She’s the Official Match in a Harem Novel

So all men are cut from the same cloth.

That was the truth Xie Lanyin only realized at her bond-joining ceremony.

That was also the day she learned she was the officially designated match in a harem-style cultivation novel. Official match or not, she was really just a pawn meant to deliver treasures and opportunities to the male lead.

The author didn't like her and never intended to make her the heroine. But readers argued over her fate, so the author had to change her ending from having her soul scattered to having her take a fatal blow for the male lead and end up an unconscious living corpse.

It all began when her father sold her to a brothel at the age of six, turning her into a courtesan to be sold to the highest bidder. Though she escaped two years later and became a cultivator, the author still thought her origins were too lowly for the handsome and distinguished male lead.

So at their bond-joining ceremony, a supporting female character carrying the male lead's child appeared. She humiliated Xie Lanyin without restraint and did everything she could to steal the male lead from her. Under the influence of the plot, Xie Lanyin ignored her master's anguished gaze and volunteered to share the male lead with the other woman, becoming one of his harem members.

The drama of two women fighting over one man only confirmed the male lead's charm.

Even though the author had named her the official match and the most important woman by the male lead's side, while she risked life and limb for him, he was flirting with women from every corner. While she managed his career for him, he had already fathered three children with other women.

And even though she knew exactly what was going on, she gave to him without complaint, willingly becoming the stepping stone to his success.

Then came the war between humans and demons. The Demon Lord unleashed one final attack, and the male lead was at the end of his strength. Without hesitation, she stepped in to take the blow, losing all her cultivation and becoming a living corpse.

The male lead said he would search for a way to revive her, but in reality, he was already cuddling up to other women. She never woke up, not even by the end of the story.

Xie Lanyin, who had been killing people since the age of eight: "..."

Once she realized she was just a tool, the first thing Xie Lanyin did was cut ties with the male lead and leave the sect with her master. But it seemed fate had never intended to let her go.

She met someone else.

He seemed innocent, but was vicious and cunning. He plotted against her at every turn from their first meeting, and later clung to her like a ghost.

He poisoned her, followed her into secret realms, and hurled every cutting insult he could think of at her. Then they fell into the secret realm of a desert-sea matriarchal kingdom, where too many indescribable things happened. Even after she came to her senses and tried to cut ties with him completely, she could no longer make a clean break.

At last, she understood that the sword of slaughter was also the sword of protection.

Protecting herself, protecting all living beings, and protecting the one she loved.

Content warnings:

1. Traditional cultivation, reverse chronology, and a slow, gradual romance.

2. A seemingly cold but deeply chivalrous heroine x a thoroughly wicked male lead.

3. A matriarchal kingdom's secret realm appears in the middle and later parts. The male lead is utterly helpless against the heroine, and eventually gets pregnant and rises to power. Please read with caution if this bothers you.

4. If anything in the story makes you uncomfortable, please stop reading in time.

Theme: A solitary orchid blooms in a secluded valley, its lush greenery heralding the spring.