Evil Feathers Across a Thousand Mountains

[Devoted Yet Possessive Mountain God x Playful, Lively Divine Bird, Reconciliation After a Breakup + Secret Identity Revealed, Happy Ending]

[Note: The one did not kill the zero. They both have their reasons. A love caught in a sea of hatred, melodramatic but with a happy ending.]

Shi Miaoyuan, a Golden Crow divine bird, committed every kind of wickedness.

Rong Guanzhen, the mountain god of Kongxiang Mountain, was guilty of every crime imaginable.

Three thousand years ago, they were a notorious pair of lovers.

Until rumors began to spread that Rong Guanzhen had personally executed Shi Miaoyuan to avenge himself.

In the ninth year after his death, Shi Miaoyuan came back to life in the mountains, having lost all his powers.

Afraid of Rong Guanzhen, he decided to disguise himself and flee first, heading somewhere no one could find him... The farther away, the better!

The very next second, Rong Guanzhen caught him red-handed.

The Mountain God needed an attendant, and as luck would have it, he found a bird demon while out that day. With a grand wave of his hand, he brought it back to his temple.

Lulling him to sleep, keeping him company with chatter, acting cute to win him over, serving him hand and foot, obeying his every command... On the day he became a bird held in the hands of his enemy, Shi Miaoyuan secretly made up his mind:

First, he would escape at any cost.

Second, he must not reveal his identity in front of Rong Guanzhen.

Otherwise, Rong Guanzhen would surely make him reincarnate all over again!

He might be scared and terrified, but when it was time to cause trouble, he still had to cause trouble.

From a lowly attendant to the biggest menace on the mountain, Shi Miaoyuan turned the temple upside down in less than three days.

This bird was outrageously wild for one reason alone: the Mountain Lord spoiled him without restraint.

"Master Rong! He gets the sparrows singing before dawn!" the temple guardians complained.

"Let him sing. It sounds nice."

"Rong Guanzhen! That crow of yours chases me around every day, announcing my death!" the river god raged.

"Keep your voice down. He's timid."

"Master Rong, I'm so adorable. Would you like to kiss me?" Shi Miaoyuan blinked at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

"..."

Rong Guanzhen actually shook his head.

He said, "I have someone I love. I won't betray him."

"You said you aren't Shi Miaoyuan."

"So until I get the answer I want, I can't bring myself to get close to you."

.

Shi Miaoyuan came to Kongxiang Mountain to do only three things: eat, sleep, and make trouble.

His days grew more comfortable by the day, and he stopped devoting himself to plotting an escape.

Rong Guanzhen became more and more indulgent, until Shi Miaoyuan began imagining that they could live this way from now on.

Shi Miaoyuan had thought Rong Guanzhen could never figure out who he was.

Until he discovered that Rong Guanzhen had gathered a great many feathers at home, supposedly capable of summoning a Golden Crow.

Until he discovered that during the nine years after his death, Rong Guanzhen had suffered countless grievous injuries, searched everywhere for ways to summon a spirit, and behaved so frantically that both humans and gods were horrified.

And then, when the day of their separation finally arrived, their old enemy cut off every path they had left.

With a formidable enemy approaching, Rong Guanzhen used all his strength to shove Shi Miaoyuan away from the abyss:

"Go! Don't worry about me! Get back to the temple and hide. Don't ever come out again!"

"Are you crazy?" Shi Miaoyuan couldn't understand it. "Rong Guanzhen, you clearly can't stand me... Why are you willing to die for me?"

"Why else?"

Rong Guanzhen gave a helpless smile.

"I took my own life nine times, searching all the way to the underworld for any trace of you."

"I know you hate me deeply. I never expected you to forgive me."

"But after all these years... why are you still so slow to catch on?"

"Have you never wondered who brought you back to life? ...Miaomiao."

--

Please note:

1. Rong Guanzhen did not kill Miaoyuan. They're both good people.

2. Modern alternate-universe setting, mutually exclusive relationships, one-on-one romance, two strong leads, younger gong, happy ending.

3. Includes a few melodramatic misunderstandings and lots of tender romance. Old Rong is a bird slave with no limits, and they adore each other.

.

.

My upcoming novel, Why Is the Underworld Lord Insisting on a Fake Marriage?, will be my next project. Please add it to your collection and follow me~~

[Extra! An overworked Heavenly Court office worker and the Lord of the Underworld, who's had a crush on him for six thousand years, are getting fake-married!]

Zuo Mingyi, the Star Lord of Bright Assistance, an aide to the Ziwei Emperor and a lucky star said to govern literary fortunes and official affairs, went on strike before the first Mingtang Day of 2027.

His reason for skipping work was simple: the Heavenly Court's workload had surged, paperwork was piled into mountains, and after working beyond his limits for too long, he needed to go to the human world to catch his breath.

On the day he descended to the mortal realm, he met a death clerk named Si Huajing. Though it was their first time meeting, Si Huajing made him a request:

He wanted to fake-marry Zuo Mingyi, then take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy some honeymoon leave.

"The Underworld has been cracking down on our performance lately, and I haven't had a break in ages. Please help me out!" Si Huajing pleaded. "Once this busy period is over, we'll go our separate ways. I won't pester you!"

Out of sympathy for a fellow overworked wage slave, Zuo Mingyi agreed.

But what happened next was completely beyond his understanding.

On their first day living together, he discovered that Si Huajing knew all his likes and dislikes by heart.

From the food and clothes he liked to the places he liked to live and the things he liked to use, Si Huajing knew what he liked even better than he did.

Two nights before they got their marriage license, he noticed that all of Si Huajing's friends looked strangely familiar.

If he wasn't mistaken, those people seemed to be... subordinates of the Lord of the Underworld.

On the third day after they registered their marriage, practically every well-known immortal from Heaven and Earth showed up at his home.

The great immortals from every corner gathered under one roof. His friend pulled him aside and said meaningfully, "Xiao Zuo, do your best. The friendly exchanges between the Heavenly Court and the Underworld will depend on you from now on."

Was a death clerk really that important? Zuo Mingyi didn't understand.

Until one day, he unexpectedly discovered that Si Huajing seemed to have been secretly in love with him for many, many years.

"When Heaven and Earth were first divided, I once saw you in the Northern Pole Heaven."

Blushing, Si Huajing said, "I noticed you then, and I've kept you in my heart ever since."

Huh? Zuo Mingyi was completely bewildered.

Although Si Huajing sounded utterly sincere, as far as he remembered, at that time... there had only been him and the Ziwei Emperor there, hadn't there?

--

A gentle, scheming fake death clerk who plays dumb while hiding his claws x a two-faced, overworked and miserable real immortal, older gong.

A mishmash of native legends, so lots of famous gods everyone will recognize will probably show up w. I'll start this once I've finished my current novel~ Please add it to your collection and follow me!

Theme: Be like the Golden Crow and fly toward your mountain

2":"Ruan Xinghe thought she and Zong Heng had fallen in love naturally. Only later did she learn it had all been a complete and utter lie.

She disappeared without a trace.

Then they met again, and Zong Heng recognized her at a glance on a street under the cover of night.

Back then, he was a wealthy young heir with a powerful family behind him, ruthless and decisive in his methods, and merciless in the way he dealt with people.

He was especially cold toward her.

To protect everything her friend had worked for, Ruan Xinghe had no choice but to seek him out.

On a silent, long night, Zong Heng walked toward Ruan Xinghe step by step. His figure was lonely and stern as he stopped in front of her, his voice dripping with scorn:

"Is this the only way to make you see me?"

Ruan Xinghe didn't question him, accuse him, or get angry.

She felt nothing for him at all. The love she had once felt had vanished without a trace.

She was the truly cold and heartless one.

All of Zong Heng's pretenses fell away in an instant. There was only one thought in his mind:

Ruan Xinghe really didn't want him anymore.

Zong Heng had never bowed his head to anyone, nor did he need to. He was always so proud, always so high and mighty. Even when asking to make peace, he was the one who held the power to choose.

"Ruan Xinghe, no other man is allowed by your side but me."

"If one shows up, I'll fucking kill him."

His eyes were bloodshot. He spoke each word slowly, his expression frighteningly dark and sinister.

Zong Heng meant what he said. Ruan Xinghe thought he had gone mad.

Zong Qing told her that in the years after she left, he really had gone mad.

A thoroughly deranged madman who had lost all reason.

***Divider***

My next novel, Rain Falling by the River, is in my author profile.

[Blurb:]

When Wen Xianzi was seventeen, her life took a sudden turn. She moved into a strange home with a woman she didn't know, a home where there was a man and a mischievous boy.

Wen Xianzi silently accepted this strange and absurd situation, forced upon her, and acted perfectly calm.

There was no one left who would feel sorry for her tears.

That's what she thought.

Later, the mischievous boy from that home was being bullied outside the school. She happened to be passing by. He gave a wicked grin and pointed at her as he told the men, who looked fierce and threatening, "That's my little aunt. If you have a problem, take it up with her."

This time, Wen Xianzi cried.

Because she was scared.

★

Theme: Everything is fate