Xiaohun

Notes on the Title:

销魂 (Xiāo//hún) is made up of the hanzi for “soul” and “melt,” and it is a word that can evoke multiple meanings, most commonly overwhelming grief or romantic ecstasy. Two common idioms include the word, 黯然消魂 (anran-xiaohun) “overwelming sadness/sorrow at parting” and 销魂夺魄(xiaohun-duopo) “bewitch the mind and intoxicate the senses”.

I have chosen the word “Enraptured” which captures the weight of the emotional experience, but there is no perfect word match in English.

Full Synopsis 

Ning Shiting (宁时亭, Níng Shìtìng) followed Wang (King) Gu Feiyin (顾斐音, Gù Fěiyīn) for ten years. For him, he broke off an engagement, forwent his open-hearted path to immortality, and laid down his sword to enter the palace.

Young and without title or name, he was ultimately poisoned to death with a cup of poisoned wine. Reborn at the age of seventeen, he let go of his obsessions and only sought a letter of divorce. Life in the residence was lonely, with only him and the disabled young heir living under the same roof, their paths rarely crossing.

Knowing that Gu Tingshuang (顾听霜, Gù Tīngshuāng) would later stage a coup, kill his father, and become a tyrant, and also knowing the hardships the child faced after his mother's early death, Ning Shiting took care to guide him and accompany him gently, hoping he would find more peace and less violence.

However, one summer, while resting with his eyes closed in the courtyard, he overheard the servants urging the heir to choose a bride.

Around the corner of the study, the young man in the wheelchair, with a cold and ruthless demeanour, sneered, "Why do I need a bride? I only want the one in the courtyard."

"I will write his divorce letter." "I will issue his remarriage certificate."

In this new life, unexpectedly, he became the white moonlight of the tyrant, the red mole on his indifferent heart.

At ten years old, Gu Tingshuang's mother died, and his spiritual roots were destroyed, leaving him confined to a wheelchair for life.

At fourteen, his father brought an "old friend" into the prince's residence, setting up the new chamber in the old room.

That night, he broke in with a knife, his voice filled with anger: "Get out."

The young man took off his veil and looked at him.

His eyes were clear, calm, and beautiful.

For the next ten years, he became the sole obsession in his heart.

For him, he practiced cultivation, entered the mortal world, wielded his sword to protect him, and severed all ties.

Because he was the only remaining light in his life.

When I met you, it was ten years of hearing the frost.

After meeting you, the spring breeze turned into rain.

A healing love story, with the same sweet flavour as before, mostly sweet with occasional heartbreak—80% sugar, 20% knife.

Important clarifications to note:

• The protagonist (Shou) has no official title and does not have any romantic or marital relationship with the protagonist's (Gong) father.

• The divorce letter refers only to the "marriage certificate" that the Gong's father did not fulfil in his previous life.

• The age difference between the protagonists is only three years, and there is no guardianship relationship.

Content Tags: Younger man, Xianxia cultivation, light-hearted

Search Keywords: Protagonists: Ning Shiting, Gu Tingshuang | Supporting characters: Ting Shu | Others: Hulu, Lingjiao 

One-sentence summary: After meeting you, the spring breeze turned into rain.

Theme: Ten years of drinking ice cannot cool the hot blood.