Actually, It's Just a Sweet Slice-of-Life Story

Yun Mei was once the chief assassin of the Qilin Sect. Her greatest mistake was falling for its new sect leader, Qi Lian.

Qi Lian had cool brows and sharp eyes, and his white robes were as pristine as snow. Everyone called him a refined young noble, but his heart was the coldest and most ruthless in the world.

To seize power, he deliberately seduced Yun Mei and used her to eliminate the previous sect leader. Then he discarded her like a worn-out shoe, though he had developed a few genuine feelings for her.

Qi Lian ordered men to pierce Yun Mei's pipa bones with iron shackles, crippling her martial arts. Yet he couldn't bring himself to kill her, so he imprisoned her in the dungeon and visited her every day.

Fortunately, Yun Mei was rescued by a close friend and finally escaped that hell.

To evade the Qilin Sect's pursuit, Yun Mei changed her name and fled to a remote mountain village, where she married a man who sold funerary goods.

His name was Shen Fengmian. He was refined, elegant, and handsome. His fair, long, slender fingers gave him the air of a scholar, yet he was remarkably skilled at making paper effigies, and his funerary shop was famous throughout the surrounding villages.

Yun Mei settled down there. She and Shen Fengmian lived in harmony and mutual respect. Their life was poor, but they were happy.

Who could have guessed that Qi Lian still wouldn't let her go?

At noon one day, Yun Mei carried their daughter to the funerary shop to bring Shen Fengmian lunch. The instant she stepped inside, assassins sent by Qi Lian arrived one after another, one of them thrusting a knife straight at Shen Fengmian's heart.

Yun Mei reacted quickly and shoved Shen Fengmian out of the way, but she stumbled and fell, injuring herself and frightening their daughter into tears.

Shen Fengmian, usually so refined and gentle, seemed to become someone else in an instant. His face darkened, his eyes turned bloodshot, and murderous intent raged around him like a demon risen from hell.

The assassins jeered at him for being useless and blindly furious. But before their laughter could die down, a flash of dark light appeared. A line of blood opened across every throat, and the next instant, blood sprayed three feet into the air.

Shen Fengmian pressed his bloodstained folding fan against the neck of the only survivor. His expression was cold and merciless as he enunciated each word: "Go back and tell Qi Lian: if he dares to come after us again, Prince Jing'an will wipe out the Qilin Sect."

Yun Mei stared at her husband in shock. A saying that had circulated through the martial world for years flashed through her mind:

The Qilin Sect's ranks are full of imps, but above the Qilin Sect stands a demon.

The only demon in the world capable of suppressing the Qilin Sect was a member of the royal family with a different surname who wielded a black-gold fan.

B-but her scholarly husband didn't look like someone who knew martial arts at all!

Shen Fengmian instantly put on his harmless scholar's face again. "I'm afraid I'm nothing special. My martial arts rank near the bottom of my family, so I had no choice but to leave and make paper effigies."

Yun Mei: "Yeah, right!"

Shen Fengmian: "..."

#All right, my dear wife, I won't pretend anymore. I'll come clean: I just really like making paper effigies#

#But anyone who bullies my wife is getting turned into a paper effigy#

#An idle young prince who offers a complete one-stop service#

#Yun Mei: All I can say is, he was born to make paper effigies#

[Former assassin who has retired from the trade x disguised playboy young prince]

[One-on-one romance, both leads' first time, marriage before love, sweet everyday life, with an adorable little dumpling appearing later]

[An alternate-history setting with lots of original liberties, just for fun!]

*

Coming soon: My Kid Can't Possibly Be the Archrival's!

On the Huaxu Continent, the Zhuri and Wangyue clans fought each other for hundreds of years, but eventually, their long division gave way to unity.

The two clans signed a peace treaty, sealing their alliance through the marriage of the Goddess and the Divine Son.

But before that, Hua Qianyue, the Goddess of the Wangyue clan, and Chu Pingsheng, the Divine Son of the Zhuri clan, had been mortal enemies.

Before their wedding, Hua Qianyue humiliated Chu Pingsheng and dropped the bombshell that she had already given birth to a child.

Overnight, Chu Pingsheng became the laughingstock of the entire world and was branded a cuckold.

Chu Pingsheng was known for being ruthless and cold, and for always repaying a grudge. Just as the gods thought the two clans would plunge into war again, Chu Pingsheng remained calm and magnanimously declared, "It's wonderful to start a family with a daughter already."

On their wedding day, Chu Pingsheng went to fetch his bride in high spirits. That night, he planned to kill the bastard child. But the moment he met the child's eyes, the bloodline recognition System inherent to the Zhuri clan awakened... This was his own daughter?!

Chu Pingsheng went to confront Hua Qianyue in disbelief, but she thought he was insulting her. They fought a world-shaking battle, yet she still refused to believe her child was Chu Pingsheng's.

The little dumpling's bloodline, however, came with a recognition System. "Mother, he's my father."

Hua Qianyue: "..." Just kill me!

Chu Pingsheng: "..." I want to die too!

*

They had once fallen in love in secret, then sacrificed that love for their clans' interests. Both drank a potion that erased their feelings, forgot each other, and became mortal enemies.

#The sun and moon shine brightest above, but spouses can be the closest and yet most distant of all#

#Fall in love, lose your memories, become enemies, then fall in love again#

#A melodramatic, angsty, child-in-tow elopement story#

Core message: Treat life seriously, and life will treat you seriously.