After Becoming the Dark Guard of His Beloved

[Sickly Beauty Gong + Loyal-Dog Shadow Guard Shou + Equally Matched + Difference in Status + Mutual Salvation]

Ji Wangxuan's life was a barren field of snow.

Then a swallow came bearing a branch, traveling thousands of miles, never resting day or night.

From then on, the ice melted and dead wood bloomed again.

In the eyes of the world, Ji Wangxuan, master of the Cangxue Palace, is refined and otherworldly, a noble gentleman like an orchid in a secluded valley.

In truth, his face was once disfigured, his meridians severed, and his body poisoned by a strange toxin. He lost those closest to him several times over, killed his master and friends, and bears a body full of grudges. He walks among the living carrying other people's obsessions.

Even his face and name do not belong to him. He began with nothing and is destined to live for the lives weighing on his shoulders.

A chance encounter in their youth made Yan Ling regard Ji Wangxuan as the moon in his heart. Later, he stumbled into the imperial household and was unwillingly trained into a palace attack dog, forced to serve others.

They missed each other for many years. By the time Yan Ling overcame countless obstacles, escaped the den of demons, and rushed to find him, the moon had fallen into a frozen pool, plunging into an endless abyss.

And Yan Ling's own origins lay in the pool's coldest corner.

A great fire once broke out in the Crown Prince's palace. It burned away Ji Wangxuan's past and killed his closest family.

So Yan Ling concealed his origins and blundered, bewildered, into Ji Wangxuan's self-frozen world, hoping to raise a torch.

Ji Wangxuan did not believe anyone could be sincere without reason. He tested Yan Ling from every angle, suspecting and humiliating him.

After Yan Ling became his shadow guard, he asked him for only three things.

First, he asked to endure the most severe punishment. Second, he asked to die for his lord. Third, he asked to be buried in his homeland after death.

They returned to the den of demons and sought vengeance for old wrongs, narrowly escaping death again and again, each risking their life to protect the other. His fierce devotion moved heaven and earth.

Gradually, Ji Wangxuan realized that beneath his cold heart and impassive face, beneath all that ice and snow, he had endured the world's bitterest hardships and was already broken inside. Yet Yan Ling had landed lightly in his heart, pure and spotless.

Later, Ji Wangxuan helped him live on, nurturing and sustaining him, teaching him how to seek pleasure, love, and lovemaking. He also told him that he... did not want to be the moon.

Yan Ling said it didn't matter. He was willing to be a blade, following him through life and death.

Spring grass spread and grew. The branch borne by a flying swallow brought an abundant vitality.

"Why are you kneeling again?"

"This is the view I like, my lord."

"A Ling, is there anyone you hold dear?"

"Yes. They're right in front of me."

I summon a bright moon to shine upon the snow and ice filling my heart, as mighty rivers rush on.

Broken, gentle, sickly palace master gong vs. cold, steadfast, taciturn shadow guard shou

Equally matched

[Reading Guide]

1. Monogamous 1v1, HE. Gong and shou are master and servant, with a difference in status. Not suitable for extreme character-focused readers. In essence, this is a story about two little bitter gourds saving each other.

2. The shou is absolutely loyal. The gong accepts anything he does to him; there will be no regret-and-pursuit arc.

3. Ensemble cast, romance-focused, alternate history. The setting is entirely made up. There is a court, but political intrigue is not a focus and is mostly glossed over, so don't overthink it.

4. Plenty written in advance, daily updates [every night at midnight].

--- Next book: Picking Up a Shadow Guard to Keep House. Demon Lord gong vs. wolf-demon shadow guard shou.

A little bit of tragic romance. Click the author's profile to see the blurb.

Theme: Why must the moon always hang high in the sky?