Chapter 1

The history of the Great Ming Dynasty took a turn during the reign of Emperor Jianwen. Prince Zhu Di of Yan failed to seize the throne from Emperor Jianwen, and the Great Ming Dynasty thus took a different path. The Manchus never entered the pass, and neither the Republic of China nor the People's Republic of China came into existence. Now, in the 676th year of the Great Ming Dynasty, which corresponds to the year 2044 AD, the dynasty has enjoyed a long reign, second only to the Zhou Dynasty. This story takes place in this magical timeline.

On the 7th of April, the 676th year of the Great Ming Dynasty, at 4:00 AM.

Zhao Yan suddenly woke up from his sleep, sat up abruptly in bed, and remained in a daze for a while. Suddenly, he reached out to turn on the light in the attic, hurriedly put on his long pants, threw on a coat, and sat down at his desk, immediately turning on the old computer.

At this hour, everything was silent.

This was a twenty-square-meter attic, with a low ceiling. Inside, there was a short-legged wooden bed, a desk, a wooden chair, a bookshelf, and some items that young people enjoy.

The light in the attic was dim, and Zhao Yan's expression was somewhat anxious.

After the computer successfully booted up, Zhao Yan immediately created a new document and began typing rapidly. Words began to appear on the blank document...

Title: Crescent Moon and Curved Saber

Type: Martial Arts

Author: Handsome Brother Yan

Synopsis: Ding Peng became famous in the martial world with the "Meteor from the Heavens" sword, only to be betrayed by his first love, Qin Keqing, and defeated by Liu Ruosong. Ding Peng was pushed off a cliff and drifted to "Forget Sorrow Island," where he learned the curved saber technique from the island's master and won the heart of the master's daughter, Qingqing. Later, Ding Peng and Qingqing returned to the Central Plains to seek revenge, defeating Liu Ruosong. Amazed by the power of his curved saber technique, Ding Peng decided to become the supreme master of the martial world. Upon learning that the curved saber technique was a skill of the demonic sect, he blamed Qingqing. Qingqing, deeply in love with Ding Peng, was willing to disappear from the martial world to help Ding Peng become the leader of the martial world. Later, Ding Peng discovered he was the son of the demonic sect. To avoid losing everything, he appeared as a figure who was both righteous and evil, but his heart suffered from the conflict between good and evil. Could he overcome his inner demons? Would he and Qingqing reunite?

...

In the silent night, in the silent attic, only the sound of Zhao Yan's typing could be heard, continuous and unbroken, until dawn. Zhao Yan remained immersed in the story of "Crescent Moon and Curved Saber," and by then, he had already written over three thousand words, and he was still going.

If anyone who knew him saw his serious expression at that moment, they would find it hard to believe that this troublemaker could be so serious.

It wasn't until his mother's voice came from downstairs: "Yan! Get up! Come down for breakfast! Hurry up! If you dawdle, you'll be late for school again!"

Hearing his mother's call, Zhao Yan stopped, saved the document, quickly copied it to his phone, turned off the computer, and hurriedly descended the attic stairs, a hint of pride in his expression.

Below the attic were the bedrooms of his parents, sister, and younger sister. Without stopping, Zhao Yan walked straight to the first-floor hall, where about seven or eight guests were already eating breakfast.

Yes!

The first floor of Zhao Yan's house was a breakfast shop. His father, mother, and elder sister were busy in the shop, while his younger sister was brushing her teeth by the roadside, her mouth full of toothpaste foam. Hearing Zhao Yan's footsteps, she turned her head and rolled her eyes at him.

Her eye roll didn't affect Zhao Yan's good mood. He called out to his elder sister, "Sis! Get me a cold basket of steamed buns! I'll come and eat right away!"

As he spoke, he quickly grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste from the cupboard to brush his teeth and wash his face, humming a cheerful tune.

"Every day eating steamed buns? I'll go bankrupt because of you!" his father, who was serving noodles to a customer, scolded him.

His mother, who was clearing the table, scolded back as usual, "What are you saying, you old devil? You can't even spare a basket of buns for your own son? You're so stingy!"

His elder sister, who had a good temper, smiled and, as usual, brought a basket of steamed buns to a table where no guests were sitting.

Zhao Yan was used to his father's scolding and it didn't affect his good mood. He hummed a tune and quickly brushed his teeth next to his younger sister, nudging her with his buttocks as he squatted down, almost making her fall. She glared at him angrily.

Halfway through brushing his teeth, a chubby teenager rode up on a bicycle, a blue backpack in the front basket. The bicycle was moving fast and suddenly stopped in front of Zhao Yan.

"Yan! You haven't even finished brushing your teeth? You'd die if you got up earlier? You're so lazy!" the chubby teenager said, dismounting from the bicycle.

Despite his chubbiness, the teenager was quite tall, at least 1.75 meters. If it weren't for the fuzz on his upper lip, he would look like an adult.

Speaking of height, Zhao Yan wasn't short either, a bit taller than the chubby teenager, with long legs and a strong build.

"Ah Long is here? What would you like to eat?" Zhao Yan's mother asked with a smile.

Ah Long, whose full name is Fan Long, is 17 years old, Zhao Yan's childhood friend, and his desk mate. They grew up together in the same neighborhood, and every day, he came to Zhao Yan's breakfast shop to eat breakfast before going to school together.

"Good morning, Auntie! Good morning, Uncle! Good morning, Sis! Little sister is brushing her teeth too?" Fan Long greeted Zhao Yan's family with a smile before turning to his mother. "Auntie, I'll have five large meat buns and a cup of soy milk!"

"Sure thing! Ah Long, come in and sit down! Zhao Yan will be done soon!"

While Zhao Yan's mother went to get the buns and soy milk, Zhao Yan quickly finished brushing his teeth, rinsed his mouth, and said, "Ah Long, sit down! I have something good to show you later!"

Fan Long's eyes lit up, and he walked into the shop.

Zhao Yan's elder sister, Zhao Ru, heard this and asked with a smile while making buns, "Yan, what good thing do you have to show Ah Long? Can I see it too?"

Zhao Yan glanced around and noticed that not only his elder sister but also his younger sister and mother were curious, and even his father, who was making noodles, glanced over.

The difference was that his elder sister and mother were purely curious, while his father and younger sister's curiosity was mixed with disdain.

"Hehe, Sis, I'll tell you later!"

Zhao Yan chuckled, splashed some water on his face from the tap, and wiped it off with his sleeve, considering it done.

Ignoring his mother's teasing, he rushed into the shop, sat down opposite Fan Long, and started eating the steamed buns and drinking the soy milk, even grabbing the soy milk that Fan Long had just inserted a straw into and gulping down a few mouthfuls.

"Hey! That's mine!"

Fan Long glared at him.

Zhao Yan smiled and nodded toward the other side, "There, get your own!"

"Every day it's the same! What's the point!" Fan Long rolled his eyes, muttered, and had no choice but to get another cup of soy milk.

"Hey! You said you had something good to show me. What is it? Show me now!"

Fan Long, who had just gotten another cup of soy milk, lowered his voice and asked Zhao Yan quietly.

Zhao Yan continued eating and drinking, grinning, "What's the rush? I'll show you at school!"

Fan Long's eyes darted around, and he continued to probe, "You said you were going to write a novel last night. Did you really write it?"

"Uh-huh!"

Zhao Yan nodded, beaming.

"You really wrote it? What kind of novel? Tell me!"

Seeing Zhao Yan admit it, Fan Long's curiosity was piqued. But Zhao Yan enjoyed his curious look and refused to tell him, insisting on waiting until they got to school.

The two young men ate their breakfast quickly and were soon full. Zhao Yan ran up to the attic to get his backpack and phone, then hurriedly descended the stairs, got on his bicycle, and sped off with Fan Long.

"Goodbye, Uncle, Auntie, Sis, and Little Sister!"

Before leaving, Fan Long said goodbye.

...

When they arrived at the school bike shed, Zhao Yan, being mischievous, took advantage of the lack of attention and pulled out someone else's valve core, then walked to the teaching building with Fan Long, who had also pulled out a valve core, both laughing.

As for why "again" was used twice, well, you can figure it out!

When the two entered the classroom of Class 3, Grade 3, most of the classmates were already there. After sitting down in the second-to-last row, Fan Long immediately whispered to Zhao Yan, "Yan, the novel you wrote? Show me!"

This time, Zhao Yan didn't refuse. He took out his phone, opened the beginning of "Crescent Moon and Curved Saber" that he had saved to his phone, and handed it to Fan Long, smirking, "Let you see something! I read novels every day, can't I become the second Long Yin? Hmph!"

Yesterday, during the last self-study period, Zhao Yan was caught reading a novel by the homeroom teacher. Not only was the novel confiscated, but he was also harshly criticized in front of the whole class.

What Zhao Yan resented the most was the teacher's words: "Zhao Yan! How many times has this happened? If you don't study well, even if you read all the novels in the world, you will never become the second Long Yin!"

Long Yin was the first master of martial arts novels.

If this were the 21st century, the teacher's words would be like saying, "You will never become the second Jin Yong."

Zhao Yan was 17 years old, in the most rebellious period of his life. His academic performance was not good, and his greatest hobby was reading novels, with his greatest ambition being to become a writer.

The teacher's words yesterday had deeply affected him!

After school, he angrily told Fan Long that he would write a novel that night. However, after dinner, he sat at his desk until after 11:00 PM, writing and drawing, but failed to come up with a decent story. Finally, tired, he went to bed in frustration.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Zhao Yan had a very realistic dream. In the dream, he walked into a book rental shop, rented a book called "Crescent Moon and Curved Saber," and brought it to the classroom to read.

In the dream, Zhao Yan was deeply engrossed in the book, but the bell signaling the end of class woke him up. Before he woke up, he seemed to hear his desk mate call him "Lu Yang"...

This was why, at 4:00 AM, he suddenly woke up and remained in a daze for a while.

The dream was too realistic! And he heard someone call him "Lu Yang" again in the dream.