A Worry-Free Year

((My new story, Twenty-One Massacres of the Entire Clan, is out! Click the author’s column to read it!)) Jiang Aran has lived for seventeen years and trained with a blade for thirteen. Just after mastering it, she learns she has only one year left to live. That night, Aran straps on her blade and descends the mountain. If she only has a year left, she can’t waste a single day. She’s a dying woman, with no need to worry about anyone or anything. She only needs to do three things before she can close her eyes in peace First, find out who really wiped out the Jiang family and pay blood for blood. Second, find the young man who helped her survive, and repay his kindness. Third, reclaim everything that belongs to the Jiang family, including the Emperor’s promise that she would become Crown Princess, and give the wronged spirits peace. I grew up in the depths of the mountains and never received the upbringing of a proper young lady. In this life, I answer only to my own thoughts and my own blade. If you want to tell me what to do, you’d better ask my blade first. * Crown Prince Xiao Heqing is enjoying tea at his villa when several officials and a number of top experts suddenly arrive to see him. But as soon as they meet, they grab him by the legs and beg “Your Highness, please do something about your future Crown Princess! She’s become infamous lately, going around picking fights with that blade of hers and causing an enormous commotion! No one can control her!” “We’ve run out of options. Please save us!” Xiao Heqing: “?” Since when did I have a Crown Princess? This is a story about “I’m going to die, so I’ll take everyone else out first, only for everyone to end up not wanting me to die.” #Ensemble martial-arts power fantasy#Revenge and justice, with masters everywhere. “Don’t wish me a lifetime of peace. Just wish me a year free of worry.” p1: The heroine Jiang Aran has a “beautiful” state of mind and overwhelming combat prowess; the hero Xiao Heqing has an equally “beautiful” state of mind and overwhelming intelligence. p2: Reader’s guide: Don’t jump to conclusions about anyone before the ending. There are many twists, and no one is stupid; everyone has their own schemes, including the villains. There are plenty of clues and setups. p3: A feel-good story, not traditional wuxia. The heroine doesn’t die, it has a happy ending, and there’s romance! p4: We’re all connected online, so please leave civilized comments. p5: This is entirely fictional. The setting is imaginary, with no real-life models. p6: Weibo: @Jinjiang Shiweitu [Upcoming Story] Please add Dream Crossing Heaven to your library! Blurb: Every child on the Star-Moon Continent awakens a special ability at the age of fifteen. Every ability is different, and a symbol corresponding to the ability appears on the back of the awakened person’s neck. A symbol no one had ever seen before appears on the back of Ji Yueyao’s neck. The priest searches through every book and finally confirms it is an ability that has not appeared in a thousand years: a Dreamwalker. A Dreamwalker can turn a blade of grass, a leaf, a flower, a strand of hair... anything at all into a person and create a world of its own. The ability is similar to that of a dreamweaver: use dreams to fulfill a person’s lifelong wish, then live out a whole life in a dream they never want to leave. Ensemble cast, with a male lead. Theme: Take things in stride, and live in peace and friendship.