*
The Marriage Fate Hall governs the bonds of marriage across the Three Realms. Using a secret art, it summons red threads to bind people destined for one another.
Once a fated bond is formed, the two must marry or face heavenly punishment.
Zhu Qianning was among the Hall's least talented. His five senses were impaired, his immortal powers were weak, and he was merely pretty. He had never once managed to summon a red thread, and everyone looked down on him.
On the day of the immortal arts examination, all the immortals came to laugh at Zhu Qianning. Who could have guessed that the young man would successfully form a bond with a red thread, only... he tied it to the wrong person...
One end of the red thread was tied to Zhu Qianning himself, while the other was tied to Huayuan, the bloodthirsty Demon Venerable who had slaughtered half the Immortal Realm.
Heaven and earth shifted, the sealing formation broke, and the Demon Venerable appeared in black robes.
On the Ninth Heaven, Huayuan toppled several immortal palaces and clamped a cold hand around Zhu Qianning's throat. “You think you can marry this venerable one?”
*
Zhu Qianning was abducted by the Demon Venerable, and no one heard from him for a long time.
The immortals assumed he was probably dead and sent an envoy to the Demon Realm to collect his corpse.
The immortal envoy entered the demon palace and stood there dumbfounded.
Zhu Qianning wasn't dead.
Not only was he alive, he was staying in a splendid palace, wearing exquisite silks, and eating delicacies from all three realms. And the cruel, bloodthirsty Demon Venerable was personally peeling lychees for him!
The fated bond meant Huayuan couldn't kill Zhu Qianning, so he let him live while he researched how to undo the red thread.
Zhu Qianning moved into his bedchamber, and his impaired senses began failing more and more often.
His vision blurred, and he accidentally fell into Huayuan's arms;
His hearing faded, so he leaned close to Huayuan's lips when they spoke;
His sense of smell weakened, and he didn't realize he'd used too much incense.
Later, Huayuan no longer wanted to undo the red thread. With heavenly punishment drawing near, he simply married Zhu Qianning, then took him all over the mortal world to search for his lost senses.
Even though he knew Zhu Qianning had long been in love with someone else and didn't like him.
*
The day Zhu Qianning regained his senses, his divine soul, memories, and appearance all returned as well.
The young Divine Venerable was dazzlingly beautiful, radiant as spring, and the immortals of the Nine Heavens knelt before him.
Divine power dissolved the red thread. Huayuan lost himself for a moment, then turned and walked away in lonely silence.
But Zhu Qianning conjured a new red cord and wound it around his wrist.
Huayuan sighed. “Ningning, do you pity me?”
Zhu Qianning smiled through his tears. “I love you.”
[First edition: January 12, 2023]
[Reading guide]
1. A vicious, powerful, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, fatherly seme x a beautiful, alluring uke with impaired senses and irresistible charm.
2. The uke is sealed. As he regains his senses and divine soul, he gradually changes from a pretty boy to a beautiful young man and then a breathtaking beauty. He's frail at first, and from time to time he goes blind, deaf, or weak.
3. The seme and uke share a deep bond from a past life, but neither knows it.
4. The red thread and the uke's impaired senses mean plenty of cuddling and close contact.
Theme: Love may come at different times, but that's all right.
