[Chasing the Wind] A Young Man's Diary in Republican-Era China

This idea came from a clip of Ci Sha in The Mountain Warden: Strange Tales of Muye that I happened to come across. From the beginning of the film, his character Feng Sijiu seems like a young man devoted to his country, which inspired me.

I'm jotting down the idea first. Let me know if you'd like to read it! I still haven't finished the extras for Saving in The Fourth Calamity, haha.

I'm writing it bit by bit, but it's not easy. If I can't keep going, I'll abandon it (sincerely).

Lighthearted blurb:

You wake up in a parallel world, in an era much like Republican-era China.

You are an illegitimate daughter who has just been brought back from the countryside to a powerful family. Your father, Marshal Chen, commands a private army and is fabulously wealthy. In the bustling city of Shanghai, in the State of Zhao, he is the undisputed "local emperor." Even though illegitimate daughters have no inheritance rights, you are still a key piece on the board at the very heart of the storm.

You'd like to keep a low profile, but for some reason, the people stirring up the world keep appearing around you:

Xi Wang, a fearsome, highly skilled young marshal who never lets his emotions show. He is your eldest brother, at least in name.

Xi Meng, the smiling second young master, who has returned from studying abroad with a mind full of schemes. He is your second brother, at least in name.

Hu Feng, from a distinguished family, calm and self-possessed, and hailed as a campus gentleman. He is your classmate.

Xiao Xin, the fourteenth concubine, close to your age and strikingly beautiful, who treats you with particular warmth. She is one of the few bright spots in this grand old mansion.

A Wei, a member of the Green Gang who was once trapped in a desperate situation and whom you happened to save. He is your protector, working in the shadows.

Zai Zai, Shanghai's most renowned suit tailor, with exquisite craftsmanship and a fashionable style. There's always something for the two of you to talk about.

He Qiu Guo, a clever, lively female classmate with progressive ideas and interests that align with yours. She is a friend you can confide your ideals in.

Wu Yaolei, whose identity is a mystery and whose gaze is sharp. You meet him by chance during a crisis, and he may lead you down another path...

Everyone has their own identity, their own secrets, their own choices, and their own fate.

What about you?

Serious blurb:

One moment, you're dozing off in a modern history class. The next, you're surrounded by the shrill whistle of a train and the lilting cries of vendors speaking the Wu dialect.

When you wake up, you're an illegitimate daughter no one cares about, just brought from the Jiangnan countryside to a wealthy family in Shanghai. Your new identity is awkward and lowly, a trivial footnote in this glittering, decadent metropolis.

But you know this land, so uncannily like Republican-era China, is on the brink of disaster. Foreign powers menace it from without, their warships lining the river; within, warlords build up their armies and fight over their territories. The scent of gunpowder seeps into the cracks of its bustling streets.

You can see the cracks in a crumbling empire, and you can also see sparks quietly kindling in the darkness. They are faint, but stubborn.

And you, an outsider cast by fate to the edge of the storm, must choose: will you protect yourself, using your knowledge of history to carve out a safe place in the maelstrom? Or will you be drawn to that faint light, unable to stop yourself from reaching out to protect the spark that might one day become an inferno, even if it means burning yourself?

Theme: No matter the world, our convictions remain the same