Coveting My Grandmaster Is a Grave Transgression

Hua Jingchan has lived for so long that she has forgotten what the clouds over the Fusang Immortal Domain look like. She is the only High God left in the Immortal Domain, the founding master of Wuyin Immortal Mountain. Immortals from the Three Realms bow before her, and Buddhas incline their heads when they meet her.

Only one person from five hundred years ago was a tribulation she could never see through.

When her disciple, Si Heqi, recklessly opened the barrier to the Demon Realm, she personally threw him into the Thunder Pool, stripped him of his cultivation, and banished him to the mortal world. At the time, she thought it marked the end of their bond as master and disciple. She never imagined that this act would lead, ten thousand years later, to her bowing before a young man from the mortal realm.

Si Jiujing is the young emperor of Dongli. When he ascended the throne, the court was in the hands of powerful ministers, and the smoke of war on the border could be seen from the imperial palace. He has little cultivation to speak of. His only support is a jade pendant left behind by his ancestor, Si Heqi, and the promise hidden inside it: "If your descendants ever face danger, call my name."

When the jade pendant grows hot in his palm and he lights the summoning incense, Hua Jingchan is sealing a passage to the Demon Realm in the western deserts of the mortal world.

The moment the incense goes out, she is already standing in Dongli's Hongmeng Hall. Beyond the barrier, the young man looks up at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes even in this desperate situation. "Grandmaster, save Dongli."

Having given her word, she must keep it.

She helps him slay demonic cultivators, resolve Dongli's crisis, and steady his tottering empire. But the closer she gets to Si Jiujing, the more something feels wrong. The young emperor's resilience is just like Si Heqi's back then.

And every conspiracy lurking in the shadows of Dongli leads back to the unfinished business from five hundred years ago.

Is she protecting him, or the disciple's thousand-year-old plan?

Is he calling for his grandmaster, or is he bait drawing her into the mortal world?

In this entanglement between immortal and mortal, with a promise as its lure, who will save whom in the end, and who will bury whom?

A new novel is in the works. Readers, feel free to add it to your lists.

Blurb for the new book, When the Moment Meets Qinghuan:

Song Shiyu is the head of the Song family in her generation.

The Song family has been an influential clan for centuries, with businesses across every industry and deep roots in both politics and commerce. She doesn't need to worry about securing the family's legacy, only to preserve its glory and lead it steadily into the future. But beneath the dazzling image she presents to the world, the head of the family carries an old scar. A romance from her past ended without ever beginning, and her rich ex-boyfriend disappeared without a word when his family fell from power. She has long since given up on love.

She thinks the rest of her life will be devoted solely to her family responsibilities, until Li Qingrang returns from studying abroad.

Dressed in a white coat, he carries the gentle fragrance of herbs that has seeped into him over the years. His features are warm and composed, the last traces of youthful innocence replaced by calm maturity. He is the "younger brother" Song Shiyu helped raise, a rising star in the field of traditional Chinese neurology, and a man who has secretly loved her for fifteen years.

No one knows that while studying abroad, Li Qingrang unexpectedly became a junior fellow student of the heroine's ex-boyfriend. He heard his senior mention the ex-girlfriend he could never forget countless times. From his words, filled with longing and regret, Li Qingrang gradually pieced together a familiar picture. The person his senior called his unattainable ideal was none other than Song Shiyu, the woman Li Qingrang had cherished in his heart for years.

Knowing everything, he doesn't retreat, but he never oversteps either. He knows her senior fellow student disappeared without a word when his family fell from power, leaving the heroine with a deep and lasting wound. That past is already a regret set in stone.

"Miss Song," he says in the courtyard of her estate as he offers her a cup of calming tea. His voice is as gentle as a spring breeze. "You sheltered me from the storms before. From now on, let me stay by your side, year after year."

Li Qingrang's pursuit is never an aggressive advance, but a quiet, gradual healing.

He understands the tenderness beneath her strength and the patience beneath her studied composure. In the gentlest way, he slowly soothes the wounds in her heart.

As the Year of the Snake bids farewell to the old and the Year of the Horse begins a new journey, the head of a century-old family meets a younger doctor who knows the truth and respects propriety. Their secret love, spanning mountains, seas, and years, will become each other's warmest salvation. The best kind of love, it turns out, is when you help me emerge from the shadows, and I spend the rest of my life by your side. Year after year, our tenderness never fades.

Reading guide

1. Mutual healing and a gentle, sweet romance. There is little family infighting or business intrigue, with the focus on the leads' emotional journey and healing. The atmosphere is warm and peaceful.

2. The male lead, Li Qingrang, is a genuinely warm and healing type, with excellent skills in traditional Chinese medicine. He is devoted and respectful, and even knowing the heroine's past, he respects her boundaries. He has loved her for years and always approaches her gently. The heroine, Song Shiyu, is strong on the outside and soft on the inside. She has been hurt in the past but isn't melodramatic, and gradually opens up with the male lead by her side.

3. The story focuses on their everyday life together, with details about traditional Chinese medicine, wellness, and life in a prominent family. The romance is a slow burn but nuanced. The male lead knows who the heroine's ex-boyfriend is but never crosses the line. There are no melodramatic misunderstandings, and the mutual romance develops at a comfortable pace.

4. Content warnings: No painful romance, no malicious supporting characters, and no coercion. The younger-man setup involves no ethical issues. The male lead pursues her openly only after reaching adulthood and respects her wishes throughout. His relationship as a junior fellow student of the heroine's ex-boyfriend is only background for the plot and does not raise any ethical concerns.

Theme: Beneath the surface of an entanglement between immortals and mortals, the story examines the choice between transcendence and worldly life. Divinity that stands above the world ultimately discovers the truth of love and responsibility amid the warmth of everyday life.