Little Wu's Travel Diary

[I'm preparing for civil service exams and working on my graduation thesis, so I can only finish updating the novel next door before writing this one. This novel also needs a full revision, so please be cautious about starting it. The date when updates resume is undecided.]

My name is Xiao Wu. They say I'm a replica blade of Higekiri, one of the Genji heirloom swords. But now I'm a Saniwa in the Time Government of another world, and a lost spirit adrift among countless worlds.

Before I became a sword, however, I was Minamoto no Asahi, a Heian-era girl destined to become the greatest miko, and the like-minded fiancee of Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

To suppress the evil god people spoke of, I chose to become a blade after my early death, sacrificing myself to Yamata no Orochi. From then on, the gods of Takamagahara called me "Yatagarasu," while the Minamoto clan called me "Xiao Wu."

I have traveled through fragments of worlds, touching the traces left by time. The gazes of countless worlds have fallen upon me, bringing salvation, miracles, and obsessions. But all I want is to return to my homeland.

#The child I raised seems to have turned out all wrong. Wait, I didn't raise him. He's an alternate counterpart of one of my kids. In that case, never mind.#

#I only want to go home. Why does it feel like I keep attracting more admirers?#

#Mom, love me again! My alternate counterpart did that, not me. Don't hit me!#

※ Characters may be out of character.

※ The blurb is in first person, while the main story is in third person. Xiao Wu's point of view begins in Chapter 5.

※ This is not historically accurate, though I will refer to some history. My version of Xiao Wu includes many original details. (Wakakusa's inscription on the blade, plus the protagonist and her legends, make up the historical Xiao Wu.)

※ I stick to the rule of one Saniwa per citadel.

※ Many secondhand swords + some corrupted swords + a very small number of swords personally forged by Minamoto no Asahi + Time Government swords = the swords of Minamoto no Asahi's citadel.

※ Planned worlds include one with man-eating demons and one with a Holy Grail War.

※ The protagonist has visited two worlds with man-eating demons. The demon king of the second world was raised by the protagonist (yes, I admit I chose him for his looks), so the demon king and Twelve Kizuki in that world will probably survive.

※ I'll do my best to use my mediocre writing skills to make the heroine feel like someone everyone loves.

※ Some readers have asked who Minamoto no Asahi's love interest is. I haven't decided on the male lead yet, but she will have a few romances, and all the swords in her citadel love her.

※ Original swords will appear, and some swords will be gender-swapped. For now, this is limited to a few blades from Minamoto no Asahi's original world. Wakakusa, who shares a legend with Xiao Wu, is also a player with countless admirers at her feet.

※ I'll add more if I think of anything or write it in.

A related novel is coming soon: Saniwa Is Still Avoiding Love Debts Today. Here's the blurb:

I'm Mizunazuki Ayane, the only heir of my generation of the Mizunazuki family.

I was once hailed as a figure skating prodigy, until a serious injury made me a "former future star" forever, turning my "Olympic dream" into a thing of the past I had to carefully hide away.

My world was neatly divided:

In Tokyo, there was Akashi, the childhood friend I had known since I was little, with clear boundaries between us. At the Sanada dojo, there was Sanada, the childhood friend I had grown up training alongside. In the hospital rehabilitation room, I met Yukimura, a fighter who made me put aside my arrogance and admire him. And, of course, there was my only friend outside school, Shigeta Reine.

When my life took a sudden turn for the worse, a game called Causal Rhythm became my last refuge. I immersed myself in manipulating history, seeking a brief escape.

So when an organization calling itself the "Time Government" came to me and shoved me into the role of a "Saniwa," I thought it was absurd.

But when I opened the doors to the citadel and saw the sword warriors, Higekiri, Tenkomaru... They looked at me as if we had known each other for a thousand years.

My pride made me scoff. How could a failure who couldn't even control her own body be the very legendary, breathtaking beauty they claimed to know?

My sensitivity sent me spiraling. To them, I was nothing but a string of false data, a perfect illusion I'd once played at being.

I treated them coldly, arrogantly thinking them foolish for failing to tell an illusion from a real person.

I was sensitive and suspicious, questioning myself every night, wondering if I deserved this love that had crossed a thousand years.

Until one day, Mikazuki Munechika gently slid a teacup toward me and asked with a smile, "Why won't you believe that your very existence is worthy of all the love in the world?"

※ I stick to the rule of one Saniwa per citadel.

※ All Saniwa setting, with a heroine everyone loves.

※ The blurb is in first person, while the main story is in third person.

※ I'll add more if I think of anything or write it in.

Currently serializing another novel next door: As the Child of a Demon God, I Only Want to Play Tennis. Here's the blurb:

What does it feel like to be casually abandoned by your own flesh and blood?

Kirishima Masaki is the person best qualified to answer.

Fortunately, the great onmyoji hailed as the "White Fox Prince" a thousand years ago gave him a new home, and his childhood friend Byodoin, as bright as the sun, showed him the way.

But as a genius who learned everything quickly, Kirishima Masaki had long been troubled by a deeper sense of emptiness: reaching the top of any field was too easy, so the "top" itself lost all meaning.

Then his childhood friend Byodoin led him to tennis, and the sport became different because of the people in it. Here, he found companions at his side, as well as challengers who made his heart race.

At the national tournament finals, he met Rikkai's "Child of God," the opponent fate had chosen for him. To win, he broke the taboos within himself, and was swept by a demonic sword into the Sengoku era five hundred years in the past, where he uncovered his shocking fate as the child of a demon god.

After recovering his healthy yokai body and gaining unfathomable power, he joined the U-17 training camp. Everyone revered the absolute strength of the No. 1 player, yet no one could see the truth hidden within the gentle new arrival.

The World Cup stage is slowly coming into view. A battle he no longer needs to hide from is about to begin.

※ A character-driven coming-of-age story, with the protagonist doted on a little. The main plot focuses on competitive tennis and making peace with oneself, with special attention to the bonds between the protagonist, his childhood friend, his adoptive father, and his companions.

※ Kirishima Masaki's growth in strength: roughly on par with Yukimura early on, then unfathomably powerful after awakening.

※ From Byodoin's time until the protagonist graduates, Makinofuji wins the national championship four years in a row. Rikkai rules the Kanto region and places second and first at Nationals. (When the young master is in his third year of junior high and the protagonist is a first-year in high school, Makinofuji becomes runner-up after Seigaku is reported for using a substitute and disqualified.)

※ The protagonist defeats Yukimura at Nationals, but Yukimura's illness is discovered early and successfully treated. (Yukimura is in his second year of junior high.)

※ Includes the secondary pairings Tsukito and Kimi-Atsushi. They don't take up much of the story. The ending pairs up Sesshomaru and Rin, while Inuyasha and Kagome live in the modern era.

※ The depictions of Shuten and Ibaraki are based on Japanese mythology, with many original details. The timeline has been changed.

※ Please don't overanalyze the details. Enjoy reading!

Theme: They say the sunset is the edge of the world, but I gaze toward that far horizon and cannot see my home. - Li Gou, "Thoughts of Home"