[Rough Country Boy x Noble General's Beauty]
For someone like Xie San, born in the depths of a filthy alley, it had never crossed his mind that one day he might lay a hand on the girl who stood like a bright moon upon a high terrace.
To make up for the shortfall in his older brother's military expenses, Ming Xi became engaged to the only son of Xiliang's richest man. Little did she know that her fiancé was so delighted he made a public spectacle of their engagement. He was kidnapped by bandits and taken to the Qibei Mountain stronghold as a "guest." The bandits sent word to the Hua family: pay a ransom of two hundred thousand taels of silver, or come collect the young master's body.
Ming Xi was hardly willing. Two hundred thousand taels could keep her father's and brother's troops fed for a long time.
She'd sooner give the money to bandits than use it as her dowry. So she went to plead with Xie San.
Xie San, who lived in the alleys of Dongshui, had earned the bandit chief's favor. Remembering that Xie San had once admired her when they were young, Ming Xi thought she could keep him occupied and make him willingly speak up for her, using that favor to get her fiancé back.
--
Xie San first met the young lady of the Ming family on the battlefield. Back then, he was young and successful, full of confidence. In a moment of reckless pride, he lost his right hand for her sake.
When they met again, deep in the alley, passion and desire ran rampant.
Xie San lowered his voice. "If you want your fiancé back, then do as I say!"
Later, they slept entwined, never satisfied.
Someone like him could never deserve her.
But once he had touched her, he could no longer let go.
The more she despised him, the more he wanted her to taste life in the cracks of this world. He wanted her to see the misery, bitterness, and shamelessness he'd endured all these years, and the strength that had driven him to claw his way out of the gutter.
--
The night Xiliang City fell, Ming Xi held her older brother's body, already growing cold, and watched quietly as Xie San emerged from the mountain of corpses and sea of blood. With his ruined right hand, he took up her brother's greatsword once more.
The man's starry eyes shone brilliantly, and his lips split into the same reckless grin he always wore.
"Why are you crying? Your brother isn't dead."
On the battlefield, long since fallen silent, moonlight poured down as Xie San stood with his sword, clad in a mantle of silver light. He put on her brother's God of War mask, chipped at one corner, and said to her,
"You, and Xiliang. From now on, I'll protect you."
"Tell me, how can there be such a vast gulf between people?"
Xie Yu: "Can it count as a gulf between heaven and earth, if you're mired in mud but your heart reaches for the sky?"
[The Male Lead's Hand Will Heal]
[A Pair of Madmen, Always Together]
[Imperfect Characters Who Will Grow]
Blurb written in December 2023. Please respect the original work and do not copy it.
Theme: Unyielding, resilient, easy to manipulate, yet also capable of standing one's ground.
