Wu Ping’an was finished.
Finished in every sense of the word.
When she learned that the person she had to meet was Ji Yuwei, her legs went weak.
It wasn’t because she feared Ji Yuwei’s overwhelming power in the Dongli Dynasty, but because his younger sister had died inexplicably, and she couldn’t escape being implicated.
She already had a premonition that she would be killed in this dynasty, where human life was treated as nothing more than air, and no one might even bother to collect her corpse.
Because she wasn’t from this era.
The place she was born was far, far away from the Dongli Dynasty—so far that she might never return in her lifetime.
She was a southerner, born into an ordinary family. After graduating, she worked hard in a city thousands of kilometers away, earning a little over four thousand a month. She lived alone and kept a white cat—an utterly ordinary person in the modern era, never imagining that one day she would transmigrate to a place with demons and monsters.
Before transmigrating, Wu Ping’an often felt like a speck of dust in the vast world, an inconspicuous weed. But she never felt discouraged—after all, as long as you’re alive, anything is possible.
However, sometimes when luck runs out, even drinking water can choke you to death. Just like her—she was almost done running away after a brave act, only to see the other person flash a blinding knife.
When she was stabbed, she was still thinking, “What if I die by the roadside and scare people?”
But she couldn’t think about it anymore. At that moment, Wu Ping’an closed her eyes with worry, kicked her legs, and died beside a trash can.
Wu Ping’an thought that once she died, it was truly the end. Little did she know that the heavens took pity on her and gave her another chance to start over.
When she woke up again, she found she had transmigrated into a book.
And not just any book—it was a Low Magic historical fiction novel with a Wei-Jin dynasty aesthetic, a tragic and abusive story. Coincidentally, it happened to be the very same melodramatic, tragic novel she had been reading just before she died. The content was filled with Black Mud, often making her scalp tingle, so she had skimmed through it.
Because she hadn’t read much, she felt deeply regretful after waking up, wishing she had memorized the entire book.
But later, after learning who she was, her regret faded.
She was still Wu Ping’an—a person without status, the lowest of the low in the Dongli Dynasty, where mounts were low-ranking demons and monsters.
On the very first day of transmigrating, she almost went to meet her ancestors again, but luckily, she was saved by Ade, who was also a lowly person.
Ade was originally named Adai, but the character “Dai” in Adai was far less suitable than “De.”
The famous noble lady of the Dongli Dynasty, Miss Ming Dai, had the character “Dai” in her name. Offending a noble like that would cost several lives, even though Miss Ming Dai would never come to such a slum. Still, to be safe, she changed her name.
When Ade explained the origin of her name, she spoke with complete indifference. Wu Ping’an was stunned, and after a long while, she slowly sighed in admiration.
“Ade, you’re so clever.”
Ade grinned, her teeth gleaming snow-white against her sun-darkened skin from years of labor. The dimple by her lips was unexpectedly cute.
She said, “You’re the first person to praise me as clever. Even though I know you’re just comforting me, I’m still really happy.”
It wasn’t self-deprecation—Ade had fallen ill with a fever as a child, which nearly damaged her brain, leaving her a bit slow to react. People often called her stupid, so the person she had just picked up was the first to praise her.
Wu Ping’an shook her head very seriously. “No, you really are clever. It’s too dangerous to have a name that clashes with a noble’s.”
Several days had passed since she transmigrated into the book, and she had already gained a basic understanding of the rules of this world. Here, there were many mutated monster beasts, and the ones protecting the common people were the nobility who practiced spellcraft.
Dongli bore an uncanny resemblance to the Wei-Jin dynasties. Its capital, which would later become the foundation for Kangjian, was Jianye City. Geographically, it embraced the Qinhuai River to the south, leaned against Houhu Lake to the north, bordered the Yangtze River to the west, and was close to Zhongshan Mountain to the east—vast and magnificent. Dongli was also controlled by four great families: Ji, Xie, Cui, and Ming, with the Ji family at the helm.
The current empress, who enjoyed the emperor’s exclusive favor, hailed from the Ji family. Coupled with the fact that the Ji family was a centuries-old clan beyond the reach of ordinary people, they essentially held sway over everything. Ade, who had changed her name to Ming Dai, was the fiancée of the Ji family’s eldest son.
The Ji family’s eldest son, Ji Cichao, and the Ming family’s Ming Dai were the male and female leads of the tragic novel she had been reading before her death.
The female lead, Ming Dai, was in poor health, bedridden with chronic illness for years. She was deeply infatuated with the male lead, but initially, Ji Cichao did not care for her.
While suffering from illness and resentment, Ming Dai poured all her devotion onto him, only to be met with indifference. The level of heartbreak was only slightly less bitter than her own fate.
Although the male lead paid little attention to Ming Dai, out of consideration for her as his fiancée, he often showed her concern.
This was not explicitly stated in the text; it was something Wu Ping’an had painstakingly pieced together herself, searching for evidence amidst the shards of glass.
But what left the deepest impression on Wu Ping’an was not the male lead, but the antagonist, Ji Yuwei, who was supposed to have died young but lived into his twenties, mastering spellcraft at a tender age.
In the novel, Ji Yuwei was described as follows: outwardly, he appeared as a radiant, jade-like gentleman of unparalleled elegance—a celestial being among mortals. In reality, however, he possessed the vile traits of a scion of a noble family. Not only was he a ruthless killer, but he was also deeply sinister.
In modern terms, he was like a piece of dark Black Mud—outwardly gilded but rotten within. A purely evil antagonist, a madman who created countless obstacles for the male and female leads to be together.
The reason this book was called a “Black Mud” story was precisely because of the antagonist, Ji Yuwei. Selfish, malicious, and breathtakingly beautiful, he committed countless atrocities, leaving people shuddering with a chilling fear even years after his death.
Wu Ping’an knew she was not the protagonist. She would never cross paths with the male lead, let alone encounter a sinister Black Mud madman like Ji Yuwei. For a long time, she felt both relieved and regretful.
To transmigrate into a book and not be able to witness the love-hate entanglements of the main characters up close was truly a pity. She wondered what point in the plot the two had reached now.
After lamenting this in her heart for a while, she reluctantly concluded that the script she had been given must be one of “the oppressed rising up to sing their own song”—an uplifting tale of resilience.
Thus, she decided that until she found a way to return from this transmigration, she would rely on Ade for companionship.
In this era, commoners were not allowed to share characters in their names with nobles. At best, they might be forced to change their names if the nobles chose not to take offense; at worst, they could lose their lives.
That was why she said Ade’s name change was clever, even though they might never come within a hair’s breadth of these powerful nobles in several lifetimes.
Ade was an orphan who did not know who her parents were. Abandoned in the slums at birth, she was raised by an old man who had passed away not long ago.
While taking the old man outside for cremation, she encountered Wu Ping’an, who had just transmigrated into this world.
Wu Ping’an had just fallen from the sky. Having never seen such low-level monster beasts before, she was so frightened that she shrieked and yelled. Ade used a fire talisman—something ordinary civilians could only receive once, intended for cremating corpses—to drive off that low-level monster beast.
Ade saved her, but the old man’s body now had nowhere to be placed and was dragged back, still lying in the wooden shack next door.
Wu Ping’an had originally suggested burying him in the ground, but Ade hurriedly shook her head, saying it wasn’t allowed.
All land belonged to the nobility. That they were allowed to live on this land, to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, was already a heavenly blessing. To let their filthy bodies defile the nobles’ land after death would be ungrateful, condemning them to hell and rebirth as livestock in the next life.
Ade insisted on not allowing burial, and the old man’s body couldn’t just be left lying on the wooden plank. Wu Ping’an tried to persuade her with many words, but Ade remained firm in her refusal.
In the end, Wu Ping’an had no choice—after all, it was because of saving her that things had ended up like this.
Wu Ping’an asked, “Then what method is there to obtain a fire talisman?”
Ade shook her head, but after a while, she hesitated.
Wu Ping’an seized on her inadvertent hesitation and pressed for answers.
Ade wasn’t clever enough and was soon tricked into revealing the information.
Going into Jianye City to work as a helper for a blacksmith might earn a firestone. Ade had originally wanted to go but was rejected by the blacksmith boss for being too slow and returned empty-handed.
Blacksmithing, huh.
Wu Ping’an looked down at her hands and readily agreed.
But soon, she faced a new problem.
She was now a person without an identity, equivalent to an undocumented resident in this era, unable to do anything and forced to live like a rat.
Having finally found a way, only to have it end in failure—Wu Ping’an was truly unwilling. Tossing and turning all night, the next day she found Ade and asked for her identity token.
She planned to share an identity with Ade. After all, the people in Jianye City didn’t know Ade. She could go work to earn a firestone and have the old man cremated as soon as possible.
Ade felt this wasn’t right and kept refusing, but she wasn’t clever enough and was easily swayed by Wu Ping’an’s smooth talk. Before she knew it, she had already handed the wooden token to Wu Ping’an.
Wu Ping’an asked Ade to take her to Jianye City.
Ade seemed to want to say something but held back. Wu Pin’an pinched her cheek and said with a laugh, “What, afraid I’ll run off with your token?”
Ade shook her head. Although the token’s surface didn’t bear a portrait, officials and those with some knowledge of spellcraft could, if they wished to investigate, sense whether the aura inside matched the holder’s.
Impersonating someone’s identity violated the laws of the Dongli Dynasty. She was worried Wu Ping’an would be discovered—if caught, she would be sentenced to hanging.
Ade earnestly explained this to Wu Ping’an.
Wu Ping’an smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. We still have to give your father a proper burial, right? Don’t you believe that to be reborn well after death, one must find peace?”
Ade hesitated, then nodded.
Wu Ping’an clapped her hands decisively. “Then I’ll try to see if I can work.”
Ade couldn’t find a reason to object and agreed, though still worried.
The next day, Ade took her into Jianye City.
The blacksmith shopkeeper indeed didn’t check the authenticity of her identity token and let her try out for a few days. During this time, Wu Ping’an performed exceptionally well, even though she struggled to adapt to some ancient customs and feudal behaviors—like having to kneel and greet nobles whenever they passed, no matter what she was doing.
Fortunately, after a few tiring days, the shopkeeper, seeing how agile and clever she was, let her stay. She seized the opportunity to borrow a firestone from him on credit.
The shopkeeper was no stranger to such matters and generously agreed, but made it clear that half a month’s wages would be deducted from her pay.
She agreed.
Having resolved the old man’s major issue, just as she thought she and Ade could continue living at this unhurried pace, an unexpected event occurred.
That day was the happiest for her and Ade, because she had received half a month’s wages. Ade had never seen so many copper coins before, and the two of them sat on the broken bed board counting the coins, carefully budgeting and saving. Seeing that there were still some left over, they were overjoyed.
To thank Ade for saving her and providing a place to stay, Wu Ping’an gave all the remaining copper coins to Ade.
Ade refused to accept them, and she even pretended to be angry for a while.
Though Ade was stubborn, they were also afraid that she would truly ignore them, so in the end, they accepted.
Wu Ping’an went to the blacksmith shop as usual, and Ade always liked to wait for her there. No matter how many times she told them not to, Ade still preferred to wait on East Street.
Until that day, when Wu Ping’an finished her day’s work, exhausted and wishing she could crawl on all fours to find Ade, she discovered that Ade, who always waited on East Street, was gone. Children playing in the East Street alley were singing a song.
“Nameless hyena hounds halt on the shadowed ridge, alas! Alas, fate is unkind, alas! Alas…”
The rising and falling tune struck Wu Ping’an’s heart, for she saw, not far away, a pitiful lowborn person being collared like a wild hyena hound.
The noblewoman leading her had hair as dark as clouds, wore exquisite gold-threaded silk that was unmistakably luxurious, and walked in silk shoes and leather boots. As she raised her hand, her snow-white wrist, delicate and fair, dangled with a gleaming golden bracelet, charming and pitiable.
If the half-dead person she was leading hadn’t been Ade, Wu Ping’an might have cast an envious glance at the noblewoman, then pitied the person treated as a hyena hound, and returned home to huddle fearfully with Ade.
But now, seeing the scene before her, she felt blood rush to her head, her face flushed crimson, and without a second thought, she charged forward.
Those people hadn’t expected anyone to suddenly rush up. It wasn’t until Wu Ping’an knocked the noblewoman back several steps that they snapped out of it and rushed forward to pin her to the ground, muttering words like “young lady” and “Jade Lotus.”
Wu Ping’an lay on the ground, ears ringing and vision blurred, gasping for breath as she looked at Ade across from her.
Just as everyone thought she wouldn’t survive, even Wu Ping’an herself believed so, a maid suddenly ran through the crowd to the noblewoman’s side, her face pale with fear, and whispered, “The Fifth Young Master is on East Street.”
Whoever this Fifth Young Master was, he frightened the noblewoman so much that she trembled. Without bothering to punish Wu Ping’an or even issue a single order, she hurriedly left.
Those people abandoned Wu Ping’an. Having narrowly escaped death, she didn’t even pause to catch her breath before rushing forward to untie the rope around Ade’s neck.
By then, Ade’s neck was already twisted. With trembling hands, she checked for Ade’s breath.
Cold.
That was how Ade died.
It was also the first time Wu Ping’an clearly realized that this dynasty was even more terrifying than she had imagined. The lowborn were livestock for entertainment, wild dogs.
Ade’s death pushed her fear of living in this unfamiliar era to its peak.
Shivering, she carried Ade’s corpse back to the dilapidated house where rain dripped through the roof. Taking Ade’s identity token, she went to collect the talisman for cremation.
After burning Ade, Wu Ping’an never returned to the blacksmith shop or left the house again.
She was too afraid.
But before she could even begin to recover from her fear, the broken door was knocked.
At that time, Wu Ping’an was already terrified out of her wits. Her face deathly pale, she drifted out like a wandering spirit and opened the door.
Many people stood at the entrance. The middle-aged man at the forefront had a fair complexion, wore jade at his waist, and was dressed in fine silk. He smiled amiably and asked if she had recently seen his family’s young lady’s Ade.
During that period, while she worked, Ade never appeared before others. No one knew she and Ade shared an identity token, and Wu Ping’an also didn’t know who his family’s young lady was, nor did she know whether Ade had met any noble young lady.
She flatly denied it, but the middle-aged man smiled and beckoned a trembling maidservant forward.
The maidservant glanced swiftly at Wu Ping’an, her whole body shaking as she said, “It’s her.”
“Miss Ade, it is you. After parting from you, my family’s young lady inexplicably met her end under the fangs of a monster beast. And you, from that day onward, never left your home—such an anomaly. The Fifth Young Master says he wishes to see you personally now.” The middle-aged man wore a regretful expression but maintained the demeanor of a refined scholar.
Wu Ping’an didn’t even have time to run before she was bound tightly by the servants beside the middle-aged man, who intended to “invite” her to meet their master.
As Wu Ping’an looked at that maidservant, she seemed to vaguely remember.
The maidservant was the one who had hurriedly appeared beside the noblewoman who killed Ade not long ago.
So that noblewoman had died inexplicably.
Wu Ping’an’s first reaction was a surge of vindictive satisfaction, only afterward remembering to ask which family’s noblewoman it was and who the Fifth Young Master wanting to see her was.
She guessed this Fifth Young Master probably wasn’t a great evil person. Given the lingering customs of the Dongli Dynasty, if a noble wanted to kill a commoner, they’d simply give the order with a word—they wouldn’t personally come to see her. This suggested he must be a reasonable gentleman.
Yet all these illusions turned to bubbles after the middle-aged man spoke those words, becoming nothing but a beautiful fantasy before her death.
“My family’s young lady is a daughter of the Ji clan, twelfth in line, named Ji Yulian. The Fifth Young Master is the one hailed in this age as ‘bearing the grace of an immortal, capable of reviving spring’—the Fifth Young Master of the Ji clan.”
Only the title was mentioned, not the name—first out of respect, second because this young master was known to everyone in the Dongli Dynasty.
Only one person could be said to bear the grace of an immortal.
The Ji clan’s Ji Yuwei.
The born-pure-evil, psychopathic villain from the book. Born into high nobility, possessing everything beyond the reach of ordinary people, he appeared radiant and virtuous, courteous to the wise and humble to the worthy. Yet, when bored or depressed, he would watch his captive two-legged sheep devour each other’s flesh.
An immortal’s countenance, Black Mud character.
To fall into Ji Yuwei’s hands.
She was finished.
Author’s Note:
Everyone knows my next book, “Rival in Love,” is already fully drafted, waiting to follow “Alluring Fragrance.” Now I’ve revised “Rival in Love” into two versions: one with a 1v1 pairing and one with a 1v2 pairing. When serializing, I’ll keep whichever version readers prefer. I should have started drafting the book after that, but suddenly, I really wanted to write a story I mentioned before, so I impulsively started it without preparation. Below is roughly a usage guide in case you missed the synopsis.
An ordinary-looking female protagonist transmigrates into a tragic novel set in a Low Magic background reminiscent of the Wei-Jin era. She encounters the male lead, a heaven-favored prodigy who appears radiant and virtuous but is actually duplicitous and dark in character. To describe him, it’s like a mass of pitch-black Black Mud squirming.
The male lead is extremely particular about looks and voice, but the female lead doesn’t meet his standards for appearance. He is torn between disdain (or perhaps looking down on her) and an obsessive fascination with her and everything about her, unable to break free from it. Because the female lead has never loved him, he is driven even more to madness.
Since this is being written directly without any drafts, the story will progress as it goes, and there’s no guarantee it won’t fall apart, but it definitely won’t be abandoned.
The male lead is 18, the female lead is 25.