The Icy, Sickly Sect Leader Flirted Me Dizzy

(This story will be complete within a week, so feel free to start reading! The blurb for the forthcoming novel, The Mad, Sickly Beauty Forces Me to Save the World, is at the end.) [Deadpan, adorable, straightforward, slightly scheming young sect leader x dashing, sincere golden-retriever heroine] Jiang Jinyue was a bounty hunter who righted wrongs across the land. From catching thieves and robbers to finding people's lost cats, she handled every job brilliantly. Everyone who saw her called her a great hero! Then one day, the great heroine Jiang took a job guarding a residence. She failed to protect her employer and lost the culprit, smashing her hard-won reputation to pieces in the street. Jiang Jinyue was still seething when she saw a white figure glide out of the crime scene. How dare she! Jiang drew her sword and gave chase. “Murderer! Don't you run!” A face turned toward her amid snowy robes, its features exquisite and immaculate. Dark eyes, clear and still, met Jiang Jinyue's gaze, and her heart suddenly skipped. The long sword slipped from her hand. Her pride, her wariness, and her determination to catch the culprit all clattered to the ground with it. It was the most spectacular defeat of the great heroine Jiang's entire life in the martial world. The woman in white gazed at her in confusion. “Would you like to... catch the culprit together?” Jiang Jinyue nodded like a pecking chick and, as if bewitched, followed her. * The more time Jiang Jinyue spent with her, the stranger she seemed. She had the face of an immortal and a lovely, cool voice, yet she always paused several times before speaking. She could not even manage a few words of small talk, as wooden as a stone. She had to be some immortal maiden raised deep in the mountains. Yet through every hunt, through every clash of blades and hail of arrows, this very “stone” was always the first to shield her. Her peerless swordsmanship left the great heroine Jiang staring in awe. When she learned the woman belonged to the greatest sect under heaven, she could hardly wait to offer her a formal petition to become her disciple. “You're incredible! Are you an inner disciple, or the personal student of one of the elders?” Yun Shuqiu: “...” She could not answer that question. She was no disciple. She was the sect leader. * After they caught the real culprit, Jiang Jinyue's bloodline suddenly made her the target of every hunter in the land. The factions pursuing her all seemed to be after one thing: a wicked artifact capable of exchanging one life for another. In the end, Yun Shuqiu brought Jiang back to her own sect to protect her. One wanted to uncover the mystery of her bloodline; the other wanted to destroy the artifact before it could wreak havoc on the world again. Their goals aligned, and from then on, they traveled the martial world together. The great heroine Jiang thought she had figured out the young sect leader, but Yun Shuqiu had several more surprises in store: She spoke slowly, but was brilliant, with no puzzle in the world she could not solve. Her swordsmanship was unmatched, but her health was so poor that she often coughed up blood. Perhaps because of these two things, the dignified sect leader had not a single friend by her side. How could that be? The great heroine Jiang was always one to cherish beauty. She promptly became the first friend Yun Shuqiu had ever had, and gradually coaxed a smile onto the sect leader's face. As friends, they became good friends. As good friends, they became... something more. One day, Yun Shuqiu pointed to a book of erotic stories and asked Jiang Jinyue with perfect seriousness, “Shall we... get married too?” Looking into those clear, innocent eyes, Jiang Jinyue knew at once that the sect leader had no idea what marriage entailed. Still, she nodded, her ears red. At the time, she thought that someone as pure as the sect leader probably had no idea about the ways of love... What was she thinking? The great heroine Jiang should not be dwelling on what happened between the sheets, anyway. From now on, she would continue being the sect leader's good little heroine, and they would live together with mutual respect, pure and chaste. That would be lovely too. * Later, rumors about the leader of the Qingxu Sect fell into three categories. First, common knowledge: The Qingxu sect leader was unfathomable. Second, known to those who had met her: The Qingxu sect leader was beautiful as a banished immortal and cold as frost. Third, whispered only on Mount Qingxu, and never confirmed by anyone: Whenever the Hall of Sect Affairs kept its lights on all night, the next day the sect leader's wife would make sure her wrists were completely covered. Whenever a disciple happened to glimpse the two red marks around her wrist, their eyes would light up. They would exchange knowing glances and lower their heads to snicker. (Highly intelligent, beautiful, powerful, tragic heroine | one-on-one | both virgins | happy ending) [Reader's Guide] 1. Lots of sweetness. The younger sect leader takes the initiative more often early on, but overall they take turns. 2. The main cast is entirely female. All living, positive characters are women except for walk-ons and plot devices. The most powerful figures in the world are women, including the empress. 3. Members of the main cast appear and join gradually. By the later part of the story, you'll feel that the new generation is formidable and the martial world is being completely reshaped. 4. An ensemble story, but the supporting characters never steal the spotlight. 5. Low magic and high martial arts, with a wuxia feel and a touch of fantasy. 6. Set in the Southern Song Dynasty, in 1224 CE during the Jiading era, but not historically accurate. Apart from the era name and some period details, the setting is entirely fictional. 7. The sect leader is incredibly powerful and at the pinnacle of combat prowess. The heroine becomes extremely strong later on, and many of her true identities are not revealed until near the end. 8. No matter what happens, the ending is guaranteed to be happy. * [Forthcoming: The Mad, Sickly Beauty Forces Me to Save the World. Visit my author page to check it out and add it to your collection!] The night her entire family was slaughtered, a dark red mark rose across the back of Shi Wuyi's neck. Like a blazing inferno, it swept through the courtyard, burning most of her enemies to death or leaving them gravely wounded, while blinding her in the process. A villain who had miraculously survived seized her and, after traveling for seven days, brought her to the legendary Spirit Mountain, hoping to offer her as a sacrifice in exchange for a chance to cultivate there. But before he could finish pleading for a chance at immortality, the man melted into a puddle of sludge before her eyes. Shi Wuyi could only tell that the person who had saved her was a woman. The woman took her into Spirit Mountain. By then, Shi Wuyi saw nothing but endless darkness. She could not see anyone, and she refused to trust anyone. The woman who had just killed the villain now personally fed her medicine every day. Her voice was gentle, like a clear spring in the mountains. After entering the mountain, Shi Wuyi learned from others that her savior was Luo Lingge, the fourth peak master of Spirit Mountain. Spirit Mountain had seven peaks. Each of the other six peak masters possessed powers capable of shaking mountains and rivers, and had long been renowned throughout the world. Only the fourth peak master lived in seclusion and remained the most mysterious. Few knew anything about her, save that she was ruthless and could kill without leaving a trace. From then on, the gentler that voice sounded, the more insincere it seemed to Shi Wuyi, and the deeper her wariness grew. Only when the darkness slowly receded and daylight returned to her eyes did Shi Wuyi finally see what the woman looked like. She froze in disbelief. How could anyone in the world be so beautiful? But in the very next moment, her heart inexplicably tightened... The woman's face was deathly pale, her figure slender. A thin blanket covered her knees as she sat in a wheelchair. ...Was this really the female devil people spoke of in terror? * The rumors about Luo Lingge were not all false. She really could kill without a trace. She was the only person in the world who could wield the power of time, stopping the flow of time between heaven and earth with a single thought. But the woman who could stop the whole world had been unable to stand for ten years. She had long since lost all sensation below the waist, and her frail body was plagued by constant illness and an endless need for medicine. And upon her shoulders rested a fate she had never dared share with anyone. Over the years, the weather had grown increasingly erratic, with each year colder than the last. Snow fell in midsummer, rivers froze early, and spring arrived later with every passing year. No one in the world knew why. Only Luo Lingge knew these strange phenomena were merely omens of an impending catastrophe. Alone before the secrets of fate, she had divined an ending she dared not speak aloud, and determined exactly how much time this world had left. The only key that could break this deadlock... was Shi Wuyi. But Shi Wuyi knew nothing of this. She only wanted to uncover who had slaughtered her family, avenge them, then leave Spirit Mountain and get as far away as possible from the inscrutable woman. Luo Lingge stopped her at the mountain gate. “Come down the mountain with me and save the world.” Shi Wuyi thought it absurd. “What if I refuse?” The falling snow suddenly froze in midair. Shi Wuyi stiffened where she stood, unable to move even a finger. Luo Lingge smiled, turning her wheelchair toward her. She caught Shi Wuyi by the collar and forced her to bend down. “You don't have a choice.” * A year later, catastrophe struck. A thousand miles of land lay frozen, and all living things suffered. Shi Wuyi knelt before Luo Lingge's wheelchair, placed a dagger in her hand, then guided her hand until the point pressed against her own heart. With tears in her eyes, she said in a trembling voice, “Kill me. Save the world, and save yourself.” Luo Lingge's expression had been resolute, but suddenly she smiled. She moved the dagger away and placed it back in Shi Wuyi's hand. For the 4,101st time, Luo Lingge still could not bring herself to do it. If the secrets of fate would give her only this one answer, then she would destroy the secrets of fate. The next moment, she seized Shi Wuyi's wrist and pressed the dagger's point against her own heart. One-on-one | both virgins | happy ending | fantasy | switches Theme: Through all the vicissitudes of time, love endures forever