The Demon Hunter's Romance
In the bustling city of Guangping, where humans and demons coexist, the wealthy young lady Ban Xia possesses unusual eyes that see shadows invisible to others. Despite her propriety and considerate nature, she is labeled a "madwoman" by others. When Ban Xia uncovers her sister-in-law's secret, she meets the demon hunter Xuan Ye, who reveals the world where humans and demons coexist. Together, they investigate various mysterious phenomena in Guangping.
Episodes
Ban Xia can see demons, which her family considers some sort of ailment, and sees strange things. She visits her cousin, who is soon to wed a beautiful ventriloquist. Ban Xia meets a demon hunter, Jiu Xuan Ye, who, like her, can see that her cousin’s bride is a demon.
Ban Xia learns more about demons from Xuan Ye, who tells her that the calming fragrance she uses to stop seeing demons is detrimental to her health. They work together to deal with her cousin’s demon wife, Man Niang.
Ban Xia sees her father late at night, seemingly flustered, but the next day, all is not well. She thinks a demon is involved with her father’s predicament, but her family believes her illness is back. She seeks out Xuan Ye for help.
Ban Xia tries to hire Xuan Ye to find her father, but though he gives her the run-around, she is steadfast in her intentions. An eel demon goes after her because she aided Xuan Ye in eliminating her cousin’s demon bride. She learns about the murder of his family, but believes he is innocent, though rumors indicate he was the perpetrator.
A singer drops dead during a performance where Ban Xia and Xuan Ye are eating. Similar to a previous death, the singer looked very young, but then quickly aged upon death. Constable Chu You Huang, who doesn’t believe in demons, and Constable Wen Jian, who turns to Xuan Ye for help, race to solve the cases.
Xuan Ye, Wen Jian, and Ban Xia decide to lure the mirror demon out, with Ban Xia as the bait. Things go awry when the mirror demon escapes and goes after Ban Xia. Xuan Ye is taken in by Constable Chu You Huang for questioning, leaving Ban Xia alone.
Constable Chu hurries to see the demon Xuan Ye has trapped and is fighting with, but the demon escapes using the reflection on Constable Chu’s sword. Enraged, the mirror demon kills another victim, Ji Li’s lover, after discovering their relationship. Constance Chu, Xuan Ye, and Ban Xia look for Ji Li, hoping to find the mirror demon.
Ji Lin discovers that she is repeating the cycle of finding love and wanting to kill the mirror demon, but her previous selves have been trapped in the mirror. Constable Chu realizes that he’s been mistaken all along and feels compassion for what Xuan Ye has experienced. Ban Xia learns what happened to Xuan Ye’s family.
Ban Xia’s cousin, Duan Yan Qiu, makes a surprise visit, with the intent of taking Ban Xia back home. He learns the truth about Man Niang and is convinced about demons. Unable to persuade Xuan Ye to help find her father, Ban Xia turns to another demon hunter. A new demon looms in the town.
Rumors circulate that the executed Gao Sheng is still alive, while Ban Xia sees a white crow hovering around Wen Jian, indicating his death is near. The appearance of the black cat seems to indicate an exchange of lives, so Ban Xia tries to meet it to ask it about her dad. At a mysterious inn, Duan Yan Qiu sees Man Niang while in a drunken stupor.
Constable Chu and his subordinates find Gao Sheng’s decomposing body with his eyes gouged out and his hair cut. They stop by a mysterious inn to rest for the night. Xuan Ye finds a wooden box left by his clinic, and inside, Wen Jian finds the money he hid, Ban Xia finds the money pouch she gave to her dad, and they see a wooden token for the Reunion Inn, which they investigate.
Xuan Ye and Ban Xia notice the innkeeper, his daughter, and the servants are all acting strangely. They discover that Constable Chu is also there, investigating, and are shocked to find Duan Yan Qiu, who should have been back home already. Though no cats are allowed at the inn, they find the black demon cat wandering around.
Xuan Ye and his friends race against time to find Yan Li’s murderer. Ban Xia’s cousin is addicted to Fubai wine, which makes him see Man Niang, the person he misses most. Wu Niang begins targeting Ban Xia and warns the black demon cat to stay away.
Xuan Ye falls sick after drinking Fubai wine with Ban Xia’s cousin, who realizes his life with real people is passing him by while he lives a fantasy life in his drunken stupor. Wu Niang finally shows her true colors as she captures all of them one by one.
Wu Niang tries to become a person by taking on Ban Xia’s appearance and assuming her identity. Xuan Ye tries to stop her, but she uses all of her puppets to obstruct him. The black demon cat returns, making an unexpected move.
Constable Chu meets old friends in Shendu, where he used to work. Two demon hunters hunt down Chi Xue and have an encounter with Xuan Ye. Discovering that Xuan Ye’s father had forbidden him to enter the Underground City, Ban Xia looks for other people to accompany her to search for clues about her father.
Ban Xia enters the Underground City with the two demon hunters she sought out. Xuan Ye hurries in after her despite his father’s warnings not to enter. Constable Chu and Sima Ling Ying also enter, looking for the emperor’s missing uncle.
Xuan Ye’s martial uncle helps him find the Enlightenment Bookstore, but the owner claims not to know Ban Xia’s parents. Constable Chu is led to the same bookstore where he suddenly disappears. The bookstore owner goes after Ban Xia.
Xuan Ye awakens in the painting to find that he has 4 brothers and that Constable Chu is set to marry Banxia, who has assumed the identity of different people. However, they have no recollection of the real world and convincing them is proving to be a challenge. He has a set amount of time before he reawakens and the situation repeats.
While stuck in a loop inside the painting, Xuan Ye spends the day with Ban Xia, exploring the Six Wonders of Guanping city. Xuan Ye realizes that some of the people in the Six Wonders actually bleed red blood instead of black ink. In the next loop, Ban Xia remembers her true identity and, along with Xuan Ye, tries to deal with Constable Chu.
Ban Xia hides from her “father” in the painting world, while Xuan Ye sees his parents and is drawn to spending precious time with them. Sima Ling Ying takes her investigation to Xuan Ye’s martial uncle, while Constable Chu escapes and seeks out Ban Xia and Xuan Ye with a vengeance.
Ban Xia finds her mother and father, but they can’t communicate with her. The demon painter escapes prison and heads to the Underground City in the painting to escape. Ban Xia and Xuan Ye try to stop him, resulting in dire consequences.
Xuan Ye figures out who the mirage demon is behind the world within the painting. He and Ban Xia race to kill him and save the people stuck in the painting, including her parents. Meanwhile, Sima Ling Ying discovers and battles the demon painter, sent outside of the painting by the mirage demon, to paint havoc for Xuan Ye.
Sima Ling Ying heads back to Shendu, causing Constable Chu to wrestle with his true feelings. Ban Xia feels her relationship with her mother is strained. She and Xuan Ye acknowledge their feelings for each other, but Ban Xia’s father overhears gossip about the murders at Xuan Ye’s clinic and is concerned. Xuan Ye’s brother goes in search of him.
Ban Xia witnesses another person dying after seeing the white crow on the person’s shoulder. Although Ban Xia’s father is grateful to Xuan Ye for saving the Duan family, he does not want a demon hunter to marry Ban Xia. As Xuan Ye’s brother, Zi Kong, looks for him, Xuan Ye has bouts of amnesia and disappears for no reason. During one of his disappearances, he helps a man looking for his fiancée.
The snake demon helps the persecuted wife of the drunkard who recently died. Zi Kong holds Sima Ling Ying hostage after realizing she knows where Xuan Ye is. Xuan Ye begins to realize he’s having out-of-body experiences with someone who’s holding Ling Ying hostage. Ban Xia finds her own way to call off her engagement with Li Xian.
After briefly swapping places with his brother, he sets Sima Ling Ying free. Xuan Ye suspects the snake demon is related to the fake death of Xing Xian and the real deaths of her husband and neighbor. Ban Xia opens up Li Xian’s eyes to the world of demons, hoping it will facilitate the cancellation of their engagement.
Xing Xian begins playing Qin at the pavilion and is invited to play for the Emperor in Shendu. Ban Xia saves a woman who had a white crow on her shoulder, but the white crow perches on her shoulder instead. Xuan Ye helps her out but realizes that changing her fate can result in other consequences.
Xing Xian aggressively pursues her chance of playing for the Emperor, scheming to make sure the demon snake does not get in her way. Xuan Ye strikes up the courage to talk to Ban Xia’s father about marrying her and picks up an unexpected disciple. Sima Ling Ying’s fake ailment is exposed.
As Ban Xia and Xuan Ye happily prepare for their engagement, Zi Kong arrives at Guanping. Zi Kong uses his powers to not only summon Xuan Ye to him, but also to make Xuan Ye remember who he really is. Shocked, Xuan Ye breaks all contact with Ban Xia and requests an annulment.
Because Xuan Ye has lived most of his life in human form, Zi Kong transforms him into his true panther form and causes the people to turn against him. Zi Kong wants Xuan Ye to realize that all of his friends will turn against him if they knew he was a demon. Ban Xia returns and does what Zi Kong did not anticipate.
Xuan Ye learns more about his past with his father and is reunited with Ban Xia. He decides to leave Guanping as he gathers his thoughts. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle has other plans. His brother returns and tries to convince him to go back with him to the Carefee land, but Xuan Ye refuses.
Xuan Ye’s martial uncle’s men try to capture Zi Kong, and though he escapes, he is severely injured and has dropped the instrument that summons Xuan Ye. Xuan Ye’s martial uncle uses the instrument to bring out the panther demon in Xuan Ye, who inadvertently hurts Ban Xia.
Ban Xia, Si Kong, Ling Ying, and Constable Chu head to the Underground City to save Xuan Ye. Unbeknownst to them, Xuan Ye already has his suspicions about his martial uncle. Outnumbered, Xuan Ye and his friends fight not only to stop his martial uncle but also to survive.
After Xuan Ye uses one of his swords to go back in time and change past events, Ban Xia lives a carefree life, doing all the things she said she would do if she had not seen demons. However, she was haunted in her dreams by a faceless man who feels familiar, yet not familiar. Xuan Ye makes up for his past regrets, and he and his brother wander the world killing evil demons.
Ban Xia runs into the man who previously sold her the seashell, and she remembers everything after listening to the message she left for herself. She spends the day revisiting old haunts with Xuan Ye and hosts a farewell dinner for him before he must return to the Carefree Land.
