Riding the Wind to the Jade Capital

A slow-burn traditional wuxia story. Passionate, devoted love between two first loves, one-on-one.

Serious blurb:

Other people transmigrate and become lords, generals, or ministers, making something of themselves. They're talented in all 360 trades.

They build businesses, claim thrones, lead armies, start industrial revolutions. At the very least, they go into business or construction, make clothes or cook, join the fashion or restaurant industry. Even the least capable can figure out how to refine coarse salt.

Wen Jing is in trouble. He has no skills whatsoever.

What? No skills, and now he has to learn martial arts?

What? He doesn't just have to practice stances, memorize techniques, train his qi, and learn the blade, he also has to feed a whole family of kids?

What? He has to get up early to train, provide for his family, and carry the blood feud left behind by his parents' deaths?

Wen Jing won't stand for it. If he doesn't like something, he'll fight back.

Li Guxue wasn't born with the surname Li. His master bestowed it on him as a reward for a job well done.

And if we're being precise, he wasn't originally called Guxue either. His master gave him that name when he joined the sect. He was a country boy, too young to work the fields, so of course he didn't have a proper name. Especially since he'd been abandoned by the roadside.

Li Guxue had no name or family name, and the sect he entered had none either. It was called the Nameless Sect.

Nameless between heaven and earth, all things under heaven were matters of the nameless. The sect's disciples weren't people, but swords and blades, weapons in the emperor's hand, lethal instruments of the human world that drew blood with every unsheathing.

Li Guxue, the killing weapon, favored the sword. Its brilliance came from having seen blood, shining so dazzlingly it hurt the eyes, wounding others and himself alike.

One day, his sword suddenly caught sight of a patch of moonlight.

That moonlight swayed and climbed into the souls of two young men gazing at each other, and into the gears of fate that would forever interlock their lives.

Blood and vengeance, love and sorrow: in twenty years in this world, Wen Jing had tasted it all. Family bound by blood, strangers who crossed his path, a young confidant who stood by him through hardship, and love that could shake the soul.

He had seen it all.

Some people stayed by his side through everything, while others were lost along the long road, vanishing into dreams.

Who was it that cut through the last scorching breeze of summer with a sword, just to pluck a branch heavy with mist and dew? At the Jade Belt River in Yangzhou, love was at first sight. Some treasured that love, while others discarded it like worn-out shoes.

Did the one who gave it up ever regret it in the middle of the night?

When they meet again five years later, there's more than a little love and hate between them.

Twenty years ago, bloodshed filled Juyong Pass. The loyal Wen family was branded traitorous overnight, accused of colluding with the enemy. The case remains unsolved to this day.

Twenty years later, White Jade Tower rose to power, going from obscurity to the very top of the capital's underworld. It wasn't after the imperial palace, but after an unending reckoning between executioners and ghosts.

One is the second young master of White Jade Tower, the leader of the capital's underworld. The other is the acting master of the Nameless Hall within the imperial palace. One commands the loyalty of the martial world; the other holds the power of life and death at court.

One wants to expose the injustice of twenty years ago, swearing to turn the world upside down. The other bears the emperor's command and has no choice but to protect the imperial family and ensure the dynasty's peace for generations to come.

But are they truly who they think they are?

The royal family sits high above, watching with cold eyes. The emperor holds the power to turn the world upside down, while the heroes of the martial world wield swords filled with righteous blood. Who will prevail? That depends on today.

Where can this love find a home amid the storms? The lotus-scented summer breeze of years gone by lingers. Standing on the ninth step of the jade stairs, Wen Jing looks back. Whom does he see?

A lofty tower reaches into the blue sky, with a hall of white jade below.

May you meet the one who shares your heart, and fly together as purple mandarin ducks.

Irreverent blurb:

Wen Jing transmigrated as the son of a general accused of treason. From the moment he was born, he was on the run, so he had no choice but to scrape by in the martial world as a waiter.

Until the big shots started looking at him strangely.

The Divine Physician pulled him aside. "You really look like your mother. Here, good boy, take this life-saving elixir."

The cold, ruthless Sword Venerable saw him and teared up. "Back then, your father and I... Keep this secret manual. I'll teach you."

The leader of the Fang Sect came to kill him, then froze in shock. "Why do you have a face like... No! I can't kill you!"

Later, he met the emperor, who sighed sadly at him. "I wronged your mother."

Uh... Wen Jing: "Oh?"

He grabbed the older brother who had raised him. "What kind of immortals were our parents? Didn't you say they were wicked officials?"

His brother slapped his hand away. "I told you, they were framed."

After learning they hadn't died, Wen Jing found a new goal in life: revenge.

But halfway through his revenge, he realized something.

"Why," Wen Jing complained to his brother, "is that bastard's apprentice so handsome?"

Since ancient times, loyalty and love have been hard to reconcile. Sorry, handsome boy. I swear I'll always be true to my love for you. Once I kill your master, I'll give you my life.

Armed with a sword, singing as he goes, the young man wanders freely. Year after year, don't dwell on old promises. The old moon still shines over these mountains and rivers. The traces left in the grass and mud are pitiful, but let me drown the past in wine. On a bitterly cold night, a pair of egrets roost together. Looking back, a thousand layers of mist cover the water.

Far away, immortals drift among the clouds, lotus in hand, facing the Jade Capital.

Background and setting:

1. The handsome boy is no innocent either. He's a master liar with impure motives, ruthless, manipulative, and happy to deceive people without a shred of guilt. That's because he didn't have a conscience to begin with. He gets one later, a bit late.

2. They get back together after five years apart. Strong leads, no cannon fodder, slow burn, a little melodrama and angst, one-on-one, happy ending. It's really slow burn: the handsome boy appears while they're scraping by in the martial world, taking up 30% of the story. The big shots don't show up until volume three, so please keep that in mind!

3. The one described in point 1, the seme, is paired with the beautiful shou, who has a cool exterior and incredible acting skills. An imperial spy X a prince fallen into the martial world. Their true identities later on are a secret. Voice fetish (?) X face fetish, honeyed words X doesn't like to entertain people, night-walking enthusiast X afraid of heights and the dark, hot-tempered X petty, I deceive you X I deceive myself, schemer X even bigger schemer, ruthless X even more ruthless.

4. The setting draws on the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, with some original elements. The world is fictional overall. I may be loose with details in some places and suddenly start obsessing over historical accuracy in others.

5. If you're interested, check out my other completed and upcoming works:

Completed work 1: Reborn minister seme X transmigrated emperor shou, Song of Qilantai

Completed work 2: Movie star X newcomer actor, a polished drama-within-a-drama, By Fate Alone

Completed work 3: Show business / groveling ex, Contract Stand-In [Show Business]

Coming soon 1: Everyone's darling / pregnancy, A Hundred Years After Marrying the Chosen One

Ongoing: CEO X little-known celebrity, reunited lovers / old-school angsty romance, The Black Moonlight Only Wants Money [Show Business]

Theme: Heaven's movement is vigorous; the noble-minded person strives without cease