Yan Fire Carries Autumn

In the twenty-fourth year of the Republic, autumn winds swept across Beiping beneath a sky heavy with the promise of rain. Su Wanyan, a student in Yenching University's Chinese Department, buried herself in old books, reading of "dark and stormy days" by Weiming Lake. Lu Chengzheng, fresh from Huangpu and dressed in military uniform, arrived to garrison the old capital, still carrying the lingering smoke of war from beyond the pass. A pen and a rifle: the scholarly spirit of the ivory tower and the iron resolve forged on the battlefield met by chance beside a lake strewn with plane-tree leaves. As the flames of war crept closer to North China, student demonstrations, a web of spies, and unending battles followed one after another. They fell in love amid troubled times, but when the nation faced disaster, they had to choose. Romance could never come first. If the land fell, how could they hope for an ordinary life together? When the flames of war consumed Beiping's autumn, Wanyan flew south, while Chengzheng went to his death. With hearts full of devotion, they held on to each other amid the shattered years, and defended the heritage of Chinese civilization and its vast lands.