-
Three years ago, Huo Zhao kindly escorted a scholar to the capital.
That day, cold rain fell outside a ruined temple. The scholar who hurried inside was bruised and battered, dressed in thin clothes.
Wrapped in a fur coat to keep warm, Huo Zhao couldn't help speaking first. “Hey, scholar, what's your name?”
He replied, “Pei Du.”
Feeling a surge of kindness, she said, “I'm Huo Zhao. Let me escort you to the capital.”
Three years later, in Fengwei Alley, Yingtian Prefecture.
Huo Zhao's shoulder was slick with blood, an iron hook piercing her shoulder blade.
She was grateful that it wasn't her right hand. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to hold a sword.
A man looked down at the battered Huo Zhao from on high, then bought her out of the hidden market.
-
Later, as the river wind howled, Pei Du clung desperately to Huo Zhao's hand on the deck. Huo Zhao, her heart turned to ash, looked up at him with bitter resentment. “I saved you, and you saved me.”
“Let go.”
“We owe each other nothing now.”
He watched as she released his hand and plunged straight into the river.
She vanished without a trace, and no one could find her. Then, one day, Minister Pei was traveling through the countryside when he encountered someone...
P.S. He exploits her to seize power at first, then ruthlessly pursues her later. Sweetness mixed with heartbreak, heartbreak mixed with sweetness.
This story takes place in the same world as my previous novel, Cicada Thirteen, with the timelines overlapping and continuing onward.
Returning characters will be shared between the two books.
This one has more court politics than martial arts world drama.
Theme: One thought can bring mountains and rivers crashing down.
