Joyful Reunion (Novel) (2025)

OLD FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIESFresh from the imperial examinations, Duan Ling volunteers to journey to the northern city of Ye, where the empire’s border is under threat of a Mongol invasion. Accompanying him is Wu Du, tasked with rebuilding the city’s ragtag garrison into a force capable of holding Ye through the winter. When Duan Ling arrives, however, he discovers that the Mongol army is led by none other than his childhood friend, Borjigin Batu. The grown-up Batu is nothing like the boy Duan Ling remembers—and now, to prove himself to his own people, Batu must capture the very city Duan Ling has sworn to defend.While Duan Ling and Wu Du brace for Batu’s attack, back in the capital, suspicions mount around the false crown prince. As the empire's most feared assassins vanish from the capital one after another, more than one person begins to wonder: What deadly secret could draw all Four Great Assassins to the north?

TRUTHS LAID BAREAfter a narrow escape from the assassin Helan Jie, Duan Ling and Wu Du race back to Tong Pass to carry out their mission: eliminate the treacherous general Bian Lingbai and take control of the fortress on behalf of Southern Chen’s imperial court. Yet their task takes a perilous turn when enemy forces outside the pass, sensing weakness, seize the chance to launch an all-out attack. Duan Ling must use all his wits and everything he learned from his father to hold Tong Pass against the foreign invaders until help arrives.At the same time, the closer Duan Ling grows to Wu Du, the harder he finds it to keep his true identity as the crown prince a secret. Duan Ling doesn’t want to lie anymore—but revealing too much now might not only jeopardize their mission, but drag them both into terrible danger.