Scheming with You: Mountains and Rivers

Career-minded, resilient heroine vs. love-struck, devoted hero

When Lu Lingwan and Yan Jun first met, she was cold, proud, and ruthless.

She was pretending to be her late elder brother, using herself as bait to enter the capital and seek revenge.

The latter was the enemy kingdom's dreaded Jade-Faced King of Hell. As luck would have it, he and her brother had been classmates for years.

But the man was nothing like the rumors described. He stuck to her like a dog-skin plaster, impossible to shake off.

He worried about "his" injuries, sparred with "him," and even insisted they share a bed and reminisce in the middle of the night.

Lu Lingwan put on a cold face and refused him. "General Yan, I have no unusual tastes. Please show some restraint."

The man turned the tables on her. "All these years, I've constantly worried about my brother, yet he keeps me at arm's length. Nothing in life hurts more than that."

Lu Lingwan: ...

Yan Jun tested her again and again. He looked down on everything under heaven, and before reclaiming the realm that belonged to him, he could not allow the slightest mistake.

Lu Lingwan thought Yan Jun was a shameless, unreliable rogue, but through countless brushes with death, he never once left her side.

Until the day the blood feud between them was finally revealed.

The sword Lu Lingwan had used to avenge her family and kill her enemies now pointed at Yan Jun.

The man's eyes were dark and deep. He drove his own chest toward the sword's tip, speaking casually.

"I'm in a good mood today. If you want my life, you can have it."

The world praised Lu Lingwan as the most ruthless woman alive, a venomous-hearted fiend who would slaughter gods and Buddhas for revenge.

But now, her sword tip trembled, and in the end, she could not bring herself to strike.

From then on, they became strangers. Yet when Lu Lingwan was in danger, Yan Jun could not stay away. He appeared once more to protect her.

"Come back to the Northwest with me. I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

"Do you understand this world? No one can keep another person safe. If I, Lu Lingwan, want to live a free and peaceful life, I'll have to send this pack of demons back to hell with my own hands!"

The man sighed. "Then I'll go with you and destroy this world."

--

Two strong leads. Not a wish-fulfillment novel, and no melodramatic plot twists. The story has a broad framework, and the early chapters introduce a lot of characters. It's very much an ensemble cast.

The villains will be carefully developed. You'll have to figure them out, but they will never be redeemed!

The complete outline is ready. The story won't fall apart at the end, and there will be no hiatuses.

Theme: Human nature is complex, but the human heart is simple.