Dragon Sting: The Plot

Yang Shuo华语出版社Dec 2024

3.0

Word count: 247K words
Chapters: 25

Summary

A man of unknown origins, Ma Rulong topples the Venerable Jinding, who yields in good conscience and takes his own life to atone. To preserve the Venerable's reputation, Ma Rulong insists on keeping the evil deeds the Venerable committed in life secret. The entire Emei Sect travels to Jinling to bring back the Venerable's remains, only to fall into an ambush that nearly wipes them out—all seven Yuzi-generation nuns of Emei perish. Yet this is only the beginning, as plot follows plot, assassination follows assassination... Who is the target of this scheme, mounted at such enormous cost in manpower and resources?

Editor's review

Dragon Thorn: The Plot centers on the word "plot": Ma Rulong topples the Venerable Jinding, who yields and takes his own life in penance; to protect the Venerable's name, Ma Rulong insists on keeping his misdeeds hidden. Then the whole Emei Sect goes to Jinling to retrieve the Venerable's remains, only to be ambushed and nearly annihilated, with all seven Yuzi-generation nuns killed. The story opens with a shocking sect massacre, then pushes forward with "this is only the beginning" as plots pile up one after another, keeping readers asking: at such enormous cost in manpower and resources, who is this scheme really aimed at? The book's readability comes from its layered traps and the fog of identity; Ma Rulong's "unknown origins" leave room for later reversals. The narrative is suspense-driven wuxia, heavy on conspiracy, sect conflict, and a sense of cost—suited to readers who enjoy plots within plots and hunting the mastermind behind brutal events. Read each plot as its own puzzle and watch how motives and sect loyalties shift to appreciate the author's interlocking structure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy suspense-driven wuxia, serial plots, and stories built on plots within plots
Readers interested in sect massacres, revenge, and the search for a hidden mastermind
Readers who prefer a tense pace and a major mystery planted right at the opening
Readers following the Ma Rulong series and its mysteries of identity

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, humorous wuxia with little conflict
Readers sensitive to brutal turns such as a sect's near-annihilation and the deaths of senior nuns
Readers expecting a single protagonist to succeed smoothly, with wish-fulfillment front and center

Reading tips

Before starting, note the core event—the deaths of Emei's seven Yuzi-generation nuns—and use it as the starting point for tracking the scheme behind the scenes.
After each plot, briefly note the victims, the beneficiaries, and Ma Rulong's response, to help identify the target of the chain of schemes.
Watch the hints about Ma Rulong's "unknown origins"; at key decisions, revisit his motive for protecting the Venerable Jinding's reputation.
If the cast feels large, first follow Ma Rulong and the Emei Sect's line of action, then fill in other sects' reactions.

About the publisher

华语出版社

Huayu Press is a publisher whose publishing direction centers on collating and popularizing traditional Chinese classics; public information is limited, and details such as its location and founding year are not recorded in the available data. Judging from the 36 titles in the database, its output focuses on three areas: classics of Chinese thought, classical literature, and modern and contemporary masters. In the classics category it offers The Four Books: Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, Mencius and Laozi and Zhuangzi; in history, Records of the Grand Historian: The First Biographical General History, with original punctuation and annotation from Guoxue.com and reviewed by Yang Shuzeng; and in literature, the four great classical novels, punctuated and collated by Feng Qiyong and others. For modern works, it includes The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen (Dalu Republican Library I), the complete works of Lao She (55 volumes), and the complete works of Zhang Henshui (21 volumes, meticulously collated collector's edition), spanning intellectual documents and chapter novels. Titles such as Recite the Full Text, a junior-high edition, show an extension into Chinese-language study and examination preparation. Its author and editorial resources include Guoxue.com, Dalu Culture, and writers such as Lao She, Zhang Henshui, and Sun Yat-sen. Its publishing character lies in relying on punctuation, collation, review, and meticulously collated collector's editions to emphasize the reliability and readability of classic texts.

版权信息
第一章
第二章
第三章
第四章
第五章
第六章
第七章
第八章
第九章
第十章
第十一章
第十二章
第十三章
第十四章
第十五章
第十六章
第十七章
第十八章
第十九章
第二十章
第二十一章
第二十二章
第二十三章
第二十四章

FAQ

Is this book part of the same series as *Stunning Jianghu*?

Both books share the same author, Yang Shuo, and the same publisher, but the materials do not state that they belong to the same series. *Dragon Thorn: The Plot* centers on Ma Rulong and the plot against the Emei Sect, and its storyline stands alone, so it can be read as a single volume.

Does the story open with a massacre?

Yes. After Ma Rulong topples the Venerable Jinding, the Emei Sect travels to Jinling to retrieve the Venerable's remains and is ambushed along the way, nearly wiped out, with all seven Yuzi-generation nuns killed. But this is only the start of a chain of plots; more schemes follow one after another.

Why does Ma Rulong conceal the Venerable Jinding's misdeeds?

The materials state that Ma Rulong, to protect the Venerable's reputation, firmly refuses to make public the evil deeds he committed in life. This choice shows where the character stands and may shape how the sects and jianghu judge him later; it is key to understanding his logic for acting as he does.

Do I need to know the Emei Sect's background before reading?

No prior knowledge of the real sect's history is needed. The story begins with the Emei Sect's ambush while retrieving the remains, and readers can follow the events to understand the relationships; familiarity with traditional wuxia sect conventions will simply make the setting easier to enter.

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About the author

Yang Shuo Author · Chinese · 1964

Yang Shuo, whose real name is Yang Minggang, was born in Jilin in 1964 and graduated from the Chinese Department of Jilin University. He also writes under the pen name Jin Yongxin. During the mainland wuxia literature boom of the 1990s, he was known alongside Linghu Yong and Long Xiangzi as one of the "Three Swordsmen" and was a representative wuxia author of that period. He writes mainly wuxia novels and has also touched on social fiction. His representative works include Nine Yin and Nine Yang, The Young Hero Feng Qingyang, A Hundred Thousand Mighty Troops Slay Yama, Wind, Flower, Sword and Snow, Moon, Saber, Stunning Jianghu, and Fengyue Manor; he has written more than 30 wuxia novels in total. His works often revolve around Jianghu grudges, sect conflicts, and personal loyalty, with intricate plots that combine the imaginative martial arts of traditional wuxia with the readability of popular storytelling, and they have circulated widely among genre readers. Public information is limited, and details of his life are scarce; what is mainly available is his pen names, native place, and creative trajectory.