Word of Honor Fanfiction Worth Reading
Word of Honor is a popular wuxia Chinese Drama from 2021. It’s based on the novel Faraway Wanderers by Priest and is basically a boy’s love (BL) story disguised as a bromance. It follows Zhou Zishu a former spy master/ assassin after he leaves that life behind. Unfortunately, no one gets to simply walk away from an organization like that so he has to maim himself in order to leave.
With his lifespan significantly reduced Zhou Zishu plans to while away the rest of his time drinking and enjoying his life as much as he can. These plans go astray when he decides to help a boy in distress. He ends up getting involved in a mysterious conspiracy and picking up a weird stalker along the way.
The majority of the drama is pretty good. The plot’s logic takes a nose dive off a cliff at the same time the main characters do. However, it’s still a must watch for danmei fans.
Having read the book and watched the drama I went searching for fanfiction. Here are some Word of Honor fanfiction that I think are worth reading.
Sanguine by jaemyun
What if the leader of Ghost Valley made arrangements for him and some of his people to attend the Heroes Conference. The plan is to have the “heroes” and “ghosts” of the martial arts world resolve their issues through diplomacy. When a gorgeous young man called Wen Kexing shows up on the first day of the conference along with some of the women from the valley everyone starts spectulating about who he is. It’s quickly decided that he’s the leader’s bedmate.
Zhou Zishu, who’s curiosity leads him to attend, takes one look at Wen Kexing and knows the man is dangerous. He watches as Wen Kexing plays with and manipulates them all. When the man notices him back Zhou Zishu finds himself drawn into Wen Kexing’s antics.
This is such a fun read. A sneaky flirtatious Wen Kexing wreaks havoc on the conference. If I had to choose between re-reading the original novel and reading this fanfiction I’d choose this.
Qi Ding Gui by Chi-chi-chimaera (gestalt1)
In the original story Zhou Zishu’s plan is to use the Seven Nails torture on himself over a period of several months so that he can resign without immediately dying. If you think about it you’ll realize how easily his actions could have been discovered. Since he continued to work while inflicting these injuries on himself. All it would have taken is one mistake and that’s exactly what happens in Qi Ding Gui.
The prince, who’s both his cousin and his boss, discovers what he’s done and calls in a doctor to save him. Zhou Zishu is then put under house arrest. Luckily, his subordinate Han Ying decides to break him out and the two of them go on the run. The prince sends people after them, because you can’t just let your pet assassins run loose. Desperate and injured they decide to go to Ghost Valley.
The drama whitewashes Zhou Zishu’s character a lot. It’s also set during a time when he’s more regretful of his actions so it’s possible for fans to forget his originally cold personality. He’s a brutal man capable of killing anyone who gets in his way.
The idea of a partially amnesiac Zhou Zishu in Ghost Valley, dealing with criminals and madmen who have no idea what lies beneath his pretty face is fascinating. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing will get to meet under different circumstances and when they’re at their most vicious.
The writer does a good job of building and describing the society of Ghost Valley. You’ll learn as Zhou Zishu does how everything works. It’s grim and violent, but that’s exactly what you’d expect from a place like Ghost Valley. After all it’s an asylum for criminals.
Qi Ding Gui is the first story in the Ghost Zhou Zishu series. My recommendation is mainly for this first part. You can of course read the rest if you’d like.
No one understands the chemistry we have by livinginaworldofnoise
Anyone who’s ever seen Word of Honor or read Faraway Wanderers knows that Wen Kexing is completely unhinged. Now imagine him in the modern world trying to pursue Zhou Zishu. It’s an insane tale told through Reddit posts. It’s hilarious.
Please note that both Sanguine and Qi Ding Gui are for mature audiences. Plus these are all fanfiction so mind the tags.