Abyssal Peaks

A tenon is a wooden joint, a projection that bears the weight of the sky and anchors the mountains.

A mortise is the hollow that receives the tenon, a recess that joins and holds things together.

The world uses them to divide the noble from the lowly, and determine the order of things.

They were meant to follow different paths.

One wanted to overthrow the old order. The other wanted to burn the world to ash.

They first met in a covered walkway on a rainy night. Rain glinted along the knife's edge, and in each other's eyes they saw the other's untamed fire, not yet extinguished.

"Young Master Jingxing, what a refined interest. Do the bright moon and gentle breeze illuminate the bones beneath your chessboard?"

"Mr. Yuanbi, what a clever turn of phrase. The night is made for killing. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste the spring blossoms in this garden?"

From a dead game to a living one, from opponents to accomplices.

The great families clash, a palace coup shakes the court, trouble stirs on the northern frontier, and the truth of their origins remains a mystery.

Every step is a blade slick with blood. Every game is a matter of life and death.

Yet he cuts the poison from the other's shoulder, and the other lights an eternal lamp for him before the Buddha.

At the dead end of the board, roots begin to grow. When the fire burns itself out, spring blooms in its place.

"The joining of tenon and mortise has nothing to do with yin and yang. It is about fitting bone to bone and soul to soul."

An ancient-style ABO setting (tenon = A, mortise = O, common = B). Two powerful leads, lovers who begin as enemies, happy ending.

Theme: Ancient-style ABO