[Heroine's Story]
Jiang Wuying loved her senior brother, the sword cultivator as dazzling as the bright moon.
Song Jiangbai, courtesy name Mingyi, eldest disciple of Sword Pavilion, the foremost sword cultivator of the Celestial Tier.
He was just as his name suggested: elegant and refined, with the noble bearing of jade. Suitors flocked to him like fish crossing a river, and Jiang Wuying was just one among them.
To win Song Mingyi's attention, she tried everything, including confessing to him when they were alone.
Even after he rejected her, Jiang Wuying was no different from his other admirers.
She thought her unrequited love was over, but that very night, Song Jiangbai barged into her room, covered in blood.
As she treated his wounds, she asked him again, "Senior Brother Song, what did you decide about what I asked you this afternoon?"
Song Jiangbai: "What?"
Jiang Wuying: "I mean... that. Do you want to be with me?"
Their eyes met.
For the first time, Song Jiangbai nodded.
[Hero's Story]
Song Jiangbai was a spirit formed from baleful energy. After suffering endless humiliation, he was taken in by the head of Sword Pavilion.
The head bestowed the courtesy name Mingyi, hoping he would act with reason and propriety. He spent his life following the teachings embodied in that name, rejecting love and devoting himself to cultivation.
But his sect took away the name they had given him, leaving him condemned by everyone and driven into demonic cultivation.
When he opened his eyes again, Song Jiangbai had returned to three hundred years earlier.
Only after seeing an identical version of himself with his own eyes did he realize he hadn't been reborn. He had returned to the past.
A past in which another version of him already existed.
The Song Mingyi of the past was still cold as frost, keeping everyone at arm's length.
When Jiang Wuying confessed to him, he still replied coolly, "I have no plans to do that for now."
Song Jiangbai watched his former self and fell silent for a moment.
Then he curled his lips in a sneer. ...What a poser.
He'd clearly liked her.
-
Jiang Wuying thought her eldest senior brother had been acting strangely lately.
His personality had turned gloomy and volatile. He scoffed at every sect elder mentioned, with a faint trace of murderous intent in his eyes.
His attitude toward her was strange too. Sometimes he was intensely intimate with her, sometimes distant and aloof.
When Jiang Wuying went down the mountain to gain experience, Song Jiangbai would forcefully scoop her into his arms whenever she got tired.
Jiang Wuying: Senior Brother, what if someone sees us?
Song Jiangbai narrowed his eyes dangerously and demanded in a low voice, "What, are you ashamed to be seen with me?"
But when she finally gathered the courage to take his hand in front of everyone, he would yank it away and say coldly, "Junior Sister, show some restraint."
Jiang Wuying: ...Huh?
*
Jiang Wuying: Confused. Is this some kind of kink of Senior Brother's?
Song Jiangbai: Unbelievable. I really was such a poser.
#
Dating behind your own back, then plotting to overthrow the whole sect behind your own back too. +v+
#
I can't stand my past self, but I'm jealous of myself.
[Important]
* A noble, moonlit, fake gentleman vs. a genuine male ghost driven mad by the sect's rules.
* The story is mainly told from the heroine's perspective. The hero and heroine like each other.
* The good and bad versions of the hero both exist, and later become one.
* The two heroes share sensations, so when one is injured, both feel it.
* The heroine gives both of them equal attention (not really, since the good hero is a fake gentleman).
* A lightly ensemble cast, sweet story, with my own take on cultivation.
* The plot moves forward normally. It's not purely a romance.
January 14, 2024
Theme: Senior Brother is today's moonlight, and tomorrow's villain.
