Pity for Others

Original worldbuilding / dual protagonists and dual perspectives / light fantasy / ensemble cast / plot-driven / not quite a conventional serious drama

Warm on the outside, cold within; gentle and compassionate; seemingly inhuman, yet socially anxious; swordsmanship genius; High Priest

X

Cold on the outside, warm within; cute when serious; can't get a word out of him, yet he may be directionally challenged; Ya Qi

(*These are their early characterizations. They may change slightly as a result of their experiences.)

In the year of the great disaster, a divine deer entered the world and rescued Fanghua Yuan from a fate of certain death.

From then on, that figure became the everlasting moonlight in the hazy paintings of countless generations to come.

Xie Guanshu was never one to yearn for the mortal world. Reborn as a sacred deer, she had a delicate, perceptive heart, yet always seemed different from ordinary people in certain ways. Aside from saving the world from calamity, all she did was fulfill her duties as a divine official.

Some said she was a god or Buddha come down to earth. Others said she was the height of hypocrisy. The idle gossip passed through her ears, but she never really cared. Only when she happened to look up and see the towering statue in the temple did she feel utterly lost.

Perhaps because she was the reincarnation of a white deer, she always drifted apart from the world, yet was also swept through the mortal realm by threads of affection.

As one of the Chosen of Heaven, the divine official also possessed a magical weapon: the sword "Unrepentant." But in seventeen years, Xie Guanshu had never managed to draw it.

Her master said, "Unrepentant means having no regrets. You can only truly wield it if you draw your sword without regret. Xue Wei, you still haven't found your reason to draw it."

Until the day the winter lake ran dry. Xie Guanshu went to save people from the calamity, but an accident left her gravely wounded and unconscious. The mastermind summoned countless floodwaters from the heavens, intending to drown the lakeside town and complete the Life-Seizing Array.

Amid the cries of the people, she suddenly awoke. Calls rose and fell in her ears. Beneath her were thousands upon thousands of cold yet steadfast hands.

The people bore their human god aloft, raising her above the surging floodwaters.

In that instant, Xie Guanshu raised her hand and felt her own heart beating, hot and fierce.

The [Unrepentant] sword rang as it left its sheath. At last, she had found her reason to draw it.

From then on came farewells at Wushe Shore, the founding of the [Hidden Sword] sect, the severed arm that slew a god in Silent Valley, the false Buddha of the Red Temple seeking the Dao... Every deed was for all the people beneath heaven.

Xie Guanshu stood with her sword before a towering Buddha statue. Her chest was filled with a blazing, thundering emotion. Before her lay a path of sacrifice drenched in blood and tears, which stretched behind her as the cries of the people transformed into a long staircase to godhood reaching the edge of the Colorless Heaven.

The divine deer awakened by a tear from a god beneath the flowers that year finally gained the heart of a "human."

Shen Xing had lived since childhood in the secluded Banyun Realm, far removed from worldly affairs. For the first seventeen years of his life, he believed that all people were inherently good, and that it was the world's many hardships that drove them to do evil.

So when power changed hands and every written charge was laid at his feet, when the people he had once protected cried out for the execution of the rebel party, Shen Xing looked at his disfigured body and remained utterly silent. He felt neither hatred nor grief, and had no idea where to go.

He fled Fanghua Yuan alone, seeking the Mountain of No Return, where redemption was said to be exiled.

Shen Xing knelt, his bloodstains stretching all the way to the edge of the white sands. In a low voice, he said only:

"I beg the divine official to grant me death."

The divine deer appeared in the world. That ever-silent figure stood amid the wind and frost, her eyes quietly gazing at him as though they could see through the warmth and cold of the world.

"Senior Brother," she said softly after a long silence.

", Come and be my blade."

Things to be aware of:

·Please read all the points below before proceeding to make sure you're comfortable with them. Thank you for taking the time to click through. (Bows)

1. There are dual perspectives. At its core, this is Guanshu's story. Senior Brother's arc plays a major role in the plot, but the perspective is still mostly Guanshu's.

There is a main cast, with varying degrees of importance and plot involvement. Secondary characters may have canon pairings. Apart from those pairings, feel free to interpret other characters as romantic or platonic couples. Canon pairings cannot be reversed or broken up. (Please don't break up my couples. There's no need to deny their feelings. I wrote them as a couple because they have feelings for each other.)

*The protagonist grows over the course of the story. She isn't invincible or dazzlingly cool at the beginning (she'll even get beaten up), and isn't really that way later either. She's not the invincible heroine type.

A Fanghua Yuan-exclusive beloved figure of a bygone era is born.jpg

2. Xie Guanshu is the reincarnation of a sacred deer and possesses dharma forms, meaning she can transform into different forms of all ages and genders. They are only avatars, not her true body.

3. The pairings among the ensemble's minor characters may include all kinds of elements, such as morally gray relationships, GL, BG, BL, and so on. They won't receive much focus and certainly won't affect the main cast's story. But the author is part of the queer community and very open-minded. Aside from nonhuman characters and violent content, there are no restrictions regarding sexuality. If you're strongly opposed to certain content, please avoid it in advance or use the tags to steer clear of it.

4. This is a plot-driven story. The plot comes before everything else, and all the characters serve it.

Supporting characters may still take up a lot of the story when the plot calls for it, regardless of gender. The entire novel serves the plot. This is not a story centered on a powerful female lead.

*The author is somewhat of a protagonist fan. As a writer, my feelings may be uneven, which may affect my writing preferences and style to some extent. Also, I love ensemble casts, and with so many characters, I may not give everyone equal attention. Please keep that in mind.

5. The author's worldview is not particularly mature, and the writing may change slightly over time. My writing skills aren't outstanding, and my plotting is only at the level of a primary school reader's book. I write purely because I enjoy it. If you're bored, feel free to take a look for a bit of entertainment, but it's probably just a chronicle and won't stand up to scrutiny. Thank you for reading. (Bows)

All these warnings are here so that only people who are willing to read will do so. I don't want either of us wasting inspiration and energy on unimportant matters. If you can't accept something, there's no need for either of us to force it. This isn't some incredible story, after all. Just look for what you enjoy. Thank you again for your patience and for stopping by.

6. Please let me know if I've missed anything! (Bows)

Theme: Shed your cocoon and become a god