According to prophecy, Young Sect Leader Xie Zaifeng's Dao companion would be a sword cultivator of peerless talent and beauty.
Gu Xiuzhao wasn't a genius and had no sword bones. She trained relentlessly day after day until her sword intent pierced the deepest mysteries, making her one of the foremost sword cultivators.
Gu Xiuzhao wasn't a beauty. Her looks were ordinary, but with a heart as pure as a sword and a zither, she drove away demons and monsters, and countless people admired her grace.
A busybody asked Xie Zaifeng, “The Young Sect Leader is searching everywhere for the person in the prophecy. Why do you turn a blind eye to Sword Master Gu?”
Xie Zaifeng smiled. “Sword Master Gu has an extraordinary bearing, but unfortunately...” Her looks were ordinary, so how could she match the prophecy's peerless beauty?
Gu Xiuzhao, meanwhile, fell in love with Xie Zaifeng.
She braved death for him and risked her life to find rare treasures for him.
Yet Xie Zaifeng announced in public that he had found the beauty from the prophecy.
He casually tossed the rare treasure to the prophesied beauty. His peerlessly handsome face showed a trace of mockery. “Fellow Daoist Gu, has no one ever told you that hard work doesn't always pay off?”
Gu Xiuzhao lowered her bloodstained sleeve, hiding the wound where the bone showed through. Her expression was calm. “I know.”
Thus everyone knew that Sword Master Gu loved Young Sect Leader Xie, but could never have him.
Until that day.
A dangerous secret realm. A choice between life and death.
Gu Xiuzhao's right arm hung limp after she took a blow for Xie Zaifeng. Her left hand clung to a crack in the rock, with an abyss stretching ten thousand feet beneath her.
And Xie Zaifeng's prophesied Dao companion called out piteously, “Xie Lang, save me.”
Xie Zaifeng sneered. “Fellow Daoist Gu, why won't you believe that you were never an option for me?”
“Now I know.” Before Xie Zaifeng could choose, stubborn Gu Xiuzhao let go for the first time, falling into the abyss.
The usual carefree composure vanished from Xie Zaifeng's face, replaced by panic.
The prophesied Dao companion watched as the Young Sect Leader, who had always treated Sword Master Gu with cold words, jumped after her into the ten-thousand-foot abyss without hesitation.
Demon Emperor Xie Zaifeng awoke beneath the Nine Hells and entered the human realm under a new identity, searching for the fated lover in the prophecy. Not for love, but to steal their soul and restore his own.
But then a stubborn sword cultivator walked straight into his trap.
So Xie Zaifeng calmly made up three hundred lies, waiting for her to fall for them.
The more he saw Gu Xiuzhao looking bereft, the more his heart pounded.
All he had to do was wait for the fires of greed, anger, and obsession to burn Gu Xiuzhao's body to ashes. Then he would gather up her proud spirit and hide it in the Nine Hells, making her the Demon Emperor's most beautiful treasure.
But Gu Xiuzhao stood firm, drenched in blood yet unstained by the world, her sword in hand and her bright gaze fixed on him, shining more brilliantly than moonlight.
At a single glance, he was utterly defeated.
Reader advisory:
They both have intense feelings for each other, but neither realizes the other feels the same. Dedicated to cooking up a tangy, sweet, and satisfying melodrama.
Cruel Demon Emperor seme × emotionally oblivious sword cultivator uke
Theme: Don't believe in fate; follow your heart
