[Ye Luoli/Pang Du] Beneath the Mask

Volume One:

“What kind of hell is there in this world? This is Thunderclap Pavilion, the fortress of the person you love most, the graveyard where you buried your youth and your past!”

The Venomous Lady was once the most beautiful woman in the Immortal Realm, peerless in grace. How could she have ended up in such a wretched state?

She wore a mask year after year, unable to face the light. Poisonous creatures clung to her, and she could only struggle to survive in the muck. And most absurd of all:

She spent a long thousand years beside someone who did not love her.

Later, the Venomous Lady finally removed the mask from her face. Lightning flashed, and the poppies of the Poison Tide Manor bloomed to their fullest in that moment.

(First-person perspective, narrated by Du Xifei)

Interlude:

I stand upon the cliff

Before me, a blood-red ocean paved with poppies

Behind me, fine threads of lightning weave a web

Your deep blue eyes reflect my face

Waiting for daybreak

I will fall with you into the abyss of eternal silence

Future additions may be made

Volume Two:

“What if Pang Zun were a human boy, and Du Xifei his contracted doll?”

Pang Zun had a secret no one knew: he had a doll that could talk. The doll had long black hair streaked with purple, a breathtakingly beautiful face, and deep blue eyes that always seemed to hide unfathomable thoughts.

“Did I know you a long time ago?” Pang Zun finally asked, looking at the doll sitting by the window, playing with her hair.

The doll's hand paused. She looked up in surprise. “You're only just remembering?”

“Then what were we to each other before?”

“More than friends, but not quite lovers... confidants.”

(First-person perspective, narrated by Pang Zun)

Volume Three:

The story takes place in an ancient Immortal Realm, long, long ago. In those days, the powers of lightning and poison in nature were still weak, and Pang Zun and Du Xifei had yet to join the Spirit Rhinoceros Pavilion...

Cover artwork used with permission from @Caffeine

Theme: In this life, one confidant is enough