After I Spoiled My Childhood Friend, She Fell into Darkness

*Aloof, taciturn sword cultivator seme with a love-struck streak x a pampered, troublesome beauty from the Demon Cult as the uke

*Mostly from the seme's perspective

[Blurb]

Everyone in the cultivation world knows that Yan Zhan and Qing Shao are mortal enemies.

Strangely enough, Yan Zhan, the Sword Sect's top inner disciple of her generation, is a dazzlingly talented sword cultivator with a celestial-grade sword bone, and has always been cool and reserved.

No one knows why she ever got involved with Qing Shao, the wickedly beautiful new Holy Maiden of the Demon Cult.

Whenever Yan Zhan leaves the sect, Qing Shao is sure to come challenge her, fighting until heaven and earth turn upside down.

But no one knows that, amid the clouds and mist where spells fly in every direction, Qing Shao dodges the fierce sword strikes and always finds an opening to slip into Yan Zhan's arms, soft as boneless silk.

Even with half her hair sliced off, she still grabs the icy sword cultivator's chin, tips her head up, and forces a kiss onto those tightly pursed lips.

The beauty's voice is soft as silk, yet full of smug delight. "Do they know we're doing something so intimate?"

-

What no one knows is that they once grew up together as childhood friends in a small town in Jiangnan.

The Sword Sect's first disciple, now admired and followed by countless people, was once a homeless orphan adopted by the wealthy Qing family.

Under the green-tiled eaves of their childhood home, Qing Shao, reborn and newly awakened, once lifted her tear-streaked face and asked Yan Zhan to kiss her.

Yan Zhan carried the frail Qing Shao on her back, step by step up the mountain path to the Sword Sect, then knelt before the sect gates and begged her master to let Qing Shao cultivate alongside her.

On countless late nights spent cultivating, Qing Shao, an outer disciple, would naturally slip into the room of Yan Zhan, the chief disciple, warm her feet in Yan Zhan's arms, and sleep beside her.

Then came the day Yan Zhan obeyed her master's orders and brought back a new junior sister, the youngest and most secluded disciple.

Qing Shao recalled her previous life. Demonic markings appeared on her forehead as she took out the things Yan Zhan had given her, one by one, from her storage pouch: rare treasures, top-grade pills, and Heaven-rank cultivation manuals. She threw them at Yan Zhan's feet and cast them aside like trash.

Yan Zhan felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.

The junior sister said considerately, "Senior Sister, don't be sad. Demonic cultivators are all hypocrites like that..."

Yan Zhan couldn't hear anything else. All she could think of was that year beneath the green eaves in Jiangnan, when she reluctantly and nervously drew her lips away from Qing Shao's, then asked her a question.

As a young girl kissing the person she loved for the first time, she had naturally been shy and hopeful. "Shao Shao, what are we to each other now?"

She thought that since Qing Shao had kissed her first, she must love her too.

She had just taken first place in the martial arts tournament. Thankfully, she had managed to save a little money. If she worked hard for a few more years, she would surely be able to spend the rest of her life with Qing Shao.

Back then, Qing Shao's eyes had brimmed with tears, her lips moist and red. She said, "We're childhood friends who'll be together for life, aren't we? You... you'll always be good to me, right?"

Yan Zhan was speechless. Amid her disappointment, she was still glad that this counted as a promise for life, and solemnly nodded.

Now, when Yan Zhan asked again, Qing Shao's eyes were red and her expression scornful. She said only, "Yan Zhan, I never felt anything for you. I was just deceiving you."

[Reader's Guide]

1. One-on-one romance, body and soul, across past and present lives. Happy ending.

2. The seme's feelings for the uke are incredibly strong, overwhelmingly, ridiculously strong.

3. The uke is reborn and has a limited perspective.

-

Theme: Stay positive and keep moving forward at all times.