A Sword Falls on a Thousand Snowy Mountains

[Complete.] A collection is open for my upcoming series novel, A Deliberate Game to Snare the Eastern Wind. Please add it to your favorites. See my author page~ Few know that the aloof beauty of the Sword and Saber Sect, their junior uncle, has the same person for both his archenemy and his unattainable first love. Even fewer know that he was no first love, but a cinnabar mole etched over his heart. The Sword and Saber Sect and the Falling Geese Sect have always been at odds. Whenever the sects hold a tournament, if the Sword and Saber Sect takes the stage, the Falling Geese Sect is sure to meet them blade for blade. The most celebrated among them are two rising stars of the martial world: Zhu Zhenhan of the Sword and Saber Sect, whose sword is named Nianliu and whose skill is peerless, and Shen Yue of the Falling Geese Sect, whose light-footed movement is like a swallow and whose skill is unmatched. They have fought nearly a hundred times, and everyone knows them as a pair of bitter rivals. One comes from an ordinary family, is as cool as snow, wears no ornaments, and carries nothing but a sword. Beneath his eye, a cinnabar mark curls like a fish's tail. The other is the youngest son of a chief escort, comes from a wealthy family, and is as bright as the wind. Gold and silver ornaments jingle all over him. Everyone believes these two people, so utterly different, truly dislike each other just as they seem to. Only Zhu Zhenhan knows the truth. After each tournament, as they bow to one another, appearing reluctant to do so Shen Yue sneaks a glance at him. The shadow cast by his falling fringe blurs the faint amusement in his eyes, which only Zhu Zhenhan, standing close by, can see. Then Shen Yue curls his lips and mouths each word to tease him: "Junior Uncle." At every grand banquet, Zhu Zhenhan, who seems untouched by worldly concerns, slips away without a sound from among his drunken fellow disciples and crosses the river to the Waterside Pavilion. Shen Yue is already waiting there. He knocks open a jar of clear wine and sits crookedly, utterly lacking in decorum. Holding a wine bowl, he smiles at Zhu Zhenhan and uses the cover of night to kiss him in the pavilion, wine on his breath. Years later, when Zhu Zhenhan looks back on those days, all he can remember is the cold look in Shen Yue's eyes and the tightly shut gates of the Falling Geese Sect. It was like swallowing wind and snow, the icy chill mingling with the hot, bloody taste in his mouth. And so their feigned discord became real discord, their pretend rivalry became a true enmity, and the unattainable first love became a cinnabar mole he had found and lost. * Zhu Zhenhan thought he would never have anything to do with Shen Yue again. Until the Mandarin Duck Sword Manual resurfaced. The Sword and Saber Sect and the Falling Geese Sect finally reached an agreement. Their one condition was that each sect send a rising star whose sword styles complemented the other's. So the young master Shen, who had not smiled at him in a long time, pointed at him and said: "Let's practice the Mandarin Duck Sword Style." Then he added: "Zhu Zhenhan, you practice the woman's sword." Zhu Zhenhan (top) x Shen Yue (bottom) Content warnings: 1. Reconciliation after a breakup; 2. Reconciliation after a breakup does not mean a groveling pursuit of the ex; 3. The first point means there will definitely be misunderstandings to clear up. Don't rush to insult either lead; 4. The author likes to be fair to both sides. Readers devoted to either lead may not enjoy this; 5. I'll add any content warnings myself. Please don't send malicious warnings. -Reading order: Sitting on the Ground Beneath the Bright Moon → A Thousand Mountains of Snow Where the Sword Falls → A Deliberate Game to Snare the Eastern Wind Here is the blurb for A Deliberate Game to Snare the Eastern Wind: Gu Yan is delicate and languid, refined and arrogant. As the head of the Yan residence, he travels by sedan chair, has silk laid down wherever he walks, and builds a screen a thousand miles long as a barrier. He takes extravagance to the extreme. Xiao Feilüe is quiet and taciturn, distant and cool. He is appointed General of Pinglang. His spear strikes like thunder and is named Coiling Flood Dragon. His jet-black steed, capable of galloping a thousand miles, is named Black Snow. Gu Yan has two regrets in his life. First, he should not have shown pity and let that drenched little lion leave. Eight years later, at a victory banquet, he unexpectedly saw the mark left by his mischievous younger self burned into the collarbone of the young general who had returned to the capital. Second, after discovering this secret, he still smiled and raised his wine cup, saying, "It's been a long time, General Xiao. I hope you've been well." Xiao Feilüe also has two regrets in his life. First, years after finally leaving the imperial city, he returned as a general and, at a victory banquet, someone accidentally saw the mark burned into his collarbone. Each character was perfectly clear: "Gu Yan." Second, when Gu Yan raised his wine cup, he looked at him coolly and asked, "How can you say I have been well?" And so Gu Yan, who was usually uninterested in everything, doggedly tries to pen the lion who has left the pack once more. And so General Xiao, who has always been solitary, finds himself in trouble, unable to take a step with a snake full of poison wrapped around him. The next day, beautiful women throughout the city wept, and the people presented a plaque bearing nine characters: Thank you, General Xiao, for risking your life to save others. Gu Yan (top) x Xiao Feilüe (bottom) Theme: Communication is the most important thing between people.