Title: Sword Soul, Zither Heart
Main Characters:
• Xie Linyuan: The upright and dignified leader of the righteous path, he seeks the Dao through the sword and bears the fate of vanquishing demons, yet his heart is trapped by the inner demon of loneliness.
• Shen Tinglan: A carefree grandmaster of the demonic path who commands the heart with his zither. He seems to treat the world as a game, but is in truth an amnesiac caught in a century-old plot.
Story Synopsis:
To preserve the fragile peace between immortals and demons, Canglan Mountain’s leader Xie Linyuan and Netherworld Palace’s master Shen Tinglan are forced into a three-year “cultivation partner” contract. On their wedding night, they agree to play their parts until the term ends, then go their separate ways.
One plays the zither, the other practices the sword. As they spend day after day together atop Canglan Mountain, their feigned tests of one another give way to genuine affection. But century-old records and awakening memories tear their tender façade apart. Xie Linyuan’s sect was responsible for slaughtering Shen Tinglan’s entire family, and the sword-wielding foe buried deep in Shen Tinglan’s soul has a face identical to that of the partner at his side.
When a catastrophe known as the “Spirit-Devouring Miasma” strikes both the immortal and demonic realms, the mastermind finally emerges. It turns out that their supposed ancient enmity and love were merely a script devised by the “Heavenly Dao” to drain their power. Under its control, Xie Linyuan and Shen Tinglan have spent nine whole lifetimes loving and killing each other.
In their tenth life, the pieces decide to rebel against the player.
“If fate has decreed that we must kill each other,” Xie Linyuan says, taking Shen Tinglan’s hand as the broken sword and shattered zither resonate together, “then I will defy that fate with you.”
In this life, the sword’s soul is their bones, and the zither’s heart their spirit. They fight not for all creation, but for each other, raising their blades against the highest of laws to sever the cycle of reincarnation.
