In Your Stead

[Tsundere Beauty of a Civil Official Gong vs. Overpowered Assassin Shou]

[Blurb]

Gong's POV:

Lin Rangchen is a censor at court who never lets a slight go unanswered. The first time he met Li Suiyu, the man tried to kill him.

Before Lin Rangchen could get his revenge, a bolt of lightning struck, and he found himself in that man's body.

Oh no. That man is an assassin!

You want a civil official who can't even fight a chicken to kill someone? Are you kidding me?

After transmigrating into the assassin's body, he tried lecturing a gang of bandits on the law, only to get beaten black and blue and sent to squat in a corner. There was only one thought in his mind: "These muscles can really take a beating."

And they're not just tough. They're pretty nice to touch, too.

Shou's POV:

Li Suiyu is the most ruthless assassin in the Shadow Pavilion. He never leaves anyone alive after drawing his blade, but on his way to kill that man, he suffered the first professional setback of his life!

A bolt of lightning struck, and he found himself in that man's body!

Oh no. That man is a civil official!

You want a rough martial artist like him to attend court? Are you kidding me?

After transmigrating into the censor's body, he interrogated a case in court. His murderous aura scared the prisoner so badly he wet himself. There was only one thought in his mind: "Civil officials have such soft bones. There's no fun in interrogating them."

Though one particular someone does have a sturdy body.

The real kicker is that the body swap is intermittent!

As soon as they switch back into their own bodies, the two become sworn enemies again, each bent on the other's death:

"Get in the way of my investigation again, and I'll feed your precious hidden weapon to the dogs."

"Ruin another one of my missions, and I'll use your treasured calligraphy as firewood."

Their allegiances put them at odds, but their relationship gradually changes as they switch souls.

When Li Suiyu is carrying out a mission, Lin Rangchen quietly steps in to take a blade for him;

When Lin Rangchen is framed by his political enemies, Li Suiyu helps him track down the mastermind.

Once, Lin Rangchen would have been more than happy to see Li Suiyu dead and dismembered.

But when that man really does collapse into his arms, barely clinging to life, he suddenly doesn't want that anymore.

Li Suiyu wipes the blood from his face and smiles carelessly. "You like me."

Lin Rangchen turns his face away, the tips of his ears red.

"Nonsense."

When the other man is bent on throwing his life away, Lin Rangchen helps him reclaim his purpose, and gives him his own heart as well.

[Reading Guide]:

1. One-on-one, both pure, happy ending | Intermittent soul swaps, which stop later in the story | The gong is five years younger than the shou

2. Readers with strong preferences about gong and shou, proceed with caution | No secondary CP

3. Plot-focused, with parallel storylines in the martial world and at court | Approximately 600,000 Chinese characters | The romance is also a slow burn | The gong has a huge one-sided crush on the shou early on!!!

4. Set in a fictional world loosely modeled on the mid-to-late Tang dynasty and drawing on Tang history. Please don't expect it to correspond exactly to the historical record.

Theme: Though high above in the halls of power, worry for the people; though far away in the martial world, worry for the ruler.