Gentleman Xiao Yao (carefree) was a well-known, well-liked pugilist in the wulin (pugilist world), and he had thought himself to be a righteous man as well. But ever since he met her, he found he had the potential to be a real scoundrel. From baiting her, to figuring ways to hold her hand… ay, what could he do since she was so intriguing?
She looked like a rich man’s daughter but there was nothing of that beneath the surface. She was highly skilled and her arsenal includes an acid tongue since her cutting remarks have the capability of driving people nuts. Her actions were bold and the word ‘proprietary’ was obviously not in her dictionary.
To fall in love with her was both sweetness and sadness. Sweet were times being with her. Sadness was because of her unpredictability, like the day she left without a word. As he tried to search for her, he can’t help but wonder if this was the test to see if they could be together?
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This is Xi Meng’s latest book published in 2014. The storyline is highly similar to her earlier novels so if you have read her earlier works, you will probably know what to expect for “The Demoness is Not Evil”.
Having said so, I still enjoyed the light, witty writing style. Finally, we have a Xi Meng male lead - Liu Feng – who is not a drop-dead-gorgeous but merely ‘handsome’. He is drawn to the quiet, efficient stranger he met one rainy night in an abandon temple. From her refined manners, she looked like a rich missy who got separated from her maid. But from her self-reliant ways and the retractable sword she carried, he knew she could not be a simple character.
There are few wuxia/fighting scenes in the book and the wulin meetings are always almost over before it began. Still, I’m happy enough with the secret mission which every Xi Meng heroine – in this case is Qu Qing Ying, bounty hunter - has to fulfill which seems to be the capture of a well-known rapist. Worried for her safety, Liu Feng tried to stick close to Qing Ying but ended up attracting all sorts of unwanted butterflies and wasps to her. It was little wonder she wanted to steer clear of him. I have also posted a review of this book at my blog at http://cloudmanor.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/book-review-the-demoness-is-not-evil-. Below is a snippet from the book which I have translated to show the writing style.
“Since when have you turned so shameless!”
He replied with a straight-face “I have come to realize that if I remain a gentleman around you, I could only be in a passive role. Besides, a friend of mine said that the reason why a player have so many women is because he is shameless.”
“Pei! Who is the idiot who told you such rubbish?” She thought she might need to help womankind get rid of this idiot – for free!
“I can’t tell you right now.”
Qu Qing Yin put on a sweet smile and placed her left hand over his heart while she cooed “Tell me, and I’ll let you take advantage.”
Liu Feng was taken aback by her sudden change from lady to seductress. “What advantage?” It was best to negotiate the terms first.
“What benefit do you want?”
He was nearly fried by the currents in her eyes. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
“Sure.” Her reply was swift. Her left hand sneaked to the back of his neck and her lips was nearly plastered to his lips. “And your answer is…?”
“Ji Chui Yu.”
“The philanderer Ji Chui Yu?”
“Yes.”
“Very good.” The next instant, Qu Qing Yin was back to her normal self. Her face like frost, she stepped away from him.
What a big difference! “So about tonight…?”
“You can sleep in my room. I’ll go sleep in yours.” Before the first sentence could get him excited, her second sentence bumped him back to reality. Still, he was not surprised at the outcome and he looked at her consideringly. “Qing Yin, have you tried to seduce someone else when you were after a criminal in the past?” Her actions were too practiced.
“What if my answer is yes?”
Liu Feng clenched his fist and suddenly felt like killing someone. Looking at him, she mocked gently “Rumour has it that Gentleman Xiao Yao does not kill.”
He did not return her smile “What if I let them suffer a fate worse than death?”
Qu Qing Yin laughed softly. “I did not know there is such an option. A pity then; those who need me to masquerade as a seductress would usually meet with an untimely end. If you want to look for them, you would have to pay them a visit in hades.” Slight pause. “Now, have you thought of how you want to die?”
“How about I die on top of you?”
haha, that excerpt totally made my day. And that last line sold me, I'm definitely adding it to my reading list. I'm a sucker for books that have strong female leads who don't pine after men haha.
Thanks Moonblossom for the translation and review!!
If you like this book, you may want to try Xi Meng other books, before you get tired of her repetition. However, if you noticed from the summary that the male lead is a prince or minister, you may wish to skip the book because her prince/minister stories are not compelling for some reason.
This author could be creative and I distinctly remember one of her books titled "Married into the Monastery" which talks about an ex-Shaolin master who operates an inn at the foot of Shaolin temple. He is actually a 'she' whom the handsome leader of the unorthodox sect subsequently fell in love with. She maintained a male appearance throughout the book and people thought the OTP were gay, which was rather funny at times.
Okay I'll keep that in mind, I might just read this one and the Monastry one then, the summary also sounds hilarious. (and because I like 女扮男裝 stories haha.)
Do her books start off slow? I'm always afraid of that, cause I always need something to hook me in, but I can't skip the beginning either cause it needs a setup...ahhgh.
Thanks again!
Hi Moonblossom, thanks for putting up such a short book..the writer seem to be writing a play and the start of the story is rather slow...you were absolutely right abt the final confrontation.....The built up was great but as you put it, it was over before it starts...their dialogue are witty but I find the mutual attraction a bit off....I will rate this as an average read...maybe it would be better if we are told more about the backstory. How did her master die? What exactly did his 师兄 did in the past? What abt the woman who elope with him? Was he really that evil?