Prologue

In the dark night of the dream, she walked on the road with grasping hands. She carried a lamp and strode in a hurry.

The moonlight fell on the narrow and winding road [1], reflecting her slim shadow and the swaying light. It seemed as if she was a ghostly messenger carrying a lamp at night.

Not far away, the end of the valley highlighted bright lights with many people standing around. There was crying and shouting among discussions, with the roars of men and screams of women intertwining. It was like the world had been sent to hell, making one’s scalps tingle when listening.

She walked out of the alley and mixed into the crowd. With a fast and anxious heartbeat, she could only hear others ask around: “What crime did the Gu family commit?”

“Where’s the crime?” The onlookers said: “It’s just that Lord Wang is short of food and wages, so he’s slaughtering a fat sheep.”

She looked sideways. The person who spoke was a storyteller from the east side of the city who was very well-informed. He sighed and said: “After the rebellion of the Duke of Liang, Fan Xuan led his troops into the eastern capital, saying he was on the side of the Qing emperor. It’s said that he killed all the descendants of the Li family in one night and then seized the empress dowager and hundreds of officials until they recognized him as emperor. He’s just a military governor of Youzhou and dares call himself the Son of Heaven. How could other heroes out there be convinced? So other provincial governors established themselves as monarchs in the name of exterminating rebels. When chaos came long, our Lord Wang just followed the trend.”

“But the fault also lies in the Gu family.” Sir Storyteller pointed with a fan. Everyone’s eyes fell to the big scarlet door before the gate. Officials were dragging out a woman in front of the gate by her hair. She hoarsely screamed but was met with an indifferent crowd. They were listening to the storyteller say: “His family was wealthy to begin with; back then, because of his relationship with Lord Liang, he always ran amok in Yangzhou. His son over there Gu Jiusi was a bad influence, always gambling and causing trouble all day long. If he hadn’t broken the leg of Lord Wang’s eldest son back then, perhaps today’s disaster wouldn’t have fallen upon them.”

Once this started, everyone began talking amongst themselves. In no time, Liu Yuru clearly heard that this playboy who originally just liked to fight and gamble suddenly became a demon king who murdered, set fires, and committed evil.

She found it difficult to breathe.

She wasn’t sure why she was feeling this way; she just had a clear thought that the Jiu youngster’s mother, who originally led a corrupt life and was scolded daily, became a pure and lonely old woman.

They also said that Lord Wang’s son was a real hungry ghost who had ruined many good girls. But because the family was powerful, no one could do anything about him.

She quietly watched everything, squeezing the lantern in her hand. Then she saw a luxoriously-dressed woman being dragged out by a man in his twenties, followed by a man roaring after her, shouting: “Mother!”

The young man who was chasing them out looked less than twenty years old. His jade crown had long been skewed, his ink-like, silky hair was messy and scattered, his shirt was stained with blood, and his face was covered with tears and anger; however, these details did not take away from his appearance.

His eyes were like peach blossoms, eyebrows like distant mountains, and his entire being was extremely elegant. But because he grew tall and thin with sparse eyebrows, even if he had delicate features, he did not give off a feminine energy [2]. Instead, the features made people feel as if he was clear and handsome, like bamboo or pine.

The moment he appeared, the gossiping crowd suddenly stopped talking and looked over. The man dragging his mother turned his head, put his hand on his mother’s shoulder, and said with a smile: “Gu Jiusi, aren’t you quite capable? Now you know how to cry?”

Hearing this, Gu Jiusi’s whole body trembled slightly, but he still said: “Wang Rong, if a person does things then that person is responsible; you let my mother go.”

“What are you talking about?” Wang Rong laughed, flicking the whip lightly in his hand, “Your Gu family followed the Duke of Liang to rebel – is that done by yourself? Don’t worry, your mother won’t die. My father has always been generous. Your family’s children and women will all stay. Oh, by the way, you don’t have a son yet, do you?”

As he said that, Wang Rong seemed to feel a little pity and sighed: “Ai, you haven’t married a wife or concubines. The family is only left with your mother and your father’s few concubines who can be sold. Too bad they’re old and yellow like ancient books; they can only be sold to the lowest ranking gloomy brothels. What a pity.”

“Wang Rong!”

Gu Jiusi roared. Wang Rong laughed when he saw his appearance: “Isn’t this perfect? Someone can take good care of your mother, and you and your father don’t have worry when you leave.”

Gu Jiusi did not speak.

He tightly clenched his fists. The patter of rain started to fall and the screams of women were closeby. The men in the house were going to die anyway, so each one held a sword in front of the women, as if they wanted to protect their wives and children.

Gu Jiusi quietly looked at Wang Rong, his gaze desperate and sad. He was like a lonely crane imprisoned in a desperate place, proud and decisive.

He finally said: “Wang Rong, what do you want before you are willing to let my mother go?”

“What do I want?” Wang Rong smiled and rubbed his chin, thinking about it. “How about you kowtow to me three times and become my godson from now on? When you become my godson, you’ll also be considered my father’s grandson. Maybe your Gu family will be off the hook?”

Hearing these words, Gu Jiusi’s eyebrows trembled slightly.

Liu Yuru quietly watched. The surrounding rain was getting heavier and heavier, soaking the lamp in her hand. The onlookers left one after another because of the rain, until Liu Yuru was the only one standing with a calm face displaying neither sadness nor joy.

After a long time, she heard Gu Jiusi whisper in a low voice: “Okay.”

As he spoke, he trembled, lowered his head, and bent his knees.

At that moment, the woman beside Wang Rong suddenly pulled out a sharp blade from her sleeve and fiercely stabbed it into Wang Rong’s abdomen. The closeby guard reacted very quickly and swung his sword at the same time the woman drew her blade. Gu Jiusi shouted and pounced to protect the woman, but there were swords on all eight sides. Mother and son were penetrated by a dozen swords on the spot.

“My son…”

The woman trembled slightly, raised her blood-stained hand and covered Gu Jiusi’s face. She gasped: “Better to be a dog of peace… than to be a man of chaos… On the road to reincarnation, don’t take the wrong path…”

Gu Jiusi did not move. He vomited out a large mouthful of blood from his mouth. As the woman slowly closed her eyes, he knelt on one knee and answered in a low voice: “This son… obeys orders.”

Then, he pulled the knife out of his body and slowly stood. The rain mixed with his blood drenched all the way down to his feet. As he turned around with the knife, lightning and thunder struck. The man was covered in blood and seemed like Shura [3].

Everyone left was shocked and took a step back.

But the man walked towards her step by step with the knife in hand.

“Save me…”

He hoarsely said. His eyes were fixed on her: “Liu Yuru,” he called out her name, “Save me!”

***

Footnotes:

[1] Literal translation: a road as twisty as sheep’s intestine, idiom.

[2] Literal translation: Yin energy. Yin is usually denoted as feminine while Yang is masculine. Ever read a piece of dialogue where a guy had to “balance out his yin energy?” or vice versa for a girl? Thanks Taoism.

[3] Refers to a demon god in Buddhism/Hinduism.