My Demon-Hunting Partner Won Me Over on His Own

[Proud and haughty spirit official * Quirky demon catcher]

1.

The thing Shen Bi wanted most in life was money.

People would die for wealth, and she was forced to take her patron's arrogant deadweight along with her on the road to catch demons.

The good news: the deadweight was handsome, elegant, and easy on the eyes.

The bad news: she wished he'd shut up.

It was bad enough that he was useless. He was also arrogant and loved to tease Shen Bi.

They bickered every day, sometimes over something small, sometimes over something big, until recently, when she realized something was off.

Did he seem to be avoiding her? Had he stopped arguing with her?

2.

Pei Ji, son of the Duke of Ying, was a heaven-blessed prodigy who held a high-ranking position.

He never paid anyone any mind, but for the sake of a demon case, he had to disguise himself and become the apprentice of an obscure, self-taught demon catcher.

She was stingy, selfish, sharp-tongued, and full of lies.

How was a woman with such a crooked heart any different from a demon?

But one day, he overheard Shen Bi and her close friend discussing her dream man:

"Rich, handsome, and brilliant. Of course, if he's rich enough, the rest doesn't matter."

Pei Ji thought for a moment. Me?

No wonder she was willing to ruin her magical artifact to protect him.

How devoted.

Pei Ji scoffed and resolved to put an end to her feelings for him.

So he pretended not to notice the damaged artifact and deliberately stayed away from her for days.

But his eyes kept straying to her...

She went to a temple. What for? To pray for a good match?

She was wearing a skirt he'd never seen before. Fine, she could wear it, but why go out of her way to smile at him?

What a lot of effort.

Pei Ji took a deep breath. Since she liked him so much, he might as well "accept" her, even if it was a bit of a burden.

Three days later, in the garden.

He held a whole bag of fine agate for repairing her magical artifact, trying to figure out how to bring it up without making her so happy she'd faint.

But he saw Shen Bi happily accept a new magical artifact from her senior fellow apprentice, even giving him a flirtatious look. "I was just thinking I didn't want the old one anymore. Thanks, Senior Brother."

Pei Ji: ...?

3.

Shen Bi was sure that Pei Ji had gone mad.

Three nights earlier, someone had suddenly knocked on her door in the middle of the night.

She grabbed a stick and flung the door open, ready for a fight, only to find Pei Ji standing there with bleary, drunken eyes.

He grabbed her wrist, his voice hoarse and muffled. "What you said before... rich, handsome... You meant me, right?"

"You treat me well every day... Doesn't that mean you like me?"

Shen Bi: ???

Happy ending. A lighthearted demon-catching anthology set in an alternate Tang dynasty, with an expected three to four cases.

[Please read the content warnings]

1. The setting draws on Taoism. There is no form of address for a female senior apprentice, and the female lead is called "Senior Brother Shen" by her junior apprentice. Please don't read if you can't accept that.

2. Drawing on Taoism doesn't mean every detail matches historical fact. The entire setting is fictional, so please don't read if you want historical accuracy.

3. The leads' relationship develops gradually. There is more plot in the early chapters.

---------------- Coming Soon ----------------

Aloof, sharp-tongued marquis X sunny demon catcher

1.

Born into a merchant family, Song Fuying was abandoned in the countryside by her father as a child because she was born under an ill-starred fate. She taught herself all sorts of unorthodox arts and became a self-taught demon catcher.

By chance, she found an ancient scroll fragment that let her summon, at night, a mysterious henchman who would obey her absolutely and help her catch demons for money.

Her summoned sweetheart was handsome and strong. If she told him to go east, he would never go west. He fought demons cleanly and efficiently, and he was incredibly handy to have around.

But before she could really show off her skills, her lousy father suddenly came looking for her from Chang'an and told her she'd already been promised in marriage to Xiao Jue, the powerful Marquis of Yongning.

Song Fuying: ???

For the money, she agreed to marry into the marquis's household. By day, she played the dignified lady of the house. By night, she took her sweetheart out to make extra cash.

She never expected the marquis's household to have so many rules. She was exhausted from keeping up appearances all day, and at night she still had to act obedient around the icy marquis.

As the days passed, Song Fuying looked at her ever-obedient sweetheart and suddenly thought that spending her life with him would be better than suffering in the marquis's household.

2.

Xiao Jue, an assistant minister at the Court of Judicial Review, had an embarrassing ailment: for the past six months, his soul left his body every night at midnight. When he woke, he had no memory of what happened, his whole body ached, and his clothes were stained with dirt and blood.

The State Preceptor declared that the only way to break the curse was to marry a woman born under an ill-starred fate and have her protect the home.

His new wife came from a humble background and was very obedient. She never went out and had little experience or worldly knowledge. If he said east, she never went west. She was as dull as could be.

Until the night of the fourth day, when he opened his eyes to find himself in a gloomy mass grave.

His gentle, dull new bride from the daytime was now dressed in a practical outfit, excitedly pointing at the zombie ahead. "Get it! Kill it and I'll give you an extra chicken leg!"

Xiao Jue: ...?

Case closed. There was no evil curse at all. This woman had been summoning him illegally.

Later, after catching demons side by side night after night, Xiao Jue gradually fell for her.

He had already decided to spend the rest of his life with her when, after another dangerous close call, Song Fuying nestled into his arms with tears in her eyes and said, "That icy Xiao Jue is nothing compared to you. Just wait, I'll go write up the divorce papers! What's Xiao Jue to me? I'll marry you!"

...Wait a minute?

#What do I do when my wife is planning to divorce me so she can marry me?#

#How do you deal with cheating on yourself?#

Theme: Love all living beings, and love all things.