Seven Promises

Forty-eight thousand years after Nüwa sacrificed herself, the last Changyou in the world was killed by the Kunlun gods. Its severed head left behind a prophecy: the floods would return, and Nüwa would be reborn. The lord of Qiruo Mountain was named Yuan Ruo. Proud and unruly, she was a demon born in answer to fate. The primordial age had run its course. The great tidal cataclysm would begin here. [Sweet or fierce, arrogant and domineering: the whole village’s last hope, a quail spirit mountain lord] VS [Warm-faced, cold-hearted, gentle and carefree: a lonely, bullied Kunlun god] A Ruo abducted a handsome young human man and brought him back to her cave. Afraid he would escape, she stamped a red mark beneath his collarbone. Any living thing she marked, whether in heaven or on earth, could never escape her grasp. But he died, and in the end, he escaped her grasp after all. Later, at the great feast of the Five Heavenly Lords, A Ruo saw him again. “You don’t know? That is Lord Wujie, the most elegant and easygoing god in the divine realm.” “…” Lord Wujie rarely descended to the mortal world to travel, but a domineering demon queen had tied him up and dragged him back to her cave, stamping a red mark beneath his collarbone. With no other choice, he abandoned his body and faked his death to escape. Who would have thought that he would see her again at the great feast of the Five Heavenly Lords? A round, fluffy quail’s head poked out of his sleeve: “I heard you’re the best-looking god in the divine realm. Could you let me… Huh?” “…” [Reader’s Guide] * The heroine grows over the course of the story. She is full of flaws, immature, and not perfectly rational. She does not cut herself off from love or emotions, and she is not invincible or someone who only takes fights she knows she can win. * The male lead’s perspective is used for the first ten chapters, but the main story is still about the heroine’s growth. The romance is a slow burn. * The story takes place before the great tidal cataclysm in The God of Fortune’s Spring Blossom. Familiar characters appear, but you can still enjoy this story without having read Spring Blossom. * Some gods, demons, and place names and appearances are drawn from the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Songs of Chu. The demons’ rule over their own mountains was inspired by Journey to the West. Everything else, including the plot and worldbuilding, is original, so there’s no need to check the sources. Any differences are deliberate worldbuilding choices. * “Ruo” is a Chinese character with multiple pronunciations, and means disobedience. In this story, it is pronounced “ruo.” * Writing playlists, reader events, and other things that won’t fit here are posted on Weibo at @IAmGeYang. Theme: Walk my own path and see all living beings.