When Xie Guanyue was fourteen, an immortal came bearing a sword and asked him, "Would you like to cultivate the Heartless Dao with me?"
He couldn't read a single word, but stared at the immortal's white hair as it fell past his shoulders and shyly nodded.
The boy was sensitive and fragile, often like a wounded little beast, wary of everyone. The immortal spent eight years warming his heart, then several more decades guiding him onto the path of cultivation.
On the day they became Dao companions, the immortal gently reminded him, "There'll be forty-nine tribulation bolts in all. If you get tired, give me a secret sign and I'll make them hit a little softer."
Xie Guanyue only asked, "Big Brother, if I cultivate the Heartless Dao, can I still kiss you?"
As long as the immortal was happy, Xie Guanyue would do anything, even if his mind was filled with longing for him all night long. He gritted his teeth and cultivated his heartless Dao, as long as his moon stayed by his side.
Until one day, he saw that plenty of other people could be just like him, chatting happily with Xie Tingxue over wine and a game of chess. At last, Xie Guanyue's wavering Dao heart shattered.
He did everything he could to make the immortal keep his eyes on him. "Senior, I don't want to be your so-called sworn brother or your disciple.
If you respond to gentleness and not force, then I'll stand right here. Every time you say something sweet to someone else, I'll stab myself with my sword. Big Brother, take a good look at your Heartless Dao."
"As a boy, I glimpsed an immortal in a beam of light. Since then, I've endured long nights alone with nothing but fireflies."
Younger masochistic, self-harming gong x older, carefree beauty shou
Reading Guide:
1. The shou is not chaste. He's a gentle, open-hearted beauty who's very casual and affectionate, and had plenty of romantic entanglements before he fell while cultivating the Heartless Dao.
