Chapter 1 Li Guanyi
"Quick, quick!"
"Even faster!"
The pitch-black warhorse dashed frantically through the lightless night, shattering the curtain of rain ahead. Li Guanyi came to his senses in a daze, as if waking from a profound dream, the blurring glow of a computer screen still before his eyes. Then he felt a stabbing pain in his chest, as if his entire being had plummeted into an ice cave, trembling from the agony.
He immediately realized that his body had shrunk, almost like that of an infant,
A woman was riding a swift horse, carrying him at a gallop. As the dark clouds parted in the sky, he struggled to raise his head. Squinting through the clothes covering him and aided by the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of something in the distance, then instinctively shivered from a chill—
Far away, a troop of cavalry clad in ancient armor silently reined in their horses.
The towering warhorses stood nearly two meters tall at the head, their breath condensing into mist, causing the leaves to flutter. The riders donned full suits of iron armor and helmets that covered even their faces, arrow sleeves drooping from the right side of their armor, finely detailed with white cloud patterns.
Majestic silence ensued, as the clouds once more enshrouded the sky, leaving behind only traces of starlight. Rain poured down, splashing against their armor, scattering delicate droplets that seemed to envelop them in a faint glow under the starlight.
Armored Cavalry.
"Chen Country Night Rider Cavalry."
Li Guanyi heard a voice next to his ear, but it was quickly torn apart by the shrill sound of something slicing through the air. It was as if he saw the figure of a White Tiger, and he felt his body suddenly flung upward. The next moment, a bright light severed the galloping warhorse's hooves.
In the midst of a ghastly wail, the woman tumbled off the charging steed, clutching him in her arms.
Cradling the infant, she rolled on the ground, presenting her own back to the Heavy Armor Armored Cavalry who had drawn their war bows.
"Li Nu'er..."
Countless arrows whistled through the air.
And descended.
Clang!
"Little Pharmacist, snap out of it,"
In the Tenth Year of Tianqi, inside the largest pharmacy in Guan Yi City of Chen Country.
An elderly man tapped on the table with his curled finger, as if cleaving through the myriad of arrow showers, pulling Li Guanyi back from his memories. He slowly lifted his head, sunlight falling on his face, as an old woman in front of him was waiting to get a few herbs. Li Guanyi smiled apologetically and responded.
Taking the prescription, he turned to open the medicine cabinet.
Seeing the Little Pharmacist finally starting to prepare the medicine, the old woman didn't urge any further, merely observing the young boy up and down with that distinct look of elders. Thirteen years old, taller than most boys his age, and although his face was a bit sallow, he had a clear brow and bright eyes.
Moreover, rumored to be quite skilled in arts and medicine, hmm.
A good kid.
It was just unfortunate that his family lacked a strong adult male, only having an ailing aunt.
Such a pity...
However, he was indeed a fine young lad that could be 'offered' to the other young girls.
What was his name again... Li Yi?
Or Li Da?
The old woman pondered.
Unaware that he had already been silently included in the back-alley gossip exchange by the old lady behind him, Li Guanyi efficiently prepared the medicine, calculated the price, and handed it over with the warm smile characteristic of a young man.
Such a handsome smile prompted the old woman to boost this young man several spots higher on her mental list of "Suitable Young Men to Recommend" as she also recalled his name.
Similar to Zhang San, Li Si, Zheng Er, Wang Wu.
Li Yi.
Yet to her, he stood out from these common names, inadvertently earning a special mark for himself.
Li Guanyi.
Indeed, they call him Li Guanyi, such a good boy.
The old lady took the medicine, chuckled as she inquired about betrothal matters, got the intelligence she wanted, then contently turned and walked away. As the elder pushed open the carved wooden gate, sunlight spread before her eyes, falling on the stone-paved ground, with passersby coming and going.
The carriage wheels flew along the ruts left on the street, the curtain lifting slightly in the wind. Inside sat either a Master, a Confucian scholar, or a beautiful woman in a light gauze dress and holding a delicate fan to her lips.
According to the calculations of the Great Emperor of Central State, it should be the Tenth Year of Tianqi.
But now, no one seemed to care.
The land had been fractured for a long time, three hundred years.
Chen Country occupied Jiangnan in the East Continent, with beautiful water and grass, renowned for its cultural splendor, beautiful women, and landscapes.
Even though it was defeated by Xuan Country a little over ten years ago.
Still, there was the famous general Xiao Wuliang, whose charge with seven Cavalry shook the world.
Guan Yi City was very close to the capital of Chen Country, Jiangzhou, reachable within a day by fast horse. Naturally, it was quite lively and bustling. Li Guanyi's gaze shifted back from the scenery outside, he rubbed the center of his forehead, maybe because the autumn afternoon sunshine was warm, truly making one's spirit languid.
He recalled those events from ten years ago once again.
When it was time to switch shifts, Li Guanyi slowly walked to the back room of the pharmacy, took off his thick blue long gown, and seeing no one around, he pulled open his inner garment and looked inside. There, on his chest, lay an Imprint only he could see, shaped like a small tripod, covered with the Kui Dragon Pattern of bluish iron. It had fish and bird patterns, and within the tripod, a reddish radiance flowed.
Around his heart, black patterns converged like ghastly, twisting snakes dancing around a bonfire, forming a macabre contrast with his pale skin, a stark and alarming sight reminiscent of ancient blood sacrifices from a wild, distant age.
Primitive, rough.
Savage and bloodthirsty.
This was poison, a lethal toxin, or perhaps something akin to Witchcraft, a deadly matter.
This thing was a sequela from the incident ten years ago; it was also the poison that stirred the bronze tripod, breaking the amnesia of the womb, awakening a two-year-old infant to the consciousness of an adult; it was the bronze tripod that suppressed the poison. Although it occasionally flared up, causing him such pain that he sweated profusely, wished for death, he was still alive.
It's just that the frequency of the poison outbreaks has been increasing lately.
In these ten years, his aunt had taken him to see various doctors, but none had a method for Detoxification, and it seemed that he would not live to adulthood without being tormented to death.
Li Guanyi's expression darkened slightly.
Suddenly, a commotion came from outside.
Li Guanyi glanced again at the Jade Liquid in the tripod, which was about eighty percent full.
Even though he knew that staring at it wouldn't make it suddenly increase, he couldn't help but want to look again.
All he could hope for now was that the bronze tripod, which had suppressed the poison for ten years, after the Jade Liquid in it was filled, would undergo some change. Ideally, it would completely dissolve this intense poison within him. He had finally made some progress understanding how the Jade Liquid accumulated in the Jade Tripod a month and a half ago.
The noisy sounds outside grew louder, and Li Guanyi frowned, wondering if a customer had arrived at this time? He changed his clothes, hung a green purse by his waist, still with a water gourd attached, then stepped out, raising his hand to lift the door curtain and saying, "Mr. Chen, what's going on—"
His voice came to an abrupt halt.
Boom!!!
The dull sound seemed to grasp everyone's throats.
The three Martial Artists hired by the pharmacy were tossed like broken sacks, crashing into the wall beside Li Guanyi, falling heavily, spitting out blood, their faces pale with terror.
"!!!"
The door of the pharmacy was kicked to pieces, and the ornately carved door flew straight to the wall.
A big man wearing a hero's headband, dressed in a parrot-green, diagonally collared long robe, with an iron belt around his waist and a waist saber hanging by his side, stepped forward with overpowering momentum. He grabbed the young Li Guanyi, who was just squatting next to a wounded man, by the collar and lifted him off the ground, his tiger-like eyes sweeping the surroundings as he bellowed,
"How dare you harbor a criminal wanted by the Court!!!"
"Are you courting death?!"
As Li Guanyi was lifted, he struggled to breathe, his face turning red. He strained his vision and saw a young scholar on horseback outside the door. The young man wore a sword at his waist and watched with tranquil eyes the choking, breathless youth. The scholar's right sleeve was black and dropped down, covered with fine Cloud Patterns.
Just like that lightless, rainy night ten years ago.