Night Weir

/* Volume One Complete */ [Younger Man Saving Older Man + Handsome, Strong, and Miserable + Infrastructure Construction + Court Intrigue, No Transmigration, Rebirth, or Golden Finger, Plot-Driven] A rationalist, good-hearted citizen and engineer who is mistaken for a deity because he is handsome and good at mathematics A frontier soldier suffering from war trauma, always claiming he does not want to live, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, with battle prowess that seems to have been enhanced by cheats While handling official duties and trading barbs, they develop a love affair resembling a home invasion robbery. The frontier soldier is the one being robbed. [Formal Blurb] Li Yan comes from a family of upright officials and is exceptionally intelligent. He was the youngest Director in the Ministry of Works, yet instead of remaining a respectable official in Chang'an, he deliberately accepted an arduous assignment everyone else avoided: going to Lingzhou to build canals. That place is plagued by poor terrain, vicious conditions, and troublemakers everywhere, with internal and external difficulties piling up. His colleagues think he has gone mad, but Li Yan feels that leaving the incompetent winebags and rice sacks in the capital behind means he can finally make a difference in a vast world full of possibilities. Then he was tied up as a spy by Lingzhou's most ferocious troublemaker, a frontier soldier. That man had a pair of golden eyes, a cutting tongue, and an overbearing temperament... It was truly a waste of such a fine face. Worse still, this beautiful troublemaker had rendered outstanding military service, but his mind was not entirely clear. He was always half-mad, babbling nonsense about paying with his life, taking revenge, and living from dawn until death. Everyone in Lingzhou called him Commandant Liang. The frontier was dangerous, and its rules were strict. Li Yan found every step difficult. Everyone else merely waited to see him make a fool of himself. Liang Jia, that sharp-tongued but soft-hearted half-mad man, reluctantly pulled him up, protected him, taught him how the world worked, and helped him accomplish things. Li Yan had been distant from his family since childhood, yet in that desolate frontier he gradually came to depend on a stranger. With a powerful enemy before them, he was shielded beneath the man's body. Only then, with the scent of flowers and medicine filling his nose, did he realize that beneath the Commandant's dazzling military achievements, there was merely a slender waist struggling to hold him up. That night, Liang Jia suffered another episode. When he looked up at Li Yan, his eyes were a blaze of gold and red. ...How pitiful. Li Yan's heart grew hot. He only wanted to take this madman into his arms and carry him away. Later, Li Yan discovered that Liang Jia's mad ramblings were not baseless. After being tormented by the past, Liang Jia had been left with only one wish. He did not want to live! How could that be allowed? Li Yan shook his head repeatedly. How could anyone meet the person they loved only to become a widower? He decided that, along with taking charge of Lingzhou's waterworks, he would also take charge of this man's future... But Liang Jia backed away with a cold expression. “Why are you meddling in other people's business? Go back to Chang'an.” Li Yan stepped forward and cornered the flustered Commandant against the wall, reaching out to touch his slightly cool neck. As their breaths mingled, Li Yan lowered his eyes and asked softly against his ear, “Abandoning someone after seducing them isn't very nice... Do you really want me to leave?” Liang Jia remained silent and did not dodge. He only closed his eyes instinctively, his thin waist trembling violently in Li Yan's arms. Thus, Li Yan brushed back the long hair at his cheek and kissed him without allowing any argument. “Brother Liang, if you love me this much, how could I be meddling in other people's business?” Possible points to be aware of: The story includes kindergarten-level court intrigue, fifth-grade mathematics, waterworks engineering carried out in a confused and haphazard manner, local worthies and wealthy landowners from an improvised troupe, an emperor who says “I love you, old man” at every turn, a prematurely gray, cheat-enabled God of War on the receiving end, and an attacking lead who believes that mastering mathematics and science means you can go anywhere in the world without fear. Neither the attacking lead nor the receiving lead is perfect. At the beginning, viewed from either one's perspective, the other is enough to make anyone furious. In the early stages, their way of getting along consists of trading insults and bickering. The receiving lead suffers from extremely severe war trauma, or PTSD, and therefore sometimes appears not quite normal. The related upcoming work on my homepage is titled “He Does Not Seem Like a Worthy Lord at All,” a dual-transmigration mystery-solving light comedy. Please add it to your collection! [Blurb] A dual-transmigration story: a decisive battle from unofficial history that is even more unofficial than the official history The attacking lead was an abstract emperor in his previous life and is an antique collector in this life The receiving lead was an unlucky Imperial Tutor in his previous life and is an archaeologist in this life Also known as: Receiving lead: “Let's talk this out properly. Don't smash that gold-and-silver inlaid bowl with a tangled lotus-petal pattern!” Attacking lead: “...What bowl?” [Formal Blurb] As the saying goes, the kind of person you teach in one life determines the kind of tomb you dig in the next. Qi Qinghuai, in his late twenties, spends his days crouched in an excavation square within the mausoleum of Emperor Wenxiang, conducting archaeological work by day and restoring artifacts at night. There are countless rumors about Emperor Wenxiang, who seemed born to bring bloodshed and chaos wherever he went. As Crown Prince, he was lustful, superstitious, and murderous, contributing countless bizarre legendary episodes. After ascending the throne, however, he transformed into a model of a diligent and benevolent ruler. If not for the overly smooth transfer of power to his successor, he could almost have competed for the title of greatest emperor in history. The contrast between his before and after was so immense that, if it happened today, someone would probably be called in to take a look at him. Historians argued fiercely over the matter, while unofficial historians excitedly seized upon the Imperial Tutor, who had been mentioned only in passing in the historical record, and spread rumors. “He must have lost the love of his life!” Qi Qinghuai, the victim of unofficial history at the center of the storm, the Imperial Tutor, put down his little shovel and silently wiped away his sweat. He was not sure whether the man had lost anyone, but... That dog of an emperor really had been the person he secretly loved in his previous life. Whenever he thought of it, he berated himself. How could his previous life have been so turbulent, yet this was the only thing he remembered in the end? It was a pity that the man was already dead. Otherwise, he would have liked to see what sort of man that bastard really was, someone even the Meng Po Soup could not wash from his memory! The next moment, he dug up a Boshan censer split into two halves. As he fitted the censer back together, his vision blurred... When he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated to ancient times. A refined and scholarly handsome man in ancient dress stood before him, inviting him to join his cause. The newcomer introduced himself as Liu Yunxiu, the seventh son of Emperor Wenhe of the Da Jing dynasty. ...He was also the future Emperor Wenxiang. Then Qi Qinghuai discovered that Liu Yunxiu was just a tiny bit different from the records in the history books... For example. The Miscellaneous Tales of Xijing said that Liu Yunxiu had always favored tall, robust women who resembled men, and that his secondary residence contained three thousand beauties. Qi Qinghuai stared at the rows of heavily made-up, muscular men before him, his eyes wide and his voice trembling. “These... these are all your, um... beauties?” Only later did he learn that the emperor disliked his sons keeping retainers. To secretly cultivate strategists and death warriors, the various heroes had no choice but to temporarily “serve people with their beauty.” Qi Qinghuai pressed a hand to his forehead. “If a student is not taught properly, it is the teacher's fault... Rivalry for the throne is one thing, but could we not find a somewhat more dignified way to do this?” Later still, Qi Qinghuai, covered in suggestive red marks, pushed at the vigorous and powerful Crown Prince beside him. “Do I also have to serve the ruler with my beauty?” Liu Yunxiu was horrified. “Teacher, how could you think that of me?” Qi Qinghuai: “Fine, I won't think that of you... Could you first control your hands and stop touching me everywhere?” Theme: Science and technology change lives