Books by Chang Sheng

A beautiful queen rules her country with an iron fist. Unmarried and without an heir, she adopts orphans as a way to prove that even commoners can reign as kings. Yet, as the years progress, she shows no sign of aging. Only one man knows the dark secret to her eternal youth: Oldman, a bearded magician the queen has locked in her darkest dungeon. One night, Oldman steps through the bars of his prison and disappears before the queen's very eyes. Enraged, she sends her army after him in a desperate campaign to keep her secret hidden. Staging his escape, Oldman appears to step through the bars of his cell and vanish as if by magic, cleverly misleading the guards. He rescues a neighboring prisoner, an outlaw sword maiden who has had her arms and legs amputated. Upon taking her to a brilliant doctor who fits her with mechanical limbs, Oldman and the sword maiden vow to take revenge on the queen that wronged them, all the while evading the queen's army as she launches a desperate campaign to keep her secret hidden. The story continues as Oldman, the escapee plots to go back to the Queen's palace alone to negotiate with her. On his way to the palace, Oldman's comrades explore his childhood and how it intertwines with the Queen's dark secret.