Kites Fly, Peaks Rise

[Coming Soon: Ripples in the Palm], the sequel to this novel. Its blurb is below. Add it to your collection if you're interested.

Blurb: [Ensemble Cast + Revenge + Jianghu + Court Intrigue]

Early on: A confident, proud young clan head. Later: A cold, solitary ruler.

Ten years ago, Weisheng Huan settled the fate of the world with three sword strikes, stunning the entire jianghu. She was unquestionably the finest of her generation.

Ten years later, with a fan in her right hand and every mechanism at her command, a sword in her left and life and death at her fingertips, she was the nameless chancellor known throughout the realm.

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When Weisheng Huan first entered the jianghu, she thought this person was a friend, and so was that one. Anyone she could get along with was a friend, and anyone she enjoyed talking to was one too. In short, everyone was her friend.

But while Weisheng Huan treated people as friends, they didn't all intend to be just her friends. Some were too oblivious to realize it; some thought themselves unworthy and could only watch over her from the shadows; one actually took action.

Who knew how many people cursed her for being so clueless behind her back?

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Later, when Weisheng Huan realized how inseparable the jianghu and the imperial court were, she had already paid a terrible price.

She thought she could roam the jianghu with her sword, but she had long been a piece on someone else's board, trapped in their game.

After recovering, she laid out her own game, using the realm as her board to take revenge on those who had once moved the pieces.

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As Weisheng Huan stood alone with her sword against a million soldiers, flecks of blood spattered her cheeks and her eyes blazed with sharpness. "I have a sword that can slay the immortals in heaven."

When the sword fell, her blue robes were drenched in red. Unable to fight back, she was surrounded on all sides. Weisheng Huan looked at those around her with disdain, her eyes ruthless. "You aren't worthy of taking my life." With that, she raised her sword to her own throat.

Fortunately, someone came a thousand miles for her, stopping her from taking her own life.

Seeing Weisheng Huan wounded, the eyes that had always held compassion for all were tinged with bloodlust for the first time. With an utterly unrestrained sword strike, he broke the enemy's advance, though he should never have wielded that sword.

That strike proclaimed his descent into madness, but the heavens would never tolerate him in that state.

Even though he could barely control his own will, he raised his bloodstained hand and gently caressed Weisheng Huan's face, his eyes full of devotion. "Don't be afraid."

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Bonus scene:

When Weisheng Huan was fretting over money in the military camp, Fusheng Meng arrived uninvited in a red robe and said solemnly, "I am willing to offer the entire Fu family as my dowry and marry into the Weisheng family as its head, Weisheng Huan. I hope the clan head will cherish me."

That night, Mu Yanqing, who had already declared himself king, barged into Weisheng Huan's tent, tugged at her sleeve, and looked at her with tearful eyes. "Can you not marry him?"

Reading Guide:

1. A slow-burn story, beginning in the jianghu and moving on to the imperial court.

2. A strong female lead who grows over time and will never compromise for love. She is highly skilled in martial arts early on and excels at both civil and military affairs later.

3. The first three chapters are told out of order. If you want to continue reading, you can start with Volume Two, after Chapter 99. The jianghu story essentially begins in Chapter Four; Chapters Four through Twenty contain a lot of setup. The female lead doesn't truly shine in the jianghu until after Chapter Forty, when the pace also picks up. Most of the important characters will have appeared by then.

4. There are many early foreshadowing clues, so don't be fooled by appearances.

5. There is a romance plot, but no rivalry between women.

6. Read with confidence, it will be completed!

7. I designated the man who ends up with the female lead as the male lead, but the male characters all get about the same amount of time to shine.

Coming Soon: Ripples in the Palm

Blurb: [A Brave and Cunning Princess and a Scheming Son of a Concubine]

Although Mu Huazhang's birth mother is unknown, she is the founding emperor's only child.

The emperor has no sons, and everyone says that whoever marries Princess Zhaoyi will be the next heir to the throne.

Yet Princess Zhaoyi has lived outside the imperial palace since birth. People know the emperor has a daughter, but few have ever seen her.

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The talk of the capital: Princess Zhaoyi, known by name but never seen, is about to arrive.

The capital's noble families are all making preparations, hoping one of their sons will win the princess's favor.

Mu Huazhang, who had been blessed with everything the world had to offer, felt as though a pair of enormous eyes were watching her every move ever since she arrived in the capital. Every step she took seemed to be part of someone else's scheme.

Mu Huazhang did many things that defied convention, drawing endless criticism. To the person pulling the strings behind the scenes, all of this was no more than ripples on the water. But how could ripples overturn a great ship?

The schemer manipulated changes at court and toyed with power as if it were in the palm of their hand. Just as they thought everything was under control, Mu Huazhang said, "Even a chess piece can become the player. I'll keep playing this game."

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In a dim room, a chess piece landed on the board, and a confident, disdainful voice spoke. "A chess piece should know its place. Whatever happens, you'll remain in my hand."

Mu Huazhang stood proudly. "Even if I'm a chess piece, I want to be one with a mind of my own, one that can decide where to move."

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In the fading light of sunset, two white horses rode side by side. Mu Huazhang casually asked the man next to her, "You truly don't regret it? That's the power people spend their whole lives pursuing."

His eyes were full of affection and laughter as he answered firmly, "I don't regret it. Since falling in love with you, you've become all I've ever wanted."

Theme: Monsters and demons are nothing to fear.