiao Lin back.
Qiao Lin: “But you told me to find a job!”
Zhang Qingyuan: “This job is no good! Quit it. If it comes to that, I'll support you!”
Reading guide:
1. The chaotic working life of a secretly flirtatious Daoist and a little fox spirit, along with their everyday routine of driving out ghosts, capturing demons, and protecting the environment.
2. Lighthearted, funny, and melodramatic at first, with emotional push and pull later on. The romance leans sweet.
Theme: Maintain public order and protect wild animals.
