Yuan Qingxu is the youngest headmaster of Yunshan Academy. Cool and straightforward, she loves and hates with equal clarity.
Once the cherished favorite of her sect, now deeply respected by the academy, her life had always gone smoothly, earning her everyone's envy. That is, until the day she went out to exterminate demons. Amid a torrential downpour, she rescued the young Zhen Zhou, who was struggling in the mud, simply because his eyes looked so much like those of someone from her past.
She thought she had long since forgotten that person, yet her heart stirred all the same. She took the boy home and cared for him devotedly, searching for immortal herbs, curing his chronic illness, and teaching him cultivation techniques. She did everything in her power to help him reach the summit of the immortal mountains, where he became a gifted young prodigy envied by all.
When Zhen Zhou's sword point plunged into her heart without a moment's hesitation, all her senses grew dull.
As it turned out, Zhen Zhou was no innocent boy with a tragic past. He was the most mysterious guardian of the Demon Realm. To get close to Yuan Qingxu, he had crippled his own meridians. In the end, all he wanted was to break the Demon Lord's seal.
At the trial platform, Yuan Qingxu swept her sleeve and destroyed his eyes. Without a word, she turned and left.
From then on, the immortal sects lost a gifted young prodigy, while the Endless Abyss gained a silent scavenger.
*
Zhen Zhou had gone undercover beside Yuan Qingxu on the orders of a demon envoy. At first, he did it only to win his freedom.
Yuan Qingxu showed him compassion because, through his eyes, she could see someone else. He knew this perfectly well, yet he gradually fell into the depths of his feelings for her.
He gave up the freedom he had once longed for above all else, enduring the Demon Realm's ghostly flames scorching him day and night.
After a trial, he lost his eyes and everything else, falling into the Endless Abyss. For a hundred years, he could only water with his blood the spirit herb that eased his heart ailment. But even when he climbed the celestial stairway on his knees, his body pierced through with long, bone-deep spikes, until his kneecaps shattered, not a glimmer of light ever escaped from Yuan Qingxu's door.
Reader's Guide:
1. The sect's cherished, sickly black moonlight and a gentle, devoted, strong-but-tragic love interest. Happy ending.
2. A sweet yet angsty healing story, with a substitute romance early on and a redemption arc later.
3. The male lead never wants the female lead to be hurt. There are hidden circumstances, and later on, he will hate himself more than anyone else does.
4. The names are inspired by the Ode to the Red Cliffs: "A cool breeze drifts in, and the water remains still" and "We lay our heads on one another in the boat, unaware that the eastern sky is already bright."
Theme: Becoming a better version of yourself
