On the eve of Princess Ying Ran of the Kingdom of Yinqiong's coming-of-age banquet, envoys from seven kingdoms gathered. The leader of the tribute caravan from the Kingdom of Yun Yin saw that his country's envoy, Yi Hanshen, was silent and taciturn. For no reason, he picked a fight and threw a punch, only to be subdued by Yi Hanshen in an instant. Only then did everyone realize that the tall, upright envoy was a woman.
After they entered the imperial city, the leader held a grudge. He waited until Yi Hanshen was weak, knocked her unconscious, and sold her to a brothel. Yi Hanshen would rather die than submit. When she accidentally injured a customer, she was thrown into an alley beside the brothel, where Ying Ran found and rescued her on a night patrol. Impressed by Yi Hanshen's exceptional martial arts, the King of Yinqiong appointed her as Ying Ran's personal guard. Through three years together, from dawn to dusk, Ying Ran's trust and warmth became the only light in Yi Hanshen's dark, hopeless life. The two grew closer than master and servant, their deep bond difficult to define.
Unexpectedly, the Kingdom of Yun Yin suddenly launched an attack. The very leader from years ago captured Yi Hanshen's mother and forced her to betray her country. Torn between the debt she owed the woman who raised her and the bond she had found anew, Yi Hanshen ultimately chose the former. She set fire to the imperial palace and pointed her sword at the King of Yinqiong, ending the three years of peace with her own hands. Ying Ran watched her bloodstained figure with her own eyes. After her kingdom fell, Ying Ran became a prisoner, while Yi Hanshen vanished without a trace. For five years, hatred coiled around Ying Ran like a poisonous vine.
One stormy night, Ying Ran lay unconscious in a pigsty when the God of Matchmaking called to her in a dream and gave her a spell to learn. By day, she scraped by doing the lowliest menial work in the Kingdom of Yun Yin; at night, she hid in a woodshed to practice. Years later, she finally ascended and entered Yun Cui Immortal City. But when she stood beneath the immortal steps and saw a figure in black fitted clothes, with the same familiar eyes and brows, all the blood in her body turned to ice. It was Yi Hanshen.
