Can Even a Beloved Charmer Be Hunted by the Entire Capital?

Yan Jinzhao had lived for nearly twenty years, and believed that nine out of ten people in the capital admired him. Of the remaining tenth, even those who didn't like him had no reason to hate him.

Let alone hate him enough to want him dead.

So on the night he left the capital, when an arrow came flying from beneath a tree by the city gate and pierced his heart, all he felt was utter bewilderment.

Deep into the night, snow piled high and the wind cut to the bone. Yan Jinzhao lay in the snow and blood, watching the rosy light of dawn break along the horizon.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

When he regained consciousness, a heavenly voice rang in his ears.

"You have twelve hours to find the culprit and escape with your life."

His eyes flew open.

He was in the same place where he had woken at dawn the day before: a hidden sword-forging shop.

-

Yan Jinzhao, Crown Prince of Northern Liang, had grown up in luxury, with everything going his way. The people of the capital adored him.

He moved into the Eastern Palace at ten, mastered an ancient sword art at twelve, and was hailed as "Northern Liang's finest swordsman" at sixteen.

He was peerlessly handsome and enjoyed boundless glory.

At eighteen, Yan Jinzhao secretly left the capital to seek the legendary Sword God beyond Northern Liang, as well as the person who had saved his life many years ago.

Along the way, he cleared out bandits, saved children, beat a quack doctor, berated a corrupt official, and met someone.

He never found the Sword God, but he did find his savior, and brought that person back to Northern Liang.

After returning from his travels, he no longer wanted to be Crown Prince.

But upon his return, the gravely ill emperor issued an imperial decree announcing that the investiture ceremony, delayed for years, would take place during the Lantern Festival.

On the eve of the ceremony, Yan Jinzhao received a secret letter bearing news that an old friend had died.

After that, he decided to flee the capital.

-

When he was mute, Yan Jinzhao often listened to the palace servants tell stories.

They said that when he was six, his father went to war with a neighboring kingdom, and he was taken hostage by an enemy general, nearly losing his life in a foreign land. Fortunately, someone came to his rescue, and he survived the ordeal.

On the way back with the army, he burned with fever for three days and nights. The fever wiped out every memory from before he was six, muddled his mind, and left him mute for two years.

He also heard people say that all the calamities of his life had ended when he was six.

From then on, only good things lay ahead.

-

This novel is also titled "Old Night."

It's expected to begin serialization next year. If you can't accept the following content, please look elsewhere.

* The heroine is written as universally adored at first, then comes to be seen as universally disliked midway through, before being seen as universally adored again at the end.

* The story alternates between a chapter of present-day events and a chapter of flashbacks.

* The plot is similar to Happy Death Day. The male lead keeps dying and reliving the cycle. Every death is real, and he truly experiences the pain of dying. Expect physical and emotional angst.

* The endgame pairing is already decided, but readers will have to guess for themselves along the way. (It's pretty easy to guess.)

* No explicit sex scenes.

* Please avoid any other plot elements that I haven't listed yourself. Thank you.

Theme: Hold on until the clouds part and the moon appears.