A Song of the Fallen Petals

A disgraced immortal. A haunted investigator. A melody that kills.

When the haitang trees bloom out of season, death is sure to follow. For Li Shen, a cultivator of the Glass Veil Sect, the sweet scent is a harbinger of nightmares. The victims are found cold and silent, marked by crimson petals and haunted by a ghostly melody-a tune he hasn't heard since the man he loved was executed.

That man, Zhao Wuyuan, is very much alive. Insolent, beautiful, and trailing silk and secrets, he reappears with a smile that cuts deeper than any blade. He shouldn't exist, yet he walks back into Li Shen's life just as a shadow from their shared past begins to hunt the city, using the verses of their old ballad as a murderous script.

Now, Li Shen is forced to partner with the fugitive he once failed to save, and Wuyuan must work with the man who once let him fall. As they chase a killer who turns their guilt into a weapon, they uncover a conspiracy that leads to the highest echelons of the Jade Court itself. To stop the murders, they must confront the truths they buried years ago-before the final verse of the ballad claims them both.

Temporary Book Cover by : @fuckyeahchinesegarden
https://www.tumblr.com/fuckyeahchinesegarden/682254554476298240/chinese-crab-apple-flowers-haitang%E6%B5%B7%E6%A3%A0

Dedication:
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ For my literature teacher, who saw a novel in me long before I did.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ For my gege, my #1 motivator.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ For my co-cupid on the matchmaking server I'm on (as of October 30, 2025), whose changed plans became this story's beginning.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ For my mother, who built my foundation with tiger patience and love.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ For my friend, the-writing-girl, a constant beacon of light in my reading life.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ And for the part of me that finally dared to listen.
This exists because of your belief.

Thank you

- Mei