A Lover Etched in My Bones

Friendly warning: This story is painful to read. I want to rewrite it, so I don't recommend reading it.

I don't recommend reading it.

I don't recommend reading it.

The kind where you'll want to poke your own eyes out after reading!

Why won't you take the hint...

The more I tell you not to read it, the more you want to?

[Blurb]

Zhao Suyang, head of a secret intelligence agency, gets caught up in a major treason case. Falsely implicated, he is punished along with the accused, and his master seals his meridians, leaving him crippled.

He has given up hope and is willing to face execution. He never expected someone to save him and help him escape. That person has a leg disability. He's a lame man named Chen Zhiyan.

From then on, the cripple and the lame man travel together.

At first, Zhao Suyang treats him with deference out of gratitude for saving his life. But one day:

Chen Zhiyan: I saved your life. You should repay me by marrying me.

Zhao Suyang: Get lost.

At last, the lame man gets to live like a clinging burr.

Later,

As for the case, Zhao Suyang works to clear his name and bring the truth to light, only to be drawn into a royal power struggle full of twists and turns.

As for the man, he discovers that the clinging burr who has stayed by his side not only practices a martial arts style very similar to his own, but is also a wealthy merchant with influence across the land. Their ties run deep. He goes to great lengths to heal Zhao Suyang, shields him from attacks both open and hidden, cherishes him like the bright moon in his heart, and joins him in plunging into the abyss of conspiracy.

At last, the conspiracy is exposed to the world:

Zhao Suyang: We barely know each other. Why go through all these dangers with me?

Chen Zhiyan: To repay you.

Zhao Suyang: You should repay me by marrying me.

Chen Zhiyan: You've changed...

Theme: The sword and its scabbard protect and redeem each other.