Ever since his youth, Qi Zhaoxi had been a wanderer of the Jianghu [1] , as well as a secret member of a demonic sect. Many years had passed, and given his skills, he would be completely capable of self-preservation as long as he tried. Yet, even before reaching 30 years of age, he wanted nothing other than to retire and go into seclusion.... more>>

But that changed the very day he met Jiang Li.

“Within the Jianghu, battles ensue between sects, while the blades of good and evil collide. No places exist for humans to drink in peace, while places abound for bones to be laid to rest in peace. Fame is born from nothing but aggression and ambition, while grudges borne in gratitude and love are merely born from rivers of selfish desire. I’ve seen enough scenery [2] to find that all mountains and rivers look the same. I’d even thought about tossing aside this mortal realm, and putting an end to it all.

That was because I hadn’t met you yet.”

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In short: Before embracing a blade, brace yourself for injury.

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Main Couple: A feigned master-disciple relationship.

Qi Zhaoxi (top; Jianghu ‘master’ who wants nothing but to retire) x Jiang Li (bottom; witty, cool and socially-isolated ‘disciple’)

1v1, happy ending.

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Translation notes for the summary in the existing fan translation:

[1] Jianghu literally means ‘rivers and lakes’, but could also be a figurative way to refer to people at the margins of society, usually martial artists, but also people of demonic sects/cults, artisans, and bandits. Much of the time, they travelled using the waterways (rivers and lakes), hence leading to the ‘Jianghu wanderer’ nickname.

[2] Just explaining the translation choice for “seen enough scenery”. The original was 看罢了 (看 = to see), so 看 in combination with 罢了 could be alternatively translated more directly as “I’ve finished seeing them” i.e., “I’ve seen them all”. However, the word 罢了 often carries an emotional meaning of boredom/mild contempt (Zhang, 2024), and I wanted to address this connotation since it is linked to QZX’s resignation towards life (a salient part of his characterisation). Hence, I chose this more liberal translation.

References:

张梓洁[Zhang Zijie] . (2024). 语气词“罢了”的情态意义探究[Regarding the affective meaning of the modal particle “罢了”] . 现代语言学[Modern Linguistics] , 12(1): 568-573. https://doi.org/10.12677/ML.2024.121080 <<less

“I thereby swear to give you my full loyalty, never betraying you for as long as I live.”... more>>

First person MC (female); the pairing is her brother (Li Xi) and an unnamed ‘he’. Both are high-ranking officers in a war.

Angsty, single-chaptered short story (oneshot) set in a dystopian fictional universe. <<less

That day, the debate topic was: "Is money the root of all evil?"... more>>

No, it isn’t money that’s the root of all evil—it’s Lin Qin.

CP: Lu Ran (gong), Lin Qin (shou)

A single-chaptered, fluffy and funny short love story (oneshot) between two young men who met in a debate competition. <<less

“Shiyu, my heart is true for you.” These were the blatant words of passion that emerged from the Imperial Marshal‘s own lips. Yet, Chu Mingyun could not help the urge to pinch his own arm from within his sleeve.... more>>

Su Shiyu’s gentle smile deepened suddenly in that instant. The Imperial Censor then narrowed his eyes all of a sudden, before a few gentle words escaped his lips. “Are you sick?”

“Indeed I am, with lovesickness.” Chu Mingyun did not waver as he said this, and neither did his words, which he delivered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Now, if you will excuse me,” Su Shiyu nodded politely before turning around to make his leave.

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Thus began the story of two people: a person who only pretended to be a cut-sleeve (T/N: literary/euphemistic term meaning ‘homosexual’) at first, but really ended up becoming one, and the person who didn’t want to get involved with said cut-sleeve, yet became a cut-sleeve even earlier than him.

This is a tale where sycophancy meets loyalty. Whenever two parties with clashing ideals cross paths, they tend to misuse each other.

You have been warned—when the goal is no longer to kill relentlessly, it becomes to love unendingly.

Is the gentleman ill? There is no cure for lovesickness.

There are mountains and rivers in your eyes, and they trump all the evergreen existences that have passed me by.

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In short: The top-ranking military official pretends to fall in love with the top-ranking civil official, his rival of all time. Shenanigans ensue, but so does love.

Main CP – Evil, scheming gong (Chu Mingyun) x Gentle, scheming shou (Su Shiyu) – HE. Enemies to lovers. 1v1.

Side CP 1 – Expressionlessly passionate Shadow Guard (Qin Zhao) x Cute and air-headed medical physician (Du Yue)

Side CP 2 – Emperor (Li Yanzhen) x Brazen Jianghu Girl (Lu Qing)

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(Note: The above is the more current and slightly longer summary by the third translator, updated as of September 2024. Alternative summaries/descriptions are available at Dust Bunny Translations and Uhei Translations.) <<less

The protagonist of this farce has always been him, standing all alone at the center of the vortex.

Give me one more chance, before the train whistles.

Those 3.45 seconds of hesitation were enough to make me doubt the remainder of my life.