Under celestial dreams, Xianxia and Wuxia worlds unfold
Ye Hua He snorted. So abrupt, fast and sharp, it hurt his nostril. Undoubtedly not a dignified sound for the future Celestial Emperor, but Bai Qian had that effect on him — like a sudden gale tearing through his intricately arranged mental scrolls, like the unruly tendrils of wavy hair at his temples that rebelliously […]
Chapter 42 Bai Qian~ Evening shadows pooled like ink against the ancient stone walls of the Kunlun bedchamber, while candlelight danced across a folding screen of carved sandalwood and Silk of Cloudborne Ascension (云升绸, Yún Shēng Chóu), where silver-winged cranes soared between wisps of painted clouds, ascending toward immortal realms hidden in swirling mountain mist. […]
Bai Qian~ The teahouse bustled with afternoon patrons—perfect for my purposes. After that Jade pool incident where Ye Hua had stood before me in nothing but a semblance of dignity, I needed witnesses. Many witnesses. “Perhaps the Jade Willow Teahouse for wine and tales?” I tapped my lower lip thoughtfully. “The one perched over West […]
Ye Hua~ The water, once cold, now felt lukewarm from the heat of his own mortification—doing nothing to cool him. How could he have believed his Third Uncle Lian Song? Of all people! The same uncle who once tried to convince the great Donghua Dijun that mortal flatulence could power celestial carriages, eliminating the need […]
Bai Qian The rules of our arrangement were clear as spring water: favor for favor, ledgers balanced. Since I had chosen our picnic, it was only fair that Ye Hua select our next encounter. My fox imagination conjured endless possibilities for a Celestial Crown Prince’s idea of “date”: perhaps a stiff-backed hour in some ancient […]
Chapter 41 Changying My engagement to Ruilin came with a ledger of practical calculations. The marriage would forge an unbreakable alliance between Celestial and Phoenix blood, stabilizing the delicate balance that keeps the Eight Realms and Four Seas from tipping into chaos. Only Qingqiu stands apart from this equilibrium, their coffers deep enough to buy […]
Chapter 35 Yi Nuo~ The days after Ruilin left stretched into an eternity, each one a frayed silk thread, thin enough to snap with a sigh. Idleness, a silent enemy, threatened to suffocate me. I tried my best to ignore the slow passage of time, keeping myself occupied to avoid the emptiness left in the […]
Chapter 33 Ruilin ~ The guards. What are they doing? Why is he within my walls? Feng Ming stood exactly where he should not be—too close, too familiar to Yi Nuo, like a serpent sunning itself on sacred stone. I landed soundlessly behind the eastern colonnade. The courtyard breathed the perfume of late-spring peach blossoms, […]
Chapter 32 Ruilin~ The moon hangs high above, its pale light seeping through the vast night. I read your letter by candlelight. I won’t ask when you’ll return. Only that you are well. Everything is fine, and we are all healthy. Please don’t neglect yourself. Another letter—another poem, brief as it may be. Yi Nuo […]
Chapter 31 Yi Nuo~ When Ruilin returns, the interval is ten days—a mere ten days, not ten weeks, not ten months or ten years. However, seeing him run through the courtyard, his hair flying behind him, a crooked smile on his face, sends a shiver down my spine, blurring time into a continuous ache. Our […]
Chapter 30 Since getting married, Ruilin and I haven’t spent a day apart. We had eaten every meal together, shared the same bath water, slept with our wrists knotted beneath the same pillow. Now, after a glorious year and a half, the honeymoon was ending in a manner neither of us could have prepared for. […]
Chapter 29 Bai Qian~ It’s been 16 months, 20 days, and 6 hours—over a year—since she began her mortal trial. The passage of time has become a cruel and formidable adversary in the ongoing search for Ying’er. Each month, we gather quietly in the ethereal realm of Nine Heavens for Ye Hua’s sake, understanding he […]
Chapter 28 Yi Nuo~ The cloying sweetness of cinnamon and lilies, a heavy, recently sickening perfume in the still air of Liang Yu Palace, made each breath a labored gasp, bringing on another wave of nausea. The cool ivory of my vanity felt smooth beneath my fingertips as I sat, feigning composure, but the dark […]
Chapter 23 Yi Nuo~ When Lue Lue returned with the tonic, I bolted through the open doors with such force that I knocked her against the doorframe. The sharp sound of the tonic bowl shattering echoed in the air behind me. A pang of worry shot through me, fearing I had hurt her, but my […]
Chapter 22 Bai Qian At my age, few can treat me like a child, but Zhe Yan always will—to him, I’ll always be Xiao Wu or little girl. “I’m glad you’re lying down, Xiao Wu. You need to rest. Yingpei told me you haven’t slept in days and have developed a fever,” Zhe Yan said, […]
