Patrol of the Yuan Realm

[LF#Handsome and Strong#] This is my first attempt at a slightly longer story, planned in three parts. Hope you enjoy reading!

[Set in a traditional wuxia world, with a fictional setting and some self-created details. A chatty, fluffy beginner's story with a slow start. Some locations are based on real places, such as Mingzhou, Nanyang, and Mount Tai, but have been reimagined.]

[Involves conflicts of interest between the jianghu and the imperial court. Romance takes up a fairly large part of the story, and there aren't many fights.]

[The characters have set ages: the bottom is older (bottom 24, top 19).]

[Third-person narration with shifting viewpoints, mostly from the bottom's perspective.]

[An all-around jianghu top (Su Jiu) X the Tianshan Sect's eldest disciple, a bottom (Chu Yuanqing)]

[Su Jiu: handsome top]

A beauty whose gender is hard to tell, usually wearing a high ponytail and looking dashing.

But he's not a peerlessly stunning beauty who makes everyone fall for him at first sight, or some universally adored heartthrob.

Growing up in the gray areas of society made him the kind of person who always gets even and never lets an insult go unanswered.

He's naturally good-natured, so he doesn't go for the kill and doesn't hold grudges after the fact (he gets his revenge on the spot).

His elders protected him from childhood (to preserve his value), so he's fiercely loyal to his own and treats them very well.

He likes praise and being stroked the right way. Compliment him once and his tail starts wagging. His bright eyes and smug, self-satisfied look make him very endearing to the bottom.

He was forced to mix in the jianghu from a young age, so he's very experienced.

He always wants to do everything to the best of his ability, so he competes with others for the top spot on the earnings rankings year after year and has amassed quite a fortune.

[Chu Yuanqing: strong, muscular bottom]

He's tall and powerfully built, the kind of man who can hold the top across his arms with the latter curled up in his embrace.

He has regular features (though he thinks he's average) and an upright, righteous bearing.

A moral paragon, he's strict with himself and forgiving toward others, so everyone in his sect likes him.

His elders doted on him growing up, so he can be a bit clingy around intimates and family.

He'd never left the mountain before, so at first his eyes are clear and innocent, like a deer's.

He focused on martial arts until now and has no romantic history, so he blushes easily. But he's a quick learner, and later discovers he enjoys teasing back and takes the initiative to do so.

Influenced by his sect, he doesn't care much for money or other worldly possessions.

[Synopsis]

Chu Yuanqing is a true hero, the Tianshan Sect's acknowledged moral paragon and the strongest martial artist in the entire jianghu. After spending twenty-four years practicing at home, he is sent down the mountain by his master to see the world. On his very first day away, he meets the love of his life...

But it seems his destined love only wants to steal his things.

Su Jiu is an exceptional thief who has loved stories about heroes since childhood. After spending so long among the jianghu's many walks of life, he assumed that every hero in the world was a hypocrite. He never expected that one day he might meet a genuine hero...

But this real hero happens to be the only one who ever deceived him.

In short, this is a story about them becoming heroes together and standing tall as champions of the jianghu.

[Please note the following potential triggers]

0. The top has a plot point where he disguises himself as a woman. (Note: He appears in women's clothing to trick the bottom, but the bottom sees through it at a glance because he is naturally attracted to men. He realizes he's falling for the top! See Chapter 2!)

1. There is another character who has feelings for the bottom but always keeps them proper. He's an important supporting character and will make the top jealous.

2. The couple remain sexually exclusive for plot reasons. Once their relationship is established, they have fairly typical intimate moments.

(The bottom is naturally attracted to men, but social morality has made him accustomed to avoiding romantic feelings. Once they become a couple, though, he enjoys intimacy, takes the initiative, and likes it.)

(The top doesn't care about gender. Because of his upbringing in the gray world and his good looks, he's always kept himself chaste to protect himself. He's a little tsundere: even if he wants it desperately, he insists that whoever falls first has to confess first.)

3. The top is reasonable but possessive. He always gets even, though he learns quickly from the bottom.

4. The bottom has very high moral standards, but he comes from the jianghu and values the chivalry of a martial artist. He will take risks and break the law, or turn a blind eye to others doing so.

5. Both the top and bottom are kind, good people. The top is more chaotic good, while the bottom is more lawful good.

6. The story is planned in three parts. The first two are pure fluff. The third comes with an angst warning: the angst isn't relationship-related. The bottom suffers more physically, while the top suffers more emotionally.

7. The court's political struggles, power plays, schemes, and so on are all made up, so please don't think too hard about them. Forgive any plot holes.

8. The fight scenes are impressionistic and fairly short.

9. There are no elders or family members who oppose the couple.

10. I may ramble a little as I write. I'm already trying hard to keep it under control! Please forgive me.

11. For now, I have no plans for any other same-sex couples besides the main pairing.

12. Almost nobody reads this on LFT, and I've had no feedback for a while. It's lonely writing by myself, so if any lovely readers here are interested, come chat with me!

[About love at first sight]

It's mutual love at first sight. They first like each other physically (their faces and bodies), and that gradually grows into liking everything about each other.

[One more little note: I only just realized that you can choose to follow both perspectives (awkward). Anyway, I've fixed it now. Sorry if it caused any confusion before. (||| -ω-`)]

Theme: The world may be far from ideal, but there are still people working hard to make it better.