Jiang Yue died after being exiled by the Lishan people, in a land beyond the borders where war raged.
Her people all said she deserved it.
As the undisputed heir to Lishan's leadership, she should have commanded the mountain spirits and defended their territory.
Instead, she fled to the lands beyond the borders without permission, dragging Lishan into the flames of war.
Jiang Yue never imagined she would open her eyes again, let alone set foot on Lishan's soil once more.
In a completely new identity.
The thirteen-year-old girl gazed at the familiar buildings of her homeland, and sealed memories slowly opened, until a voice, light as smoke and cold as snow, rang out.
"You say this is the disciple she took in beyond the borders?"
Outside the door, a figure dressed in mourning clothes came through the wind and snow, holding a plain umbrella.
Everyone beside her bowed low and called him the Great Shaman, Yan Xi.
Jiang Yue bowed with her companions, but her heart churned like a raging sea.
She suddenly remembered something of the utmost importance.
Before leaving Lishan, she might have ruined a wonderful marriage proposal.
Her fiance had been perfectly matched to her, a union made in heaven.
But on their wedding day, she ran away.
She hadn't managed to get far before someone stopped her halfway.
Her fiance, dressed in vivid red like a blaze, held a long sword and said with grim finality, "If you leave, don't come back. If you dare return, I'll kill you."
With her pack on her back, she left for the lands beyond the borders without looking back.
If she remembered correctly, her fiance's name was Yan Xi!
In the dead of winter, sweat beaded on Jiang Yue's forehead.
Suddenly, she felt a chill at her neck. The icy, sharp tip of an umbrella lifted her chin, forcing her to look up.
"What's your name?" Yan Xi's voice was as cold as the umbrella tip.
Jiang Yue immediately lowered her eyes, putting on a sweet smile. "My master named me Jiang Yue. Yue, as in the moon."
That's right. Her name now sounded exactly like that heartless and faithless fiancee of his. If all went as expected, he'd hate her, keep his distance, and...
"From now on, she's my disciple."
The cool, icy voice poured over her heart like a scoop of cold spring water.
Jiang Yue could no longer smile.
Among the young people of the Lishan people, there were four great unsolved mysteries.
First: Why had Jiang Yue, the heir to the mountain, given up her right to lead and fled Lishan?
Second: Jiang Yue had possessed the power to move mountains and overturn seas. How could she have died beyond the borders?
Third: Why had Yan Xi given up his status and gifts as the heir of the waters to become a shaman?
Fourth: The Great Shaman Yan Xi wore mourning clothes year-round. Who was he mourning?
Jiang Yue knew the answers to the first two mysteries perfectly well, but she too wondered about the last two.
Until one day, she found a lonely grave on the back mountain of the Jiang clan.
A stone stele, carved by the Great Shaman of the Lishan people himself, stood over the grave.
It read: Tomb of my late wife, Lady Jiang Yue. Bereaved husband, Yan Xi.
Looking at the lonely grave, Jiang Yue remembered the plain umbrella Yan Xi almost always held. Its translucent ribs gleamed like mutton-fat white jade. It was beautiful, and everyone in Lishan said it was made from extraordinarily precious beast bones.
Only she knew the truth.
It was the remains of half her body, the only part of her still left in this world.
[The rebellious, spirited chosen daughter of heaven x the cool, possessive, seductive widower]
Blurb written July 11, 2026
Theme: If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain
