A Villain Deserves a Jade-Hilted Blade

The son of the Alliance leader was found dead in a latrine in a village outside the city, his throat pierced straight through with a knife. Qin Wei, the most likely suspect and known as the Knife Demon, defected from the righteous faction. The Alliance issued three successive orders to hunt him down, throwing the martial world into turmoil. Overnight, Qin Wei went from a righteous swordsman to a wanted criminal. Everyone denounced him, and he became a fugitive on the run. A fallen tiger is worse off than a dog. His old enemies chased at his heels, while former friends turned on him and wanted him dead. Even his former creditor showed up at his door, insisting he repay his debt that very day. Qin Wei clapped his hands. He didn’t have a single coin! The creditor looked him up and down. “If you can’t pay, you can settle the debt with yourself.” Qin Wei looked the creditor up and down. “Deal.” He found the creditor rather appealing, too. * The Knife Demon Qin Wei made a name for himself at a young age. His long saber struck fear throughout the martial world, and the Righteous Alliance treated him as an honored guest. Then one day, he defected from the righteous path. His family history was dug up from top to bottom, and it turned out he was the son of Xie Qian, a notorious criminal of the righteous faction. A righteous swordsman who was born bad to the bone! Faced with accusations and condemnation, Qin Wei smiled faintly and tacitly admitted it. A hundred li away, Shen Yunping was utterly confused. “If he’s Xie Qian’s son, then who am I?” His long-dead father had only ever had one child: him. * The Six Roads and Eight Directions Tower trades in information. Some information can be bought with money, but some cannot. Only those who reach the top of the tower can learn the latter. Countless people have attempted the climb, and most have failed. Only Qin Wei managed to reach the top at seventeen and make off with the tower’s golden saddle. At nineteen, he climbed it a second time and walked away with the tower’s entire set of gold jewelry. At twenty-three, he climbed it again, spotted an old painting he liked on the wall, rolled it up, and left with it. When the current tower master, Shen Yunping, rushed back and heard what had happened, he was dumbfounded. “Is this pauper coming here to fleece me?” Even the richest heir would get angry seeing some bastard brazenly peel the gold off his belongings. Shen Yunping held a grudge for years. At last, the righteous hero Qin Wei became a fugitive, and a rumor spread that he was the son of Shen Yunping’s own father. Before Shen Yunping could even make sense of that, the righteous faction investigated again and concluded, “The information about where the young master was came from the Six Roads and Eight Directions Tower. They sold it to Qin Wei!” The Six Roads and Eight Directions Tower was dragged into the turmoil. Shen Yunping evaded the righteous faction’s pursuit overnight and went after Qin Wei himself. He wanted his money back, and he wanted to punch him, too. When he finally found the pauper who had swindled him three times, he realized the man had a handsome, smiling face. Oh no. He was exactly his type. A sharp-tongued, broke, brawling swordsman and a talkative, wealthy tower master who pretends to be a weakling *This story will go behind a paywall on October 6, 2025. There will be three updates that day! Thank you all for reading my story! [Reader’s Guide and Content Warnings] 1. They switch roles! Two talkative, scheming people fall in love. 2. Because of my personal limitations, my writing tends to pick up a regional accent. I know that clashes with ancient wuxia, but I can’t help it, qwq. If that bothers you, please read with caution! 3. Both protagonists have flaws and are far from perfect. 4. Readers with strong preferences about relationship dynamics, please proceed with caution. Consider this your warning! 5. They dote on each other! (I think they do. If you don’t, well, all right, qwq.) 6. If you don’t like it, please don’t attack me. I’m pretty sensitive and will hide under the covers and cry. 7. Our motto: Buy stories rationally, one chapter at a time. If something feels off, drop it promptly! My writing is rough and my prose is bad, but I’m working to improve, so please don’t get mad! Feel free to leave criticism if you’re in the mood, but no insulting the author! Let’s shake hands and hope for world peace, QVQ! [Work keeps me pretty busy, and I sweat buckets revising each chapter once or twice, so updates will come every other day! Every other day!] Theme: The martial world may change in countless ways, but one’s true heart remains unchanged.