As Promised

[Upcoming]

One-line pitch: Poisonous woman leads a mad dog [Progress: 250,000 words by October 25, 2025] [Sweet-on-the-surface, dark underneath, alluring and unhinged femme fatale x proud, loyal dog; veteran owner of the groveling-after-the-breakup suite; self-deluding lovesick fool]

Above lies the White Jade Capital, with its twelve towers and five cities. Nan Qing is the foremost beauty of the Twelve Towers, a madwoman by any reasonable measure.

By day, she is cool as snow and delicate as a pear blossom. By night, she becomes a poisonous vine covered in alluring leaves and flowers. Rumor has it she feeds on flesh and blood, yet that does nothing to diminish the fact that a single smile from her is nearly impossible to obtain, and one glance can steal a soul.

There is no one in the world she fears, except Yan Xi.

She is deathly afraid of water, yet now she drags him to the bottom of a pool and bites at his throat.

He nearly drowns, while water drips from her hair. She is so pitifully beautiful that anyone would feel for her, yet her catlike eyes avoid the crowd and suddenly flash with murderous intent.

"Third Master, don't you remember me?"

Yan, Third Master of the Prince Gong's residence, is notorious for his arrogance and aggression. As a young man, he was the wildest eagle in the Northwest, the sort to beat up even the Empress's younger brother. For eight years at Longmen, he swept across the battlefield like a steel blade, leaving the Ugele cavalry trembling at the mention of his name.

To hate someone to the utmost is not to wish them dead, but to wish them to beg for death and be denied. He hates Nan Qing to the bone. He severs her ties to her family, forces her to dance and drink with guests, and humiliates her in every way. Yet the more he hates her, the more he loses himself, until he no longer knows what to do. He is the only one who suffers the pain of having his heart carved out and his bones devoured.

Until one night, she barges into his room, knocks over the incense burner, and ruins his romantic evening.

He lets go of the woman in his arms, grabs her as she tries to flee in panic, and holds her fast. His eyes are dark, his smile dangerous, with a hint of restrained excitement. "You did that on purpose... You have to make it up to me."

Deep in the night, with wine on their breath, he leans his forehead against hers. His voice is hoarse, and for once, he pleads: "Let's leave this place... and get to know each other all over again, all right?"

Nan Qing smiles faintly, her words as icy as a blade. "Cut out your heart and give it to me."

One knows how to ensnare, the other knows how to say the opposite of what he means. Revenge is easy, but repaying love is hard. They can only throw themselves into the game and see who falls first, who admits defeat first, and who carves a path through blood for the other...

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[About this story] I know this blurb isn't good. Once I xxxxx, I'll definitely xxxxxx...

Little witch x Marquis of Ten Thousand Households

The street was like a deep sea, its currents churning. People kept falling and getting trampled underfoot, blood spilling from their mouths and noses as they breathed their last.

Yi Rushi was terrified, frightened, and stifled. She saw a hand, reduced to bone, dangling from a horse ahead, with only scraps of flesh still clinging to it.

She stood there stunned, then staggered when someone knocked into her. She was about to fall along with the people dropping one after another when she felt a tight grip on her arm and was pulled back to her feet.

In the next instant, a slightly rough hand covered her eyes.

"Don't look."

The man's voice was low and gentle. Yi Sheng vaguely felt she had heard it somewhere, but couldn't remember where.

He clasped her hand tightly, shielding her behind him as he led her against the flow of the crowd. Yi Sheng looked up and saw, against the light, a hideous scar running from beneath his neck to behind his ear.

She knew that scar. Its owner had saved her from a coffin, and a year later, he would surround the Yi residence with his troops.

[Reader's guide]

1. Slow burn. The romance is split evenly between the male lead and the second male lead. Happy ending.

2. The white moonlight is yourself

3. The story is a bit of a slow burn

Theme: The one who overcomes others is strong; the one who overcomes himself is powerful. Love can transcend life and death.