The Realm Endures

Be sure to check the content warnings below the blurb! The whole story is complete, so you can dive in without worry!

A stoic, gentle, all-around bottom who can exorcise demons, fight monsters, dig up the ground, and hatch eggs x a beautiful, gentle, scheming top who can outwit anyone

Duan Ran, known as Fifth Brother Duan, is considered the most handsome young man in Jie Wen Village. He can chop wood and hunt, wash clothes and cook, and even if he just sits around doing nothing, the gifts he gets from girls every day could build him a mountain of gold. His fame has spread through three towns and nine villages.

The girls all agree that someone as wonderful as Fifth Brother Duan could never find a match worthy of him.

That is, until he rescues a man even more handsome than himself.

Ye Huan'an declares, "They say a life saved must be repaid with one's hand in marriage. Young Master Duan and I are together now. Thank you, everyone!"

Everyone: "..."

As for this man he's never seen before, who passed out vomiting blood the moment he laid eyes on him, Duan Ran says, "He started vomiting blood right in front of me as soon as we met. What was I supposed to do? I was helpless. I don't know if he was faking it... Anyway, it definitely wasn't because he was scared of the bow in my hand."

Out of a sense of responsibility, Duan Ran, who is busy trying to support his family, decides to take in this rich young master for the time being.

But he soon regrets it.

This isn't a person he picked up. It's a clingy nuisance!

"Xiao Wu~ I want to eat your cooking!"

"Xiao Wu~ I'll take you to catch turtles for fun!"

"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu~ Come see the new hatchet I bought you!"

Duan Ran slaps the man's hand away. "Call me by name with that sing-song voice and keep putting your hands on me, and I'll get physical with you too. I'll break your bones."

Serious blurb:

The history books say that King Yue Ye Han died at the brightest, most carefree age of eighteen. No one knows whether he had a courtesy name, because he died before he was even twenty...

At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, the young emperor ascended the throne alone, supported by his ministers. A century of chaos came to an end, the land was reunited, and the people submitted to his rule.

But just as everyone is busy coming up with posthumous titles for the young emperor's family members who died at the hands of the Prince of Li, Jiang Yan, the dynasty's foremost founding hero known as the "White-Robed Minister," kneels before the young emperor and says, "Your Majesty, I beg you to rescind the order to posthumously ennoble Fifth Young Master Ye Han."

The court erupts. The ministers protest, "Fifth Young Master and His Majesty were very close brothers. He was the first brother His Majesty thought to ennoble! Isn't Minister Jiang openly defying His Majesty?"

The next moment, Jiang Yan, the founding prime minister whose achievements are without equal and who has been granted special permission by the emperor to appear before him without kneeling, remains kneeling before the throne. He bows his head and says hoarsely, "I am willing to trade all my military honors and official posts... Please grant me Fifth Young Master's sword, 'Cloudbreaker.'"

"Trading a living person's life for someone who's already dead? I've never met anyone as foolish as you."

"...I'm trading the few years I have left to bring him back alive. It couldn't be more worth it."

The land is still here, but where are the people we once knew?

My next upcoming story is Know Your Immortal Bones 2. You're welcome to add it to your list.

After six hundred years in the mortal world and surviving the heavenly tribulation, the half-immortal Yulin ascends to the divine realm. The mortal world is depleted of talent, and after a thousand years, the divine realm finally welcomes another genuine god who has cultivated step by step and ascended in the proper way.

The gods: This little immortal may be younger than all of us, but he always acts so mature for his age. We understand.

Yulin looks at Siming, who moonlights as a writer of romance stories on the Ninth Heaven; Yue Lao, who knits with red strings and gives his creations away; and the Heavenly Emperor, who is basically a gossip king. His worldview, built over several centuries, suddenly feels a little shaken.

Then he realizes his worldview got shaken up too soon.

Yulin knows the divine realm is busy, since the gods have to manage all the affairs of the mortal world and answer the prayers of their followers.

Such as the half-demon who longs for something he cannot have, and the person whose name can no longer be found in the Book of Life and Death.

And such as the Big Dipper Star Lord, who keeps coming over to his place for tea?!

Yulin: "...My lord, don't you have any work to do?"

Big Dipper Star Lord: "Siming likes that sort of thing, so I gave it all to him. You can give it to him too. He'll be happy to do it."

Siming, so busy he wishes he could be reincarnated: "I [beep, ]!"

You're one of the last four primordial high gods in the divine realm. Could you at least stop showing such blatant favoritism?!

I only wish to know your immortal bones in this life, and to share a bond with you... Before my soul scatters, may I see you walk beside the light of heaven for all eternity.

Content warnings:

1. One-on-one romance, with the story told mainly from the bottom's perspective. Happy ending.

2. The beginning has farming and village-life elements. It shares a setting with my first book, Know Your Immortal Bones, so readers who care about historical accuracy may want to skip it.

3. If there's an update, it will be at 6 p.m. I won't abandon the story.

4. That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more if anything comes to mind!

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