Pei Qingque was the greatest sword cultivator under heaven, so he had a wild personality and a sharp tongue.
Then he fell from the top. His cultivation was half-destroyed overnight, his bones and sinews shattered, and he could only slink back to the mortal realm to become an ordinary head of the Pei family.
Oh, yes, that Pei family. The one richer than a nation, whose head even the Human Emperor had to treat with respect.
People said Pei Qingque was lucky, and that even as a cripple, he was still cherished like a treasure.
Pei Qingque simply shook his head and his fan, wondering why he was still alive.
Not everyone could accept going from heaven's favored child to a worthless cripple.
Then one day, Pei Qingque rescued an orphan from the river. The child was only two or three years old, his clear black-and-white eyes full of fear. He clung to Pei Qingque and refused to let go.
Pei Qingque had no choice but to raise the child by his side.
Raising a child was hard, especially when Jiang Fuyao was so frail. At first, Pei Qingque thought it was a nuisance. But as he raised him, he came to find the child adorable.
A soft, chubby little dumpling who followed him around every day, calling him "big brother" this and "big brother" that.
Pei Qingque suddenly didn't want to die anymore. He wanted to raise this child to adulthood.
As he watched Jiang Fuyao grow from a little dumpling into a young man, Pei Qingque couldn't help thinking how impressive he was.
Who knew raising a child could be so hard?
He thought that once Jiang Fuyao grew up, he could finally relax. But on the day of Jiang Fuyao's coming-of-age ceremony, Jiang Fuyao suddenly confessed his love to him.
Pei Qingque stopped waving his fan, and the smile faded from his face. One sentence from Jiang Fuyao made his hair stand on end.
Heaven and earth could bear witness: his feelings for Jiang Fuyao were purely brotherly.
Pei Qingque could only laugh awkwardly and gently turn down Jiang Fuyao's sincere feelings.
Fortunately, Jiang Fuyao was good-natured. Even after being rejected, he just smiled, took his sword, and went down the mountain.
Then he never came back.
So many people hated Pei Qingque that even the child he'd raised became a target of their resentment.
That rainy night, Pei Qingque held Jiang Fuyao, who had only a breath left, and his heart was torn apart. The Lone Phoenix Sword left its sheath once more. With a single sword stroke, the world changed hands.
Pei Qingque became the new Human Emperor.
And Jiang Fuyao became his precious treasure, someone no one was allowed to touch.
Theme: Hope for hope's sake.
