In Search of the Truth [Mystery]

The sequel, "The Tale of Mi and Zhi: Mutation", is available to preorder. Its blurb is at the end.

High-IQ, sickly beauty bottom vs. hot-blooded, rugged top with overwhelming physical strength

Mystery-solving / sex first, love later / both virgins / happy ending

Doctor Qin Mi picked up a handsome drunk and took him home. One thing led to another, and they spent the night together.

The handsome drunk was Mu Tianzhi, Commander of the Northern Surveillance Bureau of the Great Xin Dynasty, known as the “Pale-Haired Little King of Hell.”

Qin Mi knew who he was. The only problem was that Mu Tianzhi had already forgotten him.

Forgotten me, have you? Then will you forget me again after we sleep together this time?

Mu Tianzhi had a secret no one knew: he had originally been the captain of a criminal investigation squad in the modern world. After being gravely wounded during an operation, he transmigrated into this world, carrying a heavy burden of blood debts in his heart.

His night of passion with Qin Mi was the one time he had strayed from the path. When he learned that Qin Mi had known his original self, he was all the more afraid to get involved, hoping they would never meet again.

The next day, a murder took place in a brothel catering to men. Mu Tianzhi went to investigate, only to find the man who had shared his bed the night before right there at the scene.

Just like the night before, Qin Mi was warm and forward, with suspicion written all over him. He successfully aroused Mu Tianzhi’s doubts.

.

Thus began their “partnership”: investigating the case, and investigating each other.

The more time they spent together, the better they understood one another. They were suspicious of each other even as they sank deeper into this relationship.

Qin Mi is delicate and frail, exceptionally clever, and deeply perceptive about human nature. Deep down, he also has a world-weary, reckless streak of madness, as if he could slide into darkness at any moment.

Mu Tianzhi seems cold and ruthless on the outside, but burns like a fire within. He always holds fast to justice and righteousness, and keeps trying to pull people back from the brink, saving whoever he can.

What binds them even more tightly is that ten years ago, they were both caught up in the same case. They were the only two survivors.

That case seemed like a vast web designed just for them, opening its jaws like a monster in the dark, intent on swallowing everything.

Unwilling to remain pawns, the two joined forces once more, just as they had when trapped ten years ago, and set out to unravel the trap laid by the mastermind.

As they picked apart the clues, they saved others, and themselves.

A little scene:

Mu Tianzhi pinned Qin Mi to the bed, his deep eyes cool. “Who are you, really?”

Qin Mi’s eyes were flushed red, burning like fire. He smiled. “I’m a demon from hell. Are you afraid?”

Mu Tianzhi’s heated lips brushed his ear. “What a coincidence. I’m the one who hunts demons.”

Qin Mi turned his head, the tip of his nose brushing Mu Tianzhi’s. “And where does Your Excellency the Commander come from?”

A mischievous smile flashed across Mu Tianzhi’s defiant face. “I’m a celestial immortal who flew here from beyond the heavens.”

Reader’s guide:

1. Although the story has a few case-of-the-week arcs, they are closely connected, so I don’t recommend skipping chapters.

2. I have plenty of chapters saved up and will never abandon the story. It’s a substantial read, so please don’t wait for me to finish before reading. Sending love~~

3. The romance is mostly angst-free, with one-on-one pairing. The plot has a few bumps, but it’s still satisfying.

Available to preorder: *The Tale of Mi and Zhi: Mutation [Criminal Investigation]*

Qin Mi vs. Mu Tianzhi

High-IQ, overpowered beauty bottom vs. hot-blooded, rugged top with overwhelming physical strength

“Plot-focused blurb”

As an overworked wage slave who’s been through the wringer, your only outlet is venting on social media in internet slang:

“Anyone else know the feeling? My prefrontal cortex crashed today, my amygdala hijacked me, and I went straight at my boss. Now I’m unemployed and heartbroken, and I’ve officially entered the Odyssey era of my life.”

“With my strong sense of self and sky-high self-worth, plus ADHD and an avoidant, highly sensitive personality, I’m really not suited to working. The moment I clock in, I dissociate, and my cortisol levels are always rock bottom. It’s agony.”

“My new boss is definitely a performative NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). He’s torturing the hell out of me. Can the BPD (borderline personality disorder) person at the next desk just go head-to-head with him and take each other out?!”

Psychological terms are increasingly being turned into entertainment. Yet beneath many people’s outward appearances, these disorders hijack one brain after another, transforming people into monsters.

Monsters never do it for entertainment. Monsters only eat people.

Or treat eating people as entertainment.

“Character-focused blurb”

Mu Tianzhi, formerly captain of a criminal investigation squad, once had a strange experience:

Four years ago, an explosion sent him transmigrating to the ancient Great Xin Dynasty, where he met the love of his life, Qin Mi.

Together, they punished criminals and fought evil, living and dying side by side. Then, by the twists of fate, they returned to the modern world.

Perhaps it was the transmigration god’s reward for their work upholding justice.

Qin Mi was a prodigy who passed the county-level imperial exam at the age of twelve, but a cruel fate stopped him from going any further. Fortunately, he met and came to know Mu Tianzhi, and unexpectedly found himself in the modern world, where he started living a life like an overpowered protagonist’s.

Now, four years later, he is a doctoral student in criminology at Jingchuan Police University. He has just returned home with honors after a year abroad on a government-sponsored exchange.

After repeatedly earning outstanding merit, Mu Tianzhi was promoted ahead of schedule at every turn. He is now deputy chief of the provincial criminal investigation corps.

Upon Qin Mi’s return, while waiting to resume his studies in the new academic year, his superiors assign him to work temporarily in the intelligence analysis unit of the provincial criminal investigation corps.

The two lovers who once depended on each other through life and death have become comrades fighting side by side once more.

They still work together with one heart, still love each other, and are still unwavering in their devotion… right?

At least, that’s what Mu Tianzhi thought.

Until he realized something was wrong with Qin Mi.

The new scars on his body, the other name he calls out in his sleep, his unconventional behavior while investigating cases: Mu Tianzhi can’t lie to himself about any of it.

When he can no longer hold back from demanding an answer, Qin Mi presses the cold muzzle of his gun to Mu Tianzhi’s temple.

“Captain Mu, I came here from ancient times. I can’t fully accept your principles.” The former lover’s voice is icy. “I have my own principles. When they conflict, I can only follow my heart.”

Gazing at that cold, resolute face, Mu Tianzhi presses him for an answer. “You once said that I was your only anchor in this world, that I was the only one who knew all your secrets, that no one could replace the bond between us, and that you would never change your feelings. If your principles no longer align with mine, is there still room for me in your heart?”

“Every police officer knows the truth is always the cruelest thing of all. I’m not cruel enough to do that to you.” Qin Mi slowly leans closer, replacing the gun muzzle with his lips as he kisses Mu Tianzhi’s temple. He softly murmurs the name he hasn’t used in a long time: “Chongxiao, people change. I’m sorry.”

Reader’s guide:

1. This is the modern-day sequel to the series "The Tale of Mi and Zhi". You can read it without having read the previous book, since the story explains the relevant background as it goes. You’re also welcome to catch up on the first book, which is currently free.

2. Thanks to the transmigration god’s favor, our Qin Mi is no longer the sickly beauty he was in ancient times. In the modern world, he’s an all-around overpowered genius, but he’s still a beauty.

3. There will be no love rivals, so rest assured. They are each other’s first and only partners, and each other’s first love.

4. The story still uses a case-of-the-week format interwoven with the main plot. It mainly features serial murders committed by psychologically disturbed criminals, solved through a combination of criminal psychology and traditional police investigation.

Another historical fantasy preorder with a plot focus:

"The Falling Long Star"

The spiritual energy that had been recovering for three hundred years seemed close to exhaustion, and its prosperity began to wane.

Just then, mechanical technology from the West arrived. Combining it with machinery became a way for arcane arts to cling to life.

In the blink of an eye, the land was full of wandering practitioners of arcane arts and mechanics. In the little seaside city of Wanghai on the peninsula, magic, monsters, and steampunk coexist.

It looks like a time of great prosperity, yet also like the glowing embers of a bygone age.

For Cen Yuan, the good news is that he has an extraordinary talent and is a rare practitioner of both arcane arts and mechanics. The bad news is that this bloodline has saddled him with a terrible curse: he won’t live long.

His parents were dead, his master had disappeared, and he had become a little street beggar with nothing to keep him attached to the world. That was until he accidentally saved a child named You Ziyi.

As luck would have it, the child’s father had known Cen Yuan’s late father. Cen Yuan was the “son of an old friend.”

He had not only found a family, but also gained a younger brother who suited him perfectly.

Now he just really hopes he can live to a hundred.

You Ziyi was born into privilege and had always had a smooth life. It wasn’t until he met Cen Yuan that he learned what it meant to be afraid.

He feared Cen Yuan would secretly run away, and feared even more that Cen Yuan would sneak out and die.

So he studied arcane arts, mechanics, and emerging medicine, cramming his head with all kinds of knowledge, just to save Cen Yuan’s life.

Unexpectedly, he ended up needing those skills himself first.

The grudges of the previous generation have been passed down to the next. Two children are dragged into the abyss of fate by a demon lurking in the shadows.

The boys refuse to give up and choose to face the darkness head-on.

A pawn of fate may also be a chosen one.

And in this case, there are two chosen ones.

Even with thorns in their path, they will pierce the darkness, take down the Demon King hiding behind the scenes, and scatter the gloom that blankets the sky.

Perhaps they will still have time to keep the promise they once made, to stay together for a long, long time.

You Ziyi vs. Cen Yuan

Stubborn, scheming young noble top vs. wandering, split-personality bottom with no sense of propriety

Childhood friends / coming of age / younger top

One-on-one / happy ending / serious tone / Eastern steampunk

It should be an adventure about two childhood friends who are pseudo-brothers, saving each other as they grow into mighty masters, then joining forces to take on the mastermind and save the world.

Theme: Overcome difficulties and never forget your original aspirations.