The Heroine Loses the One She Loves

Ruan Sushang was a sword cultivator, ruthless and cruel, with countless enemies. One day, she killed a man, and as he died, he placed a curse on her: she would never be able to be with the one she loved in this lifetime.

Ruan Sushang: That's hilarious. Who cares about some man? I only love my sword.

The next day, Ruan Sushang woke up to find that all her cultivation had vanished and she had become a mortal. Worse, she was in a strange world: there was no spiritual energy, no magic, no cultivators. Everyone was flesh and blood like any other mortal.

Most importantly, her sword was gone.

Ruan Sushang: ...When I get back, I'll dig that witch doctor up and grind him into dust.

Ruan Sushang had a position in this mortal world too. She was the youngest and last disciple of Daoist Buxuzi, the thirteenth generation abbot of White Dragon Temple on Mount Qingyun. Ruan Sushang thought that sounded all right. At least she was a last disciple.

One day, her senior brother said, "Xiao Shang, it's getting dark. Go close the door."

Ruan Sushang said incredulously, "But I'm the last disciple."

Her senior brother: "Exactly. The last disciple."

Ruan Sushang: ...

Then Ruan Sushang discovered that this so-called White Dragon Temple was just a dilapidated shrine. The three of them, master and disciples, were nothing but con artists who often got chased around by their victims and the authorities.

Later, Ruan Sushang beat them all back. Even without her sword, her fighting ability was still top-notch; she could hurt people with a flower or a flying leaf.

Ruan Sushang promptly left her master's tutelage and took over as the fourteenth-generation abbot of White Dragon Temple.

Her master, Buxuzi, said shakily, "This is high treason against your master..."

Ruan Sushang didn't care. "Yeah. So what?"

Buxuzi: "Well done!"

Ruan Sushang had more than just incredible fighting skills. She could draw talismans, make pills, and hunt ghosts. Under her leadership, White Dragon Temple expanded and flourished, soon becoming the local bully.

Then one day, the imperial palace put up a notice announcing that the King of Nanjiang was suffering from a strange illness. Talented people from across the land were invited to treat him. Whoever succeeded would receive a fortune in gold and be granted a noble title.

At once, charlatans from all over the martial world flocked to the capital, including Ruan Sushang and her fellow disciples.

On the day of the treatment, Ruan Sushang finally met the legendary King of Nanjiang. A worn sword tassel hung from his waist. It looked familiar.

Ruan Sushang: ? Isn't that the sword tassel I made with my own hands?

Shang Bai: Pleased to meet you. My master made this sword tassel for me. Do you like it?

Shang Bai, the King of Nanjiang, was the emperor's younger brother by the same parents and the empress dowager's youngest son. He was as handsome as jade, graceful and distinguished, and talented in both letters and arms. The entire Nanjiang region was his fiefdom.

But Shang Bai suffered from an illness. On the first and fifteenth of every month, he would fall into a deep sleep. In his dreams, he became a sword, and his master was a woman. Shang Bai gradually fell in love with her, but she knew nothing of it. She only loved the sword.

Shang Bai thought that if he could stay by her side forever, he wouldn't mind being a sword. But one day, his illness suddenly vanished without treatment. That meant he could never see the woman he loved again.

Shang Bai nearly went mad.

So the King of Nanjiang stopped falling asleep on the first and fifteenth of every month and instead went mad. The empress dowager and the emperor were frantic. They summoned talented people and sorcerers and tried countless methods, but none could enter his dreams.

Until one day, he saw a young woman who looked exactly like the woman he loved. She stared without blinking at the sword tassel hanging from Shang Bai's waist.

Suppressing his excitement, Shang Bai clenched his trembling hand inside his sleeve, approached calmly, and said politely, "Pleased to meet you. My master made this sword tassel for me. Do you like it?"

2023-11-03

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