The Sword Gives Birth to a Hibiscus

[Complete; revisions underway. Bonus chapters will follow.] 1. Shi Songzhen, wielder of the Chunjun Sword, split mountains and seas wherever her blade fell. Her three-foot swordlight was like a hibiscus just unfurling, earning her the title "Hibiscus Sword." She was noble in character, peerless in cultivation, and a master of the sword. Her only flaw was that she died too young. In the first year after Shi Songzhen fell in battle, the Lord of Penglai Island kowtowed all the way there, begging Xie Fuzhou, the Hibiscus Sword's beloved, to give the Chunjun Sword to his daughter, Ye Xueyi. In the seventh year after Shi Songzhen fell in battle, a young woman, newly recovered from a serious illness, went with her father to the secret realm of Tianshan to thank her benefactor. Amid the falling snow, she fell in love with Xie Fuzhou at first sight. In the thirteenth year after Shi Songzhen fell in battle, the young Ye Xueyi stood before Xie Fuzhou's seat with a sword on her back, her face flushed as she softly asked, "May I stay by your side?" The great demon Xie Fuzhou rested his head on one hand, his expression unreadable. 2. When Shi Songzhen, the Hibiscus Sword, died, the only person she couldn't bear to leave behind was her beloved, Xie Fuzhou. She had lived without shame before heaven or herself, but she had wronged Xie Fuzhou in death, thinking only of him. She wondered whether he would be heartbroken when he heard the news, whether he would grieve, whether he would blame her for being too reckless and leaving him alone in this world to suffer. Fifteen years after Shi Songzhen died in battle, she awoke. Before she could understand how she'd come back from the dead, she heard that Xie Fuzhou of Tianshan was to marry Ye Xueyi, wielder of the Chunjun Sword, and that their wedding would soon take place. She suddenly remembered a winter night many years ago, when heavy snow fell beneath Tianshan. A person and a fox sat by the fire, as if cut off from the world. Xie Fuzhou, who had just succeeded in taking human form, gathered his courage and asked, "Sister Shi, may I stay by your side?" Shi Songzhen jolted out of her memories and finally let out a wry laugh. Reading guide: 1. Reconciliation after a breakup, melodramatic misunderstandings, no change of male lead, happy ending. 2. Lots of flashbacks early on; the leads reunite late. 3. Some plot revelations may get pretty dark. 4. The male lead and female supporting character never have physical contact beyond friendship, and they never sleep together. 5. The author revises constantly and often edits earlier chapters. If you've already read them, there's no need to click again. [Upcoming story in the same setting: No Choice of My Own] 1. Chunyan, the Holy Maiden of Qingyan Sect, made a name for herself at a young age and possessed exceptional talent. When she was seventeen, her beloved fiance disappeared. Chunyan used every resource her sect had, but couldn't find a trace of Fang Hemian. Three years later, while she was meditating at the bottom of a pool, she heard two juniors she doted on arguing and flirting by the icy waters. "I thought you loved your fiancee, the Holy Maiden." "She's the wife Heaven granted me. I had no choice." "I heard you risked your life to save her in the Water Moon Grotto, and almost died there?" "It was a tribulation destined for me. I couldn't help it." "Then why did you make a marriage pact with her? Why tell her you loved her?" "It's come to this. I have no choice." 2. Fang Hemian, Heaven's Chosen, had his true body sealed at the bottom of the Netherworld Sea at seventeen. By luck, a wisp of his remnant soul escaped from the depths. He changed his appearance and returned to his fiancee. The True God of Heaven had written their story so that he and his childhood sweetheart would fall in love and grow old together. The story also said that countless women would love Fang Hemian, but he would have eyes only for Chunyan. Sadly, the boy who had eyes only for Chunyan died in the depths of the Nether Sea and could never return. Chunyan once thought she and Fang Hemian would be together for life. They had been together for as long as they could remember, sharing every hardship and every pain. They were like two vines that grew entwined, their twisted branches still bearing the traces of one another after they were torn apart. Sadly, all the warmth and love in her memories couldn't stand up to one offhand remark: "I have no choice." Theme: You changed your heart so easily, yet said it was my heart that had changed.