My Junior Martial Uncle Has Defected Again

[My next novel, "Why Is the Powerful Minister Like That?" The blurb is after this one. Please add it to your collection, thank you~]

Jing Anyan is the empress's younger brother, born into a distinguished family and blessed with a handsome face. His peerless swordsmanship amazes the world, making him the most dashing young gentleman in all of Great Wei.

Everyone says his future is boundless. Once he comes of age and officially enters court, he'll surely accomplish great things.

Yet on the eve of his coming-of-age ceremony, Jing Anyan breaks the emperor's sword with his own hands, injures his fellow disciples, and formally declares his defection from Great Wei. He flees to the Southern Frontier, vanishing without a trace for ten whole years.

*

Ten years later, a new emperor ascends the throne, and chaos erupts in the Southern Frontier.

Everyone knows who is there. The former empress, now empress dowager, still holds sway over the inner palace. No one at court dares respond, unsure of what the powers above want.

In the midst of the stalemate, Feng Heng, Jing Anyan's former junior disciple and the inheritor of all his sword techniques, boldly volunteers to lead an army south and reclaim the Southern Frontier.

*

Over the past ten years, Feng Heng has imagined countless times what he would say when he and Jing Anyan met again.

He loves him, misses him, longs for him, and more than anything wants to know the truth behind his defection all those years ago.

But in the end, he couldn't get any of it out. Instead, somehow, they ended up in bed together.

*

After the storm passed, Feng Heng looked at the man's unchanged features and quietly asked, "Will you run away again?"

Jing Anyan shook his head.

Feng Heng smiled and drifted peacefully to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the space beside him was empty.

Feng Heng: ...

I'd sooner believe in ghosts than trust a word from Jing Anyan's lying mouth!

Little Martial Uncle, are you addicted to deceiving me?

Devoted, stubborn general gong (Feng Heng) x dashing, silver-tongued gu master shou (Jing Anyan)

Delicate flower (fake) gong x compulsive liar (an act) shou

[Reader's Guide]

1. The blurb is mainly from the gong's (Feng Changnian's) perspective, while the main story is generally from the shou's (Jing Anyan's) perspective.

2. One-on-one romance, no switching, happy ending. There are no romantic storylines between the main couple and any other characters.

3. Age gap: the shou (Jing Anyan) is five years older than the gong (Feng Changnian).

4. Political intrigue and romance, roughly a 50/50 split. No misunderstandings in the romance, but the plot has angst because of the larger political situation.

5. A "he runs, he chases, he can't escape" story. The running is real. The shou (Jing Anyan) has a mountain of secrets and schemes, so don't believe what he says until the very end.

6. The worldbuilding draws on many dynasties. Don't nitpick the history. There are no real-world models, and the author has piled on mountains and mountains of original worldbuilding.

I'm starting my next novel, "Why Is the Powerful Minister Like That?" Please add it to your collection, thank you. Here's the blurb

[Fake substitute, real secret identity reveal, with a push-and-pull dynamic of "I pretend to be my own substitute, thinking you don't know, even though you knew all along and just never said so."]

Zhao Jingshi is the greatest assassin in all of Great Liang, commanding the largest assassin organization in the world. He's capricious and frivolous, with ruthless, merciless methods.

Not one assassination he's planned has ever failed.

After another mission goes smoothly, just as he's about to leave the scene, he runs into someone.

The man's name is Ji Lin, the most esteemed and influential minister at court.

In a flash, Zhao Jingshi turns his blade toward himself and stabs himself.

He deliberately reveals his profile, then reaches out to Ji Lin weakly. "The assassin got away. Help me..."

Ji Lin ponders for a moment. Despite his deep suspicions, he still reaches out to help him.

*

From then on, a new piece of gossip spreads through the streets and alleys: The honorable, unblemished Lord Ji has brought a handsome man home to warm his bed!

And it was more than just warming his bed. Lord Ji, normally sharp as a tack, acted as if he'd lost his mind. He turned a blind eye to Zhao Jingshi's schemes and even helped him along.

Zhao Jingshi knows it's because his profile looks very much like Ji Lin's beloved, who died years ago.

Ji Lin is powerful and high-ranking, and Zhao Jingshi has a major assassination to carry out. With Ji Lin's help, the job will surely be twice as easy.

So what if he's a substitute? Zhao Jingshi doesn't mind.

One is a substitute, the other a stepping stone. What could be a more fitting match?

They each benefit, and each gets what they need.

*

This "false affection" lasts until Zhao Jingshi is halfway through his assassination mission. They work together seamlessly, their coordination flawless.

But then...

Zhao Jingshi discovers the evidence Ji Lin has secretly hidden away: proof that Zhao Jingshi is the very same person as Ji Lin's beloved, who died young.

In the blazing summer heat, Zhao Jingshi feels as if he's fallen into an icy pit.

He knew all along.

So this whole time, he was the one acting for my sake.

Then this show absolutely can't go on!

Zhao Jingshi clutches the evidence, his own former name staring back at him. His mind, which had been planning an escape, goes completely blank.

Bang. The door shuts.

Zhao Jingshi looks back on instinct. Ji Lin, who has appeared from nowhere, walks toward him and locks the door behind him.

"It's fine if you won't admit it, but are you going to run now?" His gaze is fierce, but his voice catches as he slowly corners Zhao Jingshi against the wall. "Was my performance not convincing?"

*

When Ji Lin was young, he once loved someone.

That person was a little immortal, still pure and unsullied amid a world of turbulent intrigue. Ji Lin was willing to give everything to protect him, to keep him forever untouched by the world.

But then the high tower fell, the dream collapsed, and his little immortal fell from above, dying in a sea of fire that could not be extinguished.

Only later did Ji Lin learn that his little immortal had crawled out of that sea of fire, changed his face, and emerged with blood on his hands and dust covering him from head to toe.

It broke Ji Lin's heart.

Outwardly aloof, inwardly a dark and unhinged powerful minister gong (Ji Lin) x a scheming, secret-identity-hiding, teasing assassin shou (Zhao Jingshi)

Recommending a friend's completed novel, "A Thousand Years" by Chi Ya, now available to read. Here's the blurb

Xuanbai and Changdan make peace. To show their sincerity, Li Xi, who was framed, defeated, and captured, is allowed to return to Changdan.

Beneath the green-jade steps, Li Xi removes his boots and hairpin, then kowtows step by step. His knees are already bloody, yet he still doesn't hear the old emperor tell him to rise.

His father despises him, his mother consort has died, and his brothers fight among themselves. Li Xi has traveled thousands of miles from Xuanbai back to Changdan, only to leave one tiger's den for another wolf's lair.

Ambition and calculation are hidden beneath a timid, obedient exterior. The emperor falls gravely ill, and imperial power slips away. The eunuch Pei Huaien is domineering and arbitrary at court, with power to cover the sky with one hand.

As Li Xi looks at the powerful eunuch in a crimson robe beside the throne, his eyes are unreadable.

-

To secure his own power and position, Pei Huaien chooses Li Xi, the weakest and easiest to control of the several princes vying for his favor. He personally helps Li Xi ascend the throne.

But as soon as the little puppet becomes emperor, the lamb turns into a wolf, baring his claws and fangs at Pei Huaien.

In this struggle piled high with bones, the young emperor rewards and punishes in equal measure. Using affection, reason, thunderous force, and generous favors, he slowly makes Pei Huaien willingly go from the one moving the pieces to a chess piece and sharp blade in the emperor's hand.

-

Vicious eunuch (Pei Huaien) x sesame rice ball (Li Xi). A melodramatic palace chronicle of six princes fighting over the throne. The gong is a real eunuch. No switching. Eating wolf meat and getting bitten by a wolf are both on the menu.

"Break the bones in my body, and make them the blade in your hand."

Theme: Hold firm to your convictions and keep moving forward through adversity.