After the Dragon-Slaying Hero Decided to Win Over His Nemesis

The young dragon Hua Lan carries the burden of saving the world. If all goes as planned, one day he will enter the Twelve Palaces of the Moon God, cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, surpass all heroes, and draw the attention of the gods.

Then a System shows up and tells him that one day he will be trampled underfoot by an arrogant chosen one.

This person comes from humble origins and has heaven-defying talent... Most importantly, he will bring about the apocalypse.

Hua Lan: "Tell me his name. I'll go wipe him out."

The System says nervously, "No, our mission is to win him over and change him with love and tenderness."

The three-year-old dragon cub: "?"

Then a human and a dragon meet.

The dragon cub is shocked. "You good-for-nothing senior brother?"

The arrogant chosen one is horrified. "You little demon king junior brother!"

*

It isn't until much, much later that the System finally tells the arrogant chosen one, with great sorrow, that it had originally chosen him as its Host but had to change its mind because of child protection laws.

The arrogant chosen one: "..."

He murmurs, "So it didn't have to be like this from the start. I didn't have to turn a blind eye when the little demon king teased me. I didn't have to rack my brains to answer his ten thousand questions, and I didn't have to comfort him when he cried..."

The System: "Such a deep father-son bond." (choked up)

The arrogant chosen one: "..."

*

When the truth about his origins comes to light, Ye Tianshu learns from another version of himself that, according to the original course of events, Hua Changsheng would cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness and repeatedly try to kill him in the name of the so-called righteous path.

The world calls them sworn enemies.

He also learns the truth about the System's bond from back then.

At last, he gives in to despair.

That day, the sky was dim, with cold winds and miserable rain. Surrounded on all sides, he had nowhere to go.

So he waited where he was, waiting for the other to come and kill him.

In the dead of night, the youth raced a thousand miles beneath the stars, dressed in red, golden-eyed, his sword stained with blood.

The immortal lord held a sword in one hand and reached out to him with the other.

"I'm here to get you out."

PS:

1. A high-magic fantasy setting with a hodgepodge of elements, including a System, transmigration, and rebirth.

2. The Path of Ruthlessness is an important part of the story, but it does not involve the twisted practice of proving the Dao by killing a spouse. The bottom won't cultivate it in this life, or he wouldn't graduate, since he'd be biased while the children are dating.

Check out my best friend's adorably wonderful story:

"Antisocial Treasure Appraiser Goes Live, but Runs Off Pregnant" by Qing Jian Yi Ling

[Cold, antisocial treasure-appraising beauty x sharp-tongued, softhearted heir to a Hong Kong tycoon]

Chapter comments are open!

Jian Rong, a Republican-era master of antique appraisal born with ghostly eyes, is reborn as a viral rich-kid influencer who has just been exposed. The whole internet mocks him.

The platform's talent manager sneers, "You offended the Lu family and still think you can quit? Either pay up or keep streaming until you die!"

I just transmigrated and slept with someone, and now I have to livestream, too?

The antisocial Jian Rong closes his eyes. "..."

He's... He's allergic to living people!

But to stop the antique shop his original self protected from being taken away, Jian Rong stares at the livestream camera for a day and a night before deciding to risk it.

Livestreamed appraisals: get one wrong, pay a thousand times its value!

No face reveal, no small talk, no haggling, only three appraisals a day.

His arrogant, no-nonsense introduction sends a flood of haters into the appraisal livestream:

[Hey, why aren't you showing off your wealth anymore? Oh right, the Lu family kicked you out.]

[Not showing your face? With a wall-painting face like yours, looking at you would count as an on-the-job injury.]

[You don't haggle, and you call yourself an appraisal expert?]

At the livestream's most heated moment, a glimpse of a pale jaw flashes across the screen. A trembling, cool voice comes through:

"Get one wrong, pay a thousand times... W-want to join my stream?"

During a joint livestream appraisal, Jian Rong takes one look at a Tang Sancai figurine of a court lady, detects the unmistakable reek of freshly dug earth, and says succinctly:

"Call the police."

That night, the story explodes on the trending list:

#LivestreamerAppraisesAntiqueAndHelpsSolveMajorTombRaidingCase#

#KindCitizenMrJianWins500000Yuan#

Overnight, curious viewers rummage through their homes: Teacher Jian, take a look at my chamber pot!

Meanwhile, rumors that Jian Rong is ugly, his livestream is scripted, and he has expert appraisers doing his work for him spread like wildfire.

A major Hong Kong tycoon returns to his hometown and hosts an antiques and curiosities appraisal event in a private garden, inviting experts and collectors to attend.

Among the invitees, the young livestreaming appraisal host Jian Rong sticks out like a sore thumb. Plenty of people come to watch him make a fool of himself.

Forced to attend the appraisal event, Jian Rong hides under a hat and mask, huddling in a corner like a mushroom and hoping to get home as soon as possible.

Then the Jian family's ancestral jade carving of the Thousand Buddhas appears.

With no other choice, Jian Rong removes his disguise, steps before the crowd in a long green bamboo-patterned robe, beats every appraiser there, and wins back the Jian family's Thousand Buddhas carving.

Everyone is stunned. This is Jian Rong, the faceless appraisal livestreamer!

The comments on the event's livestream explode, too:

[Wait, what? Gorgeous, who are you?]

[Wasn't this all supposed to be scripted?]

[Please tell me how much it costs to get an expert from the National Museum to act in a show.]

Pei Xulin, the event's host, glances at the blurry figure hurriedly fleeing the hotel on the security feed. He smiles faintly. Found you.

But before Pei Xulin can catch him, Jian Rong packs up and flees overnight.

Then, beside a hospital elevator, Jian Rong, bundled up with only his eyes showing, is cornered against the wall, holding a pregnancy test report.

Pei Xulin corners Jian Rong, who has stopped streaming and disappeared, and fixes his gaze on Jian Rong's bulging belly.

"This is..."

Jian Rong struggles to keep his legs from running and blurts out a new phrase he just learned: "A ball from running off pregnant?"

Everyone knows that Pei Xulin has lingered on the mainland to search for the heirloom his family lost long ago.

Now he's found it.

Reader's Guide:

1. Jian Rong's antisocial nature developed later in life, and there's a reason for it.

2. It really was one night, he really did run off pregnant, and it really is melodramatic. Don't doubt it!

3. It's a livestream story, so there'll be plenty of livestream content, probably split evenly between online and offline.

4. One-on-one, both are sexually inexperienced, six-year age gap. Jian is 22 and Pei is 28. I don't like writing side couples. The character art is a commission I ordered for this couple.

5. If you like it, read it. If it isn't your thing, find another book. Let's not make each other suffer.

6. I won't accept requests for unconventional wording or invented terms. Comments of that sort will be deleted.

Theme: Give me freedom, and give me fearlessness.