"Outside the Northwestern Sea, to the north of the Chi River, there is Mount Zhangwei. There is a god, with a human face, a snake's red body, and vertical eyes; when it closes its eyes, it is then dark, and when it opens its eyes, it is then bright. It does not eat, nor sleep, nor breathe, but can visit wind and rain. It is Zhu Jiuyin, known as the Zhu Long." [1] Within the movement of Song Shijiu's wide eyes, Li Shiyi noticed the difference in her; in the past, her open eyes had seemed to be like closed curtains, the thin screen being pulled down with a rustle, eyes which held shyness and carried a smile jumping out, like the cry of an oriole, loudly and suddenly expecting you to look at her. But now, it seemed as if she were using a pair of hands to push a door, her lowered eyelashes arranged in preparation for straightening her cuffs, the gaze fallen to the floor the crack of the door she'd knocked and opened, and only at the end did she push the door wide open...

In the depths of night, the Yangxin Hall [1] was incredibly still. Jiang Changbai availed herself of the dusky moonlight which seeped through the window to willfully take measure of this place which only the emperor could ever live in, and only felt that in the illusory ambiance of the mind, everything in the surroundings all fluttered, very unreal. In the light of the early morning, in order to survive in this upheaval, she had accomplished her own goal and painstaking scheme; yet at this moment, she simply sat within this room. And that dragon robe [2] she had longed for for who knew how long, simply calmly hung on a frame not far away. What circled through Jiang Changbai's mind was the words of Song Juguang from in broad daylight. "Bixia, it wasn't me who chose you, it was the heavens; from birth, you were meant to be the Great Li's Emperor." From birth, you were meant to be the Great Li's Emperor. These words, spoken from anyone else's mouth, would ...

As Jiang Changbai spoke, she began to take steps, crossing around the desk and sitting on the chair. Those jade pendants, which symbolised the Jiang family's life, piled up on the desk just like that, and the invisible, untouchable roaming hun spirits floated, unexpectedly faintly separating the two people in the room. "The imperial power is divinely conferred, Guoshi ought to know," Jiang Changbai said indistinctly; yet the story that followed behind these words hadn't come out when she was cut off by Song Juguang. Song Juguang's words unexpectedly had a degree of aggrievement. "Not having met for five years, Dianxia and I actually are unfamiliar; in the past, you even called me A Guang." "A Guang," Jiang Changbai said, perfunctorily; it was clear that she wasn't willing to argue needlessly on the matter of addresses. "The year when the Ancestral Emperor [1] unified the whole of the realm, she led the multitude of officials to Mount...

No rain had fallen on Mount Jinyun; even the wind was under strict control, the sun spreading rays of light evenly over the mountain, as if shining on a rice paddy, shining a rare vitality in the winter day. Li Shiyi tugged Song Shijiu's hand, walking upwards; behind her followed A Luo and A Yin. The small path on the mountain still had some mud, the fresh soil muddying the soles of their shoes; Song Shijiu looked at the path with a lowered head, one hand holding up the skirts of her crescent moon-coloured qipao, her deep black wool overcoat piled with a circle of cozy racoon dog fur, tickling as it brushed her sharp chin. She inclined her eyes once more to look at Li Shiyi; she wore a long cotton coat, with wide sleeves and a high collar, which made her clear, aloof features appear as bright as if they'd been washed in water; her crow-black hair was braided from the top of her head like a fishtail, brought together in a loose tail, swept to one side, laying on her chest, becom...

The overcast skies darkened the dawn as if it were dusk, causing the originally not too clear mind to be even more weary; Li Shiyi had yet to wake, and A Luo had left early; A Yin sat by the dining table, and across from her, Song Shijiu bit into a xiaolongbao. A Yin watched her with a tilted head, and, seeing her cheeks full and bulging, her almond blossom-like glossy eyes followed the chewing motions in blinking, couldn't help but say, "Today we're about to ascend Mount Jinyun, do you know the details?" Song Shijiu raised her head to look at her. "I'd guess, you're a yaoguai," A Yin said, her arms folded on the table, and saw Song Shijiu's slightly rising eyes were guarded yet crystal clear, her pupils both large and black, even more like the A Huang who guarded the courtyard of the neighbouring residence. Song Shijiu blinked twice, the space between her brows furrowing lightly; the knitting of her brows hadn't left wrinkles, only the left ...

The wooden doors, which had been lacquered to a vermillion, opened wide; the two sides, people and horses, one within and one without, stood facing each other across the distance; even this small distance in the middle howled with gusts, the scattered dry leaves bringing a rasping, quiet sound on either side. Jiang Changbai's heart had already stirred up in a perilous situation; she almost subconsciously was about to call out the name of the person before her, but these three characters were once more pressed down by the concentrated gazes of the people behind her. It couldn't possibly be her. Jiang Changbai inwardly admonished herself, and then arranged a calm appearance like an undisturbed, ancient well, and took a step forward, raising her voice to ask, "You distinguished person are?" The plain-clothed woman, hearing these words, seemed to be somewhat hurt, her countenance falling. "Dianxia, don't you [1] remember me?" A single sentence aroused a tho...

Translator's note: With 2025 beginning, I wanted to start a new project, and decided to choose one I'd been reading and enjoying lately which didn't have a translation for others to read from. I'll be adding Seeking Immortality in Vain to Novel Updates, so those who wish to track it on there can do so. - The capital was in complete chaos. Four months before, the state preceptor had raised an army from the border, and, under the pretence of clearing corrupt officials from the court, marched unchallenged the entire way, using barely more than two months' time to half of the Great Li's territory from north to south. One month before, the current Emperor Tai had taken his trusted aides to flee south in secret; under the secret imperial edict, the sickly Prince Ling had stayed behind on his own to defend the capital, and the rest of the aristocrats and nobility had also run and fled. In such a great capital city, there actually only remained the unknowing commoners. ...